Boy oh boy, I’ve got a nice pickup truck this week. I have the very large and very luxurious 2025 GMC Sierra 1500 Denali Ultimate. This truck is beautiful in and out, and I love the color called Downpour Metallic, although I’m not sure why.
Exterior
As you walk around the chiseled exterior, you see the big Professional Grade GMC grill, which is unique to the Ultimate, tow hooks, LED headlights and tail lights, fog lamps, beautiful 22” wheels, and dual exhaust in the rear.
Powertrain
Under the hood is the tried-and-true 6.2-liter V8 engine that is putting out 420-Horses, and a strong 460-pound feet of torque. It is mated to a 10-speed automatic transmission that has shift paddles and my tester is 4-wheel drive.
Interior
As you enter the spacious cabin, the interior is luxurious. The seats are comfortable in beautiful leather, they are heated and cooled, and they will massage you. Beautiful stitching is everywhere, and all materials are soft to the touch.
From the driver’s seat, you see a large 12.3-inch gauge cluster that is colorful and easy to read. There is a configurable driver info center that you scroll through from the steering wheel.
The Denali Ultimate has a huge 13.4-inch touchscreen that sits on the dash. It operates the 12-speaker Bose sound system, Bluetooth, navigation, wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, OnStar, and Google Assistant.
A swipe to the left gives you the trailer towing settings, climate, vehicle settings, Wi-Fi Hotspot, and more. You can configure the buttons as you wish and add and delete them as you choose.
Under that are A/C controls for the automatic air conditioning system, and a row of buttons that will do many things, most notable is to turn on the lane assist, activate the parking assist, turn off the start/stop system, lower the tailgate, and you can lower all 4 windows at one time.
Under that, you can charge your cell phone, there is a T-handle shifter and a couple of cup holders. Your elbows will rest on a deep but very soft center console that also houses USB and USB-C ports.
Moving to the second row of seating, there is tremendous leg and headroom, the seat is heated, there are air conditioner vents, a fold down armrest with cup holders, and USB and USB-C ports. The seats fold up from the bottom for additional storage and there is storage built into the floor so things don’t slide around.
This Sierra has all the popular comfort and safety features you want including power tilt and heated leather-wrapped steering wheel, lane departure warning, automatic emergency braking, forward collision alert, blind spot warning, deployable running boards, remote start, rear seat reminder, a power moon roof, rear camera mirror, a head-up display, and trailer towing package.
In an exclusive GMC feature it has GMC’s famous MultiPro tailgate. It drops down, then folds down to form a step, it has a grab handle to help you in, and it has Kicker speakers built-into the tailgate for your stadium parties. There is also a 120-volt power outlet back there.
This package comes GMs Super Cruise self-driving system. GM has driven and mapped out over 400,000 miles of divided highways across America. On an approved road, you’ll get a green light on the dash. Set the cruise control, hit the Super Cruise, and the vehicle literally drives itself. If you want to change lanes, turn on your blinker and it will make sure there is enough room and will change lanes for you. You can set it to include the length of your trailer as well.
A small camera on the steering wheel monitors your eyes to make sure you are engaged, and if not, you get a verbal warning. After that, the car will start to slow down, the flashers come on, and it will safely get you off the road and OnStar will call for help. This is in case the driver is incapacitated. Although these systems keep improving, I think this is the best one you can get.
Verdict
Fuel economy is 15 in town, 19 on the highway, and 16 overall, which is what you’d expect from a bog ‘ole thirsty V8. I love this truck, but if it were me, I’d opt for the 3.0-liter Duramax diesel, it’s wonderful and gets substantially better fuel economy.
To view a slideshow visit CarPro.com.