GMC Canyon AT4X Take ‘Roids, Earns 3 Letters

It’s a great time to be a fan of midsize trucks with an off-road bent. Ford has finally Raptor-ized the Ranger, we know Toyota has tricks up its sleeve for the next-gen Tacoma, and General Motors has numerous dirt-road variants of its Colorado/Canyon cousins.

The latest? What appears to be an AEV variant of the already-capable Canyon AT4X.

First, a primer. The AT4X is the new king o’ the hill in Canyonland, packing a set of those tremendous DSSV Multimatic dampers which first appeared for pickup truck duty on the Chevy Colorado ZR2 about five years ago. This time around, GMC dealers get to play in the dirt with an equivalent variant, equipped with that trick suspension and a raft of other off-road goodies.

Appending the letters AEV to any GMC AT4X truck is a ticket to equipping the thing with features and tools one generally plucks from an aftermarket catalog. Above and beyond the standard AT4X is gear such as stamped-steel bumpers, accessory winch capability, extra-stout steel bash plates, and the typical smattering of special badges. Aggro-grade wheels and tires further set the thing apart.

Alert readers will recall the last-gen Colorado had a burly Bison package to layer on top of the ZR2 trim. Checking the Bison box gifted the truck off-road items similar to those described for the AEV, though it is worth noting the Bison was introduced first as part of a collab between GM and Dave Harrington, the boss of American Expedition Vehicles. Engineers at The General essentially tossed him the keys to a new ZR2 and told him to equip it as he would if it were his own truck and planning a tough off-road journey. In quick succession, the Bison name migrated to other pickups in the Chevy lineup.

It didn’t take long for an equivalent effort – simply called AEV – to appear in GMC showrooms. If you think that decision was a result of GMC dealers whinging to RenCen for a Bison of their own, you’re probably right. There was a covered prototype on display at a GMC event attended by this author a few weeks ago; it’s safe to say this thing will have presence on the trail.

The introduction of a Canyon AT4X AEV on July 6th will complete a trifecta of burly off-roaders for GMC: the Canyon, Silverado 1500, and Silverado HD can now all be equipped with the package.

[Image: GMC]

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