2024 GMC Canyon Reviews, Pricing & Specs

The GMC Canyon appears to be the biggest little truck on the market. Stretching 213.2 inches, it’s roughly the same length as a Toyota Tacoma, and only a touch longer than a 2024 Ford Ranger. Similarly, the Canyon is 74.9 inches wide, which is in line with the competition. But the Canyon measures a startling 79.8 inches tall, meaning the Canyon stands half a foot taller than a Tacoma SR5 and 4.1 inches taller than a Tacoma TRD Pro. Even the 2024 Ford Ranger Raptor (at 75.9 inches) comes up short next to a GMC Canyon. For context, the GMC Canyon is very nearly the same height as LeBron James.

There’s a reason for the Canyon’s size. It rides on a wider track than most trucks, and every Canyon boasts at least 9.6 inches of ground clearance. The Canyon shares plenty of parts with the Chevrolet Colorado (also redesigned for the 2023 model year), but the base Colorado offers only 7.6 inches of ground clearance.

GMC sells the Canyon in four trims. The base Elevation trim comes closest to the classic understanding of a “work truck,” while the AT4 aims for a more off-road capable package, the Denali leans toward luxury, and the AT4X doubles down on the AT4’s dirt-focused intentions.

We tested a GMC Canyon AT4X with the all-new AEV package. AEV–short for American Expedition Vehicles–specializes in off-road and overlanding accessories, and it has partnered with other automakers in the past. With the AEV package, our Canyon came equipped with 35-inch all-terrain tires mounted on 17-inch beadlock-capable wheels (plus a fifth, bed-mounted spare tire), AEV-stamped front and rear bumpers, and multiple steel skidplates protecting its underside. The AEV package also adds an extra 1.5-inch lift kit, bringing our test truck’s ground clearance to an astonishing 12.2 inches.

Most automakers offer a base-trim truck with few amenities, cloth seats, and plenty of workmanlike attitude. With the Canyon, GMC keeps the attitude but skips the low-rent trims completely. Although it is equipped with cloth seats, the base-spec Elevation comes standard with dual-zone climate control, keyless entry, a tilting and telescoping steering wheel, and most notably, an 11-inch digital gauge cluster and an 11.3-inch touchscreen display.

Our AT4X test vehicle had an even more impressive interior. GMC’s Obsidian Rush upholstery has a distinctly “Air Jordan” vibe, but it’s also as high-quality as it is high-contrast. Fit and finish around the Canyon’s cabin are excellent, and the front seats feel impressively comfortable. GMC doesn’t really sell a stripped-down version of the Canyon, and the interiors of its higher-level trims look almost luxurious.

When General Motors redesigned the 2023 Chevrolet Colorado and 2023 GMC Canyon, it committed to a 2.7-liter four-cylinder engine. In the Chevy Colorado, this turbocharged engine has been tuned to three different power outputs, with the ZR2 trim level getting the top-level spec. In the Canyon, every trim level gets the most powerful iteration.

Fans of naturally aspirated engines may side-eye the Canyon’s turbo four-cylinder, but its output cannot be denied. With 310 horsepower and 430 pound-feet of torque, the little four-cylinder punches well above its weight class. In fact, the powertrain is robust enough that it also does duty as standard equipment in the larger Chevrolet Silverado 1500 and GMC Sierra 1500.

Towing capacity maxes out at 7,700 pounds, and payload tops out at 1,670 pounds. Both of those figures outgun the previous-generation Canyon, and while the payload figure is within spitting distance of the segment leaders, no midsize truck on sale today can tow more than the new Canyon.

The Canyon is nice to drive, too. Its eight-speed automatic transmission is well-suited to the turbo four-cylinder, and although its steering still showcases just enough vagueness and off-center slop to keep it feeling like a truck, the Canyon doesn’t bounce over uneven pavement or feel top-heavy through corners. While not as tidy as a crossover, the Canyon doesn’t feel unsophisticated. That’s impressive for any pickup truck, but it’s even more so given the AT4X’s massive tires and elevated lift kit.

Road and tire noise is astonishingly well dampened, and the truck’s brakes do an admirable job, even in emergency situations. The key ingredient to our Canyon’s impressive road manners was a set of Multimatic spool-valve dampers. Designed to extend the suspension’s effective range, these trick dampers successfully smooth out bumpy terrain without causing the Canyon to feel too softly sprung when it comes back to the pavement.

GMC offers rear-wheel drive (RWD) on only the Elevation trim, and every other trim level comes standard with four-wheel drive (4WD). Option a Canyon Elevation with 4WD or pick a Denali trim and you get a single-speed transfer case. The AT4 and AT4X come equipped with a two-speed transfer case, and the latter also adds front and rear lockers. Our AT4X test vehicle also included a Baja drive mode designed for high-speed off-road driving. It includes a launch control feature, which although thrilling, feels like the type of party trick best reserved for closed courses.

As impressive as the Canyon’s performance capabilities are, its fuel economy ratings remain a bit of a disaster. 19 mpg city, 23 highway, and 20 combined are the best you can expect (in a RWD Elevation), and our AT4X AEV tester came with an EPA rating of 16 mpg across the board. After 120 miles of driving, we record 13.5 mpg.

As noted earlier, the GMC Canyon offers best-in-class towing capacity. Given that the core function of a truck is tied to its ability to tow and haul, it’s safe to say that the Canyon deserves top marks in this regard.

These days, however, trucks are used for more than just work, and that’s where the Canyon begins to struggle. Yes, it’s a massively capable midsize truck, but on the inside, it doesn’t feel massive at all. Every Canyon comes configured with a four-door crew cab, but rear-seat legroom is preciously snug to the point that adults won’t be comfortable in the back seat for more than a short drive.

Further, the 5.2-foot bed offers less cargo capacity than the six-foot beds available with the Toyota Tacoma and Nissan Frontier. It is, however, larger than the new Ford Ranger’s. Of course, with the AEV package, much of our test vehicle’s usable space was eaten up by the spare tire.

That spare tire also makes reversing a bit trickier (although the Canyon does come with a very high-resolution backup camera). This feels like a great opportunity for GM’s digital rearview mirror, but unfortunately, that feature isn’t offered on the GMC Canyon.

Finally, the Canyon’s width and height may frustrate customers who spend any sort of time driving in urban areas. It may not be the size of a Silverado, but the Canyon doesn’t feel particularly tidy around town, and we weren’t able to find many Boston parking garages that could accommodate the Canyon’s height.

Not only does the 2024 GMC Canyon include a beautiful 11.3-inch touchscreen display as standard equipment, but the software also includes Google Built-in. This means that valuable apps like Google Maps and Google Assistant are available without needing to pair a phone for Android Auto or Apple CarPlay.

Of course, both Android Auto and Apple CarPlay are also included, and they’re wireless. Still, the native integration of Google puts the Canyon at the leading edge of modern infotainment technology; we expect to see Google Built-in on many (and possibly most) models in the future, so it’s great to see it arrive early in the Canyon.

There are a few quirks with GMC’s infotainment system setup, the most notable of which is the headlight controls. Typically, either the left steering-wheel stalk or a dedicated knob to the left of the wheel serves as the headlight switch. Rather than a physical control, however, the Canyon embeds the control into the infotainment software. This requires taking our eyes off the road, which we don’t like, but at least the controls are static icons that don’t move and are always available.

The Denali and AT4X trim levels benefit from a big, bright head-up display, and every trim level gets a set of off-road performance display pages with the standard infotainment software.

The NHTSA awarded the 2024 GMC Canyon an overall rating of four out of five stars in its crash-test evaluation. Frontal crash tests resulted in a four-star rating, while the side-impact test and rollover tests resulted in five and three stars, respectively.

The 2024 Canyon comes standard with automatic emergency braking with pedestrian and cyclist detection, lane-keeping assist and lane-departure warning, and a rear-seat reminder system. That’s the good news. The less-than-good news is that many other advanced driver assist systems are available only via options packages on lower trim levels.

For instance, if you want rear park assist, rear cross-traffic braking, and blind-zone steering assist on an Elevation-trim Canyon, you’ll need to fork over an extra $445 for the Canyon Safety Plus package. That’s not a ton of cash, but it feels a little like nickel-and-diming given the Canyon’s expensive starting price.

In addition to those features, our AT4X test truck also came standard with a brilliant HD surround-view camera, and its blind-spot avoidance system works with a trailer.

The Canyon can be equipped with impressive safety features but unless you opt for a high-spec trim, they’ll likely cost extra.

As noted earlier, the GMC Canyon gets pretty dreadful fuel economy, which means regular operating costs will be significant. Given many shoppers consider midsize trucks in place of full-size options because they want something more manageable, less expensive, and cheaper to run, this doesn’t bode well for the Canyon’s value proposition.

Further, GMC’s efforts to elevate the Canyon over its General Motors stablemate, the Chevrolet Colorado, result in a starting MSRP higher than most shoppers would expect. Assuming you’re willing to settle for two-wheel drive, a Canyon Elevation starts at $37,595, including its $1,595 destination fee. That also means white paint, as every other color is at least $495, with Volcanic Red Tintocat costing $645.

4WD (but keeping the white paint) lifts the Canyon Elevation’s MSRP to $40,895. The GMC Canyon AT4 trim starts at $44,595, the Denali at $52,595, and the AT4X carries a $55,895 sticker.

However, it doesn’t stop there–not even close. The AEV package adds a whopping $10,100 to the AT4X’s starting price, and after a few options, our vehicle’s as-tested price sat closer to $67,500. Admittedly, the AT4X AEV edition delivers significant off-roader capability and an extensive list of hardware, but $67,500 for a midsize pickup truck is steep no matter how you look at it, and we didn’t even have every option equipped.

Even skipping the off-road capability and accouterments of the AEV package, the Canyon is a pricey truck. Luckily, it looks and feels more upscale than many of its competitors. Consider it the MacBook Pro of the midsize truck market: yes, it’s a more capable machine than the typical MacBook, but it costs quite a bit more, too.