2025 GMC Canyon

There are no small trucks anymore. They've all been replaced by "midsize" trucks like the 2025 GMC Canyon and its competitors -- which are longer and taller than the full-size trucks of the early 2000s.

And most of them come standard with shorter (5-foot) beds than the compact trucks that used to be available.

They're also a lot more expensive -- and the GMC Canyon is no exception.

What It Is

The Canyon is the GMC version of the Chevy Colorado pickup. You can also say it the other way because it amounts to the same thing. They're both midsize pickups made by General Motors that are basically the same truck, with a few styling, trim and pricing differences.

The Canyon -- being a GMC -- comes with more standard features and a higher starting price: $38,4900 for the base Elevation trim (with two-wheel drive) versus $31,900 for the base Work Truck iteration of the Colorado.

There are only two other Canyon trims -- the first being the $45,700 AT4, which comes standard with four-wheel drive and a locking rear differential. You can also opt for the AT4X offroad package ($8,600) that adds 17-inch beadlock-capable wheels with 35-inch mud-terrain tires, a locking front differential, full-size spare, steel front and rear bumpers with tow recovery hooks, upgraded skid plates and a 1-inch lift with upgraded "Multimatic DSSV" shocks.

The last -- or third, depending on how you look at it -- is the top-of-the-line (and luxury-themed) Denali, which stickers for $52,000. It comes standard with 4WD and 20-inch wheels with specific interior and exterior trim.

Regardless of trim, all Canyons are sold only in crew cab (four full-size doors) form with a 5-foot bed. The standard drivetrain in all trims is a turbocharged 2.7-liter four paired with an eight-speed automatic.

What's New for 2025

The Canyon carries over pretty much the same from last year; the previously available optional diesel engine is no longer available; ditto the previously available 3.6-liter V6 and the previously standard 2.5-liter four-cylinder without a turbo.

What's Good

-- Standard turbocharged four-cylinder engine is more powerful than the V8 engines available in full-size trucks back in the '90s.

-- Pulls almost as much as a full-size truck.

-- Crew cab configuration has room for five or six.

What's Not So Good

-- More expensive than full-size trucks of the '90s.

-- Bed (just 5 feet) is smaller than the 6-foot beds that came standard in the compact trucks that used to be available.

-- No more optional engines.

Under the Hood

Every Canyon (like every Colorado) comes standard with a 2.7-liter, turbocharged four-cylinder engine -- it's the same engine that's standard in the Chevy Silverado 1500 -- that touts 310 horsepower and 430 foot-pounds of torque, paired with an eight-speed automatic transmission.

On the plus side, this engine is very strong. Strong enough to endow the Canyon with a standard 7,700-pound maximum tow rating. To put that in some historical perspective, the compact trucks you used to be able to buy -- models like the last-generation Nissan Frontier, the Ford Ranger and Toyota Tacoma -- generally came standard with a 3,500-pound tow rating, and the most they could tow was 5,000 pounds.

On the downside, this strong-armed capability doesn't come free -- or even at low cost. The Canyon's strong-arm capability is of no use if you can't afford to buy the thing. And part of the reason why many people can't is because the Canyon now comes standard -- and only -- with that strong-armed 2.7-liter turbocharged engine.

The Canyon used to be available with a standard 2.5-liter four-cylinder engine that only made 200 horsepower -- which used to be considered a lot of horsepower. It didn't have a turbocharger. It also did not come with a base price just shy of $30,000. With the 2.5-liter four (and a six-speed transmission), a 2022 Canyon -- the last year the 2.5-liter engine was available -- stickered for $28,700.

And it was still rated to pull 7,000 pounds.

So you're not getting substantially more towing capability for the higher price. But you are getting more power -- and quicker acceleration. Equipped with the 2.7-liter turbo engine, the 2WD Canyon can get to 60 mph in about 7.4 seconds. The 4WD versions -- being heavier -- get there closer to eight seconds. Either way, that's easily two seconds quicker to 60 mph than the Canyon was when it was available with the 2.5-liter, 200-horsepower engine.

It's also not any thirstier.

Equipped with the 2.7-liter turbo engine, a 2WD Canyon rates 19 mpg city, 23 mpg highway; the Canyon with the 2.5-liter four (and no turbo) touted 19 mpg city, 25 mpg highway.

So at least you're not paying more for gas.

On the Road

When it came out in 2004 -- as the replacement for the S-10, which was a compact truck -- the Canyon/Colorado was still a midsize truck. Technically, it still is -- because it is smaller than the current crop of supersized full-size trucks.

But it is a big truck.

More finely, a long truck -- 213.2 inches long (versus 192.4 inches for the 2004 Canyon/Colorado -- which is nearly as long as an early 2000s full-size truck. But it is not yet as wide -- and that makes it feel less huge when you're driving it on a narrow country road with one lane in each direction.

Height is another matter.

All 2025 Canyons are lifted. Meaning, jacked up. This stupid trend emulates the equally stupid supersizing trend. The 2025 Canyon is just shy of 80 inches tall. To put that in some perspective, a 2004 Canyon was 65.2 inches tall. Yes, you read that right. Not a typo. The '25 is that jacked up.

Yes, being jacked up means you have more clearance, which helps offroad and in deep (unplowed) snow. But it also makes the thing more top-heavy and unwieldy-feeling on road, at highway speeds and in the curves. And it makes it harder to get in and out of. Same goes for getting stuff in (and out of) the bed; more about that below.

Theres's not a shortage of power, however, the turbo four's torque output being greater than that of most V8s made through the early 2000s. But the manual transmission you used to be able to get is gone, of course -- and that makes the driving experience less engaging -- in addition to making the Canyon more expensive than full-size trucks used to be.

At the Curb

The Canyon is long -- and short -- in that it only comes with a short (5-foot) bed. That's because it only comes in crew cab (four full-size doors) configuration, which doesn't leave much room for much bed. As it is, the Canyon is already 213.2 inches long. Adding another foot to that length (to allow for a 6-foot bed) would increase the total to about 225 inches, and that would result in a "midsize" truck longer than an early 2000s full-size truck.

That raises the obvious question: Why not just get a full-size truck?

Well, because those trucks are supersized now. The current (2025) GMC Sierra 1500 -- which is the GMC badged version of the Chevy Silverado -- is 211 inches long for the regular cab iteration with a 6-foot bed. The double cab iteration -- with a 6-foot bed -- is 231.9 inches long. A crew cab with a 6.6-foot bed is 241.5-inches long.

The Rest

The base Elevation trim is the only iteration of the Canyon that is available with 2WD. Put another way, it's the only way to skip paying extra for 4WD.

The Bottom Line

The Canyon is a nice truck for those who can afford it -- and don't really need a truck for the kind of work people used to buy trucks for. It's more for play -- not that there's anything wrong with that.

If you can afford that.

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Eric's latest book, "Doomed: Good Cars Gone Wrong!" will be available soon. To find out more about Eric and read his past columns, please visit the Creators Syndicate webpage at www.creators.com.