The 2019 GMC Sierra, like each different pickup truck available on the market, must be two autos in a single. With costs creeping ever skyward, it is essential to select a truck that may deal with each work and play with aplomb, and the brand new Sierra does simply that. All the normal truck stuff — towing, hauling, and many others. — will get dealt with with full competency, with some further credit score for a novel trick within the mattress. In its secondary job as a household car, it succeeds due to GM’s tech-forward characteristic lineup. Irrespective of which job it is time for, the Sierra is able to clock in.
Design avoids the ugly stick, new tailgate impresses
Each the GMC Sierra and its Chevrolet Silverado sibling get main updates for the 2019 mannequin yr. Whereas the Silverado’s scrunched entrance finish is not for everybody, the Sierra wears a design that is a bit extra conventional. Positive, the grille makes up 90 % of the entrance finish, but it surely blends effectively with the remainder of the truck’s blocky attractiveness, casting an imposing shadow over most different vehicles on the highway.
The rear finish retains GM’s intelligent inset bumper step, and whereas I believe it is type of ugly, its practicality cannot be beat. Nevertheless, it won’t be obligatory in case your Sierra packs the identical MultiPro tailgate that my SLT-trim tester does. It is a tailgate inside a tailgate that may act as a laptop computer stand, a giant ol’ step or a brief mattress extender. It is some actually intelligent stuff that ought to assist the Sierra stand out with consumers.
The inside retains it fairly easy. There isn’t any main redo right here — as an alternative, GMC goes for the familiarity play with a structure that is largely the identical as earlier than. My crew-cab tester has two very spacious rows of seats wrapped in comfy leather-based, and the entrance row seats are separated with a middle console able to holding each tchotchke amassed throughout a lifetime, together with sufficient house underneath the armrest for a complete purse.
My favourite characteristic within the Sierra is the digital parking brake, which is a single button that may solely be pushed a method. I haven’t got to fumble to recollect whether or not partaking the brake requires a pull or a push — if it is on, the button turns it off, and if it is off, the button turns it on. It is the little issues, you recognize?
It is loads of grille, however someway, it really works.
Nick Miotke/Roadshow
Succesful with out being uncomfortably rugged
Not everybody will purchase a 2019 Sierra for truck stuff, however individuals who frequently tow or haul will not be missing for functionality. Spec the Sierra with a crew cab, the non-compulsory 6.2-liter V8 and an $850 trailering package deal for its improved cooling, a beefier suspension and a special rear axle ratio, and this truck will tow 12,100 kilos. If payload is extra essential, ditch the 6.2-liter V8 (however hold the crew cab and trailering package deal) and the Sierra will haul 2,140 kilos of no matter.
My tester is optioned out for max trailering, so it has all of the goodies talked about above. The 6.2-liter V8 provides $2,495 to the Sierra SLT crew cab’s $50,000 base value, however I believe it is value it. With 420 horsepower and 460 pound-feet of torque on faucet, it sounds (and almost feels) like 75 % of a base Corvette, offering a great deal of hustle with an empty mattress and ample torque in each gear. The 10-speed computerized is okay on the upshifts, however downshifts take a shocking period of time because the truck figures out which gear is right for its given throttle place.
The remaining driving dynamics are fairly nice, so far as unladen pickup trucks go. There’s some audible cabin sound when the suspension shuffles the truck over bumps and potholes, however tire and wind noises on the freeway are comparatively muted. The Sierra reveals the identical wishy-washy traits as each different body-on-frame pickup truck, however in comparison with different autos within the section, it feels close to the highest comfort-wise.
With its base (for now) 5.Three-liter V8, the 2019 Sierra can obtain an EPA-estimated 17 miles per gallon metropolis and 23 mpg freeway, however my tester’s 6.2-liter V8 drops these numbers to 15 metropolis and 20 freeway. Fortunately, they’re simple to beat — the truth is, my noticed numbers with the 6.2-liter V8 have been fairly near the 5.Three-liter’s estimates. That is with out something in or connected to the truck, although — slap a race automobile on the again or fill the mattress with rocks, and all bets are off.
Tech and security abounds
Presently, all Sierras have the identical Eight-inch touchscreen infotainment system, which could be upgraded to incorporate embedded navigation. Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are commonplace, although, so navigation remains to be out there by cheaper means. A 4G LTE Wi-Fi hotspot is current, as effectively.
The infotainment system itself runs the freshest model of GM’s software program. First seen on Cadillac earlier than migrating slowly to different GM marques, this new system is snappier and prettier, ditching its skeuomorphic previous in favor of one thing flatter and easier. It permits for cross-car personalization, too, due to a consumer profile system that can deliver saved navigation locations and different knowledge from automobile to automobile. It is a good system, made even higher.
There are two components of the system that I’m obsessive about. The primary is the Trailering app, which is a complete little bit of tech devoted to pullin’ stuff. It gives checklists to ensure no step (like hooking up ) is forgotten, and it lets me save a number of trailer profiles in case I have to tow a ship in the future and a horse trailer the subsequent. The opposite is the Digicam app, which exhibits each potential angle of the truck, together with a top-down view. For an additional $250, GMC will add an additional digicam on every mirror, in addition to a top-down digicam on the tailgate that makes hitching trailers a lot simpler.
The design of the Sierra’s new infotainment system is flatter than the planet itself, and it is far more responsive than earlier than, as well.
Nick Miotke/Roadshow
My tester packs the $6,825 Premium Package deal, which gives nearly each creature consolation recognized to man, together with ventilated entrance seats, heated rear seats, extra USB ports, an improved audio system and each security system potential. Most of the updates are damaged down into smaller packages, too, for consumers who do not need to ship the truck’s value by the roof. The USB ports deserve particular point out, as a result of my tester has six of them — two up entrance, two within the heart console and two for the again row. Every financial institution of two has one USB Kind-A and one USB Kind-C for sooner gadget charging, which is a pleasant contact. Wi-fi cellphone charging is accessible, too, however alas, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto do not work wirelessly with the Sierra.
The massive-boy Premium Package deal additionally provides a complete load of energetic and passive security programs. My Sierra tester comes toting entrance and rear parking sensors, lane-keep help, a following-distance indicator and low-speed computerized emergency braking with pedestrian detection. The lane-keep help was particularly useful, because the truck often feels bigger than a complete lane.
How I might spec it
As extra cab, mattress and engine configurations come on-line, the Sierra’s base value will drop precipitously, however for now, I might spec it virtually precisely like my tester. Configuring a truck is sort of as concerned as configuring a Porsche, however the restricted variety of out there Sierras means it is a bit simpler.
A V8 crew cab is all that is out there on the time of writing. It’s going to sneak underneath $50,000 (together with $1,495 in vacation spot costs) with rear-wheel drive, however as a Midwesterner, I am going to take the $51,495 four-wheel-drive model. Including the 6.2-liter V8 brings the worth to $53,990. I do not want the ruggedness of the AT4 trim or the fancy-pants perspective of the Denali, so I am going to persist with the SLT trim, which is the least costly of the three.
I’d hold the $6,825 Premium Package deal, as a result of I need all the security programs, along with the additional USB ports, ventilated entrance seats, energy rear window and revised heart console. I might skip over my tester’s $995 sunroof, the $495 fancy crimson paint and the $850 trailering package deal, however I might make investments the $250 within the further cameras. That brings the overall to a lofty $61,065. That is not too far off my tester’s $62,605, but it surely cuts a few of the fluff. My tester ought to be $63,605, however GMC at present reductions the Premium Package deal’s value by $1,000, which is sweet, as a result of it is costly.
All the way down to brass tacks
With a bunch of recent vans available on the market, that is one scorching section. The 2019 Silverado is sort of a carbon copy of the Sierra, however its design is polarizing and it lacks the versatile MultiPro tailgate. The 2019 Ram 1500 gives a greater experience and an non-compulsory 12-inch touchscreen, however I am not bought on its unibrow-ish entrance finish. The 2018 Ford F-150 was solely a refresh, however I can go to a dealership at the moment and choose up one with a diesel engine, and I can not do this with the Sierra (but).
The 2019 GMC Sierra gives a complete bag of tips that enhances each of its main capabilities. From a piece perspective, it is versatile and succesful, whereas from a play perspective it is comfy and crammed with the most recent cabin tech. It will not allow you to down, it doesn’t matter what you will have in retailer for it.