2023 GMC Sierra 2500 HD Denali Ultimate | Cars.com photo by Christian Lantry
The verdict: Nicer than it’s ever been, the highly capable new 2024 GMC Sierra HD Denali Ultimate brings yet another new top trim to the popular line of trucks.
Versus the competition: The Sierra HD is a worthy competitor thanks to its refinement, luxurious appointments, powerful engines, top-notch towing tech and space aplenty.
It seems we’ve yet to find the top end of the luxury pickup truck market. As prices and equipment levels climb, buyers continue to snap them up in ever-increasing numbers, so automakers chuck even more content into them — more leather trim, more fancy stitching, more crazy technology — and boost prices to new levels every year. The heavy-duty 2024 GMC Sierra 2500 Denali Ultimate is the latest example; that’s a plus-one-better than a regular Denali, if you’re keeping track of such things.
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For 2023, the Ultimate bit was an optional add-on package to the top Denali trim; in the newly refreshed 2024 Sierra HD lineup, the Denali Ultimate becomes a range-topping stand-alone trim, seen here on a 2500 crew-cab 4×4 variant. In addition to the new trim, the Sierra HD trucks get some cosmetic upgrades inside and out, plus some equipment tweaks and additional trailer-towing tech, while the greasy bits are largely left alone. With a new Ford Super Duty on the market, do the changes to the Sierra HD go far enough to keep it competitive in the ongoing game of one-upmanship between Detroit truckmakers? We drove one for a week to find out.
Looks Better Outside and In
The last versions of GM’s HD trucks, both from GMC and Chevrolet, were … distinctive-looking, to put it generously. Big, bold and intimidating, they had a lot of chiseled front-end styling. The new 2024 GMC does too, but somehow it’s better than before, with a visage that’s more friendly and less “coming to eat your children.” The move brings the big HD trucks more in line with the styling of a half-ton Sierra, just scaled up about 10% bigger than a 1500 version. Between Denali and Denali Ultimate trims, however, the styling differences are minor; just some dark metallic paint, different grilles and subtle badging distinguish the Ultimate’s exterior from lesser variants. Ironically, the standard Denali trim pops more, with more bright chrome in place of the dark “Vader” painted trim, but it’s on the inside where the Ultimate package earns its name.
The interior is where GM really spent some money, apparently tired of hearing their luxury trucks didn’t feel very luxurious. The new Denali Ultimate interior is ultimate in many ways, from real wood and metal on the dash to genuinely nice leather on the seats and doors. The colors look rich, there’s high-quality stitching, and everything just has a generally more upscale look and feel than prior Denali models. No longer do you get into the cabin and question why the truck is so expensive: It finally feels as costly inside as the price tag suggests it should. That said, though, it still doesn’t feel as luxurious as the top interiors from Ram.
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Comfort is king in the new Sierra 2500 Denali Ultimate, and that’s not surprising given the absolutely massive size of the thing. It’s actually too big — parking this truck in almost any lot will be a challenge, and you’d better have a good long look at a parking garage’s maximum height limit before you take a ticket and proceed past the gate. It’s also not the easiest truck to see out of thanks to a high hood and squat windshield. Obstacles like construction cones tend to disappear around this truck, and you’ll have to make use of all those surround-view cameras for any tight maneuvers. When you’re sitting in the truck, though, that size is a boon; there’s space galore, front and back, in any conceivable dimension. Headroom? Legroom? Three abreast in the backseat? Not a problem at all: Pack everyone in there. Materials quality in this expensive truck doesn’t even slack off from the front row to the back.
Tech Upgrades, Too
Part of the Sierra 2500’s refresh is the incorporation of GM’s new multimedia system, which uses a Google operating system. The truck still features wireless Apple Car Play and Android Auto, and it adds Amazon Alexa integration and other apps, but all voice controls and other features now operate through a cloud-linked data connection — for better or worse. The one we drove worked fine, but prior samplings of this new multimedia system have proved problematic when the vehicle doesn’t have a solid data connection. Things like voice controls for the radio go buggy if the truck can’t talk to the cloud.
Along with the new operating system comes an all-new dash with some massive digital displays. In front of the driver of a Denali Ultimate trim is a full-color 15-inch head-up display projected onto the windshield, along with a 12.3-inch configurable digital instrument cluster. To the right of that, atop the center console, is a 13.4-inch touchscreen. These elements combine to form the most high-tech, futuristic-looking HD pickup interior we’ve experienced. The displays are clear and bright, easy to both configure and use, allowing the driver to see as much or as little information as is desired. Want to keep it austere and bare-bones to minimize distractions? You can do that. Want to put every possible bit of information about what the truck is doing up on the screens? That’s available, too. It works quickly and without glitches or delays, which is also nice to see.
Minimal Changes Under the Hood, But Few Needed
One area in which GMC has always done well is the meat of the pickup: the bits and pieces that really matter, like powertrains, suspension bits and technology that help a truck be a truck. This is the area where GM spent money during the Sierra HD’s last big redesign, so not much needed to be updated in this department to keep things current and competitive. Two engines are offered in the HD pickups: a standard 6.6-liter gasoline V-8 making 401 horsepower and 464 pounds-feet of torque, and the engine the majority of customers opt for, a turbo-diesel 6.6-liter V-8 that makes a far more robust 470 hp and 975 pounds-feet of torque for 2024. That’s a minor bump over the outgoing diesel’s 445 hp and 910 pounds-feet of torque, but those numbers disguise the fact that GM heavily revised the diesel engine — right down to the turbochargers. It’s now tuned to deliver 25% more torque in the lower rpm range for better towing performance. Both engines are mated to a standard 10-speed Allison heavy-duty transmission; rear-wheel drive is standard and four-wheel drive is optional on most trims.
Making a heavy-duty pickup drive well while towing or carrying a heavy payload is the norm — that’s when a truck is expected to be civilized and easy to live with. But making an HD pickup feel that way when it’s not under load is a much bigger challenge, and the folks at GMC did a fantastic job of it. The Denali Ultimate trim, at least, isolates the cabin quite nicely, with very little noise from the engine, road or wind getting to occupants. Acceleration from the massively torquey diesel V-8 is powerful, but the Allison transmission handles it with aplomb, providing crisp shifts up and down the gears in all conditions. Steering feels heavily boosted but not too unnatural, and it lacks the unusually quick ratio that some competing HD trucks possess. It simply feels like a luxury vehicle from its appointments to its operation, displaying a surprising degree of comfort, refinement and smoothness for a big workhorse pickup.
I was sadly not able to do any towing during my week with the truck, which is a shame given that truly is these trucks’ mission in life. Of course, with a new top towing capacity of 21,900 pounds on a 2500 crew cab and 22,500 pounds on other specifically equipped 2500s, I don’t have access to anything that would test this truck at its limits anyway; a 6,000-pound travel trailer camper would go practically unnoticed. For those who do have bigger things to pull, GMC provides a ton of electronic gear to help you do so with ease, including a Transparent Trailer function that uses accessory cameras to make the trailer “disappear” in the central display screen’s rear view. For 2024, this feature works with gooseneck and fifth-wheel style trailers, too. The Sierra won’t automatically back you up to a trailer’s hitch ball like the new 2023 Ford Super Duty can, but it offers plenty of amazing towing help once that trailer is connected and you’re on your way.
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Ever More Expensive
If you have a legitimate need for a heavy-duty pickup truck, you’re likely already used to the penalties that come with their operation. Unwieldy size is the biggest one, but thirsty engines are up there, as well. No fuel economy estimates are published for this truck as its weight means the EPA doesn’t require GMC to do so. But suffice it to say it’s awful: My week with it, which included a significant amount of highway cruising, returned 16 mpg completely unloaded. That number is only going to drop when you tow something or load up the bed, but that’s to be expected in the HD truck category. There are no hybrid HD trucks yet and only the Rivian R1T is an all-electric heavy duty; there doesn’t seem to be much demand for them from customers.
That leaves us with the bottom line: $94,835 for the Denali Ultimate I drove, including destination fee. Yep, it’s another hundred-thousand-dollar pickup — the kind people seem perfectly content to spend their money on in exchange for what’s essentially become today’s quintessential American luxury vehicle. America doesn’t do super-expensive luxury sedans like the Germans or exotic high-powered roadsters like the Italians, but we do make some highly unique pickups that fit in better in many American locales.
Of course, you don’t have to spend that much on a GMC Sierra 2500 to get this kind of capability. The truck starts at just a bit more than $46,000 for a bare-bones, RWD, single-cab long-bed variant with the gasoline V-8. Of course, it can top $100,000 for a loaded 3500 model with the diesel engine, dual rear wheels and all the luxury trimmings. There’s a wide range of prices and capabilities in between, ensuring your needs as a truck buyer can be met by some form of Sierra at some price. Given the improvements GMC made for the 2024 model, it’ll be money well spent.
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