By Frank S. Washington
DETRIT, MI — I just got through test driving a 2013 GMC Sierra Denali 1500 AWD Crew Cab pickup truck.
It was powered by a 6.2 liter V8 that made 403 horsepower and 417 pound-feet of torque. The engine was mated to a six-speed automatic. My all-wheel-drive Sierra had an 8.6-inch rear axle with 3.42 gears and an automatic locking differential.
GMC said it had a specially tuned suspension, four wheel disc brakes, StabiliTrak, skid plates and recover hooks. The crew cab pickup also looked pretty spiffy with its 20-inch chrome finished aluminum wheels which are standard on the Denali trim line.
My test vehicle was also equipped with GMC’s heavy duty towing package which meant that it could pull up to 10,700 lbs. That’s more than five tons. Now here’s the downside — I didn’t have anything to tow. I need to get a boat or put my garage on wheels so I can properly test a pickup.
It’s important because I think the days are pretty much gone when people purchase pickup trucks and put them solely to personal use. In other words, pickup trucks are used pretty much as work vehicles which was their original intent.
Still, I used my test vehicle for everyday stuff. And since it was a top of the line Denali, the pickup had all the comforts of a well-equipped sedan. The point is there’s no reason someone shouldn’t be comfortable while working.
The 2013 Sierra Denali had leather trim seats, power door-locks, dual zone climate controls, a heated steering wheel and automatic dimming mirrors. Winter hadn’t arrived while I had my test vehicle but some nights it got down into the 40s and the heated steering wheel came in handy.
However, I thought the best thing about my Sierra Denali was the rear view camera. First, it kept me off my neighbors grass as I backed out of my driveway. Even though I had the short box, trying to keep any pickup truck going straight while backing up is a challenge.
That rear view camera also came in handy when I was trying to get out of or sometimes into parking spots in parking lots. It’s a perilous time for backing into another vehicle causing dings and dents which these days cost more than a few dollars to fix.
Crew cab means that my GMC Sierra had four seats. The back pair was not jump seats. They were comfortable and matched the front seats. That is they were full-size. I had no problem getting into the rear passenger compartment. There was head and legroom to spare. And because the floor was flat, I think the area would be really comfortable even on long hauls.
Other creature comforts included heated and cooled front seats, a navigation system, traffic alert, a sunroof, a premium audio system, Bluetooth, remote start, tire pressure monitor and rear park assist. My only quibble was that pairing a smartphone to the vehicle was not intuitive. I didn’t bother to open the owner’s manual to get the directions.
However, my test vehicle had OnStar. This system continues to impress me. I didn’t use the voice controls to get directions but I did use an OnStar live voice that was attached to a person. Directions were downloaded to my navigation system and off I went.
A live brain was important since I had been given such and such drive rather than avenue. MapQuest couldn’t make the distinction, even though I gave it the name of the business. It told me no such address existed. There’s something to be said for human assistance.
The ride on my Sierra was pretty smooth for a pickup truck. There wasn’t a lot of bounce, the vehicle cornered well and the engine didn’t have that low level groan. I thought that was significant.
As I said, my 2013 GMC Sierra Denali AWD was the top of the line. The base price was $48,635. Add on options, a freight charge and the total as tested came to $53,694.
Frank S. Washington is editor of AboutThatCar.com
This was printed in the February 10, 2013 – February 23, 2013 Edition
