Rants and Raves
ERIK JOHNSON
Trucks hit my buttons. When I think truck, I think brute strength and absolute manliness—hauling ten tons of cinder blocks up a sheer cliff face with a whiskey chaser, that sort of thing. So forgive me if something like this Denali edition pickup, with its chromed 20-inch wheels and high-fallutin' leather upholstery, doesn't get me all atwitter.
I like my trucks regular cab, full of vinyl and plastic, and preferably with a stick. Yes, this GMC can do all of the towing and hauling you want, but at what price? Our test model cost $45,370. Hook me up with a tow-prepped, V-8 Chevy Silverado stripper for $25,000 or so—I'll use the difference toward a Spec Miata race car and a trailer for it to ride on.
TOM ADAMS
This is one big truck with one tiny bed. I took it all the way to Chicago for the weekend, and when it came time to load up with fireworks in Indiana, I was surprised at how little space was available behind the cab. Four or maybe even five people can travel in comfort inside, and there's a level of refinement that feels most un-trucklike. Pickup purists in my rural compound pooh-poohed this Denali. Its 403-hp powertrain, borrowed from the Escalade, accelerates rapidly and cruises efficiently. On certain stretches of I-94, the wheelbase colluded with the highway surface to provide very unsettling oscillations. I needed nitroglycerin pills when it came time to fill 'er up: 23 gallons @ $3.35 per! Yikes! The windshield wiper switch was defective, or maybe too smart for me, because I couldn't get it to work on the intermittent setting. Like many of GM's new vehicles, there's a weird disc drive sound coming from the radio every time you open the door. Even without a key in the ignition. Annoying. It's a decent truck for city folk, but it should have a full-sized bed.
ALISA PRIDDLE
I admit I am not a truck connoisseur. But I do appreciate the well-appointed interior, a huge improvement over the previous generation. The cavernous storage of the center console can even swallow a large purse!
Kudos to GM for remembering grab handles on the driver's side so I didn't need a running start to get in the driver's seat. Once there, props for the fully adjustable seats.
And the ride was even quite enjoyable-hard to knock V-8 power and it seemed to drive smaller than it is, never feeling cumbersome.
Download this car's window sticker for pricing information.
