[S4gunn]

Hi:
A friend has just been offered a 2014 GMC Terrain. Do you folks have any opinion of this vehicle?
* I know basic answer to any offer of a free car is "yes, I'll take it" but acquisition would require shipping from FL to SF, CA (approx $1500). This is fine b/c I suspect that even in its current condition, the 4Runner could fetch that much.

* The most logical decision is to sell off this vehicle in FL and buy something better suited to use in San Francisco (small roads) but if that's not an option (it's up to the giver), I'd like to solicit some opinions on this smaller SUV.
4Runner = 15' 3.3" length / 5' 7.5" height / 5' 6.5" width
Terrain = 15' 5.3" length / 5' 6.3" height / 6' 0.8" width (may be a problem)

* I'm not sure if Terrain is a 4cyl or V6. FWD or AWD. She doesn't care about speed and while AWD would be preferred (for going to Tahoe), realistically, she and the rest of us haven't been going up to Tahoe the past few seasons because the snow sucks.
* For reference, my friend currently drives a 2000 4Runner RWD with 220K+ mi on the odo. It gets mid teens MPG which isn't very good for what she needs as a teacher and the car is probably the biggest you can easily fit into her one car garage in SF.

Q: Any opinion on the vehicle's reliability specifically? Theta platform
Q: What about the engines & trans? 2.4L 4cyl or 3.6L V6. Not sure if direct injected or belt/chain driven.


Thanks in advance for your opinions. Reviews seem to be mixed.
-g

PS. In the absence of a free car, the 4runner would likely be replaced with something like a subaru crosstrek. AWD. decent room. good MPG (30+ hwy for what it is). relatively easy to park.

 

[MadMikeyL]

As far as reliability goes, a 2014 Terrain would kind of have to be more reliable than a 2000 4Runner with 220K miles on it. Take the free car, sell the 4Runner to pay for getting it across the country and the registration, and drive the Terrain for a year before making any decision. If she likes it after a year, keep it. If she doesn't, then trade it in on the Subaru. Having seen the Terrain in person, it isn't that big of a vehicle, especially compared to some of the other SUVs out there. As for the engine/trans questions, the 3.6 is direct injected, and I haven't come across many problems with it. I have no knowledge of the 2.4, and have never seen one in a Terrain.

 

[S4gunn]

As far as reliability goes, a 2014 Terrain would kind of have to be more reliable than a 2000 4Runner with 220K miles on it. Take the free car, sell the 4Runner to pay for getting it across the country and the registration, and drive the Terrain for a year before making any decision. If she likes it after a year, keep it. If she doesn't, then trade it in on the Subaru. Having seen the Terrain in person, it isn't that big of a vehicle, especially compared to some of the other SUVs out there. As for the engine/trans questions, the 3.6 is direct injected, and I haven't come across many problems with it. I have no knowledge of the 2.4, and have never seen one in a Terrain.

Thanks for your feedback here. Noone sentimental here and we all agree on the reliability vs 4Runner. It looks like the current plan is to sell the truck in FL and not bother with shipping though; that 6" width difference makes it too large to fit in her condo's garage. Crazy eh?
-g

 

[MadMikeyL]

Yeah, that's pretty crazy. I could see if it was a Tahoe or something like that not fitting, but the Terrain is a mid-size SUV, which has kind of become the standard car these days, not something you typically think "Gee, I better check if my car will fit in the garage" when looking at a place to live.

On the bright side, selling the Terrain and the 4Runner should give her almost enough to pay for the Subaru outright, and not have to have a car loan.

 

[Raptor22]

I work at a Chevrolet dealer as a GM parts counterman. The 3.6L is an excellent powerplant and has proved very reliable over the last 10 years. We're starting to see quite a few nearing 200k miles.

 

[S4gunn]

Yeah, that's pretty crazy. I could see if it was a Tahoe or something like that not fitting, but the Terrain is a mid-size SUV, which has kind of become the standard car these days, not something you typically think "Gee, I better check if my car will fit in the garage" when looking at a place to live.

On the bright side, selling the Terrain and the 4Runner should give her almost enough to pay for the Subaru outright, and not have to have a car loan.

You haven't see the size of the garages in San Francisco
Quite a few of them are tandems. IN her case, it's deeper than the size of one car but not terribly wide.


I have a single family home here and since it's on the side of the hill, the car comes in on a lower street on the "basement" level and the main living level is above it (you can walk straight in from the higher street.

While the garage is a decent width it could have been a 2 car garage) plus a storage area....
- the tbird can barely fit inside one car garage opening (not much space to either side)
- The nose of the tbird overhangs the bottommost step at the far end that go to the main level.

Everything is smaller here.... except the rents & mortgages.

-g