Home > Safety ratings > GMC > 2026 GMC Terrain

2026 GMC Terrain Safety Rating

Small SUVs Β· Current IIHS listing Β· IIHS data updated 2026-09-04

Provisional record

The 2026 GMC Terrain is not yet ranked. IIHS has published 3 of 4 primary tests and 3 of 4 selected occupant-protection details. Missing results are shown as missing, never assumed.

Reported so far: Small overlap front Acceptable; Side (updated test) Good; Headlights Acceptable.

β€”
Safety score / 100
Awaiting 2 results
No award
IIHS award
No current award
Not rated
NHTSA overall
Reference only, not scored
42
Class driver death rate
per million vehicle-years; all vehicles 38

IIHS crash-test results

Front Crash Prevention: PedestrianAcceptable
Front Crash Prevention: Vehicle-to-VehicleAcceptable
Small Overlap Front Acceptable
Side: Updated Test Good
Headlights Acceptable
Detailed results by test (39 entries)

IIHS publishes these under the test they belong to, so the same label can appear more than once. Rear restraints and kinematics, rear head protection, structure and safety cage, and front restraints are the four that count toward the score (25%).

Small overlap front

Overall driver-side evaluation Good
Structure and safety cage Good
Driver injury measures
Head/neck Good
Chest Good
Hip/thigh Good
Lower leg/foot Good
Driver restraints and dummy kinematics Good
Overall passenger-side evaluation Acceptable
Structure and safety cage Acceptable
Passenger injury measures
Head/neck Good
Chest Good
Hip/thigh Good
Lower leg/foot Acceptable
Passenger restraints and dummy kinematics Good
Driver injury measures
Head/neck Good
Chest Good
Hip/thigh Good
Lower leg/foot Good
Driver restraints and dummy kinematicsThe dummy’s head contacted the frontal airbag but nearly rolled off the left side, leaving the head vulnerable to contact with forward structure. The side curtain airbag did not deploy during the crash. Acceptable

Side: updated test

Overall evaluation Good
Structure and safety cage Good
Driver injury measures
Head/neck Good
Torso Acceptable
Pelvis Good
Driver head protection Good
Rear passenger injury measures
Head/neck Good
Torso Good
Pelvis Good
Rear passenger head protection Good

Headlights

Overall rating Acceptable
Distance at which headlights provide at least 5 lux illumination:
Overall ratingApplies to 2026 models Acceptable

Front crash prevention: vehicle-to-vehicle 2.0

Overall evaluation Acceptable

Front crash prevention: pedestrian

Overall evaluation Good
View the IIHS report

Opens on iihs.org in a new tab

How the score is built

Primary IIHS tests (55%)
78.0
3/4 reported Β· small overlap, updated moderate overlap, updated side, headlights
Occupant-protection details (25%)
84.3
3/4 reported Β· rear restraints, rear head, safety cage, front restraints
Pedestrian front crash prevention (10%)
75.0
IIHS pedestrian AEB result: Acceptable Β· vehicle-to-vehicle: Acceptable (shown, not scored)
Class context (10%)
55.8
Damped class-level driver death-rate term; award status is shown above but carries no weight
Injury-measure average (tiebreak only)
95.69
Mean of 29 published injury measures across the three crash tests. Orders vehicles with equal scores; carries no weight in the score.

Full formula, weights, and missing-data rules β†’

NHTSA 5-star rating

2026 GMC TERRAIN SUV N/A AWD

OverallNot rated
Frontal crashNot rated
Side crashβ˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…
Rolloverβ˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜† 17.4% risk

NHTSA stars are shown for reference and carry no weight in the score. NHTSA source. Why the two programs disagree β†’

Real-world context

MeasureResultWhat it covers
Class driver death rate42 per million registered vehicle-yearsSmall SUVs as a class, adjusted for driver age and sex (Farmer, 2023); all vehicles average 38. Class context only.

Compared with other small SUVs

Closest-scoring current small SUVs with complete IIHS records, plus the class leader. See every small SUVs ranked β†’

VehicleClass rankIIHS awardRear restraintsStarts atScore
2026 Mazda CX 5 #1 of 29 TSP+ Good $29,990 95.6
2026 Subaru Solterra #15 of 29 β€” Acceptable $38,495 83.0
2026 Acura ADX #19 of 29 β€” Marginal $35,000 81.5
2026 Toyota Corolla Cross #20 of 29 β€” Marginal $24,635 78.8

Our analysis

The 2026 GMC Terrain belongs to the Small SUVs class. This class has a driver death rate near the national average of 38 deaths per million registered vehicle-years. The class figure is adjusted for driver age and sex, which removes a large part of the selection effect in raw death rates. It is still a class average, not a measurement of this model.

The GMC Terrain has no IIHS Top Safety Pick award for 2026. That can mean a result below the award threshold in one test, or tests IIHS has not completed. Absence of an award is not evidence that the vehicle is unsafe.

Across the 3 IIHS rating categories reported, the GMC Terrain earned 1 Good ratings. Results below Good deserve attention, especially the updated frontal and side tests that IIHS toughened in 2022 and 2023. Our updated crash test analysis explains what changed.

This analysis is produced independently; we have no affiliation with GMC or any manufacturer. Read the full methodology or learn more about us.

Safety recalls for the 2026 GMC Terrain

No recalls on record. NHTSA lists this model year and currently shows no recall campaigns against it.

Check your VIN at NHTSA

Questions about the 2026 GMC Terrain

Continue comparing

Every GMC model rated GMC Every small SUVs rankedSmall SUVs The full 2026 safety rankingAll vehicles

Shopping for a family? Compare three-row vehicles and rear-seat evidence. Buying used? See real driver death rates by model.