Note: After fifteen years of writing car reviews, I have decided to venture into video. I am starting off slowly and rather amateurishly, so please bear with me. These videos can only get better (maybe). These will be one-take videos. I’ll only discuss the vehicle, and you won’t even have to look at me. Additionally, whatever I miss or get wrong in a video, I will supplement it in writing. -KK

The market for performance/capability off-road vehicles is red hot. Automakers are offering off-road packages on pedestrian CUVs. There are safari’d exotic sports cars and EVs. It is therefore no surprise that the vehicles that have always been designed for off-pavement driving are getting turned up to 11. Some, such as the Wrangler 392 or the F-150 Raptor R, are pushed so far that there is very little that aftermarket can do to improve on them.

The GMC Canyon AT4X is one such factory-tuned off-road model. Out of the box, the AT4X improves over the AT4 with a three-inch suspension lift, front and rear lockers, 33-inch mud-terrain tires, and rocker panel protectors. For most people, in most situations, this would be an extremely capable setup. Just a few years ago, one would need to spend a lot of money on aftermarket goodies for this level of capability, and it still wouldn’t be a well sorted as this is. But these days, that’s not enough.

General Motors reached out to American Expedition Vehicles (AEV) to further improve the Canyon, and its sibling, the Chevy Colorado. GM wanted to not only bring these trucks to the next level but also ensure that they were class-leading in all the important dimensions. The Canyon AT4X AEV Edition is a package that includes the following:

• AEV stamped steel front skid plate
• AEV transfer case skid plate
• AEV rear differential skid plate
• AEV fuel tank skid plate
• AEV rear stamped steel bumper with heavy-duty cast recovery points
• AEV stamped steel front bumper
• 17″ LT315/70R17 35″ MT tires
• 17″ Beadlock capable wheels with AEV center cap
• AEV wheel flares
• Multimatic Jounce Control Dampers
• Bed-Mounted Vertical Spare Tire Carrier
• All-weather floor liners with the AEV logo
• AEV branded front head restraints

At over $10,000, this is not a cheap package. However, if one considers the aftermarket cost of these pasts, and their installation, this suddenly is a great deal. Further consideration should be given to the fact that everything is warrantied, and the cost can be rolled into one’s monthly payment.

The most direct competition for the AEV Canyon is from the Ford Ranger Raptor and the Toyota Tacoma TRD Pro. The Ranger Raptor has an edge in power and price. The Tacoma has a perceived edge of being a Toyota. The Jeep Gladiator Rubicon deserves a mention as well, but it lacks in power and refinement. But if you want 35s on your mid-sized truck out of the box, the AEV GM trucks are your only option. For now.

I’ve put this truck through a set of trucky challanges, as seen in the below gallery. It was used on a race track as a chase car for an Aston Martin photoshoot, with the photographer strapped in the bed. It transported a go-kart. It towed an aluminum trailer with a Ginetta race car on it. It transported my mountain bike, which fit just so with the tailgate closed. It took it on a dirt road (no pics). It did all of those relatively easy tasks very well.