2024 GMC Sierra 1500 Denali Ultimate Review: Super Cruise Shines In This Luxury Truck
- A capable blend of truck practicality and luxury
- Duramax diesel engine is powerful and reasonably frugal
- High-tech cabin has plenty of toys
- Super Cruise makes highway trips easy
- Very expensive
- Small bed and fancy wheels limit some flexibility
- Not as smooth or refined as a "true" luxury vehicle
Long gone are the days when a successful truck only needed cargo space and a reliable drivetrain to recommend it. Witness, by way of fine example, the rise of the luxury pickup: capabilities fit for a worksite, though with a cabin trimmed to make you second-guess bringing muddy boots (or dogs, or kids) inside. It's a recipe that has made perfect sense for GMC, as evidenced by the 2024 Sierra 1500 Denali Ultimate.
Once, the Denali badge alone was sufficient to distinguish GMC's fanciest versions of its pickups and SUVs. With the market ripe for even more pleasant — and more expensive — models, though, the Denali Ultimate has raised the game further.
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You could sneer at GMC — and its competitors — for cashing in on the trend, but they're subjecting themselves to an undeniable challenge here that traditional luxury cars don't face. The Sierra Denali Ultimate has to cosset, but not at the cost of all the things a truck is expected to do. And, with an $82,500 (plus $1,895 destination) sticker that rises to over $85k all-in for the Downpour Metallic example you see here, buyers are right not to accept compromise.
Perhaps a little too pretty to risk off-road
It's a handsome truck, and GMC leans into the Denali Ultimate branding. Outside, there's a dark chrome grille — GMC calls it "Vader Chrome," which you'll either think is cool or goofy — and 22-inch seven-spoke machined aluminum wheels with the sort of bright chrome accents that make you want to keep them far, far away from anything approaching an off-road situation.
Inside, rich tan Alpine Umber leather sits alongside open-pore wood, with Denali and Ultimate etchings and badges. There's contrast stitching, embroidered logos, and real metal speaker grilles and dashboard trim. Those in the front get 16-way power-adjustable heated and ventilated seats with massage.
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It's a very specific aesthetic — think "modern-day landed gentry" — but it arguably makes a whole lot more sense than, say, a Hummer EV does. Unlike that electric truck, the Sierra 1500 Denali Ultimate feels like it straddles a line between luxury and work (well, wheels aside).
The wise money is on the turbo-diesel
GMC's engine choices live up to that billing, too. As standard, the 6.2-liter EcoTec V8 with a 10-speed automatic transmission is under the hood, but you can also have — as in this particular example — a version of the excellent 3.0-liter Duramax turbo-diesel that's offered in the Escalade 600D.
Its 305 horsepower is lower than the V8's 420 hp, but it makes up for that with 495 lb-ft of torque from just 2,750 rpm. The gas engine peaks at 460 lb-ft, not too far off, but you'll have to wind it up to 4,100 rpm first.
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Given that low-end grunt, it's no surprise that the Sierra trucks along nicely. If you're still cautious of diesels thanks to the bad old days of agricultural manners, the Duramax's general refinement and its enthusiasm to propel even a well-loaded pickup in a straight line will probably amend your opinion. Adaptive ride control keeps things from getting too bouncy.
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It'll tow up to 13,100 pounds, too, like the V8. There's also something to be said for a 24 mpg combined economy rating paired with a decent-sized fuel tank: after 270 miles, the Sierra still had more than half of that tank left.
A genuinely cosseting cabin
Long trips are no hardship, either. GMC's most recent Sierra update brought a genuinely lavish cabin to the upper trims, and along with the nice (but still sturdy) leather, there's a decent amount of tech, too. A 12.3-inch driver display and 13.4-inch infotainment touchscreen run GMC's latest software, with built-in Google Maps, Google Assistant, and Play Store access, plus wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto support. It's all smooth and responsive, and there's a 15-inch head-up display that can show just the basics or, with the tap of an easily accessible switch, things like roll, pitch, and yaw while off-roading.
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A wireless charging pad is in the center console, and there are several USB-C and USB-A ports for both the front and the rear. GMC doesn't stint on storage, either, with plenty of cubbies and bins — including two glove compartments — and, despite the upscale positioning, the sturdy rubber lining and solid plastics mean this is no mere poseur pickup.
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That goes for the bed, too, though the Ultimate trim doesn't actually have the Sierra's biggest cargo capacity. Where the regular Denali can be had with either the short or standard box, along with its Crew Cab, the Denali Ultimate only gets the smaller of the two, good for 62.9 cu-ft. GMC's clever MultiPro tailgate is standard, with its origami-esque folding sections for easier loading and access, as are power-retracting side steps.
Super Cruise is worth paying extra for
One option you'll pay extra for, even on the Denali Ultimate, is Super Cruise ($2,200). There are no truly autonomous vehicles on the market, and Super Cruise doesn't bill itself as such a thing. Still fundamentally a Level 2 system — as in, it requires the attention of the driver to be on the road at all times — it blends adaptive cruise control and lane-keeping with a driver-facing camera on the steering column. That watches your face to ensure you're looking ahead, poised to take over at any time, without demanding (as is the case with most Level 2 systems) that your hand is in physical contact with the wheel.
Super Cruise impressed when it first launched, and GM's system has only improved since then. In the Sierra, for example, it can now not only change lanes on-demand — you hit the turn signal, Super Cruise checks the adjacent lane for space, and moves across by itself — but proactively. That means if you're behind a slower-moving vehicle, the truck can automatically decide to pull around, including moving back to the right when the overtaking maneuver is completed.
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It's fair to say Super Cruise — like Ford's Blue Cruise system — takes a little getting used to. It's also a little less comfortable to use in heavier traffic than you might expect: I found its conservatively paced lane changes fell short compared to the more urgent maneuvering of Detroit drivers. But for long stretches of cross-state highway, Super Cruise feels revelatory.
Not fully-autonomous, but that doesn't mean it's not useful
Using Super Cruise has been streamlined somewhat since its debut. The light bar in the upper portion of the steering wheel remains — glowing green when the system is active, blue when it's available, and red when it's handing control back to the driver — but it's quicker to enable, requiring just one button-press (a second tap switches to regular adaptive cruise). Automatic lane changes are heralded with a buzz of the haptic seat cushion as the Sierra flashes the appropriate blinker (you can overrule it with a tap of the turn signal or just by pulling on the wheel).
For the most part, Super Cruise is a great co-pilot. There's something genuinely impressive about how cleanly the system overtakes: for the majority of the time, I couldn't argue with its decisions.
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That's not to say we always concurred. Occasionally, with no apparent reason why, Super Cruise wouldn't automatically overtake behind slower traffic or move back to the right despite an open lane; instead, it had to be manually nudged to do so. It also sometimes lacks the foresight a human driver might wield: a handful of times, it moved into the right lane despite an obviously slower vehicle up ahead or tried to move to the left even though I could see a faster car was approaching. You can overrule it when you feel the seat buzz, yes, but by that point, the Sierra has already started indicating.
2024 GMC Sierra 1500 Denali Ultimate Verdict
That is, at the very least, a good reminder of who's still in charge, and it's tough not to feel like a boss from the Denali Ultimate's driver's seat. While the blurring of the lines between luxury vehicle and work truck is still controversial, the truth of the matter is that some buyers are more than ready to spend luxury sedan/SUV money on equally lavish pickups.
If you're tempted, it's worth being blunt about your expectations — and what you're willing to sacrifice in order to retain the practicality of a pickup. The Sierra Denali Ultimate rides well for a truck, but it's still far from the luscious smoothness of a traditional luxury vehicle on air suspension. Its cabin is tech-packed and nicely trimmed, but it's not going to be confused with that of a similarly-priced Mercedes E-Class.
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The 'Benz isn't really intended to haul wood, or gravel, or dirt bikes, however, and GMC's ground clearance, burly turbodiesel engine, and 4WD are just what you want when it comes to roaming off the asphalt. If you're actually going to use your plush truck's capabilities, then the Sierra Denali Ultimate's blend of adventure and amenities is tough to argue with.