Even base model trucks keep getting more off-road capable. On top of that, manufacturers keep releasing off-road trim levels that can venture further off the pavement, like the Ford Ranger Raptor or the Toyota Tacoma Trailhunter. GMC has an off-road-truck-turned-to-11, the Canyon AT4X.
But there’s no good reason to stop there.
So the sorta-luxury-truck division of General Motors has turned the dial to 12. Meet the 2024 GMC Cayon AT4X AEV edition – a more off-roady edition of the off-road edition. If you pay attention to this sort of thing, the American Expeditionary Vehicles tag helped you guess that already.
So it’s an off-road model of an off-road model of a truck built to be better off-road than the old truck.
GMC hasn’t provided pricing yet. The AT4X carries a starting price of $56,995, and we’d guess that the AEV name pushes it close to $70,000. The company hasn’t said it will limit the number of AEV editions built, but they’re limited enough in appeal that they’ll probably be a rare sight.
Would You Like Some Ground Clearance With Your Ground Clearance?
But they’ll be easy to spot.
The standard Canyon, for instance, has 9.6 inches of ground clearance. The AT4X has 10.7. And this one has 12.2. The height increase gives it an 8.2-degree approach, 26.0-degree departure, and 26.9-degree breakover angle.
Should you misjudge an angle, AEV has provided boron steel ski plates under all the important bits.
AEV Bumpers, Fender Flares
The AT4X AEV edition rides on 35-inch Goodyear Wrangler Territory mud-terrain tires on AEV beadlock-capable wheels. AEV also builds the stamped-steel front and rear bumpers with heavy-duty recovery points. The front bumper is winch-capable, but the truck doesn’t come from the factory with a winch.
Big AEV-branded fender flares help accommodate the tires.
Same 310 HP, But a New… It Says Here… Launch Control?
There’s nothing unique under the hood. It gets the same 310-horsepower turbo-4 as other Canyons. The same 8-speed automatic transmission, too. The suspension is the same as the AT4X, with Multimatic spool-valve shocks. Electronic-locking front and rear differentials are standard.
GMC says the Baja drive mode “has been enhanced to include a new launch control feature, which allows drivers to press the brake and accelerator pedals at the same time, and then release the brake pedal, resulting in improved acceleration on- and off-road.”
The new launch control system, GMC says, adjusts for surface, so your second 0-60 run in the mud may be quicker than your first.
