2019 GMC Sierra AT4's Off-Road Performance Package Actually Adds Power

Matthew Guy
by Matthew Guy

If you need to get somewhere off the beaten path just that much more quickly than The Other Guy – or maybe you simply want to one-up your neighbor and their new Sierra AT4 – GMC has an answer for you.

Despite being only about three seconds old, The General is already throwing a new package at the 2019 Sierra. Meant to layer on top of the off-road focused AT4 trim, this new option adds even more horses to the hand-of-god 6.2-liter V8.

And, for once, buyers actually save money by selecting the option package. Speed normally costs money – but not this time.

GMC says the Sierra AT4 Off-Road Performance Package has an MSRP of $4,940. For such a sum, owners will find themselves in possession of 15 extra horsepower and 9 lb-ft of torque, bringing output of the 6.2L to 435 hp and 469 units of twist. Bundled in the package are the 6.2L engine, GM’s cat-back performance exhaust system, and a performance air intake. A set of 275/65/18 Goodyear Wrangler M/T DuraTracs are part of the deal as well.

Breaking things down, those rubber hoops are available as a stand-alone option for just $295, which is a pretty good price all on its own. The performance air intake will set a buyer back $695 if they order it a la carte, while the cat-back performance exhaust system costs $1,595 all by itself.

Basic math teaches us that these items, already available on the GMC menu, tot up to $2,585. This means those who check the new AT4 Off-Road Performance Package option box are shelling out $2,355 for the hi-po “six-two.” If selected as a solo item, the stock 6.2L V8 adds $2,495 to the truck’s bottom line.

Save $90 and get more horsepower? We think that’s a good deal.

Introduced along with the rest of its high-trim models earlier this year, the AT4 is intended to compete with the Ram Rebel and its own half-brother, the Silverado Trail Boss. It has a 2-inch lift and a few skid plates right from the factory, along with off-road-tuned Rancho monotube shocks and a locking rear diff.

Unlike the Ram Rebel, whose styling suggests it constantly THIRSTS FOR BLOOD, the AT4 is content with its black-chrome finishes and color-keyed body accents. Take note: a Chevy Truck rep told me earlier this year that the Trail Boss gear can be dealer-installed on any trim Silverado, so it stands to reason the same applies to the Sierra and its AT4 equipment. If you want a Denali with a factory lift, go for it.

The Sierra AT4 Off-Road Performance Package is available now.

[Image: General Motors]

Matthew Guy
Matthew Guy

Matthew buys, sells, fixes, & races cars. As a human index of auto & auction knowledge, he is fond of making money and offering loud opinions.

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  • Wooootles Wooootles on Dec 19, 2018

    @Jon From GM's business standpoint, why sell base trim+'preferred' goodies when GM can just upsell you for a higher trim? You said it yourself, customers are willing to plunk down the extra cash/longer loan term anyways. So in reality It's less than the 20000 additional trucks you claim in your mafff (in which you applied 1 anecdotal sample to the entire Chevy/GMC dealer network). If it made sense dollar-wise, they would build them.

    • Jon Jon on Dec 19, 2018

      As frustrating as it it, you are correct. GM probably performed a detailed cost analysis and discovered that the profit from selling fewer premium trucks is greater than the profit from selling more lower level trucks. I just dont like electronic gadgets since i drive my vehicles to 250,000+ miles. They tend to be expensive to repair when the break.

  • PrincipalDan PrincipalDan on Dec 19, 2018

    "A set of 275/65/18 Goodyear Wrangler M/T DuraTracs are part of the deal as well." Real actual sidewalls! From the factory! It will just make me shake my head harder when I inevitably start seeing them with wagon wheels on them to make the Bros feel better.

  • Theflyersfan I used to love the 7-series. One of those aspirational luxury cars. And then I parked right next to one of the new ones just over the weekend. And that love went away. Honestly, if this is what the Chinese market thinks is luxury, let them have it. Because, and I'll be reserved here, this is one butt-ugly, mutha f'n, unholy trainwreck of a design. There has to be an excellent car under all of the grotesque and overdone bodywork. What were they thinking? Luxury is a feeling. It's the soft leather seats. It's the solid door thunk. It's groundbreaking engineering (that hopefully holds up.) It's a presence that oozes "I have arrived," not screaming "LOOK AT ME EVERYONE!!!" The latter is the yahoo who just won $1,000,000 off of a scratch-off and blows it on extra chrome and a dozen light bars on a new F150. It isn't six feet of screens, a dozen suspension settings that don't feel right, and no steering feel. It also isn't a design that is going to be so dated looking in five years that no one is going to want to touch it. Didn't BMW learn anything from the Bangle-butt backlash of 2002?
  • Theflyersfan Honda, Toyota, Nissan, Hyundai, and Kia still don't seem to have a problem moving sedans off of the lot. I also see more than a few new 3-series, C-classes and A4s as well showing the Germans can sell the expensive ones. Sales might be down compared to 10-15 years ago, but hundreds of thousands of sales in the US alone isn't anything to sneeze at. What we've had is the thinning of the herd. The crap sedans have exited stage left. And GM has let the Malibu sit and rot on the vine for so long that this was bound to happen. And it bears repeating - auto trends go in cycles. Many times the cars purchased by the next generation aren't the ones their parents and grandparents bought. Who's to say that in 10 years, CUVs are going to be seen at that generation's minivans and no one wants to touch them? The Japanese and Koreans will welcome those buyers back to their full lineups while GM, Ford, and whatever remains of what was Chrysler/Dodge will be back in front of Congress pleading poverty.
  • Corey Lewis It's not competitive against others in the class, as my review discussed. https://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/cars/chevrolet/rental-review-the-2023-chevrolet-malibu-last-domestic-midsize-standing-44502760
  • Turbo Is Black Magic My wife had one of these back in 06, did a ton of work to it… supercharger, full exhaust, full suspension.. it was a blast to drive even though it was still hilariously slow. Great for drive in nights, open the hatch fold the seats flat and just relax.Also this thing is a great example of how far we have come in crash safety even since just 2005… go look at these old crash tests now and I cringe at what a modern electric tank would do to this thing.
  • MaintenanceCosts Whenever the topic of the xB comes up…Me: "The style is fun. The combination of the box shape and the aggressive detailing is very JDM."Wife: "Those are ghetto."Me: "They're smaller than a Corolla outside and have the space of a RAV4 inside."Wife: "Those are ghetto."Me: "They're kind of fun to drive with a stick."Wife: "Those are ghetto."It's one of a few cars (including its fellow box, the Ford Flex) on which we will just never see eye to eye.
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