Page 52 - Motor Trend (January 2020)

TOTY
Finalists
PRO New gasoline engine • New diesel engine • Slick 10-speed CON Dull interior design • Mediocre interior materials • Eye-watering prices
GMC Sierra 1500
“ etween the new 3.0-liter question of which smaller engine
Duramax diesel inline-six
best suits your needs.
Band the 2.7-liter gas-sipping
For the lightest-duty stuff,
inline-four,” Lieberman said, “you the turbo 2.7’s 310 hp and 348
have to question why light-duty lb-ft is plenty. But among pickup
trucks need V-8s.” people, the new Duramax (an
We’ll go even further. By the option that adds between $2,495
end of our week of testing, these and $6,375 depending on trim)
two new engines in the Sierra should be cause for celebration,
1500’s retuned platform had churning out 277 hp and 460 lb-ft
reached a definitive answer: of truck-important torque while
“You don’t need a V-8.” It’s just a delivering 3-4/4–8 more city/ Walton: “The engine is so very not
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-ft) the Sierra is 7
percent quicker to 60 mph and 9
percent quicker when pulling the
same 7,500-pound trailer.
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
Vehicle 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/mile
*1,500-lb payload | **7,500-lb trailer | ***35-55-mph uphill acceleration with 7,750-lb trailer
52 MOTORTREND.COM JANUARY 2020
surrounds the Duramax is a carry-
Although the truck that
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
“The engine feels like a restless range (464 miles), transmission
You sense it subjectively, too.
fluid (198 degrees), fuel filter life
horse straining at the reins,” Evans (93 percent), brake pad life (97
percent front, 98 percent rear),
said. “It’s definitely quicker than
the Rebel and even smoother. The plus all four tires’ pressures, DEF
Duramax is a torquey little thing— level, roll and pitch angles, trailer
this engine is the star of the show.” brake gain, following distance,
It’s also a comforting halfway and fuel economy. Who needs a
house for anyone new to diesels. mechanic to diagnose an issue?
Aside from its beefy torque, it On the road, the Sierra both
has the manners of a gas engine. rides and handles well, with even
our Duramax version benefiting
diesely. Where’d the clacking go?” from less weight on the front axle.
Everybody noticed its uncharac- But the Sierra stumbles with its
teristic quietness. Markus: “I am drab interior. Understand, every-
a little amazed at how little this thing you need is there, including
engine sounds like a diesel.” an available head-up display. It
Struggling to find anything to just looks dated. And, that’s what
criticize, the best Markus came you see every morning.
up with was, “I pity the mechanics And although the Sierra had
who ever have to work on this; I its proponents, especially in the
opened the hood to get a look at great-looking AT4 trim, with its
this inline-six and could not see great tech and 10-speed auto-
any of the engine.” That shrouding matic. But many of the judges
is partly why it’s so quiet. were stopped cold by that interior.
Kim Reynolds