Fast facts
* Model: 2016 GMC Terrain Denali* Exterior color: White Frost Tricoat* Interior color: Light Titanium* Engine: 2.4-liter, four-cylinder* Horsepower: 182* Transmission: Six-speed automatic* Fuel economy: 32 mpg highway, 22 mpg city* Dealer: Integrity GMC* Price (as tested): $37, 400
In Denali trim, the GMC Terrain has a luxurious interior.Take a GMC Yukon, shrink it in hot water overnight, and you've got a 2016 Terrain.
Despite its compact SUV segment label, the Terrain has all the visual presence of its full-size stablemate, the massive - and massively popular - Yukon.
The Terrain is no slouch in the sales department, either. GM sold about 105,000 Terrains last year, carving out a 5 percent share of the compact SUV market. Compact crossovers now account for about 15 percent of all new vehicle sales in America each year, according to GM, and there's no sign the growth has stalled.
The Terrain competes alongside the mechanically similar Chevy Equinox, the Honda CR-V, the Toyota RAV-4 and the Ford Escape, among others.
It's hard to believe the Terrain is a 5-year-old model, deep enough into its product cycle now for GM to give it a face-lift and add a few more goodies to its suite of electronic safety features. New wrinkles for 2016 include new front and rear fascias, a new power dome hood, LED running lamps, blind-spot alert and cross-traffic warning.
Our tester, courtesy of Bryan House and Greg Yeoman of Integrity Automotive Group on International Drive, is a top-of-the-line Denali model in luminescent White Frost Tricoat paint. Interestingly, the Terrain is GMC's best-selling model among its female customers, with women accounting for 44 percent of sales, according to the company.
Pricing for a base Terrain starts at about $25,000 and goes up to about $37,000 for a fully-loaded model. Our Denali tester has almost every available option except for a 3.6-liter V-6 engine and all-wheel-drive.
Fuel economy is superb in four-cylinder models such as our tester, which is rated at 32 miles per gallon highway and 22 mpg city.
STYLING AND COMFORT
No small SUV has the commanding stance and chrome countenance of the Terrain. New for 2016 is a more contemporary front fascia with more chrome accents than before. A sculpted "power dome" hood is also new for this model year, as is a more generous deployment of LED running lights.
Our Denali tester has a gorgeous interior upholstered in Light Titanium leather, a wood insert on the steering wheel and fancy stitching on the dash. There's a new storage shelf built into the center stack, which also includes an elbow deep storage bin big enough to stow your kids' iPads.
The Terrain has room for five passengers, and the second row slides fore and aft up to eight inches to create custom knee-room for your back-seat passengers. There is no third-row option. For that, you'll have to move up to the mid-size Arcadia or full-size Yukon.
Also standard on the Terrain Denali are such luxury touches as a premium, 8-speaker Pioneer sound system; 18-inch, chrome clad wheels; heated front seats; power lift-gate; power seats with memory settings; navigation and GM's excellent OnStar emergency communication system to summon help if you have an emergency.
Heavy electronics users will also want to look into a 4g LTE subscription, which will turn your Terrain into a rolling hot spot. All the Terrains telematics channel through a seven-inch touch screen, which is integrated into the dash and protected from direct sunlight by a small hood.
DRIVING IMPRESSIONS
On our test drive along Highway 153, the Terrain showed off its smooth ride - aided by special duel flow dampers on our Denali.
The 182-horsepower four-cylinder engine is more than adequate for everyday driving and light loads, but if you plan on packing the Terrain with gear and towing a boat or small trailer, the V-6 with 301 horsepower is the way to go. Properly equipped, the GMC can tow up to 3,500 pounds.
On our test drive, we were impressed with the composed ride, visibility and seat comfort of the Terrain. While some compact SUVs feel a little cramped, the Terrain has plenty of shoulder and hip room. Cargo room is also impressive with about 31 cubic feet of hauling space behind the second row seats and 64 cubic feet with the seats folded down.
All Terrains feature a six-speed automatic transmission. Those equipped with the direct-injection 3.6-liter six-cylinder engine can expect to return about 24 miles per gallon highway and 17 mpg city.
BOTTOM LINE
At $37,400, our tester combines a high level of power-train refinement and a luxury-class interior. Many will step up to the larger Arcadia and Yukon models, but for those who don't need the extra space, the Terrain is a sensible choice. IntelliChoice estimates the Terrain will retain about half its original MSRP value after five years of ownership.
Contact Mark Kennedy at mkennedy@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6645. Follow him on Twitter @TFPCOLUMNIST. Subscribe to his Facebook updates at www.facebook.com/mkennedycolumnist.