2021 GMC Sierra 1500 4WD Crew Cab AT4 Video Review: MotorTrend Buyer's Guide

MotorTrend

Since 1998 the Sierra has been GMC's bread and butter pickup.  Is the Sierra the best full size truck on the market?

Transcript

00:00 This is GMC's bread and butter truck.

00:03 It's the 2021 GMC Sierra 1500 Crew Cab AT4.

00:09 Is this worth the extra cash over a Chevy Silverado?

00:13 And is the Sierra the best full-size truck on the market?

00:17 Let's find out.

00:18 GM has been selling the Sierra as the corporate sibling

00:25 to the Chevy Silverado since 1998,

00:29 and over the years, there's been a lot of questions

00:31 about whether the Sierra was distinct enough

00:35 to deserve the professional-grade GMC badge.

00:38 So when GM redid the pickups for the fourth generation

00:42 in 2019, they took great pains to really try and differentiate

00:47 the two trucks.

00:49 And it gave the Sierra some really cool and kind

00:52 of eye-popping features.

00:53 After all, it needs to stand out in the market.

00:56 It's not competing against the Silverado.

00:58 It's trying to take on the Ford F-150, the Ram 1500,

01:03 the big boys in the market.

01:04 The AT4 is the rough and ready and rugged trim level.

01:11 It's the alternative to the posh Denali trim.

01:14 Probably the first thing that gives it away

01:16 that you're in an AT4 are these awesome red tow

01:19 hooks in the front, instantly recognizable.

01:22 I'm kind of digging the way we've got the elegant GMC

01:26 big, bold face.

01:27 But the tow hooks just kind of say, like, hey,

01:30 I'm ready to play, OK?

01:31 I'm more than looks.

01:33 Really emphasizing that point is when you come to the side

01:36 and you see that part of the off-road package that

01:38 makes it an AT4 is that it's been lifted by 2 inches.

01:42 And I think that makes the AT4 by far the coolest looking

01:48 trim of the whole Sierra lineup.

01:50 It does mean that we have giant wheel wells here.

01:53 These Goodyear Wrangler 18 machined wheels

01:56 are looking a little small in there, but you can up them.

02:00 And as we come around to the back,

02:01 there is a step up, which would come in handy

02:03 since we've lifted the truck.

02:05 But also in the back are really the two coolest

02:08 features of the Sierra.

02:10 One is a tailgate that drops down

02:12 into six different positions.

02:14 And the other is a carbon fiber composite bed,

02:18 which when GM said they were making this,

02:21 we kind of didn't believe them.

02:22 But sure enough, they did.

02:23 And the result is you can throw anything

02:26 into that bed and it's not going to dent it.

02:30 Well, the first thing you need to know

02:31 is that when they redesigned the Sierra for 2019,

02:35 they made it bigger.

02:37 Yes, it was a huge truck to start with,

02:39 but this is the biggest Sierra ever.

02:42 As a result, tons of space here in the interior.

02:45 I've got lots of headroom.

02:46 I've got shoulder room.

02:47 I've got leg room.

02:48 The back seat is so big that I could go back there

02:51 and take a pretty nice nap.

02:53 In terms of tech, there are a few new things.

02:55 We do have a new head-up display.

02:57 When it comes to the center display, believe it or not,

03:00 this is the upgrade.

03:01 The standard is only 7 inches.

03:03 This is only 8 inches.

03:04 And unfortunately, today, that kind of doesn't cut it.

03:08 The competition has a much bigger infotainment screen.

03:11 It can make it a little hard to work.

03:13 I'm trying to get at the home button here.

03:16 A guy with big work gloves, even a woman with nails,

03:19 it's a little bit hard to get in there.

03:21 Again, a function of the screen just not giving you

03:23 a lot of room to play with it.

03:25 Otherwise, there are some nice features.

03:27 I do like wireless charging, easy to get at USB ports,

03:31 the perforated leather seats, kind of a fan of that.

03:34 But the overall switch gear is a little bit dated.

03:38 It's a little too much like other GMs.

03:41 It's very similar to the Silverado.

03:43 All in all, GM has put all of the features in here.

03:46 It's like we've got all the ingredients.

03:48 But unfortunately, they came up with a rather bland dish.

03:53 The Sierra lineup has a lot of powertrains.

03:57 But in 2020, they added my favorite, a diesel.

04:01 This AT4 has a 3-liter turbo inline-six.

04:06 This is a spectacular diesel, arguably the best

04:09 in the segment.

04:10 It is quiet.

04:11 It is smooth.

04:12 It is torquey.

04:14 We're talking about 277 horsepower,

04:16 460 pound-feet of torque.

04:18 You would never know that you're actually driving a diesel.

04:21 You don't hear or smell anything.

04:23 It's mated to GM's 10-speed automatic transmission.

04:26 The two of them work together like magic.

04:29 Even when you're towing, you would never

04:31 notice there was anything behind you.

04:33 And in regular driving, it is just a seamless experience.

04:37 Fantastic powertrain.

04:39 No two ways about it.

04:40 But this is also a capable truck off-road.

04:42 Hence the lift, extra skid pads.

04:45 We can tow.

04:46 It checks off all the boxes that you

04:48 need in a full-size pickup.

04:50 When it comes to fuel economy, this truck

04:52 gets 22 miles per gallon in the city and 26 on the highway.

04:56 That is the beauty of a diesel engine.

04:59 It delivers efficiency that exceeds the gas engines

05:02 in the Sierra lineup.

05:04 Overall, what we've got here is a nice, big, beefy,

05:08 but extremely capable truck that is an absolute joy to drive.

05:15 When it comes to safety, the Sierra doesn't impress.

05:19 It got dinged on poor headlight scores,

05:22 and that's what hurt its IHS rating.

05:24 And NHTSA only gave it four stars.

05:26 GM does provide all of the active safety

05:29 that you want in a truck.

05:30 The problem is they're not standard.

05:32 You have to opt for the packages.

05:35 This particular truck is equipped

05:37 with all of the packages that give you things

05:38 like blind spot awareness.

05:40 And it goes a step further.

05:42 There's a really cool app that allows

05:44 you to extend the blind spot to cover

05:47 the length of your trailer.

05:49 For all the people who tow with a Sierra,

05:51 that's an awesome addition.

05:55 You can get into a base Sierra for just under $30,000.

05:59 But if you want to step up to this AT4,

06:01 our as-tested truck right here is just under $65,000.

06:06 That makes it compete with an F-150 Lariat or the Ram 1500

06:11 Rebel.

06:11 Therein lies the debate.

06:13 It is a lot more than a Silverado.

06:15 They do share the same bones.

06:17 So really, it's a question of whether you

06:19 think the more premium look and some

06:21 of the exclusive features of the Sierra

06:24 are worth the extra money.

06:28 The one takeaway, GM took great pains

06:30 to try and differentiate the Sierra from the Silverado.

06:33 And I think they largely succeeded.

06:36 The look is more premium.

06:37 And this AT4 is just an awesome take.

06:40 It's rugged.

06:41 It's ready.

06:42 The interior, not so much.

06:44 It does have smaller screens and some dated materials

06:47 and switchgear.

06:48 It's not quite at par with the competition.

06:51 But GMC did give this truck some exclusive features.

06:55 And the loyal GMC buyer is probably

06:57 going to find that this is a huge improvement

07:00 over the previous generation.

07:02 To see our vehicle rankings and the complete buyer's guide,

07:05 go to motortrend.com/cars.

07:08 cars.

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