- GMC Sierra 1500 review
- Interior / Exterior »
The new Sierra isn’t a vast departure, but it is different enough to register with truck buyers, who’ve waved us by in our test drives with that universal gesture of car camaraderie–the letting-you-pass hat tip. By a very slight margin, we prefer the Sierra’s buff, blunt grille and interior trim to the choices made for the less distinctive Silverado. Some of it comes down to the Sierra’s LED lighting and projector lamps, or the big red letters embossed on the grille, as much as it does to the aluminum trim inside. The details seem crisper, the overall shape more defined, the fenders flared with more attitude. There’s a lineage infused with some of the same HUMMER traits that took over GMC’s Terrain, and on a truck body, they work even better, though the Sierra 1500 now looks as big as the 2500 and 3500 HD models.
Inside, the dash is very upright, with a simple but bold design, and the doorsills are several inches lower than the dash top. Controls are arranged in several key areas, just to the left of the steering wheel or in a large center-stack area (with a wide center console just aft), and all the controls and displays are large and straightforward, with cool blue primary lighting, red arms on the dials and red backlighting. GMC’s IntelliLink makes a colorful splash on the big LCD screen found on most models, and the rich-hued trims in the cabin are soft-touch in many places, unlike the Chevy.
- Performance »
Today’s full-size trucks deliver the kinds of payload, acceleration, and towing that heavy-duty trucks did just a couple of decades ago. Recalibrating the powertrain needs of truck drivers was inevitable, and this year it happens in the Sierra. The rejiggered powertrain lineup has dropped some of the former stragglers, leaving behind a trio of powerplants that hit all the benchmarks of the class.
Powertrains
The base engine is a 4.3-liter V-6, but don’t hold any grudges with the past Vortec engines of the same name. This one’s a natural fit for a lighter-duty full-size truck, anything not pressed to tow more than a few thousand pounds. Without the classic V-6 burr on full throttle, it could be mistaken for a small-displacement V-8, given the low-end torque. In all, it’s rated at 285 horsepower and 305 pound-feet of torque, which we’d peg at a 0-60 mph time of about 8.0-8.5 seconds, with a smartly-geared six-speed automatic running shift plays. It’s efficient–direct injection and cylinder deactivation are new–are said to boost fuel economy though EPA numbers haven’t been released. And towing is up: the V-6 Sierra tows up to 7,200 pounds, a quarter-ton more than the F-150 V-6 and 700 pounds more than the best Ram V-6.
If you really do tow 5000 pounds or more on a regular basis, and don’t mind a couple miles per gallon in gas-mileage penalties and a minimal $895 option price, GM’s 5.3-liter V-8 is the next step on the Sierra ladder. It’s a muscular powerplant, good for 355 hp and 383 pound-feet of torque, and is coupled to the same sweet six-speed automatic. In the optimum configuration, this team can tow up to 11,500 pounds, and best-case scenario, that rippling exhaust note is backed by a 23-mpg EPA highway rating, thanks again to cylinder deactivation and direct injection.
Later this year, the Sierra Denali sidles into the lineup, bringing with it an optional 6.2-liter V-8 that’ll also be offered in the SLT model. The big eight sports 420 hp and 450 pound-feet of torque according to early estimates, which translates into unknown gas mileage but adds 500 pounds to the tow rating, for a class-leading 12,000-pound tow capacity, according to GMC.
All three engines connect to the same six-speed, with a choice of rear-wheel drive or shift-on-the-fly four-wheel drive. The transmission has cruise-grade braking factored into its programming; it downshifts early to assist slowing a trailer. It also has a tow/haul mode and tap-shift controls on the shift lever for direct control, helpful when pulling a trailer and modulating power more directly to merge into traffic or to steam up grades. The transmission gives up a couple of gears to the eight-speed unit in some Rams, but it’s not missed much; an eight-speed would net better highway economy, but this six-speed has ideally spaced gears and a mellow shift quality that’s long been one of GM’s points of pride.
Ride and handling
All Sierras carry over a reworked version of the previous truck’s strut front and leaf-spring rear suspension. The steering rack is new, and electric, and specially designed brakes with long-life rotors are new for 2014.
The combination nets the Sierra some large gains in responsiveness, minor ones in ride. Not quite as smooth and composed as an air-suspended Ram, the Sierra’s more progressive springs front and back have become a little more absorbent, over what already was a fairly good ride. It’s the steering that pays big dividends: it’s quick and pretty crisp, as true to scale as the Ram’s, not as overtly hefty as the F-150’s. Monotube shocks come later this year on All-Terrain Sierras.
Electric steering enables more features that give the Sierra a stable, planted feel even with a few thousand extra pounds depending on it. We spent an afternoon learning some finer points of trailering with the 2014 Sierra, experimenting with Tow/Haul and tap-shifts, and engaging trailer-sway mode. We also fine-tuned the trailer-brake controller fitted on our test vehicle to accommodate a 4,500-pound Airstream and took to a short slalom and cornering course before hitting California’s Highway 101. The Sierra took it all into stride, composed from highway entry to exit. The biggest issue we faced, other than narrowed lanes under construction, was a state limit on trailer speed of 55 mph–it felt stable at least 10 mph beyond that.
Later this year, the Sierra All-Terrain adds some undergear to this setup. It gets a Z71 off-road suspension, monotube Rancho shocks, recovery hooks, a transfer-case shield, hill descent control, an auto-locking rear differential, and special wheels and tires. It’s a bundle that’s also offered on the Denali. We’ll bring you more on both of those editions later this year.
The GMC Sierra was overdue for a major overhaul as of last year, when its rivals began to outshine it with new looks and new powertrains. For 2014, the Sierra and its twin, the Chevy Silverado, get the deepest rework they’ve had since 2007, and emerge with some of the best towing and hauling figures of any full-size truck.
At the same time, the newly revised Sierra also gets a strong base V-6 engine, an excellent V-8, and enough ports and connections to turn it into a mobile workplace.
Both the Sierra and its sibling Chevy Silverado get new powertrains, nicer cabins, weightier styling, and a raft of new infotainment and safety features. As a result, they land much closer in our overall ratings to those current benchmarks from Ram and Ford.
It was plain to see the Sierra needed a visual reshoot, after seven years on the road. We’d call the new look gentle progress to a roughneck style. The look is refined enough but striking in its blocky, bluff front end and its chiseled fenders. The bold black-and-metallic grille makes a strong first impression—as do the chunky, flared fenders and projector headlamps with available LED trim lighting. It looks big, as big as a Sierra HD, something that will appeal to many, but not to all. Inside, the dash is still upright, with a simple design livened by soft-touch plastics and real aluminum, and opened up more by lower doorsills. Controls are arranged in several key areas, just to the left of the steering wheel or in a large center-stack area (with a wide center console just aft). All are are large and straightforward, with cool blue primary lighting, red arms on the dials, and red backlighting.
GM has updated its entire lineup of engines in the Sierra, with a new V-6 and two new V-8 engines, all with an aluminum block and heads and receiving direct injection, continuously variable valve timing, and Active Fuel Management—allowing them to run on just four cylinders when coasting or cruising in light-load conditions. If you’re only into moderate towing, we’d study the V-6 carefully. It’s quite capable, and the boost in torque and usable power means it could be time to rescale your powertrain ambitions. If you opt for the 5.3-liter V-8, your 355-horsepower result will be not so horrible gas mileage and muscular acceleration, combined with sky-high towing capacity. There’s a 6.2-liter V-8 coming later, for 420 hp and 12,000 pounds of trailering.
All three engines can be teamed with rear-wheel drive or four-wheel drive, and a six-speed automatic transmission (with a ‘cruise grade braking’ feature to reduce brake wear) is offered across the line. It’s not eight speeds, and that’s fine, since it’s staged to deal with available torque in the best way possible. All models get electric power steering, and four-wheel disc brakes with special long-life brake rotors are standard across the model line. The Sierra’s ride quality is a bit better than before; it’s the steering that gets our attention, with its quick reflexes and just-right weight.
A major refresh, not quite an all-new truck, the 2014 Sierra is packaged like the outgoing model, with some worthwhile improvements. Sierra Crew Cab models are now offered with two different bed lengths—5’8” or 6’6”—while regular-cab models are offered in 6’6” or 8’ lengths and the extended-cab versions all include the middle size. Crew Cab models get longer doors as well, with the B-pillars moved forward, resulting in easier entry and exit, and extended-cab versions get front-hinged rear doors for the first time—nearly rivaling the outgoing Crew Cab models in convenience. We prefer the Sierra’s cloth seats to the leather ones with ventilated, for better comfort, but we know we’re running against the luxury grain there. In the bed, the Sierra steps up with an integrated bumper step, LED bed lighting, and a damped tailgate that lowers like the glovebox on a Lexus LS.
Safety features get upgraded as well, with a suite of new active-safety aids that are optional. Forward Collision Alert and Lane Departure Warning—both camera-based—can help you stay aware of hazards, and the optional Driver Alert Seat can vibrate with pulses on either side to alert the driver quickly to issues. Trailer Sway Control and Hill Start Assist are included as part of the standard StabiliTrak stability control system.
All Sierras get air conditioning, keyless entry, and an AM/FM radio with a 4.2-inch color display. GMC’s IntelliLink connectivity system is optional on the Sierra; it combines full voice-command Bluetooth connectivity with Bluetooth audio streaming, a Pandora app, and available navigation, with an eight-inch reconfigurable touch screen. A 110-volt AC outlet is also on offer, and some models include up to four 12-volt outlets and five USB ports, as well as an SD card slot. Blu-Ray DVD players and different seating configurations are available.
There’s more to come, too. Later this year, the Sierra All-Terrain gets the optional Z71 off-road suspension, monotube Rancho shocks, recovery hooks, a transfer-case shield, hill descent control, an auto-locking rear differential, and special wheels and tires. Meanwhile, the coming Sierra Denali adds its own styling details and plush features like Bose audio and ventilated seats, plus a standard V-8 engine.
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