Live Thread: One Week with a 2024 GMC Sierra 1500 Denali

Colin
By Colin Wood
May 7, 2024 | GMC, New Car Review, Live Thread

Photograph Courtesy GMC

Wanna ride shotgun with GRM?

Welcome to this week’s test vehicle, a 2024 GMC Sierra 1500 Denali.

The Denali trim sits second from the top of the Sierra hierarchy–only outclassed by the Denali Ultimate–as a more luxurious option in the lineup, with our tester fitted with the 6.2-liter V8 that GMC rates at 420 horsepower and 460 lb.-ft. of torque. (For those interested, the Denali can also be had with a 3.0-liter Duramax turbodiesel or a 5.3-liter V8, rated at 305 horsepower and 495 lb.-ft. of torque or 355 horsepower and 383 lb.-ft. of torque, respectively.)

MPG is rated at 15 in the city and 19 on the highway–for a total of 16 combined–and shifting handled by a 10-speed automatic.


Photograph Courtesy GMC

GMC says that, when fitted with the 6.2-liter engine, the Denali is capable of towing up to 14,000 pounds.

MSRP for the Denali starts at $69,900–approximately two-and-a-half ND Miatas–with our tester carrying a sticker price of $87,385–enough for three whole ND Miatas.

What's all included in that $17,000 worth of options? A performance brake kit, an active exhaust, 22-inch wheels, 6.2-liter V8, Super Cruise, active suspension and more.

Questions? Comments? Feel free to post them below.

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Comments
NickD
NickD MegaDork
5/7/24 12:44 p.m.

Hopefull the 6.2L holds up on you. There's been a rash of them expiring at low mileage, like sub-100 miles, due to either crankshafts that aren't ground properly or bearings that are faulty (GM keeps changing the story). I've replaced a couple, and we just had our dealership comptroller's truck towed in today because the 6.2L in it also spun the main bearings.

06HHR (Forum Supporter)
06HHR (Forum Supporter) SuperDork
5/7/24 12:48 p.m.

Wow..  I have to say that's frightening, i'm sure the owner is glad it happened under warranty.  What's the repair procedure, new crank and bearings or new 6.2 assembly?

RacetruckRon
RacetruckRon GRM+ Memberand SuperDork
5/7/24 12:50 p.m.

My question is what is happening with all of those 6.2 cores...

David S. Wallens
David S. Wallens Editorial Director
5/7/24 1:08 p.m.

I drove it to our local native plant sale this weekend. 

Plant life for scale. 

The back seat is huge. The bed is less so. 

More from JG in just a few. 

NickD
NickD MegaDork
5/7/24 1:09 p.m.

In reply to 06HHR (Forum Supporter) :

New 6.2L assembly, radiator (oil cooler is built in) and oil cooler lines. It's cheaper and doesn't require machine work. GM really doesn't want any machine work being done on engines under warranty, since that's work that's out of their hands.

As for the 6.2L cores, they get sent back to GM. 

We had one where a woman bought a $90k AT4X Pro with the 6.2L, headed home and didn't make it there (less than 50 miles on odometer) and the 6.2L expired. It got towed back, we discovered it needed an engine, and 6.2Ls were on backorder and a couple months wait, so she goes up to sales, goes berserk on them, and makes them take the truck back. She then buys another new truck off the lot with a 6.2L and when we found out I was like "This new truck has the opportunity to do something very funny." But she made it home with that one and has had it over a year now with no engine failure.

JG Pasterjak
JG Pasterjak Production/Art Director
5/7/24 1:32 p.m.

I probably say this every time we review a truck, but man I hope my Tundra lasts forever. I just have no earthly I dea how I would afford a new truck at this point. The sticker on this thing is literally more than I paid for my first house, and I understand that time marches on and values change, but the disparity between trucks and the rest of the (already inflated) car marketplace seems to be growing with every new tester we get.

They're also getting tall. When I picked it up from David's house we remarked on how I couldn't see his Miata if it was parked right in front of me unless I adjusted the seat to an uncomfortably high position. 

I mean, it's a great truck for doing truck stuff, unless you want to put something in the bed, which is weirdly tiny, which in hindsight seems like it should be kind of a core truck function so maybe it's not so good at doing truck stuff. But people don;t do truck stuff with trucks anymore I suppose, so it probably serves the market just fine.

Anyway, yeah, it's awesome and new and feature rich, but it's also wicked pricey and not entirely suited to the way I use a truck, so I like it, but it also makes me like my 14 year old Tundra even more.

BillKeksz
BillKeksz New Reader
5/7/24 9:36 p.m.

Denali is an anagram of Denial.
Just sayin'...

 

David S. Wallens
David S. Wallens Editorial Director
5/8/24 9:34 a.m.
BillKeksz said:

Denali is an anagram of Denial.
Just sayin'...

 

That’s deep.

Not much to add to JG’s comments: It’s really big and, at least to me, seems a bit pricey. If I needed a truck, JG’s Tundra just seems more attractive. For one, easier to park. 

gearheadE30
gearheadE30 Dork
5/8/24 12:21 p.m.

Is it a notably different experience vs. that high country Silverado you had recently? 

Feedyurhed
Feedyurhed UltraDork
5/9/24 7:48 a.m.

I just can't get past that giant barn door grill and front end. It's just so flat and straight and massive. It seems oddly out of proportion also. I get it, it's a truck and you can only do so much with it but other manufacturers seem to do it better. At $90K.............glad I am not in the truck market.

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