The 2024 GMC Canyon AT4X AEV is the biggest Canyon

UPDATE 8/2/24: This review has been updated with instrumented test results.

Some people gawk at modified trucks like the GMC Canyon AT4X and ask, “Why would anyone need such a thing?” And while we spent an afternoon slinging mud a few feet closer to the moon at an off-road park, we were too busy laughing like kids playing in a giant sandbox to ponder such rational questions.

Think of the third-generation Canyon as essentially another trim level of the Chevrolet Colorado pickup with which it shares almost all screws and buttons – even the keychain case. The main equipment that separates them are bumpers, emblems, headlights and taillights, wheels, and the Canyon’s amber lights in the center of their plastic fenders that the Colorado doesn’t have. However, like the Colorado, every Canyon is a four-door crew cab with a five-foot, two-inch bed.

The GMC was designed to be bigger than the Chevy, so it skips the Colorado’s two lowest trim levels and their less powerful versions of the 2.7-liter turbocharged four. Instead, all Canyons pack 310 horsepower and 430 pound-feet of torque from the high-output engine that Chevy saves exclusively for the Colorado’s ZR2 trim. On the Canyon Elevation, AT4, and Denali, that’s good for an impressive 7,700 pounds of maximum towing. The AT4X’s towing capacity drops to 6,000 pounds.

Kicking rocks

The Canyon AT4X AEV we tested reached 5,278 pounds. That’s 172 pounds heavier than the Colorado ZR2 that faced the new Toyota Tacoma in a comparison test, with much of that additional mass coming from the AEV’s larger 35-inch Goodyear Wrangler Territory MT mud-terrain tires (the standard AT4X and ZR2 are limited to 33s). Those tires, which give this truck its Tonka toy appearance, make it the heaviest GM midsize pickup we’ve tested, and its acceleration is a bit rougher, too.

At 7.4 seconds to 60 mph, it’s not as quick as any of the Colorado ZR2s (current or previous generation) we’ve tested. However, despite the large tires and heavy load of off-road items, it is still only a tenth of a second slower to reach 100 km/h than the Nissan Frontier Pro-4Xa trim that’s basically just an appearance package.

The story continues

The Canyon’s 50- to 70-mph time of 5.2 seconds matches that of the Frontier and Jeep Gladiator, both of which use V-6 engines. However, the 405-horsepower Ford Ranger Raptor, which costs about $10,000 less and rides on 33-inch rubber, achieves this feat in just 3.9 seconds.

The AT4X shares its brake hardware with the ZR2, employing similar 13.4-inch ventilated discs up front and 13.3-inch ventilated discs in the rear. It took the AEV 188 feet to stop from 70 mph. That’s 2 feet longer than the previous ZR2 we tested, but a whopping 30 feet shorter than the Ranger Raptor.

The AEV is a $10,100 equipment package that effectively gives the already formidable Canyon AT4X a triple plate of body armor. More on that in a moment. Larger 35-inch Goodyear Wrangler Territory MT tires wrap around the AT4X AEV’s unique 17-inch Salta cast aluminum wheels with beadlock capability. With 12.2 inches of ground clearance, the AT4X AEV sits 1.5 inches taller than the AT4X. Unfortunately, the hydraulic shock absorbers that we praised during our ZR2 Bison trip It doesn’t come standard here like it does on the Chevy.

We can’t emphasize this enough: Multimatic DSSV spool valve shocks make this luxury pickup an absolute peach on the streets. Even on the more medieval sections of I-94 near our office, the AT4X AEV’s shock absorbers eliminate the pain. Despite the larger tires and added weight, our test truck managed 0.72 g of lateral grip on the skidpad. It’s better than the Ranger Raptor and tied with the Colorado ZR2 we recently tested.

Even while spinning the AEV’s fat tires at highway speeds, this GMC is extremely quiet, with an interior sound measurement of 67 decibels at 70 mph — something that Broncos, Wranglers and Gladiators, all machines that come with removable tops and doors, , they may not be able to.

We also spent a few hours riding the AT4X on slippery, rock-strewn off-road trails near Big Sky, Montana. The trails required slow movement of 5 to 10 mph, but admittedly it wasn’t a big deal. Jeep Wrangler Sport or a Ford Bronco Big Bend couldn’t handle it. The more technical sections required the use of 4Lo. Using the Canyon’s single-pedal Terrain mode in L1 or L2 brings an aggressive automated stop when you lift off the throttle. L3 is more like a normal crawl and doesn’t stop the truck immediately, making it smoother. Still, the terrain strikes us as something you’d use for occasional slippery descents rather than an entire section of trail.

AEV: More cards, more equipment

The partnership with American Expedition Vehicles – which fills an impressive catalog of aftermarket overlanding parts for Jeeps, Broncos and Rams (and Famous for fitting into a pickup bed it is a 6.4-liter V-8 in a Wrangler before the Jeep) – adds difficult things to the Canyon.

The AT4X AEV is effectively the GMC Bison ZR2. He uses as much body protection as an NHL goaltender. There’s also a marginal improvement here in approach, departure and advancement angles, thanks to the AEV hot-stamped steel front and rear bumpers, which the parts maker claims are tougher than getting out of a warm sleeping bag at 3 in the morning to use the bathroom.

The full-size spare is mounted vertically in the bed, where it blocks about 50% of the rear window. This seems like an obvious opportunity to showcase GM’s rearview mirror camera, found in models like the Chevy Corvette, Cadillac Escalade, and even the Sierra HD AT4X AEV, but it’s not available here. For AT4X AEV owners, then, the look back is always 315/70R-17.

Every Canyon AT4X AEV comes standard with three auxiliary connections on the dash panel for aftermarket upgrade. Switches are optional on AT4X models.

The headrests of the AT4X AEV are sewn with the company logo. While the red buttons and switches add style to the interior, the door panels and dashboard have the same plasticky feel as the cheaper models. The 11.3-inch infotainment screen with built-in Google looks good, but it can take on a lot of responsibility (operating the headlights, for example). The front seats are heated and ventilated, and the heated steering wheel gets hot enough to fry an egg.

The not-so-macho AT4X starts at $55,895, about $7,500 more expensive than a Colorado ZR2, but our $68,030 AEV test truck is as rich as the gold in the hills. For some buyers, the price alone will be too high a mountain to climb, especially for a smaller-than-average truck. For others, it’s just the price you have to pay to experience the joy and laughter that comes with off-roading in such a capable package.

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