The GMC Canyon is a midsize pickup truck that was introduced in 2004, when it replaced the slightly smaller Sonoma. As with almost all General Motors vehicles, the Canyon has a lot in common with its corporate sibling, Chevrolet. In this case, the Canyon is the equivalent of the Chevy Colorado, though in its second generation, the Canyon began to distinguish itself by offering more luxurious trim levels.
The Canyon gives shoppers a smaller and more affordable alternative to the full-sized GMC Sierra. It could be the right-sized choice for those who don't need as much utility and off-road prowess, and will also save them money at the gas pump. On top of that, it's easier to maneuver, which could make it a smarter choice for city-bound owners. There's something to be said for choosing the smallest vehicle that meets your needs, and the GMC Canyon is a good example of that.
GMC Canyon Buying Guide: Cost, Reliability, and the Best Years to Buy
- Frequently Asked Questions
- GMC Canyon Pros and Cons
- GMC Canyon generations
- Third generation (2023 - present)
- Second generation (2015 - 2022)
- First generation (2004 - 2012)
Frequently Asked Questions
Which GMC Canyon years are the best?
The current third-generation is easily the best GMC Canyon. This is really no surprise, because it benefits greatly from decades of development and evolution. With smarter technology and engineering, the latest Canyons are more powerful, more efficient, and safer than any of their predecessors. Were it not for its elevated price, it could challenge the related Chevrolet Colorado and the Ford Ranger for class-leading status.
Which GMC Canyon years are the worst?
We'd suggest avoiding the first-generation GMC Canyons, because they were blighted by a weak base engine, compromised comfort, and an interior that couldn't compete with rivals of the time. On top of that, some disappointing crash test scores should concern potential shoppers. While Canyon models of this vintage may be affordable, you'd be better served by the Toyota Tacoma and Nissan Frontier alternatives.
Is the GMC Canyon a good deal?
One of the more prominent advantages the GMC Canyon held over most of its history has been its elevated sense of luxury. This is especially true of the top Denali trims that were added in the second generation. If refinement is a priority for you, then the Canyon could make sense from a financial standpoint. The issue we see is that the majority of pickup truck shoppers place utility and off-road capabilities higher on their wish lists, and the Canyon doesn't stand out from other trucks in this regard. Luxury is more expensive, and paying more for something you don't necessarily need seems unnecessary.
GMC Canyon Pros and Cons
Pros:
- Luxurious top trims
- Impressive off-road models
- Wide variety of models and trim levels
Cons:
- More expensive than its Chevrolet Colorado twin
- Past versions trailed contemporary rivals
- Early models had poor crash test scores
GMC Canyon generations
Third generation (2023 - present)
The third-generation GMC Canyon debuted for the 2023 model year and was offered only as a four-door crew cab with a five-foot bed. It was easy to tell this Canyon apart from the second-generation model, thanks to its very different exterior styling that featured narrow LED accent lights atop the actual headlights, with surrounding bodywork elements that converged toward a central point in the large rectangular grille. It had a hint of familial ties to the full-sized GMC Sierra 1500 of the time, and enough of its own personality to distinguish it from the related Chevrolet Colorado, which debuted in the same year.
All Canyon models were powered by a turbocharged 2.7-liter four-cylinder engine that produced 310 horsepower and 430 lb-ft of torque, paired with an eight-speed automatic transmission. The base Elevation trim started out with rear-wheel drive (RWD), with four-wheel drive (4WD) and a single-speed transfer case available as an option. The higher GMC Canyon trim levels came standard with 4WD and a two-speed transfer case.
Unlike most other pickup trucks, the 2023 Canyon did not have a stripped-down and affordable work truck version, though the nearly identical Chevrolet Colorado did offer one. The entry-level Canyon Elevation trim was far from basic, as it had plenty of off-road equipment. Standard feature highlights included 18-inch wheels with all-terrain tires, an off-road suspension, a remote-locking tailgate, keyless entry/ignition, an eight-inch digital instrument panel, an 11.3-inch infotainment touchscreen, and wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. Standard safety features included frontal collision warning with automatic emergency braking and lane-keep assist.
The Canyon AT4 trim added remote ignition, hill descent control, heated mirrors, a sliding rear window, a household power outlet in the bed, and the EZ Lift tailgate—which gently deployed and gave an assist when closing. On the inside, it benefited from dual-zone automatic climate control, a power-adjustable driver’s seat, heated front seats, and additional USB charge ports.
The AT4X package took off-road abilities further, adding 17-inch wheels with improved all-terrain mud tires, locking front and rear differentials, underbody skid plates, side rock slider rails, a raised suspension with adaptive Multimatic DSSV dampers, a spray-in bedliner, a trailer hitch receiver, and an integrated trailer brake controller. Safety and driver assist enhancements included adaptive cruise control, a 360-degree camera system, rear parking proximity sensors, and a blind-spot monitor with rear cross-traffic warning and steering intervention.
On the inside, the AT4X also upgraded to a larger 11-inch instrument panel, a head-up display, leather upholstery, a wireless charging pad, a heated steering wheel, ventilated front seats, and a Bose premium audio system. In its inaugural year, this trim was eligible for the Edition 1 package that added beadlock wheels, an LED light bar, a front-mounted power winch, front brush guards, additional underbody camera views, cargo bed rails, and accessory switches.
At the top of the lineup was the more luxurious Canyon Denali trim. It went without many of the off-road features and went with chrome exterior accents, 20-inch wheels, and a smarter interior.
The 2024 Canyon included the larger digital instrument panel on all models and added trailer coverage to its blind-spot monitor. That year also pushed off-road prowess to even higher limits with the Canyon AT4X AEV package that included the beadlock wheels, 35-inch tires, a bed-mounted full-size spare tire, front and rear recovery hooks, and stronger skid plates.
Power specs were impressive for a midsize pickup, especially torque. The Elevation and Denali trims could hit 60 mph in around 6.5 seconds, which is brisk for the class, while the more off-road-focused models sacrificed some performance—they trailed that acceleration time by about two seconds and weren't as agile on the road.
Not surprisingly, the extra power resulted in slightly lower fuel economy estimates. The EPA rated the RWD Canyon at 18 mpg in the city, 23 mpg on the highway, and 20 mpg in combined driving. The 4WD model was estimated as high as 17/21 mpg city/highway and 19 mpg combined. With increased all-terrain capabilities came reduced efficiency, with the AT4X dropping to 16 mpg across the board.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) awarded the GMC Canyon four out of five stars in overall and frontal crash protection, five stars for side impacts, and only three stars in rollover tests. Curiously, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) had not evaluated the third-generation Canyon as of this writing.
In its debut 2023 year, the Canyon was issued safety recalls for seatbelt anchors, over-tightened front wheel hubs, and phantom braking from the frontal collision mitigation system. Those were addressed for the 2024 model year, though it received recalls or a headlight flickering issue and a fuel pump leak. All problems were solved for 2025 GMC Canyons.
With limited data in only a couple years of production, we don't yet have a complete picture of how well the third-Generation GMC Canyon retains its value. The initial 2023 model year points to it depreciating at a faster rate than other midsize pickup trucks, but that‘s also dependent on the trim level.
Second generation (2015 - 2022)
The second-generation GMC Canyon arrived in time for the 2015 model year, looking more like a traditional pickup truck than its predecessor and successor. Its blocky appearance mimicked that of the full-sized GMC Sierra, with vast expanses of upright body panels, which made it look bigger than it really was. This Canyon was available as either a four-passenger extended cab or a five-passenger crew cab with a 6’2” bed. The crew cab was also offered with a shorter 5’3” bed.
The Canyon was initially available with a choice of two engines. The base powertrain was a 2.5-liter four-cylinder that produced 200 horsepower and 191 lb-ft of torque. Most models had a six-speed automatic transmission and were offered with rear-wheel drive (RWD) or four-wheel drive (4WD) with a two-speed transfer case. The RWD extended cab was also eligible for a six-speed manual transmission. An optional 3.6-liter V6 produced 305hp and 269 lb-ft of torque. Properly equipped, the four-cylinder Canyon could tow as much as 3,500 pounds, while the V6 was rated at 7,000 lbs.
The Canyon was also split into four trim levels. The base SL trim was your typical work truck with essentials such as 16-inch alloy wheels, air conditioning, cloth seat upholstery, a power-adjustable driver's seat, vinyl floor coverings, and a 4.2-inch infotainment display. The next trim level was confusingly called the Canyon trim, and added rear jump seats (extended cab only) along with carpeted floors. It was also eligible for the optional Convenience package that included keyless entry, cruise control, and an EZ-Lift tailgate.
The SLE trim stepped things up with 17-inch wheels, fog lights, a folding rear bench (crew cab only), a smarter interior with fewer hard plastics, an eight-inch touchscreen, an upgraded sound system, satellite radio, additional USB charge ports, a wifi hotspot, OnStar telematics, and Siri Eyes Free control for iPhones. The top SLT trim added automatic climate control, leather seats, a power-adjustable front passenger seat, and heated front seats.
The SLE trim was eligible for the All-Terrain package option that upgraded to all-terrain tires, an off-road-tuned suspension, a locking rear differential, hill descent control, front recovery hooks, and power-adjustable heated front seats. A Driver Alert package added frontal collision and blind-spot warnings. The SLT trim was further eligible for a sliding rear window and a navigation system.
In 2016, a 2.8-liter four-cylinder Duramax turbo-diesel engine was made available for the crew cab SLE and SLT trims. It produced 181hp and a hearty 369 lb-ft of torque. This increased the Canyon's towing capacity to 7,700 lbs and was bolstered by an optional exhaust braking system and an integrated trailer brake controller. Apple CarPlay was another addition, but only for these higher trim levels.
For the 2017 model year, the V6 engine received a slight boost in output to 308hp and 275 lb-ft of torque, paired with an eight-speed automatic transmission. A new luxurious Denali trim was also added to the lineup. It included 20-inch chrome wheels, a spray-in bedliner, ventilated front seats, a heated steering wheel, the Driver Alert package, a Bose premium audio system, and a wireless charging pad. The following year, the rearview camera was upgraded with trailering assist guidelines, and the smaller infotainment screen was increased to seven inches.
The entire infotainment system received a makeover for 2019 and included Apple CarPlay and Android Auto as standard. A remote-locking tailgate was added to the available features list in 2020. For 2021, the trim levels were rearranged and renamed Elevation Standard, Elevation, and AT4, while the Denali continued. The AT4 trim essentially took the place of the All-Terrain package and added underbody skid plates. The Denali also added rear parking proximity sensors. In the final year of the second-generation Canyon, the Denali added an optional Black Edition package that gave it a darker aesthetic.
For its initial 2015 model year, the four-cylinder RWD Canyon with the automatic transmission was estimated to return 20/26 mpg city/highway, and 22 mpg in combined driving. The manual transmission was nearly identical, while adding 4WD had minimal impact, coming in at 19/24 mpg city/highway and 21 mpg combined. The RWD V6 wasn't far behind, at 18/25 mpg city/highway and 21 mpg combined. With 4WD, those figures drop to 17/24 mpg city/highway and 20 mpg combined.
The RWD turbo-diesel engine was the mileage leader, with an EPA-estimated 22/30 mpg city/highway, and 25 mpg combined. Adding 4WD reduced those estimates by two mpg. For the rest of the production run, the Canyon's fuel economy estimates only varied by one or two mpg.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) gave the 2015 GMC Canyon four out of five stars in overall and frontal crash protection, five stars for side impacts, and only three stars in rollover tests. These scores remained consistent through 2022. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) awarded its highest score of "Good" to the crew cab in all crash tests except for the fairly new small frontal overlap test, where it scored the second-worst rating of "Marginal". The extended cab fared slightly better with the second-best score of "Acceptable" in the small overlap and side impact tests.
As is typical for almost any vehicle, the inaugural 2015 model year saw more safety recalls than other years. These included issues with the power steering, a fuel pump leak, a brake fluid leak, the airbags, and seat anchors. The fuel pump recall was finally addressed in 2019, and the following years saw only a few more recalls issued for seatbelt bolts and the front passenger seat frame.
For the most part, GMC Canyons of this generation depreciate at a faster rate than rival midsize pickups in their class. One outlier is the 2022 crew cab, which managed to retain more of its value at the time of this writing.
First generation (2004 - 2012)
The GMC Canyon debuted in 2004, replacing the smaller Sonoma. It was available in either regular, extended, or crew cab. The regular and extended cab models came with a six-foot bed, while the crew cab had a standard five-foot bed. They looked almost identical to the Chevrolet Colorado, which was also introduced that year, and are easily recognizable for their split headlights enclosed behind transparent plastic coverings.
While the exterior was appropriately brawny, the interior was a bit of a disappointment. This was primarily due to the liberal use of hard plastics, which represented a significant downgrade from the Toyota Tacoma and Nissan Frontier of the time. The Canyon's power output also lagged behind these rivals.
The base engine was a 2.8-liter four-cylinder that produced 175 horsepower and 185 lb-ft of torque. A five-speed manual transmission was standard, with a four-speed automatic available as an option. The Canyon started with a rear-wheel drive (RWD) layout, and four-wheel drive (4WD) was optional and came with a two-speed transfer case. Properly equipped, the Canyon could only tow up to 4,000 pounds.
A 3.5-liter five-cylinder was also available, and produced 220hp and 225 lb-ft of torque. Shoppers could choose between a standard suspension or a Z71 upgrade for more ground clearance and improved off-road abilities. The Z71 package also added a locking rear differential, larger tires, and underbody skid plates.
Two trim levels were initially offered, though a basic Work Truck trim was available for commercial customers. The SL trim's feature highlights included 15-inch alloy wheels, cloth front bench upholstery, vinyl flooring, and a power-adjustable driver's seat. The SLE added cruise control, a CD player, front bucket seats, upgraded cloth upholstery, carpeting, and folding rear seats (extended and crew cab models).
In its second year, a top SLT trim joined the lineup, adding a power-adjustable front passenger seat, an auto-dimming rearview mirror, and leather seat upholstery. A ZQ8 package was also added as a counterpoint to the Z71 off-road package. The ZQ8 was focused on street performance and switched to a lower sport suspension, 18-inch wheels with performance tires, and a more responsive steering system. For the 2007 model year, the base engine was upgraded to a 2.9-liter four-cylinder that produced 185hp and 190 lb-ft of torque. The five-cylinder was also increased to 3.7 liters, which pushed output to 242hp and 242 lb-ft of torque.
The GMC Canyon received a series of upgrades in 2009, with a minor styling refresh, the addition of a new 300hp V8 engine, improvements to the braking system, and standard satellite radio and stability control for all models. The SL trim was also renamed the Work Truck, was available to the general public, and downgraded to 16-inch steel wheels. For 2010, side curtain airbags were added as standard equipment, and in 2011, Bluetooth and OnStar telematics were included. In its final 2012 year, the first-generation Canyon added bucket seats to the SLE trim, and an automatic locking rear differential came with 4WD models.
At launch, the four-cylinder engine with the manual transmission was estimated to return as much as 18 mpg city, 24 mpg highway, and 21 mpg in combined driving. Adding 4WD blunted those figures by two mpg. The automatic transmission was estimated at 16/23 mpg city/highway and 18 mpg combined, and the 4WD version sacrificed only two mpg in highway miles. The five-cylinder engine was rated at 18 mpg combined for the manual and 17 mpg for the automatic.
The 2007 power bump had little effect on efficiency, reducing estimates by one mpg for the four-cylinder. The V8 engine was estimated at 15/21 mpg city highway and 17 mpg in combined driving. Adding 4WD resulted in a drop of only about one mpg.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) gave most GMC Canyons four stars in frontal crash tests, driver protection in side impacts, and rollover prevention. Side impacts for the front passenger received five stars. The crew cab Canyon was awarded five stars in frontal collisions. In later years, side impact scores dropped to three stars.
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) gave the extended cab its best score of "Good" in frontal crash tests, but the crew cab struggled by comparison. It was given the second-best score of "Acceptable" in the same test, the lowest "Poor" rating in side impacts, and "Marginal" scores for roof strength.
The second-generation GMC Canyon initially received recalls for child seat anchors and brake lights. The brake lights were addressed in 2009, though the seat anchor problem persisted through 2011. Other issues that popped up included recalls for the fuel system, hood latch, rear axle, and wiper motors.
Over the years, these GMC Canyons depreciated at a faster rate than other pickup trucks in its class. In the 2020s, their value retention improved, though that could be attributed to the worldwide drop in production and a depletion of used vehicle reserves.
