2005 GMC Envoy XUV

Sometimes you feel like a truck. Sometimes you don't. Sometimes you feel like an SUV. Sometimes you won't. Decisions, decisions.


With enough budget and garage space, you could have one of each. Or you could have the only reasonable blend of the two, the Envoy XUV.


Sharing the same long-wheelbase platform as GMC's Envoy XL and Chevrolet's TrailBlazer EXT, the GMC-exclusive (no Chevy version) Envoy XUV is "specifically designed to meet the diverse needs of today's SUV customers in one multifunctional vehicle," GMC says. With its power sliding rear roof securely closed, XUV is a comfortable, roomy, well-equipped upscale sport utility. With it open, it's a comfy, roomy, well-equipped, upscale 4-door pick-'em-up with a smallish but highly useful bed.

A power-sliding rear roof converts the cargo area from fully enclosed to a 32x32-inch opening that lets you carry large and tall items upright.

"Our research has proven that a large number of SUV customers want multifunctional cargo-carrying capability without sacrificing passenger comfort and accommodations," says Envoy Marketing Director Craig Bierley. "Envoy XUV is the first and only sport-utility vehicle that fills this gap."


A quartet of industry-first innovations enables the XUV's amazing versatility. First is that power sliding rear roof, which easily converts the cargo area from fully enclosed to a 32x32-inch opening that lets you carry large and tall items upright. Second is a "next-generation Midgate" with a power window that can be raised to seal the passenger compartment from the cargo area, or lowered for an extended bed with 95.2 cubic feet of space. (Chevy's Avalanche and Cadillac's Escalade use GM's first-generation Midgate.) Third, a "drop or swing" tailgate with a power window. Like those on some old American station wagons, it can swing to the right, allowing bumper-level access, or (with the window fully lowered) drop to horizontal in normal pickup fashion. And fourth is an all-weather cargo area that can be hosed down after hauling wet or messy items. Just trucked home a load of mulch or topsoil? No problem. Watch that nasty mess disappear down the QuickDrain holes (onto your drive) as fast as you can wash it down.