Apple Picking Opens in Bethlehem: The Canyon AT4 on a Farm Road in Mid-September

The truck comes with standard 4WD, a 2-inch factory lift, 9.6 inches of ground clearance, a two-speed Autotrac transfer case together with a transfer case shield, Advanced Hill Descent Control, 18-inch gloss black wheels fitted with all-terrain tires, and 310 horsepower and 430 lb-ft from the 2.7L TurboMax.

In Litchfield County everybody already knows what to do so the orchard on the hilltop in Bethlehem begins accepting visitors in mid-September and goes on until October. The varieties available are Macoun, Cortland, Empire, Honeycrisp, Macintosh, Gala and Mutsu. On a Saturday you go there, buy a bag, eat two apples in the orchard which you did not pay for and then leave with more fruit than your family can possibly eat before Thanksgiving.

Nothing that people include on their autumn bucket list is the drive.

The last mile is the part that matters

The road leading to the orchard is in good condition, but the farm is another matter.

Parking area is a patch of ground; in mid-September it is either dust or mud and there's not much in between. You are walking alongside a man wearing a vest with a reflective coating on it along some grass that had been raining on on Thursday. Then you back out of a parking space on a slope, having a full bag of apples in the back and a child asleep in the second row.

Throughout the year, none of this is important; but once or twice during the fall you find yourself in a situation where there's no tarmac, the ground has a gentle slope, and forty other vehicles are making the ruts even worse. It's only then that ground clearance and an actual four-wheel-drive system cease to be merely specifications and become the reason why you're able to leave the parking area without having to be pushed.

What the AT4 actually brings

What surprises people is that the lift is not an extra. When the AT4 leaves the factory it has a 2-inch lift together with an ultra-wide track. It is not a package and not something a friend installed in his driveway; rather, it is built into the truck, meaning it has been engineered, comes with a warranty, and is matched to the suspension geometry. All Canyon models have a factory lift, the height differing according to the trim level. The AT4 has a 2-inch lift while the AT4X has a 3-inch one.

Here is what the AT4 carries as standard equipment:

• The truck has four-wheel drive with an automatic locking rear differential and this feature is included on this trim; it is the standard equipment.

• The transfer case is of two speeds and has push-button controls together with a shield to protect it from rocks, ruts and stumps.

• The Advanced Hill Descent Control system takes over the braking when you're on a steep or uneven slope so that you can concentrate on steering.

• There is a drive mode selector having Normal, Terrain, Tow/Haul and Off-Road settings.

• Aluminum wheels, gloss black and 18 inches in diameter, are fitted with all-terrain tires.

• The MultiStow system for storing things in the tailgate.

The figures in question are 9.6 inches of ground clearance, a 33.5-degree approach angle, and 66.1 inches of track width at both the front and the rear.

The approach angle is the one that's worth understanding since it represents the steepest slope you can climb before the front bumper makes contact. In places such as a rutted field entrance and a washed-out shoulder, a low front end is likely to be scraped, and a angle of 33.5 degrees is sufficient to clear both of these without any problems.

Every AT4 comes with an 8-way power driver's seat with power lumbar and heated front seats. The available AT4 Premium Package adds perforated leather-appointed front seats, ventilated driver and passenger seats, a heated steering wheel, driver memory, a power passenger seat, and wireless phone charging. 

The engine is the same one in every Canyon, and that is a good thing

In 2026 the Canyon is fitted with the 2.7-liter TurboMax four-cylinder engine and an eight-speed automatic transmission; there is no V6 engine, no diesel engine and no hybrid model. It has just one engine, right the way through.

The engine produces 310 horsepower and 430 lb-ft of torque, GMC says that no other standard gasoline engine in the mid-size truck category has more torque than that.

It is more important than how much torque there is the point at which the torque is produced; it appears early in the rev range and is maintained there by the use of a dual-volute turbo. When hauling a heavily loaded truck up a wet grass slope it is a low-rpm task, and likewise merging onto Route 8 with four people and 60 pounds of fruit in the vehicle is something that can be done at low rpm. All you have to do is press the pedal and the engine immediately responds, so you don't have to wait for it to come to life.

It uses standard gasoline; the EPA figures for the 4WD AT4 are 17 in the city, 22 on the highway and 19 combined. This falls within the range expected of an average-sized truck and is not something that should be overemphasized.

The bed solves a problem your SUV does not

Each 2026 Canyon comes with a Crew Cab and has a bed that is 5 feet 1 inch long. It has four actual doors, five seats, and an open box located behind them.

The practical arrangement is this: the apples go into the bed, the pumpkins go into the bed too, and all the other things such as the muddy boots, the folding chairs, the cooler, and the wagon which you brought and only used for ten minutes go into the bed as well. With this method, nothing will track dirt over your carpet and no one will come home with a bag of Cortlands on their lap.

If it is properly equipped the Canyon AT4 is capable of towing a weight of 7,700 pounds; however, this amount will vary according to the configuration, so you should check the exact figure for your truck. For the majority of people in this area it will be sufficient for a small boat, a utility trailer or two snowmobiles when January arrives.

What you should know before you fall in love with it

A few honest points.

The AT4 is not the same as the AT4X; the AT4X features a 3-inch lift, Multimatic DSSV dampers, as well as front and rear electronic locking differentials and ten camera views, including views from underneath the vehicle. It is a truly more capable off-road truck, although it can tow less up to 6,000 pounds because of the tyres and the setup it has.

The AT4 is quite sufficient for a farm road, a muddy field, a dirt driveway, and the conditions of a Connecticut winter. Nearly all the people who convince themselves to go for the AT4X are paying for rock-crawling equipment that they'll never use at all. Only if you actually take on trail driving should you choose the AT4X. If you're looking for a truck that can handle a wet orchard lot and a February storm, the AT4 can do that and will leave you with some money left over.

The second point is that it is a medium-sized truck; the bed is 5 feet 1 inch long. Should you regularly need to haul 4 by 8 sheets of plywood, then you should consider a Sierra 1500 with either a 6-foot-6 or an 8-foot bed. You should buy a truck based on what you use it for most, not for the one job you may start next spring.

Third, the same type of screen is used in all the models, so you're not being charged extra for them. Each Canyon is fitted with an 11.3-inch touchscreen, an 11-inch digital driver display, and comes with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. Google built-in runs on the center screen with Google Maps on the dash. It works through an included connectivity trial, and after that it takes an OnStar plan with connected navigation to keep Maps and the Google apps running. Wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto keep working either way.

Why Northwest Hills GMC in Torrington

Torrington is roughly half an hour north of the Bethlehem orchards and is situated in just the sort of terrain that this truck was designed for with hills, frost heaves, dirt side roads, and actual winters.

The fact that it's about buying locally is what the geography shows. A test drive that stays within a flat highway loop gives you very little information regarding a vehicle such as this one. At Northwest Hills GMC you can be taken on the types of roads you actually use up a hill, along a rough section of secondary road and then onto a gravel corner. Ten minutes driving on that sort of route will teach you far more about the AT4 than one hour spent going through the specifications, including this one. 

Moreover, the sales team at that location know the range of models so well that they are able to advise you against a trim that you really don't need, and that is worth more than any incentive.

Go pick some apples

The picking takes place from mid-September until October, since that is as good a month as any for the weather in Connecticut and the orchard is only busy for a few more weekends.

Take the truck. Put the apples in the back. Park wherever the guy in the vest points, and do not think twice about it.