2015 GMC Canyon Long-Term Review: The Verdict
After six months and 10,000 miles, we are saying goodbye to our 2015 GMC Canyon long-term tester.
Job after job, the Canyon has nearly always left me impressed. The 3.6-liter V6 under the hood is plenty powerful for this truck. I occasionally wanted a little more low-end grunt, but once this V6 is wound up to near redline at 6,800 rpm, it churns out all the power you’ll ever need, especially for the majority of buyers who will never hook up more than a jet ski or small boat to the back end. Our transmission wasn’t seamless, with occasional rough, clunky shifts and some strange lag early on in its life, though the lag has disappeared and the shifts do seem to be getting smoother the more I drive.
Read the Entire 2015 GMC Canyon Long-Term Review Series Here
Up front, the layout, design and ergonomics of all of the controls is absolutely spot on. The radio controls on the back of the steering wheel coupled with two D-pads on the front offer control of every system you need while driving. Surfing through your presets, navigating through different forms of media and finding all of the truck’s stats is dead simple, with the intellilink system offering quick operation and a clean, organized layout on the small LCD screen in the gauge cluster.
SEE ALSO: Chevrolet Colorado Diesel Promises Best-in-Class Towing, Torque
The addition of a 2.8-liter diesel engine is set to give the Canyon and Colorado yet another leg up on the competition, even with an all-new 2016 Tacoma launching this year. Toyota’s midsize truck still leads the segment in sales and there’s little doubt that the new model will continue to be a strong seller, but GM is staying one step ahead of the competition thanks to offering the oil burner.
Overall, the GMC Canyon is an admirable little truck. It offers the right proportions for most folks to drive easily, while providing real truck capability when you need it. The battle in the midsize pickup truck segment is beginning all over again and GM has set the bar pretty high.
Discuss this story at our GMC Canyon and Chevy Colorado Forum
Stephen covers all of the day-to-day events of the industry as the News Editor at AutoGuide, along with being the AG truck expert. His truck knowledge comes from working long days on the woodlot with pickups and driving straight trucks professionally. When not at his desk, Steve can be found playing his bass or riding his snowmobile or Sea-Doo. Find Stephen on <A title="@Selmer07 on Twitter" href="http://www.twitter.com/selmer07">Twitter</A> and <A title="Stephen on Google+" href="http://plus.google.com/117833131531784822251?rel=author">Google+</A>
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Something that I don't think was mentioned in this series was how this Canyon helped me move a king-sized bed out of my condo with ease. It was amazing to see it in the tight undergound parking facility, a place where other trucks would have the drivers sweating. It handled the load and the situation impressively.