2015 GMC Canyon Takes on the Extreme Ike Gauntlet Towing Test 

This is what a pickup truck was meant to be doing, towing trailers, climbing hills, all with well-built functionality and ruggedness. Comfort and safety are also important.

I was impressed when I test drove this truck today. All I need is to tow my bass boat but still drive it to work in the city where a full size is really hard to move around. I like it

Hello Roman and Truck Guy. I regularly tow a 4,800 lbs travel trailer and all our stuff full time now with my 2016 Colorado Z71,4x4, V6 Ext Cab. Over a Cat Scale the CGVW is just over 10,500 lbs. I’ve noticed when I use tow/haul mode I can never get the transmission in high gear. It will run all day if I let it at 65 mph in third gear at 4,000 rpm! If I try I can feather the gas pedal to get into fourth gear for 3,200 rpm at 65 mph. But without the Tow /Haul I can feather the gas pedal to Jeep it in 6 th gear at 60-65 if there is no hill or head wind at 1,600-1800 rpm. But if I try to go any faster it is hard to keep it in 6th! It will run fine in 5th at 2,700 rpm’s. I have kept my eye in trans temp and even without the tow/haul mode the temps in 90 degree weather the temp never goes over 185! On this latest 4,500 mike trip from Massachusetts to Florida, then as far west as Corpus Christi to Waco then I to Louisiana, we have averaged 15 mph!!! That I feel is great! I’ve never been short on power or braking and control while comfortable at all times. I have towed a friends 6,800 lbs boat for him before without trouble! Up the New Hampshire Mountains with ease and safety. Up and down some long steep highway passes. Maybe not the Ike, but still where big truck are lucky to go 40 mph! But we were able to maintain 60 mph!! At 4,000 rpm’s but still we did it!

I love your videos. Very entertaining, and fun to watch. I love the sound of the high RPM going up the Gauntlet. I can't wait for the new ford F-150. Thanks for the upload.

I'd quite like a Canyon 1500 All Terrain pickup. I test drove one and it reminded me a lot of the '91 1500 my folks had. It just fits.

That engine sounds really good for a V6. I wouldn't mind owning this truck.

These are great informative videos. Thank you.

I'm actually very impressed with the transmission tuning. It seems GM has tuned these better than the 6 speed in the 1/2 tons. It stayed in it's higher rev range to sustain high torque and HP.

I find these towing videos absolutely fascinating but I'll be damned if I know why. I have no desire to own a truck and I certainly wouldn't dream of towing, yet I look forward to each new video. It must have something to do with the hard working engine being driven flat-out and giving its all to get to the summit, plus the easy rapport between Truck and Romain. The excellent quality of the video goes without saying.

Gotta say I'm impressed, I'm a Ford guy and driver a 2011 F-150 5.0L FX4, but I have to admit this little truck did just fine here. The Silverado in sharp contrast completely failed this challenge, it's smaller brother however, handled it like a champ. Though I do think the 4.3L V6 would be the ideal ''Large Engine'' for this particular truck.

Hey guys big fan of TFL car/truck. Great job on all the videos as always. I was a gm tech at a Buick/Gmc dealer for ten years and what ended my carrier there was working on the gm high feature 3.6L v6 engine among other things. Long story short and no big secret the many problems on this engine, the time they would allow us under warranty to fix it and pay us was a joke. I believe in my opinion thats why the tow rating is a little lower like Mr Truck stated. I really wish they offered the new 4.3 v6, and even the 4.8 v8 as options on these trucks. Having a engine like the 3.6 designed for cars and putting it in a truck for fuel economy is well and good but they have issues. I applaud gm for the 2.8 duramax and look forward to seeing it run the ike gauntlet /goldmine off road hill. cheers

Thanks for the review.

You Gotta Love The GMC Canyon V6 For Towing 4400 LBS!

i love this. i dont know how this would go, but i think they should either make a HD version of this, or bring back 1500 HDs back, those were awesome

I've got a '19 Canyon SLE 4X4. For a few weekends out of the year, it gets used as a very reliable tow vehicle. I've got just over 36k miles on it, and there has not been any mechanical issues to report.

"I'm a big guy, I'm a heavy duty guy" lol, Kent, you made me laugh at that.

I hope they will do some testing of the 2.5L 4 banger. I would really like to see how it performs. Not everyone needs to tow 5500lbs. It would be great to load this up to 80% of its limit and give it a Ike gauntlet run

Awesome video

I'd love to see this same test with the 2.8 turbo diesel GM is putting into these trucks next year, it will be very interesting to compare.

Great truck! Waiting for the diesel version before I get serious about buying one!

Nathan said 'its a full size truck of 15 years ago' so true. I was looking at 2000 Chevy's and they are about the same size.

That's impressive! GM definitely did a good job with the Canyon and Colorado. My only complaint is that the Colorado looks like an SUV and not a pick up truck. And of course the price. I have a 2003 Ranger FX4 and while the technology is older, it's still a very capable little truck on and off road, but I didn't have to pay so much for it.

So basically what we've seen here is that with your usual 3500 lb bass boat behind it you would barely notice it was back there. Seems to be capable enough for what most people would use it for. (...and I'll point out that my older F150 is only rated to tow 6900 lbs. and even though I tow with it all the time I've never maxed it out)

The Raptor in so many of the shots is funny - like an old low budget cartoon. :)

Looking forward to seeing the new Duramax version take on the Ike - any time set for that yet? Cheers, Patrick

" Everything you touch is soft; everything you look at is expensive. " !!!! That, Romain, is because of your advanced years, it's something you're just gonna have to learn to live with.

Almost to 1 million Subs!!!!!!

The canyon did fine doughnuts in the snow. lol Did good pulling the load to.

I like how Mr. Truck justifies his fat frame by saying he is a Heavy Duty guy ;) Nevertheless, he is the reason I watch your videos. Great job guys!

Interesting. Testing this trucks towing capacity with 3.42 gears. I have 3.42 gears on my Trailblazer and it cruises down the highway really well. It doesn't tow the best but does alright. I'm assuming this truck is available with more towing friendly 3.73 or 4.10 gears.

I'm impressed! The performance is there and you're not giving up the styling a pickup should have by getting the smaller model. It looks to me like a baby sierra whereas the Colorado looks more like an Equinox and nowhere near the level of the Silverado.

I really want your channel to include reviews on the base trim levels as those are what your average truck buyer will buy. Test those base trim levels not just the top trim levels.

Could you tell me the name of the song that starts at 0:39 ? Rocks!

Very impressive. I can't wait to see the Tacoma do it.

Quite impressed with that little truck

Team GM. We will never be beaten. FACT.

I'm curious. Do you think brake temps had anything to do with the composition of the new Duralife brake rotors that GM is touting and using on the Canyon and Colorado?

This GMC Canion is basically like doing this test in the gmc envoy you should do a tow test with the GMC Envoy / Chevy Trailblazer / Chevy Blazer/ GMC Jimmy

You mention something about the Engine Brake in tow/haul mode. I don't think the 3.6 is equiped with a engine brake. The engine brake will be available on the diesel model.

He gets that Raptor in every video he can it seems. As for this particular truck. I think it would also be a good little truck for a landlord to use for remodeling and repairs.

Truck of the year

Do a test on the extended cab of the Canyon both Colorado

How do you like the ANDERSEN weight distributing hitch assembly? I'm considering that hitch because of the short tongue length of a vee-nose trailer I'm thinking of buying. Did you have to weld the frame anchor point to the frame or were you able to bolt them on?

Nice video. Yeah they say the 3.6 is a thirsty motor but it's also a true 60 degree v not like the new 4.3. Can you do a tow test with the Ram ecodiesel? That would be great. Also when they come out with the 2.8 I would love to see this done over with that engine too!

Did this have a transmission cooler as part of the tow package?

Most these newer trucks will tell the transmission temp if you scroll through the info center. It would be a good to show in future vids

Roman, how do you like those BF tires on snow? And being that is winter and you are in Colorado do you think you guys could do a winter tire review for trucks? I feel there's not much info on winter truck tires out there... Great review on this Baby GMC.

Is this engine more thirsty than the 5.3 in the same year sierra? Whats got better mpg , a canyon v6 or sierra 5.3? Thanks.

If it did that well with 5600 lbs, with 3.42 gears, it probably would have done very well with 3.73 gears and close to 7000 lbs. Impressive. I didn't expect it to do this well. No turbo or supercharger to help with the altitude. Impressive.

I can't believe you didn't max it out! I've been waiting over a year for this tow! Hopefully you max out the diesel version next year!

Roman, I thought you called Kent a naughty word there at the opening.

damn that v6 will scream some RPMS. 6800 shift point wow! how long can a high reving engine like that last?

What are your thoughts on towing a boat weighting 4,500 lbs with the Canyon? Trailer is right around 1,500 lbs.

Back in 2006 when the colorado had an the xtreme trim package, you could get a 5.3 or that inline 5 cylinder motor. Im pretty sure they DIDN'T NOT offer the v8 on the XTREME. But you're right there was never an v8 s10 xtreme.

In Australia this truck has a 6000kg GCM and a 3500Kg max tow. That is 13228 lbs and 7716 lbs. Perhaps the limits are about protecting the full size trucks rather than actual limits. Maybe its also the reason that they don't bother to make right hand drive full sized.

Can you do one on the Volkswagen Touareg?

I will be happy to have you test stock 2015 Toyota Tacoma for the Ike test. If you truly saying Toyota won't give it to you and you are willing to test it. I will.

This truck most definitely does have an integrated trailer brake controller from the factory.

Can confirm these trucks do good doughnuts in the snow...

I was shocked to see the decibel meter only reading 69.5. Not sure if it was camera placement with the mic or what, but it sounded like it was extremely loud in that truck, and the truck was about to explode, but it obviously wasn't based on your meter, any comment on the sound compared to any of the fullsize trucks running the gauntlet just from your personal experience?

Hmmmm I like that fact that GM didn't botched the transmission tuning on the Canyon/Colorado but holy mother of Earl that V6 was SCREAMING. Also Mr. Truck is right about the mirrors and I believe they can make them just a tiny bit bigger to make them more useful when towing.

What about a 2015 chevy colorado z71 Ike Gaunlet Towing Test

There is a you tube video of a GMC pulling a full size semi truck and trailer up a snow covered hill.

I kept hearing that with this truck, a two horse would be better. What about with horses in the trailer which makes it not so much stationary weight. Thoughts?

What is the tire size on the GMC truck

I am actually considering purchasing this truck for my first truck. I will be using it to tow ATVs and for doing small things around the house. I would just like to have your input on if you think it would do well towing 18'-20' foot ultra light travel trailer. My wife is finally fed up with my pop-up. Keep up the great vidoes! Thanks

Here's some fact candy for you guys. It took over ten years but Chevy is finally catching up to itself. 2000 chevy Silverado 4000-4750lbs (lighter after rockers rust off) 17city 23hwy with 262ci 4.3L V6 (chopped up 350 small block) 8700lb Towing with V6 2015 chevy Colorado 3900-4500lbs 18city 26hwy with 3.6L V6 7000lb Towing with V6

What was the final score????

Are you guys looking at reviewing the 2.8 duramax Colorado or Canyon?

The doughnuts u did in the raptor sucked compared to the ones in the canyon lol

Have yous guys entertained the idea of testing the 4 cylinder on the Ike?

Is there a way to convert an Ike Gauntlet time to wheel horsepower? Edit: because I bet that's clocking every bit of 245 at the wheels. What a beast.

They really made it look like the half ton trucks

So like always it comes down to personal preference really lol. would you rather be 43 sec faster in the GMC with 3.6 mpg fuel, or 43 sec slower with 13.9 mpg in the Nissan lol. Me personally ill take the better fuel efficiency every time. great videos!!!

a ranger with the 2.7 would be crazy good on gas and more than enough power for a midsized

I may get flamed for this, but I'm going to say it anyways. I want to see you test a Honda Ridgeline on the Ike Gauntlet. Honda says it'll tow 5,000 lbs, I don't know the GVW on it. As a doubter, I'd like to see that Honda really tested like a truck.

Both the new Canyon and Colorado are very attractive trucks, but I feel they would look better with a slightly shortened bed length.

I want to know the trans temp of this run

I love the look of the Canyon. The Colorado looks too much like a European truck. Being from across the pond in Scotland you would think I would like it the other way, but I definitely like my trucks with a good bit of chrome. :-) I am also impressed with the towing capacity of 7000 lbs which is 3,175 Kg in real money. Which to be honest is close to the maximum towing weight in Britain for that type of vehicle of 3,500 kg. I am very impressed with this vehicle. I WANT ONE. Even though it would only be left hand drive.

Where is the ram 1500 ecodiesel test?

How many motors did you blow up and have to edit to make it look like you didnt?

Why GMC didn't design the Sierra 1500 with those lines. This truck looks really cool.

What size of engine does this GMC Canyon have in it? V6 gas or Straight 4 diesel? You guys didn't mention that in the video.

Sounds like you're towing that trailer at around 90!

All these tow tests should be at maximum tow weight. If they can maintain the speed limit at max tow weight then the rating is verified. Personally, I think there should be sea level and mountain tow ratings. I have a 2016 Colorado V6 and tow a 5500 lb TT. Not much fun turning 6000 rpm going up hill. Probably something to get used to.

Personally being a Ram owner I love my Ram but that's a good looking truck.

Are you sure your sound meter was calibrated? The sound bothered me just watching the video. It seemed much louder than the F150 or the Silverado.

224 degrees on the wheel and they didn't brake much? why was the nissan frontier running 124 degrees ?Rotor size?

Whats the gear ratio on truck? Did GM go with 3:55 or higher? That's my problem with new trucks. They messed with the gear ratios....

I want that truck!

Why don't they put CVT transmissions in trucks? It would allow you to maintain peak power RPM for towing. I understand that CVTs typically aren't good for high torque, but you'd think they could develop one.

Really interested in buying one of these as my daily commuter to school, and monthly pulling my 2600lbs track car. With full gear and spare tires I would imagine close to 5,000, with trailer, which is about right on with the video; do you think it will stay reliable for years to come? Not a big truck guy, but I really like the cabin and ascetics of this truck.

Man does that 3.6 sound horrid close to redline. The engine drone that thing has would get old real quick.

Should also let us know the engine and transmission temps.

Lets see base model v6 1/2 tons vs these 1/4 ton trucks.

I am a bigger man. I went and sat in one a couple weekends ago. They are just too small for me. I can get the seat back and get myself comfortable but that leaves no backseat room at all. I think I will just stick to my full-size trucks.

That 10% load on the tongue is the VERY MINIMUM. Most recommend 12-13%, especially if towing a tall camper trailer. My toy hauler camper has 15% on the tongue EMPTY. Except MAYBE for the F150 with the HD payload option, EVERY 1500 class pickup reaches its limit of hitch load capacity or RGAWR or GVWR before it reaches its limit of GCWR. You shouldn't be surprised that the Canyon does also.

It is amazing how this beat the more expensive diesel.

Please do it with the new duramax.

Mr. Truck seem to like it, that says a lot. I can't wait until they pull with the 2.8L diesel. GM need to attempt to make a real off-roader with this truck .