GMC Terrain Cargo Test: How Much Stuff Can GMC's Smallest SUV Carry?

• The GMC Terrain has 29.8 cubic feet of cargo volume behind the back seat.
• Our real-world test shows how much stuff can fit in the cargo area.
• We'll also show how that compares to other compact SUVs.

Here is the GMC Terrain's cargo area. There was no cargo cover included so I won't be testing with and without it. 

It does, however, have something else that's very relevant to this test.

Underfloor storage, and a lot of it. You need to remove the floor (as opposed to it sliding down onto the lower level as in the Cadillac Optiq), but doing so substantially expands the space. My Medium Wide roll-aboard is there for reference. As you do need to fully remove the floor, however, I will be testing with and without it in place. 

OK, first off, here's some nice boilerplate information about the bags I use and their dimensions. There are two bags you'd definitely have to check at the airport: Big Gray (26 inches long x 16.5 inches wide x 12 inches deep) and Big Blue (26 x 16.5 x 10). There are three roll-aboards that usually fit as carry-ons: Medium Tall (24 x 14 x 9), Medium Wide (23 x 15 x 9) and the smaller Green Bag (21 x 14 x 9.5). Finally, there's everyone's favorite Fancy Bag (21 x 12 x 11), a medium-size duffle.

Test 1: Floor in place

Not surprisingly, all my bags inside the Terrain's cargo area. It obviously wasn't difficult to fit them all in here. It also wasn't surprising that these same bags in this same formation look identical in the Equinox. Even the liftgate angle is the same. 

This is also extremely similar to the result in the CX-50, which, again, has an extremely similar cargo volume spec. It does not, however, have a removable floor like the Terrain to expand its space. We'll see how that affects the comparison. 

For reference, though, this is the Honda CR-V with the same items. It's also the CR-V's worst-case scenario. The gas-only version has about 10 cubic feet more.

OK, back to the Terrain. It's time to pull the floor.

Test 2: Floor removed

Here are the same standard items with the floor removed. You can see how much lower the bags are and how much space is remaining. 

You may also be able to tell how jumbled this is. While the extra space is nice, the lower floor is narrower enough with small stanchions that jut inward that it makes for awkward loading and lots of space on both sides that's difficult to utilize with luggage. 

Let's go ahead and grab some bonus items to fill the space up.

This is adding my 38-quart cooler (23 x 16 x 13) and the cylindrical Edmunds Golf Classic Duffel Bag (20 x 10.5 x 10.5). There was some space left in the lower left there, but an extra duffel would've needed to be squished to get in there.

Not surprisingly, the Equinox required the same Tetris formation to fit all this. Having that experience was helpful, though, since this formation is super-awkward, and it originally took me a lot of trial and error to get it. Again, the weird lower floor is to blame. 

This result is also worse than the CR-V Sport Touring, which could hold that extra duffel, was much easier to load, and had more remaining visibility. (Other compact SUVs like the Tucson and Subaru Forester were much better.) Interestingly, the CX-50 also manages that extra duffel with an easier Tetris formation despite not having the lowerable floor. Visibility was similarly iffy. 

So how is the CX-50 basically equal despite not having the lower floor option? It's better able to use every drop of volume it has. Once again, blame the Terrain's lower floor design. 

In the end, the cargo volume specs very much align with those of most competitors in terms of the Terrain's real-world cargo space and functionality. It really is in the segment's basement. But hey, at least its Chevy twin is keeping it company down there.