2010 GMC Terrain is a truck: upright, squared-off and with beefy shoulders over the wheels that would look right at home on a Hummer or Jeep. Until the large Acadia crossover appeared, GMC had always been a purist’s truck brand, maker of body-on-frame haulers and workhorses. The Terrain wears its GMC badges proudly (there are even little GMC emblems molded into the side reflectors incorporated in the taillights), but it’s really a compact crossover SUV.

The 2010 GMC Terrain is available with a range of powertrain options: either front-wheel drive or all-wheel drive, and four- or six-cylinder engines; mix and match as you like, they all come with six-speed automatic transmissions and direct injection. A range of trim levels are also available, adding technology and features, though even the base spec is pretty accommodating. Though many of the test vehicles were clad in a deep red, the white and black models packed the most visual punch.

For the family, Terrain has the sliding second row with eight inches of wiggle room from front to back. Are you toting infants and toddlers? Pull the bench forward to make the kids easier to reach from the front seat. If you’ve got teens or adults in the backseat, push the second row back for ample legroom.

The Terrain also offers an entertainment system that can be found in the Buick LaCrosse and Equinox. For $1,295, you get two seatback-mounted DVD monitors that are capable of playing two separate movies or a movie and a video game at the same time. Or, you can hook up the gaming system and have a two-player game showing on both screens. Just think of all the backseat arguments this feature could end.

With a starting price of $24,250, GMC hopes customers will look at its list of standard features and jump on in. It has a standard backup camera, OnStar and a programmable liftgate to help shorter drivers close that hatch.