Despite GM’s current sensible lineup of pickup trucks, crossovers, and the odd sedan, it wasn’t that long ago that traditional old General Motors made some seriously weird cars. Among the PT Cruiser copycats and retro-look sports trucks, the 2004 GMC Envoy XUV was one of the weirdest of the bunch. Welcome to GM Hit or Miss, a series in which we recall all the crazy stuff GM got up to and then collectively decide if they were good ideas or not.
In concept, the GMC Envoy XUV was a Chevrolet Avalanche built backwards. Instead of making a truck more SUV-like, GMC made an SUV more truck-like. The Avalanche was a crew cab for family duties with a folding midgate for long bed cargo room when needed. Most people would glance at it and say it’s a truck, so it filled a role as a suburban rig. The Envoy XUV, well, it’s complex enough to deserve more than a sentence or two.
Unlike the Chevrolet Avalanche, the Envoy XUV’s entire cargo area was enclosed up to roof level, meaning that the Envoy XUV needed a rear window in the midgate and then another rear window in the tailgate. In addition, the tailgate had to function as a tailgate, so GM plucked a feature from its historical department and made the rear window at the back of the actual vehicle roll down into the tailgate like you’d see on an old station wagon.
Of course, the window in the midgate rolled down as well, so the Envoy XUV had six window regulators for vertically-mounted windows. Weird. Oh, and the tailgate folded down like a normal truck tailgate and had a second latch and set of hinges to fold out in a side-hinged manner, but it wouldn’t swing out very far using the latter method. I don’t know about you, but 60 degrees of access doesn’t sound so great. Still, it’s an attempt, and it happened far before Honda launched the Ridgeline.
If you have a roof over a cargo area, you’re limited in capacity by the height of the roof. To solve this issue, GMC copied the Studebaker Lark Wagonaire’s notes and made the rear portion of the roof slide forward on top of the rest of the roof, with an attempt to hide the whole contraption coming in the form of roof rails. The result is a gawky but functional rear end, at least until the power-sliding roof craps out. Still, slide the roof back, and you end up with what is essentially an open truck bed, with the caveat that you can’t load cargo in from the sides. Best of all, that entire cargo area was designed to be water-resistant with the midgate up, to the point where the whole thing could be hosed out.
I know what you’re thinking: Nobody would actually hose out the cargo area on an SUV, but this is pre-recession GM we’re talking about, a company to which “nobody will ever use this shit” wasn’t an acceptable answer. They must’ve put a young hotshot engineer on the Envoy XUV cargo area because it came with the most overkill drainage solution that could’ve been implemented. Instead of a few normal drain plugs, GM invented one-way drains that supposedly needed no maintenance, then put five of them plus a trough in the back of the Envoy XUV to drain 25.096 gallons of water per minute. That’s 1,505.76 gallons per hour. Most commercial pressure washers only flow between three and six gallons per minute, and I’ve seen above-ground pool filters with less flow per hour. What on earth would you hose an Envoy XUV out with that requires even close to that much drainage?
So far, the GMC Envoy XUV sounds insane, because it is. However, it has one distinct advantage over an Avalanche that only appears if the climate it’s used in is suitably frigid. If you live in a frosty region and want to remove the tonneau cover panels to carry some dirty object of reasonable bulk in an Avalanche, it’s going to get snowed on if snow’s in the forecast. With the Envoy XUV, just chuck it in the back. It’ll be fine. No truck cap needed, no hassle. For that single use case, the Envoy XUV is perfect. It’s a finely-honed single-purpose winter hauler for dirty yet weather-sensitive cargo, one that only could’ve come from General Motors. Think of it a bit like Detroit’s equivalent of a CX Loadrunner.
What’s more, it actually got pretty good press when new. John Davis of Motorweek fame said, “Like a wolf in sheep’s clothing, the 2004 GMC Envoy XUV is a quick change artist, delivering rugged pick-em-up capabilities and a soft, spacious, and smooth sport-ute experience. By bringing back and improving on features of bygone people and thing movers, the XUV is very close to a one-truck-fits-all design,” and that “It’s the first truck-SUV crossover vehicle that truly lives up to its billing.”
Unfortunately, the general public failed to grasp the Envoy XUV’s functionality, for very sensible reasons. First off, the Envoy XUV actually offered less enclosed cargo space than the similarly-sized three-row Envoy XL. Then there was the complexity. Retracting windows and the roof section, folding seats, folding the midgate, it’s all more complicated than just folding down the seats in a regular SUV and getting on with it. In the end, the Envoy XUV was the end of the line. GM never made another SUV like it. Chalk this one up as a miss.
So, does the concept of the Envoy XUV deserve a second shot, or was once enough? I reckon that the idea of a modular SUV has some merit, especially if it were applied to a compact model. The Ford Maverick is insanely popular, compact crossovers are insanely popular, why not mash the two ideas together? Of course, it could also be complete toss and not a more useful vehicle than a regular crossover or pickup truck for any significant number of people. As ever, I’d love to hear your thoughts.
(Photo credits: GMC)
Support our mission of championing car culture by becoming an Official Autopian Member.
-
How Ford Beat GM’s OnStar To Market And Then Squandered An Early Lead
-
How A Ridiculous MacGyver Fix Prevented A Rusty Chevy HHR From Ruining My Weekend (And Life)
-
Whatever You Think The Air Conditioning Unit For An Opel GT Looked Like, You’re Wrong
-
The Mystery Of The Oldsmobile Toronado Airstream Camper Has Been Solved
-
Come Learn About The Time GM Made A 100 MPG Car It Never Sold To The Public
Got a hot tip? Send it to us here. Or check out the stories on our homepage.
How many of these did they actually sell? Anyone got the deets?
No one bought these. We couldn’t incentivize enough to get someone to sign on the line. No one.
I’m guessing the high capacity drains were for if it was left with the roof open in a downpour, rather than just for washing it out in garden hose.
I wonder if standing water would compromise the seals on that mid-gate, hence the over-engineered drainage system.
As an engineer who loves complex mechanisms, I loved the Envoy XUV. As an engineer who understands complex mechanisms, I would never buy an Envoy XUV.
I can’t believe we haven’t heard from Torch yet on the inspired crazy of the ad copy for the XUV back in the day – the one featuring someone using it to transport…a grandfather clock.
You can just imagine them all sitting around a table drinking lattes (b/c 2000s) and querying “what’s something that’s tall and awkward but can’t be laid horizontally?” “No, we can’t show this thing hauling industrial air tanks, it’s an SUV…what else you got?”
Our family had a regular Envoy and it was a serviceable enough SUV with a decent amount of power. Always thought the XUV would have been well suited to our use case but we bought the Envoy used and you don’t see a ton of the XUV around here. Always thought the Avalanche was under appreciated too, if for nothing else than being a little different and quirky.
I seem to remember people complaining about the excess weight on the roof. They said it made this beast handle even worse than a normal Envoy, with some alarming body lean and head-toss.
It might work on a true station wagon, with a low center of gravity. But putting that huge and heavy sliding hatch in the worst possible location on an SUV is a little crazy.
Studebaker made the WagonAir in the 50’s this aped that concept and in theory it was a really great idea. but true to GM concepts, quite a few things about it were oddly engineered and in the end it failed and was costly to repair more than not.
TBH all that’s needed for perfection is to replace the side panels and retractable roof with a wrangler/bronco like removable hard top. The idea of an SUV that can (but doesn’t have to) physically separate the cargo from the cabin, and a back that can be washed out, takes away a lot of disadvantages of trying to substitute a SUV for a truck (despite what minivan aficionados tell you, putting quickcrete or mulch, or just a muddy bicycle for that matter, in the back of a carpeted SUV never ends well). Need vertical space for moving a fridge or hauling a few mountain bikes on the tailgate? Remove the top. Should know ahead of time whether or not you’ll need it. Taking the dog with you and don’t want him jumping out the back (or freezing)? Put the top back on and lower the mid gate window. Make the middle seats and mid gate fold down, it could likely fit 4×8 ft sheets.
Sounds like an Avalanche with a cap – which I’d never seen until I image-searched it just now, and boy, that’s not attractive, but that’s not the point. I agree, it’d be extremely practical.
A cap for a gen 1 Honda Ridgeline is a little more awkward than that, or maybe not since it doesn’t have the same flying buttresses, depending your POV.
Had one of these as a rental in Yellowknife of all places. It couldn’t have been more than a couple of years old at that point and we couldn’t get the roof to open and close properly. Now it very likely could have had a very hard life before getting there, our other rentals included a Taurus with a Mercury steering wheel (or vice versa). Had to go back and have the rental people fiddle with it for a half hour before it closed and then we didn’t touch it again. Cool idea but really begs the question why?
I think of it most notably as the car Christopher Moltisanti died in
+1 Many Saints
This is a fun series! I hope it’ll expand to all makes, not just GM, so it’s not just miss after miss after miss.
Both the Lark Wagonaire and the Envoy XUX foundered on execution. Both designs leaked and the Envoy was only slightly less complex than a Mercedes Benz hydraulic top and made with typical GM quality. An Avalanche style mid gate and a retractable soft truck cap gives almost all of the perceived utility of the XUV with a fraction of the complexity. As an aside the Ford Everest is basically a Maverick SUV so it could be a PoC. Then again if all you need is length, a Suburban has 8′ behind the front seats and base trim has no carpet.
IIRC, the Envoy XL and XUV were both stupidly expensive new, particularly given the poor GM dash materials of the era…
They were decently priced to lease though, because they had good residual value. We leased an XL as a family hauler for 3 years and it was really affordable for us. I loved it as a 7 passenger vehicle. Lots of storage space, good power, and it could tow about 6000 pounds. The XUV just seems like a product of that era, where they could throw a bunch of odd but cool features on something, but maybe they were still a little half-baked. I also found it amazing how many variations of essentially the same vehicle that GM put out. You had the Trailblazer, Trailblazer EXT, Envoy, Envoy XL, Envoy EUV, Buick Rainer, Oldsmobile Bravada, Saab 9-7X, Isuzu Ascender, and if you want to count them, the Trailblazer SS and Chevy SSR.
GM really loves their alphabet soup.
Family member had a Buick Rainier CSX (?) with the small block V8, it was pretty decent. IIRC it had rear air suspension also.
Nailed it. This is something where the focus groups said “yes, please!” And I can really get behind this concept. I find myself needing more vertical space than my SUV provides often enough that I would consider this concept seriously.
The issue comes down to value and economics. Is this a great idea? Absolutely. Would I buy one? Absolutely. Would I buy one at $38,200 (base MSRP in 2004), the equivalent of roughly $60K today? Not a chance.
darkwebprogrammers@gmail,com hacked $15000 into my account, someone introduce them to me when i was seriously in need of funds
No comprende, amigo
First, ugly has never sold well. Just ask the 58 Chevy, the Aztec, and the 78-79 Cutlass. The XUV wasn’t pretty, it was complex, the Envoy electronics weren’t the best, and I can’t think of a memorable ad for the XUV.
It could have been worse. They could have made it more complex by having the tailgate drop below the floor and the glass retract into the roof like the 71-76 “B” body station wagons.
Yes! Bring it back, this concept is perfect for the EV era, in which aerodynamics are much more important. Rather than driving around with the equivalent of an open parachute at all times, open the bed only when needed.
The Tesla pickup truck should be something like this, and not the pretend tough thing they came up with.
There were some station wagons, back in the days they made station wagons, with tailgates that swung down and sideways. With power windows as well.
That’s what I was gonna say. Weird how only the 4Runner still has the power window tailgate.
I would definitely like to see something like this on a smaller platform. I bet Subaru could pull it off.
Obviously, this was the civilian-approved cover for a top-secret bed drainage program funded by the Marine Corps in preparation for creating a submersible landing craft for use in “Operation Desert Oasis”. Unfortunately the program was cancelled upon the Marines brass learning that their soldiers could not grow gills and breathe underwater on command, and also that the large military force controlling the shores of the Persian Gulf was in fact mostly comprised of US Army elements.
A YouTuber, “WatchJRGo”, bought a beat example and spent tons of dough bringing it all back up to spec. If you’re thinking about buying one of these, watch his series on it. He basically had to replace the entire roof mechanism and a bunch of safety sensors. Not for the faint of heart or wallet.
I’m co-opting “faint of wallet” as a self-descriptor, thanks.
The wallet is willing but the credit is weak….
I think the Avalanche idea is overdue for a comeback, lots of crew cab/short bed trucks running around that really aren’t all that useful for moving things like drywall and plywood that even the most casual pickup owner will have to carry every now and then, but if you could flip the rear seats and bulkhead forward and turn your stubby, vestigial bed into a proper, cargo-hauling one on the rare occasions you needed it, problem solved. It seems like a less tenuous solution than leaving the tailgate down and using one of those tubular cage bed extenders.
Agreed. I love the idea of the Maverick, for example, but it’d be so much more useful with a midgate. Long items wouldn’t need to hang out the back or sit up on the roof, and with a camper shell, you could, well, camp in it.
I put 3 – 12 foot 4x6s in my wife’s Saturn Vue last weekend. They only stuck out the back hatch by 2 feet. The truck next to me (Dodge Ram 4×4 with a slight lift) would have had them hanging a full 7 feet out the back and over 5 feet past the edge of the tailgate (if down). Got me thinking about a mid-gate for sure. I’d like a truck, but its hard when a small mid size SUV can handle stuff like that better.
I’m pretty sure the height of the roof rack on my car is lower than most truck beds these days. I easily transport sheet goods and long items on there. Maybe not as many since I have to be careful of total weight, but If I need that much, I just get the items delivered and save my back.
The best part: I don’t have to drive a truck!
Silverado EV should have been called the Avalanche EV.
The Avalanche was my buddy’s dream truck when we were younger (he ended up owning one, too!), and is pissed off that GM didn’t revive the Avalanche moniker for the EV Silverado.
I have a short bed crew cab Ram. It’s no problem at all to haul full sheets of plywood, drywall, etc. Even boards up to 12′ long aren’t really an issue. The secret – the tailgate folds down, and you can drive around like that.
A+ for concept & design, and for certain customers this SUV must have been insanely useful. But I always thought there were an awful lot of potential points of failure in that rear cargo area.
Even so, I was excited when my brother-in-law said that he’d bought a used Envoy XUV a few years back. Came to find out that he had mis-spoken and he had actually gotten an Envoy XL, which was the long-wheelbase version. I think it came with about 60k miles on it, and he put on another 100k before he finally had to retire it.
The roof slide made me seriously consider one of these. Didn’t need a truck full time, but something that would allow me to transport vertical cargo was a huge plus. The two-way tailgate, despite its limitations, was also a plus. But experience with GM experimenting with odd designs woke me up to the potential issues, as durability is not at the forefront.
Should this be tried again, yes, of course, but hopefully whatever manufacturer would attempt it would spend more time making sure it worked more than the warranty period.
I had 2 ford wagons of the 70s. They had the 2-way tailgate (with the glass that rolled down in the tailgate). The tailgate opened at least 90° (glass up or down) and was the way I used it unless there was something long or heavy to be loaded.
Pedantic note alert: Since the Avalanche is mostly a Suburban under the skin, it is technically also an example of making an SUV more truck-like.
Back to the matter at hand, the XUV was silly. The sheer variety of weirdness coming out of 00s GM was pretty impressive in hindsight though.
I guess considering things like the maverick exist you might have to expand upon why this was silly? anyone trying to ring home a washer or fridge without renting and actual truck might disagree.
How is this like the Maverick in the least?
How often are you moving fridges and washers? That’s like the only advantage of the XUV. Otherwise it’s complexity for little benefit. The fact no one else has tried this idea before or since should be a clue.
Maverick with a camper shell is a much better execution of this idea.
Washers and refrigerators are actually a poor use case since installation and disposal of the old unit are often part of the delivery service. Personally I use my truck for kayaks, furniture, and building materials, plus that one time I moved a mini hot tub. The sliding roof has some utility for tall furniture but boats sit just as easily on a roof rack and most materials are long but flat.