The Chevrolet Silverado LTZ works with the same automatic transmission found in the GMC Sierra and, ironically, in the Ford F-150 (Ford developed the transmission in partnership with GM). In addition to the appreciable power available from the company’s now-legendary 6.2L V8, the Challenge judges appreciated the steps integrated in the rear bumpers for accessing the bed. This new Silverado sports compelling new contours, and GM chose aluminum for some of the body’s panels.
Pricing for the Silverado LTZ we drove comes out to $72,295, and fuel consumption by the end of the event (without the towing) came to 13.2L/100 km.
The Silverado’s near-twin, the GMC Sierra Denali, is also fully new this year. And that Denali designation also means that it was the most luxurious of the models on hand. In addition to the superb finish, this truck featured outstanding accessories and options, for instance the head-up display and the new rear tailgate that opens up in two parts, so that the lower portion can be used as a step to access the bed.
Despite its luxury angle as a Denali (GMC’s most refined trim), it doesn’t actually have the highest price tag attached to it; its as-equipped cost is $79,240. On the other hand, its fuel consumption before towing came out to higher than its Chevrolet twin’s, with 13.7L/100 km.
The Toyota Tundra stood out first and foremost for having the oldest design of all the models participating in the Challenge. The Tundra’s current edition dates back to 2014 (though the TRD version is very recent). TRD or not, the vehicle is clearly starting to show its age. No problem with respect to its still-capable, 5.7L V8, but Toyota added noisy exhausts for the TRD version. These could be clearly (too clearly?) heard in the cabin at all speeds. This could get pretty tiresome on longer treks, we imagine.
Its new off-road suspension (with Fox shocks) was capable in off-road situations, but it proved too “soft” for towing, with the rear end slumping down when the load was placed on the bed. When driving without that load, the rear axle reacted more on the pothole-infested gravel road than did the other trucks. Getting to the truck’s bed can be done using a small retractable step, but it doesn’t come equipped out of the factory; it must be installed by the dealership.
The Tundra as tested has a price tag of $65,842. Pre-towing fuel consumption during the testing worked out to 14.7L/100 km.
Lastly, the Nissan Titan Pro 4X comes across as less refined than its rivals, but its performance was the equal of theirs. It even excelled when on the off-road portion of the test. Like the Toyota, it has a small retractable step-ladder for accessing the bed, but it was likely installed by a dealership.
Pricing for the Titan equipped as we tested it came to a reasonable $64,298. Pre-towing fuel consumption was 14.2L/100 km for the duration of the Challenge.
While our expectation was that the towing exercise would do more to distinguish the abilities of each of the trucks, we were surprised by how well each acquitted itself in this task. We did note some slight vibrating in the Toyota Tundra’s chassis and more flexibility from its rivals. In my view, the GMC Denali has a chassis particularly well-suited for towing.
We also expected that the off-road exercise would create differentiation between the six models, particularly benefiting those models with over-sized tires (for instance the RAM with its 22-inch wheels and Bridgestone performance tires). To our even greater surprise, and perhaps due to the host of anti-skid and off-road functions easily activated by the driver present in each truck, all of the vehicles passed this test with ease!
Which presented the judges with a conundrum. How to establish a true winner when all of the trucks acquitted themselves well, in terms of their performance? The final choice was made based on a number of factors, including price point (calculated in accordance with the optional equipment included) and fuel consumption, which was calculated using a specialized device connected to the onboard computer (OBD II).
And the winner is…
None other than the all-new GMC Sierra Denali! Surprised? Howard Elmer, organizer of the Challenge, was not - not in the least. He explained this by pointing to the many modern aspects of the 2019 Sierra Denali, including its very contemporary contours, a welcoming interior (especially in the Denali iteration) and ease of access to the bed thanks to a modular step-ladder integrated in the rear tailgate.
He did agree with the other judges on hand that choosing a winner from among this handful of high-quality vehicles was a very difficult one. The results of our scoring system showed less than a 10% difference between the models. What this says to me is that consumers in this segment are being better served than ever.
