2022 GMC Sierra 1500 TOTY Review: Ultimately Enough?

The GMC Sierra received a significant midcycle update for 2022, but test vehicles weren't available in time for last year's Truck of the Year competition. So here it is.

Two new trims arrived with the refresh. One was the off-road-themed AT4X, while the second—the Denali Ultimate, a Hillary Step above the mere Denali—was what GMC sent us for evaluation. Its amenities are plentiful, including more than 40 inches of screens, yards of cross-stitched leather, open-pore wood trim, a GMC-specific dash design, a CarbonPro carbon-fiber-reinforced bed (no bedliner needed), magnetic adaptive shocks, and GM's Super Cruise driver assist system with trailering capability.

Even more compelling is what's available via the screens: not only wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto but also a deep integration with Google. Google Maps powers the navigation, and tons of functions are just a Google Assistant voice prompt away. "Google integration is primo," deputy editor Alexander Stoklosa said. "I love how it reads back what you ask of it via on-screen text. It's really responsive, promptly delivering me search results and navigation directions and responding to natural voice queries."

Not so super was the lack of Super Cruise, GM's vaunted driver assist system that's standard on the Denali Ultimate. Many judges were eager to test Super Cruise back to back (to back to back) against Ford's BlueCruise, Toyota's adaptive cruise control, and the Driver+ system in the Rivian R1T on site as a support vehicle, but at no point during the time we had the Sierra—including the 10-hour, 600-plus-mile round trip from Los Angeles to Kingman, Arizona—did we ever get the system to engage. "It's a shame Super Cruise isn't working, but my bigger complaint is that with it AWOL, this Sierra appears to have no lane centering whatsoever," senior editor Aaron Gold said.

The Denali Ultimate's 6.2-liter direct-injected V-8 brings the beef yet is surprisingly quiet. It pulls with smooth authority whether ladened with a trailer, a fat stack of 100-pound horse mats in the bed, or nothing at all. "The engine works to get up to speed with a 7,000-pound trailer, but it gets there well enough, and the truck has thorough command of the load," features editor Scott Evans said. "Very confident."

During our Davis Dam tow testing, the Denali Ultimate pulled a trailer with a scissor lift and 500-pound jackhammer without any issues. On the way up, three wide-open-throttle runs from 35 to 65 mph revealed smooth upshifts and an intake-heavy sound. On the way down, we noticed a bit of wandering from the trailer and some pushing under braking, but nothing that caused concern.

Associate editor Duncan Brady also noted the engine is just one part of the Denali Ultimate's strong driving fundamentals: "Outstanding body control, responsive steering, a predictable brake pedal, and a sweetheart of a V-8 make for a surprisingly sporty truck. Where's my Denali SS?"

As the top Sierra trim, the Denali Ultimate receives upgraded MagneRide dampers with adaptive ride control, which ride like a dream on perfect roads. (Only the all-electric F-150 Lightning was deemed better.) The heavy 22-inch wheels wrapped in relatively low-profile Bridgestone Alenza tires turn the ride brittle on rougher surfaces, however.

The Sierra was basically unstoppable over whoops and through the dirt, but the extreme suspension droop while traversing more challenging terrain seemed to cause a "suspension fault" warning to appear even though nothing seemed to be mechanically wrong. (The message cleared after two ignition cycles.)

At $78,700 to start plus $495 for Titanium Rush Metallic paint, the as-tested price for our Sierra Denali Ultimate was $80,840. That's a lot of money, but the Denali Ultimate is a lot of truck—and certainly a well-executed one. We also loved details such as the topographic lines etched into the wood and the little badges on the seats displaying the latitude and longitude for the truck's namesake mountain. The carbon-fiber-reinforced bed's low weight (just 62 pounds!) and indestructibility are great talking points, too. Lighter and smaller wheels would help smooth out the ride over the rough stuff, but otherwise, there's little to dislike about the top-step Sierra. Well, when Super Cruise is working, anyway.