Gear Review: GMC Canyon Denali

By: Tracy Breen

Over the last decade, I have driven many vehicles on long hunting trips. Most of the trips I have taken have been with hunting buddies and in every case, I was testing out a full size vehicle of some kind. In most cases, it was a full size pickup truck. This year, I had the opportunity to do a review on a GMC Canyon Denali. At first, I was nervous for several reasons. This is a mid-size pickup truck; not a full size truck. I was taking my family with me on a hunting trip to Florida. Yup, it was going to be a long trip and I have a wife and two wild and crazy boys that are both under the age of 11. I was a little worried at first.

There was no need to worry. Although the truck is a long way from being a full-size pickup truck, it isn’t compact either. The cab is fairly roomy and although the truck I received was a short box, there was enough room in the box for all of our clothes, a shotgun, and a bow. I also had a cooler, lots of camera gear and hunting equipment.

The peppy V6 in the truck has plenty of power to haul a lot of gear and enough power to haul a small trailer if needed. Having a vehicle with some power is especially important when you are going on a hunting trip. There are plenty of backroads in southern Florida and I needed a truck that could get me deep into the turkey woods if needed.

This was the Denali I had the pleasure of taking on my road trip. This Canyon is a compact powerhouse that is good on gas and great for hunting trips.

From my backdoor in Michigan to southern Florida is about 22 hours. That is a long trip and the Canyon was up to the task. Even with all of our pillows, blankets and gadgets, we had enough room in the well-designed Canyon. Since we had the Denali edition, the truck had many bells and whistles which made the ride more fun.

As far as the overall ride goes, you wouldn’t know you were in a truck. It rides more like an SUV than a truck which makes hunting trips and family vacations more enjoyable. The fact that it is 4WD and has over 300 horsepower surely makes a truck that can do truck stuff like haul heavy loads and be used to go on long hunting trips ideal.

The Canyon can get about 30 MPG on the highway and is small enough to make it a great family vehicle. Not everyone wants to drive around in a big truck. Dropping the kids off at school and finding a good parking spot at the grocery store is much easier when driving a mid-sized truck. If your family is looking for a truck that you can use as a family vehicle and take on a hunting trip or a family vacation, you won’t be disappointed with the GMC Canyon.