It’s big, it’s powerful and—assembled in Indiana, USA—all-American. The GMC Sierra SLT is the epitome of America’s roots. It’s all about gettin’ the work done and looking good while doing it. Individualistic style. Yeah, we know there’s a lot of guys and gals that crave a truck like this. Equipped with the 5.3-liter V-8 with Active Fuel Management, GM’s trademarked cylinder deactivation and flex-fuel capability, the Sierra’s got it all. And if you can swing the sticker price of $41,385 (base price $34,250), this is one truck that means business.
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Initial Impression: Self-confident control is parked in our driveway
Scott: “Big, just big. I noticed the huge 20-inch Goodyear Eagles and thought, whoa, performance. Then I saw that flex-fuel badge and thought ‘cool, alternative fuel performance.’ The truck came filled with gasoline—I was anxious to get E85 in the tank and do a comparison. And, oh yeah, I thought I’d take a sniff of E85 exhaust too—see if it smelled as clean as it’s claimed to be.”
Christine: “This is one huge truck—a force to be reckoned with. First thing I checked? The gas cap and tailgate badging. Yes, I wanted to make sure I’d be able to fuel this brawny guy with E85. Hey I’m not a trucker or farm girl, so how will it be to actually sit behind the wheel? A peek inside the cabin and I was ready to go: full navigation, leather seats, push-button heaven tantalized my fingertips—this was one truck that had this woman glad to slide behind the wheel. Definitely big, dark and handsome.”
The Insider’s View: Spacious and comfy
We swung open the Sport Red Metallic door and slid into the GMC Sierra’s comfortable command center. From the first turn of the key, the rumble of that 315 horsepower V-8 engine (with 338 lb.-ft. of torque), to the rush of adrenaline that accompanied pressing the (push-button adjustable) responsive gas pedal was pure driving pleasure. Christine slid into the 12-way power heated ebony leather bucket driver’s seat and felt like she owned the road. And if Scott had been driving it before her--or vice versa--no problem. The two driver memory buttons were easy to program for our individual seat and mirror settings—power heated outside mirrors, that is. With a sunroof that tilted open and an easy-release screen cover, it didn’t stop there—separate climate controls for the driver and passenger, and a remote vehicle starter system (super for those cold East coast winter mornings) gave new meaning to the world of a working guy’s ride.
A navigation system paired with OnStar makes easy work of finding your way to one of the many E85 stations across the country (more on this in Motion Potion). The rear park assist was super-handy when Christine had to squeeze into a pizza shop parking lot—three lights behind the right passenger’s head provided visual assistance to know when to stop backing up, accompanied by a driver attention-grabbing beep within one foot of the obstruction.
Fuel-ability: Tapping into the power of E85
The Sierra was delivered with a tank full of gasoline, and the first miles that we packed on were a mix of light city driving and highway, yielding an average fuel economy of 16.1 mpg, which compared favorably to the EPA rating of 16 city/20 highway. Our eyes were drawn to the digital fuel economy gauge, documentation of our instant fuel mileage since the gauge dislays second-by-second the cold, hard evidence of how effective the Active Fuel Management’s cylinder deactivation is. Yes, it can be a game to see how the driver’s foot has power to influence the ultimate fuel economy. In short, heavy on the pedal with fast starts, and V8 mode will suck down the fuel faster—go light and easy in V4 mode, and you’ll make that tank stretch further. Gasoline will yield a range of about 415 miles.
For our second tankful, we filled up with E85, and the Sierra gave a good showing on power—no noticeable difference in the driving experience. E85 fuel mileage checked in at 14.5 mpg, with a full tank range of about 375 miles.
As a fuel-up price comparison, we crunched some numbers—using the current prices in rural PA in May 2007: for $2.90/gallon for gasoline, it would cost about $75 to fill it from empty. At $2.25/gallon for E85, the same from empty fill-up would ring in at $58. Not too hard to figure which you’d rather pay, huh? Even with a drop-off in fuel mileage, the numbers are in E85’s favor per mile of fuel--about 18 cents per mile for gasoline, and about 15 cents per mile for E85.
Next page: Motion potion, the Enviro-meter, who should buy it, pros and cons