DURAMAX ENGINE EASY TO LOVE IN THIS UPDATED PICKUP TRUCK
Chances are good if you live in the west, at some point, you’ve owned a pickup truck. Take Barry Lister. Since the early 2000s, the Calgarian had a truck to help haul supplies as he bought and renovated homes and to tow a family trailer. His first truck was a Chevy Silverado, and he now owns a 2011 Ford F-150 Platinum.
We put him behind the wheel of the new fifth-generation GMC Sierra, a truck that was fully updated for the 2019 model year. New for 2020, and in select trim levels, buyers have the option of ordering for $4,830 a 3.0-litre Duramax diesel power plant coupled with a 10-speed automatic transmission.
Lister spent a week driving a crew cab, short box, four-wheeldrive Sierra in Elevation trim with the diesel engine — and he’s impressed.
“That is the No. 1 thing I came to love about that truck,” Lister explains. “GM has a real winner on their hands with the Duramax, it’s so peppy and it offered torque, power and good fuel economy — and really, that torque is just so addictive.”
GM offers the Sierra in regular cab with an eight-foot box, crew cab with 5.9-foot and standard 6.5-foot box, and double cab with standard length box. Trims range from base Sierra to the top-of-the-line Denali, and the Elevation is in the middle of the pack. Engine choices range from a 2.7-litre turbocharged in-line four to a 4.3-L V6 and three V8 Ecotec options, plus, the Duramax diesel. Depending on engine choice, the transmission will be either a six-, eight- or 10-speed automatic, and two-wheel and four-wheel drive are available.
When Lister is shopping for a truck, his top three considerations are towing capacity, cab configuration (he prefers a crew cab) and a good-sized box for hauling loads protected by a canopy.
When he first laid eyes on the 2020 Sierra, Lister wasn’t sure he was a fan of the imposing grille. The more time he spent with the truck, however, the more he grew to like the design.
“I liked the fact there was a spray-in bed liner,” Lister says. “The black 20-inch wheels were sharp, and the little fin on the back of the cab makes it look more aerodynamic, but I wonder if that would interfere with fitting a canopy on the box?”
Six feet tall, Lister had no trouble getting into the cab.
“Everything was very intuitive, and I got comfortable rather quickly without really having to study the controls,” he says.
Interior fit and finish, with black cloth upholstery, was rated as a quality job, and he liked the centre console with the bucket seats that are part of the Elevation Value Package.
On the road, Lister kept the Sierra mostly in two-wheel drive. The truck has four drive modes, including hauling, all-terrain, sport and normal.
“I’m a big fan of the automatic stop/start feature,” Lister says. “I’m not sure how much this contributes to the truck’s fantastic fuel economy, but I think it’s great. I never had to wait for the engine to start as I moved my foot from the brake to the accelerator and thinking about how much time vehicles sit in traffic and the amount of pollution that causes, this is a fantastic feature.”
The overall ride was rated as firm, without being uncomfortable, while the Sierra handled well in all driving situations.
“It wasn’t a lumbering vehicle,” he says. “It would be a comfortable enough daily driver.”
Lister was also impressed by the number of sensors and the high definition rear-view camera — the systems relayed plenty of information to the driver.
“I didn’t notice any real blind spots, the truck offered really good visibility all around,” Lister says.
As for utility, Lister liked the numerous tie-down points in the box and commended GM for installing LEDS in the rear corners of the bed.
The power-release tailgate was lightweight and well balanced, he says.
“I really liked the step in the bumper. That seems like a simple and innovative solution versus inventing a tailgate with stairs in it.”
Lister was such a fan of the Duramax diesel, at one point during his test he was online doing some shopping on the GM website.
“I’m not really looking to upgrade,” he says, “but I loved that motor.”