[dogger37]

Im getting ready to purchase a terrain and have still been having difficulty choosing between the 4 and the 6. I live in central PA with many hills and am afraid of being underpowered. Driving an 07 Denali right now so either engine is gonna feel like a turd . I drive about 45,000 miles a year for work so fuel economy is obviously a big deal to me. I have read the previous posts on MPG and it looks like there is a solid 5 MPG difference between the two motors. Anyone live in the mountains that can shed some light of choosing? I just dont want to get the 4 and then have to work it so hard that the fuel economy is the same or worse than the 6 would have been. Also found this article that was interesting.

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

Thanks,
Donny

 

[SobeTerrain]

Im getting ready to purchase a terrain and have still been having difficulty choosing between the 4 and the 6. I live in central PA with many hills and am afraid of being underpowered. Driving an 07 Denali right now so either engine is gonna feel like a turd . I drive about 45,000 miles a year for work so fuel economy is obviously a big deal to me. I have read the previous posts on MPG and it looks like there is a solid 5 MPG difference between the two motors. Anyone live in the mountains that can shed some light of choosing? I just dont want to get the 4 and then have to work it so hard that the fuel economy is the same or worse than the 6 would have been. Also found this article that was interesting.

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


Mountains snow.... No choice. 6 cyl is only way to go especially with awd. You will see as u read here many opinions and mostly those who have 4 cyl justifying. Let me tell you. Test drive both in awd and u will see 6 is only way to go. I have front wheel drive and no mountains and test drove both a few times. 6 really gives you that extra power the 4 just can't!

Thanks,
Donny

 

[Terrain]

If I were you I would just get the V6. You wouldn't want to get into the situation where you wish you had the larger engine.

I came from a Sierra with the 5.3 so going with a 4-banger would have been too much of a change.

 

[tmm2good]

My 2 cents, I live in Colorado and own a Duramax pickup,plenty of power ! I went with the 4 cyl/AWD for fuel mileage and have not had any problems with it in the mountains. I went back and forth between the 4 and 6, finally decided on the 4 and have been happy so far.

 

[dogger37]

Thanks for the replies so far. Has anyone read or seen the article that I posted a link to? They state that the 4's tranny has different ratios and actually is better in the hills than the 6.

 

[oracle]

Yes, I read that article and as usual everything is relative. If the auto "expert" is a light foot they'll always tell the same story. Of course the tranny has to be optimized for a 4 cyl to get the most torque to compensate. But mileage suffers.. Those cars are very efficient when they're already going.

It's all relative.. We traded our CRV 4 banger for the Terrain 6 cyl only because the CRV is gutless, even my wife thought it was a bit dangerous.. AWD on a 4 cyl on a hilly area don't mix in my opinion. The 6 cyl can be good, just be light footed and should get good mileage too... Any uhaul trailer (empty) will put you at limit so probably you need to consider if you'll ever tow something..

Good luck!

 

[dogger37]

Another question is can you put 19's or 20's on a terrain with the 4 cylinder? Or would the extra weight of the rim kill all fuel mileage and power? I believe there is about a 3 to 5 lb difference between the 18's and 19's from the factory.

 

[SuperMat64]

It is not the weight of the wheels more than the size... the 17 and 18 inches have the same diameter, but the 19 inches are bigger so tougher to spin.

 

[2010Nox2LT]

I debated between the 4 and 6 because I was concerned the AWD would need the extra HP here in Colorado. Decided to go with the four and am very pleased. Plenty of get up and go and leave it in ECON mode all the time. I don't tow anything so the four has plenty of power even at 8,000 ft.

 

[chasmo]

I Live in the OH/PA/WV Tri-state area and drive to fairly remote places in this area. I drive to Altoona and Harrisburg area at least twice a month. We wanted the 6 cylinder AWD because of past problems with 4 cyl in other vehichles of similar size. The 6 cyl seems to give more stability in crosswinds going thru the mountains across the PA pike. I occasionaly tow a small fishing boat to/from Raystown Lake with no problems. The average MPH indicator in the dash has been 19 mpg since we got it in Dec. Has 18,000 miles on it now.

 

[mstang66guy]

I have just purchased a 6cyl AWD SLT-1 for my wife (we live in SW VA in the mountains). She uses it to drive all over the state for her job and loves the power that the 6cyl has when she needs it. The car has just over 4k miles on it and she is getting 24 on the highway @70mph and about 21 on the back roads @45-55 through the hills. Considering this car can carry nearly as much as my Jeep and gets 5-6 mpg better I am completely satisfied and would recommend the 6cyl to any one. Plus with the 6 cyl you get dual exhaust which looks much better IMO.

Hope this helps.

 

[grometsc]

It is not the weight of the wheels more than the size... the 17 and 18 inches have the same diameter, but the 19 inches are bigger so tougher to spin.

Actually its the weight of the RIM and Tire. Un-sprung weight has a huge affect on performance and driving of your car. THis is the main purpose of "drilled rotors" and other things you see in race cars. Reducing the weight 10lbs @ each wheel, is generally accepted equal to reducing total weight by 240lbs (estimated weight conversion is like 1lbs rotational mass is 6lbs actual weight in car)

Thats a weight difference you can feel in acceleration and general driving....This number increases as the speeds increase as well. This is why lighter rims and tires get better MPG's

 

[dogger37]

grometsc,
Thanks for the info! Very indepth and interesting. Just goes to show how everything from the wheel and tire combo, to the braking system, etc is all factored into the engineering process.

 

[RSchleder]

We picked up our V6 awd Terrain on Monday and have been driving it through the Rockies for the past 3 days. I 'm very pleased I bought the V6 as the I4 might be a bit underpowered in the mountains. I too, come from driving V8's all my life and didn't even consider the I4, after 3 days of up the mountain/down the mountain, I made the correct decision for me. Good luck which ever way you decide to go. Ron

 

[Narg]

The way both engines are made, and the gearing GM uses in the Transmission you won't notice any difference at all in normal daily driving between the I4 and the V6. You just won't. Even professional reviewers say the same thing. The GM I4 engine used here is such a great torquey engine that it handles this vehicle with zero problems.

The V6 will have more torque in low RPM moments, which can make a difference in towing or in some extreme AWD moments. But that's the only place you'd notice it.

So, the way to choose is what MPG do you want?

 

[Seveniron]

We picked up our V6 awd Terrain on Monday and have been driving it through the Rockies for the past 3 days. I 'm very pleased I bought the V6 as the I4 might be a bit underpowered in the mountains. I too, come for driving V8's all my life and didn't even consider the I4, after 3 days of up the mountain/down the mountain, I made the correct decision. Good luck which ever way you decide to go. Ron

I recently took a trip from Quebec to Alberta in the Terrain and spent a few days in the Banff area. I travelled on the highway between Jasper and Banff. Also, some of Ontrario has some pretty good hills. At no time, did I feel underpowered with the I-4. In fact, I was presently surprised.

Just my two cents. I bought ours based on the fact that I would not be towing, usually only two people in the vehicle and most of my driving would be in the Montreal area, but again, I was surprised at how well the I-4 performed in the mountains and in passing situations on the highway.

 

[aqcs60]

Ordered SLT-1 in January and received it in mid May. Got the I4 engine with power tailgate as only additional option. Car drives good locally but the mpg isn't very good. Only getting about 23 mpg. Just made first roundtrip of 400 mile and was very disappointed with the milage, 26MPG. The transmission downshifts at the first sign of a slight upgrade. Sometimes reving the engine up into the 3000 rpm range.
I traded in a Nissan Altima 2.5S with CVT transmission and smart key start and door locking. It has been a learning experience to go back to using a manual key and door fob .

 

[IceMan]

The way both engines are made, and the gearing GM uses in the Transmission you won't notice any difference at all in normal daily driving between the I4 and the V6. You just won't. Even professional reviewers say the same thing. The GM I4 engine used here is such a great torquey engine that it handles this vehicle with zero problems.

The V6 will have more torque in low RPM moments, which can make a difference in towing or in some extreme AWD moments. But that's the only place you'd notice it.

So, the way to choose is what MPG do you want?

I agree.
The tranny and direct injection put this 2.4L in a different league compared to many other fuel injected 4 bangers. We drove both the 4 and 6....and there just wasn't that much of a noticable difference.

 

[oracle]

ahem.. Did you try uphill and accelerating from 50 miles to 70? Believe me there is a difference (at the expense of gas mileage of course)

 

[gmc_noob]

Got our SLT2 3.0 AWD in mid December, we live about 20 minutes from 7-Springs Mountain Resort, and Hidden Valley Mountain resort in Southwest Pa.

We have had a Jeep Liberty Renegade, and a Hummer H3, and while the Terrain isnt as sturdy as the H3, its is better in the snow than I expected, and is better than our Renegade was. We also have a Subaru Impreza Outback 5-speed, and its beast for what it is in the Winter.

As for hills, the Direct Inject V6 hands down better than the H3 going up any hill, much more power in the band, super super happy with Terrain. The H3 is sturdy, but as sluggish as I am after I seafood buffet at 7-Springs.