[auxano]

Interesting review:

http://www.autoblog.com/2010/06/04/2010-gmc-terrain-review/

 

[bocks]

good find.. I agree the I4 is the better engine if you don't have anything to tow..

 

[SuperMat64]

I'm a v6 lover so i have the V6 and i absolutely love it ! Very powerful and smooth.

 

[TerryG]

The I 4 handles the utility trailer and the quad or John Deere just fine. For the travel trailer or the boat I have the 2500 HD GMC.

 

[NHOJWOLFE]

I think in the long run this car is simply too heavy for the v 4.

 

[Seveniron]

I think in the long run this car is simply too heavy for the v 4.

Just curious: What makes you think this? What do you think the result of having the 4 will be over an extended period of time? For my purpose, only the girlfriend and I will ever be travelling any distance in the Terrain and will not be towing anything. Anyway, as I say, just curious as to what gives you this mind set.

 

[Roesterman]

I think in the long run this car is simply too heavy for the v 4.

Its an in-line 4 not a v4

 

[oracle]

My opinion is that you need that extra power in certain situations, I agree that 99% of the time you don't need the extra 2 cylinders but as my wife told me about her CR-V (i4) that we traded for the Terrain is that doesn't have guts when merging at higher speed or when you need it to accelerate fast at the light,etc. She actually asked me to find a 6 cylinder.
I agree that sometimes the I4 engines in a ~2500 lbs vehicle can't deliver the ponies you need to not put you at risk.

Just curious: What makes you think this? What do you think the result of having the 4 will be over an extended period of time? For my purpose, only the girlfriend and I will ever be travelling any distance in the Terrain and will not be towing anything. Anyway, as I say, just curious as to what gives you this mind set.

 

[grometsc]

My opinion is that you need that extra power in certain situations, I agree that 99% of the time you don't need the extra 2 cylinders but as my wife told me about her CR-V (i4) that we traded for the Terrain is that doesn't have guts when merging at higher speed or when you need it to accelerate fast at the light,etc. She actually asked me to find a 6 cylinder.
I agree that sometimes the I4 engines in a ~2500 lbs vehicle can't deliver the ponies you need to not put you at risk.

GM/Ford (yes its a tranny designed by joint venture of GM and Ford) geared the tranny just for this. Final of 2.77, keeps the engine in the sweet spot for most passing situations up to 75mph (2nd gear)

 

[Narg]

I think in the long run this car is simply too heavy for the v 4.

Considering cars of the past, say like in the '80s, this modern 4 banger is even more powerful than some V8s back then! My Dad drove a Chevy Suburban for 20+ years that had the old 350 V8. It only mustered 160 horses! 4 cylinders back then were lucky to get over 100 horses. This 180 horse inline 4 is the best engine on the market for this class of vehicle, IMHO. It's not a completely new engine, only the addition of DI, and has stood the test of time so far. I'm sure it will be as good 10, 15 or 20 years down the road if you keep this nice SUV in your garage that long.

 

[brisket_lover]

My opinion is that you need that extra power in certain situations, I agree that 99% of the time you don't need the extra 2 cylinders but as my wife told me about her CR-V (i4) that we traded for the Terrain is that doesn't have guts when merging at higher speed or when you need it to accelerate fast at the light,etc. She actually asked me to find a 6 cylinder.
I agree that sometimes the I4 engines in a ~2500 lbs vehicle can't deliver the ponies you need to not put you at risk.

I don't have that issue whatsoever. I don't need to be first off the line and if someone can't merge onto a highway they shouldn't be driving. I could take my JD and still get in on the highway if I needed to.

 

[Roesterman]

I had the same I4 engine (sans DI) in my 2007 Solstice.

 

[oracle]

I don't have that issue whatsoever. I don't need to be first off the line and if someone can't merge onto a highway they shouldn't be driving. I could take my JD and still get in on the highway if I needed to.

I agree but no matter how much you plan there are unexpected events that you can't control. Our main freeway is extremely dangerous in my opinion, too many cars going way too fast on never perfect conditions, here in Canada is either wet, snowed, iced or under construction

 

[Kevin Stadden]

I don't have that issue whatsoever. I don't need to be first off the line and if someone can't merge onto a highway they shouldn't be driving. I could take my JD and still get in on the highway if I needed to.

Yup.

For 7 years I drove an '88 Ford F250 that had a 6-cylinder, rated at 149hp.....in a full-size 3/4 ton truck! I never had an issue getting around in it.

It's just that in this day & age of everything having nearly 300 horses under the hood, the idea of a 4-popper just isn't very sexy.

 

[bballr4567]

With the 6 speed trans teamed up with the I4 there is NO problem merging on the highway. If there is, you are simply being a wuss and not pushing all the way on the go pedal.

Unless you need the extra power for towing, the I4 is the perfect engine for you. Unless you arent man enough to admit you rather have the V6 just so you can say you dont want to drive a 4 cylinder.

 

[SuperMat64]

I have a lot of mecanics in my family and they all telled me to stay away from the Ecotec 4 cyl engine... So i went with the 6 cyl. Very good engine, lot of power when needed and i really love the sound of the engine when we accelerate a little fast

 

[bballr4567]

I have a lot of mecanics in my family and they all telled me to stay away from the Ecotec 4 cyl engine...

Why? Aside from the early 2002 engines having bad timing chains, meaning they would fail around 120-140k miles, Ecotecs are some of the BEST engines in GM vehicles. What did they tell you specifically?

In fact, the 3.6, the engine the 3.0 is based off of have far more problems than GM can count. Timing chains stretching at 30-40k miles causing the pistons to kiss the valves and destroying engines are pretty bad.

 

[SuperMat64]

I don't know what you are talking about for the 3.6L : 3.0L DI. The new 3.0L DI engine is a variant of GM’s family of high-feature DOHC V-6 engines that also includes GM’s 3.6L DI engine in the Cadillac CTS—an engine named to Ward’s AutoWorld’s 2009 “Ten Best Engines” list for North America, for the second consecutive year.

And for your other questions i don't know what they did not like on them, all i know is that i always trusted them and was never unsatisfied with my cars. They saw a lot of broken cars in a year and if they tell me not to buy something, i do not buy that thing

 

[bballr4567]

I don't know what you are talking about for the 3.6L : 3.0L DI. The new 3.0L DI engine is a variant of GM’s family of high-feature DOHC V-6 engines that also includes GM’s 3.6L DI engine in the Cadillac CTS—an engine named to Ward’s AutoWorld’s 2009 “Ten Best Engines” list for North America, for the second consecutive year.

Head over to any of the Acadia, Enclave, Traverse or Outlook forums and you will see 3.6 problems.

BTW, the DI Ecotec was named to named to Wards 10 best as well.

The problem with the Ecotec is that it hates crappy oil filters. It needs good premium oil filters and a number of motors were getting #3 piston destroyed because the "good" ole Fram was causing oil starvation issues especially at lower RPMs and just killing the engines.

That is LITERALLY the only problem that the Ecotec has. Normal maintenance and it will reward you with plenty of miles.

 

[SuperMat64]

Head over to any of the Acadia, Enclave, Traverse or Outlook forums and you will see 3.6 problems.

BTW, the DI Ecotec was named to named to Wards 10 best as well.

The problem with the Ecotec is that it hates crappy oil filters. It needs good premium oil filters and a number of motors were getting #3 piston destroyed because the "good" ole Fram was causing oil starvation issues especially at lower RPMs and just killing the engines.

That is LITERALLY the only problem that the Ecotec has. Normal maintenance and it will reward you with plenty of miles.

I respect your opinion, but i still don't like 4 cyl engines. When i purchased my Terrain i had a road test using the 4 cyl and i have not hated it but not liked it too... Maybe the reason is that i went from a Nissan Maxima with a 3.5L of 265 hp. I was impressed of it's power for a 4 cyl, but not as an engine. I'm used to have V6 engine and as long as the fuel will be (sorry for the word, i'm not sure it exist in english) purchasable i will be driving V6 engines

And also, the 4 cyl may be enough for a FWD Nox/Terrain... but i'm sure it is not with the AWD version.

I also need the towing capacity of the V6... 1500 pounds when you remove the ~500 pounds of the trailer itself you don't have much room for charging what you need to tow.