*1,500-lb payload | **7,500-lb trailer | ***35-55-mph uphill acceleration with 7,750-lb trailerVehicle Layout Front-engine, 4WD, 5-pass, 4-door truck Engine/Transmission 3.0L turbodiesel DOHC 24-valve I-6/10-speed automatic Curb Weight
(F/R Dist) 5,661 lb (58/42%) Wheelbase 147.5 in Length x Width x Height 231.7 x 81.2 x 78.4 in Energy Consumption, City/Hwy 171/145 kW-hr/100 miles
CO2 Emissions, Comb 0.94 lb/milequestion of which smaller engine
best suits your needs.
For the lightest-duty stuff,
the turbo 2.7’s 310 hp and 348
lb-ft is plenty. But among pickup
people, the new Duramax (an
option that adds between $2,495
and $6,375 depending on trim)
should be cause for celebration,
churning out 277 hp and 460 lb-ft
of truck-important torque while
delivering 3-4/4–8 more city/
highway mpgs than the 2.7-liter.
Between its turbodiesel torque
and new 10-speed automatic
(the 2.7 gas has eight gears),
the Duramax tows even better
than it goes. Compared to the
similar Ram 1500 Rebel EcoDiesel
(with 20 more lb-f t) the Sierra is 7
percent quicker to 60 mph and 9
percent quicker when pulling the
same 7,500-pound trailer.B
etween the new 3.0-liter
Duramax diesel inline-six
and the 2.7-liter gas-sipping
inline-four,” Lieberman said, “you
have to question why light-duty
trucks need V-8s.”
We’ll go even further. By the
end of our week of testing, these
two new engines in the Sierra
1500’s retuned platform had
reached a definitive answer:
“You don’t need a V-8.” It’s just aYou sense it subjectively, too.
“The engine feels like a restless
horse straining at the reins,” Evans
said. “It’s definitely quicker than
the Rebel and even smoother. The
Duramax is a torquey little thing—
this engine is the star of the show.”
It’s also a comforting halfway
house for anyone new to diesels.
Aside from its beefy torque, it
has the manners of a gas engine.
Walton: “The engine is so ver y not
diesely. Where’d the clacking go?”
Everybody noticed its uncharac-
teristic quietness. Markus: “I am
a little amazed at how little this
engine sounds like a diesel.”
Struggling to find anything to
criticize, the best Markus came
up with was, “I pity the mechanics
who ever have to work on this; I
opened the hood to get a look at
this inline-six and could not see
any of the engine.” That shrouding
is partly why it’s so quiet.Although the truck that
surrounds the Duramax is a carry-
over from last year’s debut, GMC
retuned the front coil and rear
leaf-spring suspensions. GMC
also festooned the truck with
features and options, highlighted
by the CarbonPro Edition, which
includes a (very tough) carbon-
fiber bed (with 12 tie-downs). It
adds between $6,410 and $10,960
to AT4 or Denali models, which
also get GMC’s MultiPro mini
tailgate-within-a-tailgate that,
when deployed, extends the
6-foot bed to a nominal 8. That
pricing is a mighty tough sell.
There’s also encyclopedic
monitoring of the truck’s various
vitals: At one point, I scrolled
through its data stream and
noted the Sierra’s air filter life (95
percent), oil life (76 percent), fuel
range (464 miles), transmission
fluid (198 degrees), fuel filter life
(93 percent), brake pad life (97
percent front, 98 percent rear),
plus all four tires’ pressures, DEF
level, roll and pitch angles, trailer
brake gain, following distance,
and fuel economy. Who needs a
mechanic to diagnose an issue?
On the road, the Sierra both
rides and handles well, with even
our Duramax version benefiting
from less weight on the front axle.
But the Sierra stumbles with its
drab interior. Understand, every-
thing you need is there, including
an available head-up display. It
just looks dated. And, that’s what
you see every morning.
And although the Sierra had
its proponents, especially in the
great-looking AT4 trim, with its
great tech and 10-speed auto-
matic. But many of the judges
were stopped cold by that interior.
Kim ReynoldsPRO New gasoline engine • New diesel engine • Slick 10-speed CON Dull interior design • Mediocre interior materials • Eye-watering pricesTOTY
GMC Sierra 1500
Finalists
SPECS 2020 Sierra 1500 AT4 (CrewCab 4WD)
Base Price/As Tested $60,310/$65,800
Power (SAE net) 277 hp @ 3,750 rpm
Torque (SAE net) 460 lb-ft @ 1,500 rpm
Accel, 0-60 mph 7. 5 sec
Accel, 0-60 mph (loaded) 8.7 sec*
Accel, 0-60 mph (towing) 18.0 sec**
Quarter Mile 15.7 sec @ 86.2 mph
Quarter Mile (loaded) 16.6 sec @ 82.0 mph*
Quarter Mile (towing) 21.0 sec @ 63.7 mph**
Braking, 60-0 mph 130 ft
Braking, 60-0 mph (loaded) 132 ft
Double Lane Change Time 4.1 sec
Davis Dam Frustration 21.0 sec @ 1,450 ft***
Cruise Control 65-mph Overrun 3.2 mph
EPA City/Hwy/Comb 22/26/24 mpg“
52 MOTORTREND.COM JANUARY 2020