2015 GMC Sierra 2500HD exerts diesel pull, efficiency
Auto Tech
The gmc sierra pick up line may go from 1500 to 3500 but this 2015 gmc sierra 2500 hd is no middle weight.
And with this denali trim I've got a near luxury cab with navigation, a boat load of charging ports, and even driver assistance features that keep me from running over houses.
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You can get a GMC Sierra 2500 HD with a gasoline engine.
But I've got the Duramax diesel 6.6 liter turbocharged V8 in this truck and with the 6 speed automatic transmission, that makes 397 horsepower and 765 pound feet of torque.
That's a lot of twist at the wheels, but it's more about pulling power than it is about screeching the tires off the line.
And get this, This can tow 13,000 pounds.
That's four adult buffalo, or 65 Donald Trumps.
The six and a half foot bed behind the crew cab can also carry about 2,500 pounds, but that's only 12 Donald Trumps.
Before you ask about fuel economy, know that the GMC doesn't have to post standard passenger vehicle numbers.
For this Sierra 2500 HD.
That's because at over 10,000 pounds gross vehicle weight, this qualifies as a heavy duty truck and it is therefore exempt.
That said, with this diesel engine I was getting about 17 miles per gallon on the highway.
With rear lease springs and body out of frame construction, Sierra 2500 HD bounces over the bumps.
But that ride quality will change quite a bit when you load it down.
It'll probably change a lot more after 50 or 100,000 miles as everything breaks in.
This example has 4-wheel drive.
And I can switch between 2-wheel, 4-wheel high, and 4-wheel low with this dial on the dashboard here.
In 2-wheel drive, it'll get better fuel economy.
And in 4-wheel drive I noticed the steering binds a bit.
At block using power and limiting maneuverability.
Because the Sierra 2500 HD with crew cab and six and a half foot bed is almost 20 feet long and six and a half feet high at the roofline, maneuverability can be tough.
To help me out I've got a backup camera and I've got rear and front sonar distance warnings.
That's all pretty good but I'd prefer a surround view camera system.
For driver assist on the road, I've got front collision warning and lane departure warning.
And this uses GM's safety seat, which actually buzzes my ****.
It's hard to ignore that.
Instead of a blind spot monitoring system, I have these huge mirrors with two parts here, a bubble on the bottom and a flat mirror on top.
That's good for trailering, but it is a bit old school.
Because this is the Denali version, I've got GM's [UNKNOWN] on an eight inch touch screen on the dash board.
This icon based screen is pretty easy to understand and it's responsive to the touch.
For navigation, the maps show good detail, and I've got live traffic.
One thing I really like about this system is it will warn me about traffic problems on the road ahead even if I don't have a destination programmed in.
Onstar comes standard with all its Roadside crash and stolen vehicle assistance features.
And that also means a 4G data pipe and a Wi-Fi hotspot.
I'd like to see GM do more with that big data pipe, like have online destination search for navigation.
But that Wi-Fi hotspot will come in handy for powering laptops and tablets on job sites.
To power any electronics I bring into the car, I've got three USB ports.
I've also got two other USB ports in the console.
I've got three 12-volt power points, and grounded AC outlet.
There is plenty of power in this truck, and also plenty of power under the hood.
All right.
Let's price out our 2015 GMC Sierra 2500 Denali HD.
Base price is $54,545, and that's with the crew cab and navigation.
Now we add $3,200 to get four-wheel drive and another $8,845 to get the Duramax Plus package that gives us the diesel engine and driver assistance features.
Total $66,590.
The GMC Sierra 2500HD is obviously a work truck.
It's not something you're gonna wanna drive around parking garages on the weekend.
That said there's some nice features here, like the navigation, 4g wi-fi hotspot and the collision avoidance system.
I would like to see a surround view camera system here but that diesel engine is also good for fuel economy and pulling power.
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