General Motors is trying to distinguish the 2019 GMC Sierra from rivals -- as well as from its platform mate, the Chevrolet Silverado -- with extra luxury features and technologies that the automaker calls segment-leading. Here's a look at what journalists and others are saying about the Sierra.
"GMC characterizes the 2019 Sierra Denali's design as 'profound,' but with no more than a glance you can tell it's derived from a familiar recipe. Big shiny grille. Big shiny wheels. Swollen fenders. Running lights and taillights in a C-shaped "light blade" design.
"Still, given that it is proportionally larger in every direction, the new Sierra Denali looks taller and bolder than ever, more like a heavy-duty truck than a light-duty half-ton model."
-- Christian Wardlaw, New York Daily News
"The exterior is a fair bit beefier than before. The headlights have a notched look sort of like the new GMC Terrain SUV, and the grille is slowly growing to consume the entire remainder of the front end. It's larger in just about every way, from the length to the height of the hood. LEDs are everywhere on the top Denali trim, whether it's the headlights, taillights, fog lamps or anything else that produces light. It's got bigger wheels, too -- 22-inchers are available for both Denali and SLT trims."
-- Andrew Krok, Roadshow by CNET
"Front headlights are a work of art with an LED 'light blade' bringing a three-dimensional look to GMC's signature c-clamp headlight. The pickup's aluminum doors, hood and tailgate panels -- a first for Sierra as the pickup goes on a diet by up to 360 pounds -- are sharply stamped with a deep, arching bezel cut into the side (the body is still built on a steel frame-rail truck architecture). Gone are the bulky, square fender arches."
-- Henry Payne and Nora Naughton, The Detroit News
"Viewed in the sheetmetal -- er, sheet-mixed-materials -- the 2019 GMC Sierra Denali seems a more conservative redesign from the exterior, compared with its Chevy sibling."
-- Todd Lassa, Automobile
"Our only complaint about the 2019 Sierra 1500's interior is the resemblance to the Silverado. For as different as the exteriors of the trucks are, the interiors are all but interchangeable, save a few extra standard features in the GMC. And we've already expressed a little disappointment in the Chevy's design, which doesn't change enough compared to older trucks. We'd have hoped the GMC would introduce a totally new interior to go along with the shapely new sheetmetal.
"Regardless, the 2019 GMC Sierra represents a significant improvement over the truck it replaces, and some of its GMC-exclusive features finally give GM's professional-grade brand an edge over other pickups in the class (including the Sierra's platform-mate). And with the same proven V-8 engines and upcoming I-6 turbodiesel, there's never been a better reason to bypass the competitors and head for the GMC showroom. The 2019 Sierra 1500 is a knockout."
-- Brett T. Evans, Four Wheeler Network
"The first thing you notice about the new exterior design is how much attention was given to aerodynamics. Bumper nostrils, hood slopes, roof channels and even the tailgate have small wind-cutting features to help smooth out any rough air that might pass over or around the truck.
"As far as interiors go, the Denali trim is the star of the new GMC lineup, benefiting from some of the most polished and premium materials ever used in a vehicle without a Cadillac badge."
-- Mark Williams, PickupTrucks.com
"Whereas the Silverado took a completely new design approach, the Sierra's styling is more of an evolutionary change that retains some of the key elements of previous models. The focal points are the massive C-shaped headlights and 'light blade' daytime running lights."
-- Tony Markovich, Car and Driver
