MotorWeek | Retro Review: '92 GMC Typhoon

motorWeek is made possible by Rock auto tech and your motorWeek 92 host john davis hello and welcome back to motorWeek 92. We're glad to have you with us a few months ago we tested a wonderful limited edition truck from GMC called Well the cyclone is not the The most practical truck we've ever driven, its turbocharged engine, street performance, suspension and spectacular looks made it more fun than most sports cars. The biggest complaint from our staff was that with only two seats you couldn't take all your friends traveling well. The folks at GMC must have been thinking the same thing because hot on the heels of that Sonoma truck-based Cyclone comes this Jimmy Bass Typhoon.

It shares the Cyclones' mechanics and bodywork, but with two more seats it also allows you to bring more friends. Throughout the ride, true to its name, the turbocharged GMC Typhoon delivers impressive power, meaning this youthful sports compact has enough power to knock its occupants into their seats and delivers this power and dazzling luxury that filled the business when the

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hit. From the Cyclones turbo intercooled 4.3-liter V6 comes a monstrous 280 horsepower and 350 pound-feet of torque and 3,600 rpm came to a heavy-duty Hydra-matic 4-speed automatic transmission and all-wheel drive system. Total taken from the GMC Safari truck and has the characteristics of a pavement directing powertrain, the transmission shifts quickly and rotates, the minimum torque is divided into 35% for the front axle and 65% for the rear axle on dry pavement , is based on the S 15 Jimmy, with a short wheelbase of one hundred and five inches. 3800 pounds - storms 260 and 5.3 seconds only a few tenths slower than the lightest cyclone reaching a trap speed of 94 miles per hour the

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completes the quarter mile in 14 point 1 seconds the typhoon launch is strong and then a At around 3000 rpm the turbo kicks in and provides a burst of gale force.

The straight line performance of the Typhoon is impressive and the Typhoon inspires much more confidence than the Cyclone when cornering. The combination of wide late Firehawk film series tires and a performance-tuned suspension is aided by a height. The adjustment feature not found in the Cyclone's body roll is minimal for the truck, but while the Typhoon remains stable in more severe transitions, the steering tends to be vague, causing the Typhoon to lose speed. , a disc and rear drums, all are equipped with ABS and stopped our test truck. from 60 and a short average distance of 103 feet, the stops were straight but there was a good amount of nosedive.

Driving on the open road with the typhoon is a pleasant experience given its chilling sedan ride in comfort, much more bearable than this cyclone pickup, but just like the cyclone. Fuel Economy II is not a Typhoon attribute. EPA-rated mileage of fifteen city and nineteen highway is combined with a test track return of seventeen miles per gallon. By the way, 93 octane gasoline is required even when stopped, the GMC Typhoon suggests movement. Its streamlined style is accentuated by a foot. hair dam with integrated fog lights side skirts and blacked-out trim on 16-inch turbine-style alloy wheels with their low-profile rubber and the base Jinni pickup takes on the personality of a strange warrior, the interior also clearly indicates the Typhoon's prowess , that is, if you can ignore the boring jimmy; however, the gauge package is from Pontiac and very complete, like the bad boy on the block, our Typhoon was dressed in black leather, starting with the comfortable front seats with inflatable lumbar supports, other seat adjustments are manual, the steering wheel four-spoke tilting.

It's also leather-lined, but it seems a little conservative. The standard sound system consists of an AM/FM stereo with cassette deck and graphic equalizer. The optional CD player accompanied our test vehicle. Heating and air conditioning controls are easy to operate and are located vertically. on the right side of the measuring module, although the two-door Typhoon requires passengers to get into the back seat, the space is geared towards adult couples, if it is cargo to carry, there is 67.3 cubic feet of space, which is the same amount found in the standard model. Jimmy to the door, but the payload capacity is limited to 900 pounds and the trailer tow is limited to a thousand pounds.

The Typhoon has been designed and built with the main purpose in mind to impress, no doubt friends will be lining up to go for a while, but you might want to consider it. charge admission the cost to impress is not cheap the typhoon has a base price of twenty nine thousand four hundred and seventy dollars still, much more expensive cars are much less fun yes, there are many things I like about the GMC typhoon, starting with the La Immense acceleration from the turbocharged V6 engine, the driving characteristics are impressive for a truck, as is the styling.

We also like typhoons. The long list of standard features you miss out on include the boring dashboard and limited carrying capacity, but that's not why you buy a Typhoon like its cousin the Cyclone. The Typhoon is part of GMC's desire to create a high-performance niche for its light trucks. Both vehicles have the engine performance and sinister looks to fill that niche. They do that job very well. We can't wait until the next time GMC calls for bad weather.