For anyone reading this abroad: in Canada, we have a popular chain of restaurants called Swiss Chalet, known for their rotisserie chicken, and loved for their Chalet sauce (a thin gravy with a cinnamon-ish spice). I recently had a take-out Swiss Chalet meal for the first time in my adult life, and it was a letdown. It wasn’t bad by any stretch, but it was pretty mid, as the kids say, and wasn’t even particularly good value for what we got. Very much like Tim Horton’s coffee, we only bought it because it was right there and convenient at that given moment, but I wouldn’t want it again – you can get better chicken pretty much anywhere else. That’s kind of how I felt about the 2025 GMC Terrain Denali.

The GMC Terrain entered an all-new generation for 2024, and for 2025 GMC added trims like this Denali to broaden its appeal. On paper, the Terrain Denali should be the compact SUV for buyers who want something a little sharper, a little nicer, and a little more premium than the average mainstream compact crossover. Unfortunately, very much like Canada’s chosen chicken, the driving experience does little to justify either the badge or the price. As tested, this Terrain Denali came in at $49,994, which puts it squarely into territory where expectations rise quickly.

It looks good in the ads

Visually, this Terrain Denali works. The redesigned Terrain looks clean, upright, and appropriately substantial for a modern compact SUV, and Denali-specific details elevate it further. The grille, wheels, and brightwork give it a more upscale presence without going overboard. It looks every bit like a premium small sport-ute, and arguably more cohesive than some of its competitors trying too hard to look aggressive or futuristic.

If first impressions were based purely on exterior design, the Terrain Denali would be off to a very strong start. Just don’t look too closely; the orange peel on the paint makes it look like it was finished in a hurry; it’s quite visible on the hood and around the model badge.

It looks good on your table

Inside, the story is similarly positive at first blush. The cabin design is attractive and laid out well, with a GMC-flavoured version of GM’s new generation of Android Automotive user interface front and centre. The 15-inch screen looks good, responds well, and is paired with physical HVAC controls that are easy to use while driving. The 11-inch digital gauge cluster appears to have a slightly improved refresh rate compared to other GM systems, though it still lacks the fluidity and polish of the best setups in the segment.

Materials and fit are acceptable and even quite good for this class, but this is where the Denali branding starts to feel a bit thin. The leather seats are flat and lack meaningful support, especially if you’re lanky like me. They look lovely, but do not deliver the kind of comfort or contouring you might expect at this price point. GM’s switchgear has never been a strong point, and it still isn’t – but overall it looks and generally feels nice, if maybe a touch underwhelming once you’ve had time to digest it.

Where the Terrain does shine is in usability. Rear seat space is generous, cargo room is excellent, and interior storage solutions are well thought out. As a practical, convenient commuter, with smart voice recognition, usable tech, excellent surround-view cameras, lots of room, and remote start with automatic heated steering and heated seat engagement, it ticks the right boxes in a modern compact crossover.

But the chicken is dry

The 1.5-litre turbocharged four-cylinder engine that powers all GMC Terrains is a letdown. I’m going to be charitable and say I’m fairly certain this particular vehicle needs repair, as it has a pronounced and unsettling wobbling feeling when accelerating from low speeds, and I don’t remember its corporate sibling in the Chevy Equinox exhibiting this behaviour. While a mechanical fault is disappointing in a new vehicle with hardly any mileage, it’s decidedly less embarrassing than if this is what passes for normal.

None of GM’s new generation of small engines sound pleasant, and this one sounds particularly unhappy when asked for any kind of urgency. With a pokey 175 horsepower on tap and 203 foot-pounds of torque if and when it feels like it, it’s not capable of delivering anything resembling urgency, anyway. This Terrain Denali has active noise cancellation, so it is at least fairly quiet when driven leisurely, if sounding and feeling a little unnatural. 

The 8-speed automatic transmission is fine, but it can’t do enough to help stop the tide of disappointment. The observed fuel economy during testing came in at  11.1L/100 km, which feels unjustifiable given how gutless the vehicle is – its competitors are all more efficient, or match it while offering substantially more power, and sometimes both. Making matters worse, all-wheel drive still isn’t automatic and must be manually selected, which feels outdated in 2025 and out of step with every other competitor that can manage this on their own. 

And the fries are soggy

Under normal conditions, the Terrain is generally fine and inoffensive, but it has curious quirk where it will slam-bang over speed bumps if taken a touch too fast, and often the difference the between cruising over and crashing down is minute – it bears reiterating that I’m not exactly flying anywhere in this thing. It’s so bad that I would also think this was also broken, were it not for the fact that I’ve observed this same fault in multiple other small GM crossovers. But, if you baby it over speed bumps, and don’t have any big heaving expansion joints on your commute, you might not notice and not be offended at any point.

Maybe. There is also a sense that the rear end is a touch underdamped, moving around more than it should over uneven pavement – not nearly as bad as some Lincolns, but it’s noticeable if you’re used to a more carefully executed product. Steering does the Terrain no favours either. There’s no feedback, no engagement, and no sense of connection between driver and road. I understand the importance of brand identity and making your products across a portfolio feel cohesive, but their base point for steering calibration seems to be their insanely heavy EV trucks, which is… a curious decision. 

Wrap it up

The 2025 GMC Terrain Denali is an SUV that looks far better than it drives. It’s handsome, practical, and well equipped, but its value proposition collapses once you start moving. The powertrain is weak and inefficient, the road manners are unremarkable, and the driving experience offers zero satisfaction. The powertrain feels joyless, characterless, and out of place in a near-$50,000 vehicle. This is not a vehicle that encourages you to enjoy driving, or even care much about it.

Like a Two Can Dine combo from Swiss Chalet, the 2025 GMC Terrain Denali looks the part and ticks the right boxes, while failing to hit all the right notes, and leaves you wondering why you paid for this. Yes, there is chicken, fries, bread, but the chicken is dry and under-seasoned, the fries look good but are soggy, and the bread is whatever because it’s bread, and all the Chalet sauce in the world can’t make up for it.

At $19.99, or fifty grand, you can do a lot better. Whether it’s a little Portuguese chicken place that you’ve “been meaning to check out” for years, or literally any other car dealership, you owe it yourself to at least try something different before settling on this. It isn’t bad (…except for the parts that sound/feel broken), but it isn’t good enough to be good enough when the competition is doing it better. Much like the Chalet only appeals to people who don’t actually care about cuisine, the 2025 GMC Terrain Denali will appeal mainly to buyers who either don’t care about driving, or don’t know what they’re missing. Being a GMC Denali, it purports to be a finer thing, but it’s only fine if you’re fine with fine, I guess.