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1 speed, Continuously Variable Ratio, 8 speed, Automatic
Turbocharged Gas I4
All Wheel Drive, Front Wheel Drive
It's update time for the GMC Terrain. For 2025, the premium-aspiring compact SUV receives a new face and a significant interior refresh. That brings its appearance up to date with the current GMC design language while delivering a significantly improved in-vehicle tech experience. But, as it turns out, not everything is a big step forward.
Photo: Tim Stevens
For 2025, the most significant change is found on the dashboard: A 15-inch, vertically oriented display is how you control many vehicle functions. The Terrain's other changes are primarily outside, with a new nose and refreshed headlights. The Terrain’s overall shape and presence aren't drastically different from the Chevrolet Equinox, with which the GMC shares more than a bit of DNA. However, the Terrain presents a more truck-like look and feel than its slightly more budget-minded sibling.
The 2025 GMC Terrain starts at $31,395 for the front-wheel-drive (FWD) Elevation trim level—the only one currently available. Adding all-wheel drive (AWD) increases the price to $33,395, plus the $1,395 destination charge.
For this review of the 2025 Terrain, GMC provided a test vehicle equipped with Elevation trim and the following options:
The test vehicle’s price was $41,060, including the $1,395 destination charge to ship the SUV from the GMC assembly plant in San Luis Potosi, Mexico, to your local dealership.
Photo: Tim Stevens
The GMC Terrain has the look and feel of a large SUV from afar, leading to one of my friends saying it looked like a big off-roader. But, come closer, and you realize it's very definitely a road-going compact SUV despite its aspirationally adventure-friendly name and truck-like styling.
You don't climb into a Terrain; just open the door and sit down. The seats are at a convenient height and offer good support and comfort for a machine far more touring-oriented than trail-rated. Front seats are heated and ventilated too, as is the steering wheel. Heating on those surfaces proved quite capable in extreme cold-weather testing during my time with the Terrain.
There isn't much to catch your eye inside the Terrain if you choose the darker of two interior color options. It's black on black on black everywhere, with the only diversion being a few strips of chrome and some white contrast stitching. The various surfaces play well together, but not all are of the highest quality.
While GMC covers the seats in its Coretec material—a durable and good-feeling synthetic leather—the center console and lower portions of the dashboard and doors are all hard plastic and unpleasant to touch. The headliner is a woven microfiber that looks and feels premium and makes room for a large panoramic sunroof that reaches all the way to the back seats. The front portion tilts or slides backward, while a retracting shade will cover the whole thing at the touch of a button.
A pair of USB ports sits below the center console, one Type A and one Type C; the Premium package adds a wireless charging pad to keep your phone juiced while enjoying the wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay.
Two more USB-C ports are available for powering devices of those seated in the rear seats, the outer two of which are heated too. The Terrain seats five, and while I wouldn't call the seating generous for three adults across in the second row, it's manageable. A flat floor back there makes ingress and egress easy, at least.
The headroom is also at a premium in the rear. Otherwise, the 60/40 split-folding rear seats are fairly accommodating, with a broad and comfortable armrest in the middle.
Photo: Tim Stevens
The infotainment system in the 2025 GMC Terrain features:
The 15-inch, portrait-oriented touchscreen is a real highlight in the updated Terrain, providing plenty of real estate for the Android Automotive-based software. That square footage is good because you'll constantly be reaching for it.
There’s a volume knob inset in the dashboard, à la Ford Mustang Mach-E, and a row of nicely rubberized rocker toggles along the bottom for changing climate-related settings. You'll also find a few small buttons for changing the drive mode over on the far left of the steering wheel, but otherwise, you're stuck tapping away at that screen.
The software is quick and responsive, while its straightforward layout makes it a cinch to learn. It's not much to look at, though, with white text over black and acres of wasted space. I appreciate that it's just as understated as the rest of the interior, but a little more flash might be nice, given how bright and crisp the screen is.
It does at least provide an expansive view of Google Maps navigation, but you can also install Waze if you'd prefer or toggle over to Apple Maps in CarPlay. Google Assistant is the default voice assistant, and it is competent. It can find any point of interest you can imagine, change in-vehicle settings like seat heaters or the like, or even field questions about fundamental economic theories. Not enough? Alexa is available too.
You have basic media playback through AM/FM/SiriusXM built in, plus Bluetooth streaming, but tap into the Google Play Store and you can install many more apps, including Spotify and YouTube Music. All those play through a six-speaker sound system that's bright and clear but lacks the low-down punch that many buyers will want.
The Terrain also includes an 11-inch gauge cluster behind the steering wheel with configurable views. You can look at the SUV's active safety systems, get another look at the overhead Google Maps view, or go with the basic digital tachometer and speed display if you'd prefer.
Photo: Tim Stevens
All versions of the 2025 GMC Terrain, whether FWD or AWD, rely on the same 175-horsepower, turbocharged 1.5-liter four-cylinder engine. Go with the FWD flavor and you get a continuously variable automatic transmission and 184 pound-feet of torque. Select the AWD trim and you get an eight-speed automatic transmission with a little more torque—203 pound-feet, to be exact.
As it had AWD, my test vehicle came with the eight-speed automatic, which didn't play well with the small-displacement engine. The transmission lets the revs fall on the four-cylinder the second you let off the throttle, creating an annoying delay when you start to accelerate again.
This can be frustrating when traffic is moving inconsistently or on a twisty road. The somewhat relaxed performance of the 1.5-liter engine didn’t help. It makes a lot of noise when pushed but not much fury.
However, when driven more relaxed, the Terrain is pleasant enough. The SUV has a bit of a stiff feeling, somewhat in keeping with its truck-like pretensions, but its ride quality is generally good. Over particularly harsh obstacles, like railroad crossings, you hear more than feel some of the suspension's compression. Likewise, there's a bit of wind noise at highway speeds, but beyond that, the overall sensation from behind the wheel in the SUV is calm and composed.
In terms of outright handling, there's a bit of body roll, and the steering feels unnecessarily stiff. Still, the Terrain is perfectly competent if you don't push it too hard.
Regarding outright grip, the AWD system is, by default, disabled. You need to manually enable it with a button to the left of the steering wheel or toggle the SUV over to either Off-Road or Snow/Ice drive modes. If you don't do this, the rear wheels will stay strictly disengaged regardless of how much you spin the front tires.
With AWD enabled, the Terrain becomes far more capable in low-grip conditions. However, keep in mind that this is not a proper 4WD system with locking differentials. Despite its name, the Terrain is happiest on well-graded surfaces.
Photo: Tim Stevens
The 2025 GMC Terrain comes standard with a comprehensive active safety suite, including:
The adaptive cruise system in the Terrain works well, keeping the SUV accelerating and decelerating smoothly even in thick traffic. The automatic emergency braking system also does well in spotting drivers stopping abruptly ahead. At the same time, the surround-view camera (part of the Technology Package II) provides a bright and clear view around the Terrain.
The lane-keeping system, though, proved to be on the basic side. The vehicle will begin to apply gentle steering as you cross over the painted marker, making a more abrupt correction and buzzing the seat should you stray too far. But it did nothing to keep the Terrain centered in-lane like more advanced active lane-keeping systems. GM's excellent, hands-off Super Cruise semi-autonomous driving system is unavailable on the Terrain.
Photo: Tim Stevens
The 2025 GMC Terrain offers 29.8 cubic feet of cargo space behind the rear seats, or 63.5 with those seats folded. It's a wide, flat cargo space with a hidden floor that lifts to expose another wide compartment, perfect for emergency items or anything you want to keep out of sight.
LED lights on either side of the cargo compartment are a nice touch, as is the 12-volt power outlet. You'll also find a couple of tie-down points, but there are no other niceties like hooks for grocery bags. The available power liftgate is hands-free, opening automatically but slowly when it detects the key fob approaching.
According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the 2025 GMC Terrain manages 27 mpg combined with FWD and 25 mpg in AWD configuration. In my mixed testing in below-freezing conditions in Upstate New York, I scored 24.8 mpg on the 2025 GMC Terrain Elevation AWD.
The 2025 GMC Terrain comes standard with a comprehensive set of active safety systems, including automatic emergency braking and adaptive cruise control. As of this publication, neither the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) nor the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) has rated the crashworthiness of the 2025 GMC Terrain. However, the NHTSA gave the structurally similar 2024 Terrain a maximum five-star overall safety rating.
The 2025 GMC Terrain pricing starts at $31,395 for the FWD Elevation or $33,395 for the AWD trim, plus a $1,395 destination charge. For 2025, Elevation is the only trim available, with Denali and AT4 coming for the 2026 model year.
In the JD Power 2024 Initial Quality Study (IQS), the Chevrolet Equinox ranks highest in the Compact SUV segment. The GMC Terrain and the Hyundai Tucson are the next highest-ranked models.
In the JD Power 2024 Automotive Performance, Execution and Layout (APEAL) Study, the Kia EV6 ranks highest in the Compact SUV segment. The Mitsubishi Outlander and the Kia Sportage are the next highest-ranked models.
Other 2025 Terrain competitors include the Buick Envision, Honda CR-V, Hyundai Tucson, Mazda CX-50, Nissan Rogue, Subaru Forester, and Toyota RAV4.
Photo: Tim Stevens
The 2025 GMC Terrain refresh provides more than just a facelift. The new interior and software experience raise the tech bar in a rig that delivers a more truck-like look and feel than many other SUVs in this segment. Meanwhile, its starting price keeps it right in the same ballpark as strong competitors like the Honda CR-V and Mazda CX-50. However, the basic lane-keeping assistance system and the ho-hum driving dynamics keep it from earning top marks in a brutally competitive segment.
Tim Stevens is a veteran automotive and technology journalist with over 25 years of experience covering everything from smartphones to supercars. In addition to JDPower.com, his expert perspectives have appeared in numerous national and international outlets, including print, online, and broadcast television.
