Rising up between California and Nevada is the Sierra mountain range. Nearly four hundred miles long and seventy miles wide, the Sierra range is famous for containing a handful of national parks, two monuments, and vacation hotspot Lake Tahoe. With a multitude of travel spots on the tourist circuit, the Sierra mountain range is certainly one of the more famous ranges in the United States. However, the mountain range isn’t the only Sierra that is making a name for itself; GMC’s full sized pick-up, the Sierra is also climbing to new heights on a regular basis.
Sharing a mechanical design with Chevy’s Silverado, the GMC Sierra is the full sized pickup truck from General Motors brand, GMC. Since the release in 1998 for the ’99 model year, the Sierra and Silverado have been partners in crime, serving different audiences. The Sierra’s marketing has previously been geared towards industrial professionals as the pickup is rugged enough for job site work. However, more recently, GMC’s advertising efforts have shifted given that the Sierra is now widely recognized as a high-level luxury truck when tricked out to the highest level.
The GMC Sierra 1500 is a gorgeous piece of machinery and is quite obviously designed to make a statement. This light duty truck is decked out from head to tail end with LED lighting and GMC’s signature front end design. When considering a pickup, however, the most important part is what it offers that can’t be offered in your typical SUV or sedan; the bed. The bumper has a built in step for easier access when the tailgate is in lifted position and there are eight tie-down hooks. Sierra 1500 has three different options for the box as well; short, standard, and long, chosen dependent upon your specific needs for your truck.
Needs for a truck often consist of two things; what bed length is offered and what kind of power the truck possesses. With an available Ecoboost engine that is a 5.3L V8, drivers can maximize the fuel economy of their truck whereas the 6.2L V8 will offer 420 horsepower, which is more than any other truck in its class. With the tow/haul control switch, your truck is able to sense the weight of what you’re towing and can adjust accordingly, while trailer sway control uses the vehicle to minimize that amount of movement of your trailer should you have to switch lanes unexpectedly. With this kind of power and weight, additional features like hill start assist and hill descent control make sure that all the capabilities don’t go to your head.
When you speak of luxury and a pickup truck it’s not usually the exterior, or the bed you’re discussing, it’s interior. The outside of a truck is expected to be attractive, but mostly rugged. It’s the inside that sets your truck apart from being your basic work truck to an opulent everyday vehicle. With the Sierra 1500, the blank slate is pretty impressive in and of itself. From the available heated and cooled leather seats to the center console that can hold nearly everything, including your laptop, this truck is made to suit everyone from the construction worker to the surgeon.
As a General Motors vehicle, the second tier offering of the Sierra comes with an available 4G Wi-Fi hotspot so that you’re able to get your business done on the road or find that mysterious location in areas with low cell service. While the upgraded version of the Sierra has an 8-inch color touchscreen infotainment system complete with navigation, even the base model comes equipped with a 4.2-inch color touch screen for control of the radio. The next step up from the base model offers Apple Car Play, remote locking tailgate, rearview camera, and other desirable technology. Each of the four available trim packages offers further technology upgrades.
Emphasizing their ability to customize your truck to your exact needs, GMC offers several packages chock full of upgrades that can make the Sierra your personalized vehicle. They also use their years of research and innovation to provide a truck unlike any other vehicle in its class. Their EcoTec3 engines use three features, Active Fuel Management, Direct Injection, and Variable Valve Timing, to maximize power and minimize fuel consumption.
With fuel economy, customization options, and GMC’s stellar reputation backing the Sierra 1500, it’s no wonder that this truck’s popularity has increased dramatically over the past couple of remodels. When stacked up against the competition, the Sierra 1500 outperforms nearly every vehicle in its class, including the top selling trucks on the market. A high performer for a light-duty truck, the Sierra is equipped to climb deep in the mountains from which it is named.
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