Manoli Katakis 
Since the Ford Ranger has made its debut for the US market, customers have been a little miffed about a lack of a Raptor offering here in the ‘States. Europe gets it. Australia gets it. South Africa gets it. But not Ford’s home turf. That said, there are plenty of high-end Ford Performance off-road upgrades that customers can fit onto their Ranger to make it more adventurous than before. And there’s even the new Ranger Tremor package. Similarly, General Motors builds the awesome Chevrolet Colorado ZR2 and ZR2 Bison, but there’s no equivalent available for the GMC Canyon. To alleviate this, the 2021 GMC Canyon AT4 Off-Road Performance Edition was announced today, and clips on an array of GMC Accessories for a turn-key truck that’s both premium and ready to tackle the trails.
MC&T reported in February 2020 that the 2021 GMC Canyon AT4 Off-Road Performance Edition was inbound, via the truck’s official dealer order guide.
The 2021 GMC Canyon AT4 Off-Road Performance Edition adds a dealer-installed 1-inch suspension-leveling kit, which is currently available as an accessory. The front air dam also gets discarded to create a 30-degree approach angle – a 35% improvement.
For armor, a set of rocker panel protectors and a pair of skid plates for the front and middle parts of the underbody, which can be purchased individually as performance accessories. Trail running and rock crawling are full-contact sports, and any off-road truck worth its price needs as much as possible to avoid any expensive, even terminal, damage. Not one to skip out on premium touches, GMC also fit this new Canyon variant with a unique set of 17-inch gloss black wheels, black AT4 logos, and a gloss black exhaust tip, all of which are available as accessories. The interior will also features accessory all weather floor mats for easier cleaning, while a spray-in bedliner is also standard.
Otherwise, the 2021 GMC Canyon AT4 Off-Road Performance Edition has all the standard gear from the regular AT4. That means an Eaton G80 rear automatic locking differential, an advanced hill descent control system, and 31-inch Goodyear Wrangler DuraTrac tires.
Expect pricing to be shared by the end of the year, as customers will be able to preorder the new pickup by then.
