Review: 2015 GMC Sierra 2500HD All Terrain
GMC introduced the Sierra All Terrain HD, which it calls “a refined, off-road-inspired execution of the brand’s capability” for the 2015 model year. I was given the chance to experience the results of GMC’s efforts several weeks ago. The truckmaker loaned me a 2015 Sierra 2500HD All Terrain Crew Cab SLT which, including the $9,785 Duramax Plus Package, the $1,005 All Terrain Package, $995 power sunroof, $795 20-inch chrome wheels, and $230 chrome trailering mirrors, came with a sticker price of $62,300.
Over the course of seven days, I mostly drove it to and around the suburbs of South Austin and Kyle, Texas. However, the red, silver, and black badges on my tester’s front doors and tailgate gave me the perfect excuse to get some dirt on it at the Hidden Falls Adventure Park out in Marble Falls.
On-Road
After I used one of the handy chrome running boards and the driver-side interior grab handle to get up and inside, I had no problem establishing a Bluetooth connection between my LG G Vista smartphone and the Sierra’s IntellLink system. The Text Messaging Alerts gave me another convenient way of staying in touch with my friends and family. A built-in Wi-Fi hotspot with a 4G LTE connection allowed me to check my email or pull up a Youtube video and stream its audio through Bluetooth.
A pair of HVAC vents in the back of the center console or in the ceiling would’ve been ideal for getting air to the rear seats. We Texans need as much cooling off during the summer as we can get. Such odd packaging was mind-boggling in a high-end, four-door truck.
I wasn’t surprised by the Sierra All Terrain’s ride quality, though. After all, it was a giant, off-road monster of a truck. The smoothness from its Z71 off-road suspension hardware and twin-tube Rancho shocks on the highway gave way to primary shakes and secondary vibrations over rough, bumpy pavement that wiggled their way through the bottom of my seat.
The 6.6-liter Duramax turbo-diesel V8 was more well-behaved. It was quiet enough at neighborhood speeds and almost mute on the freeway.
It also bulldozed 397 horsepower and 765 lb-ft of torque through a six-speed Allison automatic and a 3.73 rear end. As high as those numbers are, they fall behind the 440 horsepower and 860 lb-ft that Ford’s new Power Stroke V8 generates. That means the Sierra seemed to lack the urgency and nearly alarming thrust of a 2015 F-350 4×4 I tested last year. Nevertheless, the GMC I evaluated was able to carry a maximum of 2,793 pounds and tow as much as 13,000 pounds conventionally or 17,100 pounds with a fifth-wheel setup.
After more than 300 miles of mixed driving, I was getting about 14.8 mpg out of an engine with fewer than 6,000 miles on it.
Off-Road
The Sierra’s available low-range gearing and Z71 suspension made me confident that I wasn’t going to get it stuck out at the Hidden Falls Adventure Park. Its dimensions and its abundance of chrome were what worried me. Getting a truck that was 20 feet long and nearly seven feet wide (excluding mirrors) through tight turns in the wilderness without getting “forest pinstripes” on its brand new paint or scratches from rocks on its giant gleaming wheels was a nerve-racking experience.
So was going over ground with chunks of stone unapologetically jutting out from it. My particular Sierra had a wheelbase of nearly 13 feet. I likened it to a giraffe and the harder parts of nature to a lion. My vehicle was mostly neck and I felt as if a jagged pass was just waiting to take a bite out of it. Fortunately, the All Terrain came with 9.65 inches of front and rear ground clearance and aluminum underbody shields.
Occasionally, I would stop on an incline and jump out to take pictures. Once I got back in and put the truck in drive, I didn’t have to worry about rolling backward because the Hill Start Assist automatically sensed the angle at which I was positioned and went to work.
Engaging Hill Descent Control at the top of a vertigo-inducing peak helped me relax. It was effective at automatically scrubbing off speed and did so without letting out ugly mechanical groans or unpleasant clunking sounds.
My experience with the 2015 GMC Sierra 2500HD All Terrain as a whole was similar. I did occasionally groan about something the truck was missing, but it did so many things well – on- and off-road.
* Price includes $1,195 destination charge and $1,500 Duramax Plus Package discount.
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