The 2014 GMC Sierra 1500 Crew Cab SLT is a truck that feels like home. In fact, it feels like a really, really nice home.
Heated 40/20/40 leather split-bench seats, Mmmmmm. Aluminum wheels, Yeahhhh. Heated steering wheel, Ahhhhhhhh. Heated mirrors. Are you kidding?! Tack on a spacious crew cab cabin and…I’m happy behind the wheel.
But I don’t buy trucks for luxe!
I buy ’em to get work done, which I can do in uber-comfort in the 2014 GMC Sierra that GMC sent us.
With a 5.3-liter V8 Ecotec3 engine I can snap out of an on-ramp with a load of mulch, rocks or plywood without a hiccup. And with a Gross Vehicle Weight of 7,200-pounds, I can tow a tool trailer loaded to the gills with gear.
But every V8 is heavy. And most V8s I’ve driven have some hero under the hood. Which brings us to the nexus of little things and big differences. For example, the Sierra’s driver’s seat view is commanding. Driving on the highway or whipping through town I can see past the corner posts of the cab in all directions. And I can judge where the bumpers are when parallel parking, pulling up to a job site or backing up to the light pole in the gym parking lot. I know where the left and right flanks are when changing lanes. And the ride is comfy. This is NOT the case with other vehicles I’ve driven whose lines fade off into space or pose an obstructed view.
For backing up—where you really need to judge your surroundings—I don’t depend too much on the back-up camera, which is awesome. It shows a lot, including back-up trajectory. But like a carpenter who prefers to see the blade cut the line rather than use the saw’s guide, I like to know where I am in real time and space.
Where the Sierra’s back-up camera does shine is in hitching a trailer. Are you serious? This feature alone can put an hour back into some weeks for me. Back up, line up, hitch up. Gone.
From the comfort cabin to the tailgate the 2014 GMC Sierra has dialed in details. I dig the notch in the step bumper. It’s just a few inches lower than the bumper’s top surface and makes getting a leg up there to throw in a bag of landscape stone or tie down the load just that much easier.
And a feature I enjoy every time I use it: the Sierra’s EZ lift-and-lower tailgate. When dropping the tailgate to move materials it doesn’t slam open, it gliiiiiides open. Or when I’m throwing my gym bag or groceries in the back while holding on to Jack’s hand so he doesn’t dash into the parking lot, it’s an easy lift. That’s not just nice, it’s smart. And easy, quiet, and comfortable.
Feels like home. Where work gets done.
