LA 2015: New 2016 GMC Sierra 1500 Denali Ultimate Conquers Mountains (of Cash)

Aaron Cole
by Aaron Cole

For the discerning pickup buyer who can’t spend enough, GMC announced Tuesday its 2016 Sierra 1500 Denali Ultimate edition complete with 22-inch wheels and chrome all over the place.

According to a GMC spokeswoman, the truck will start in the low $60,000-range when it goes on sale near March next year. Denali sales represent 20 percent of GMC’s light-duty sales.

In addition to bigger wheels and chrome, the truck sports standard automatic steps for passengers and to load the forward section of the bed, magnetic ride control and trailer brake. GMC’s 5.3-liter V-8 paired with its 8-speed automatic transmission is standard; the 6.2-liter V-8 that makes 420 horsepower and 460 pound-feet of torque is optional on the truck, but probably going to be on every single Sierra Denali Ultimate anyway.

The Sierra 1500 Denali Ultimate boasts leather inside everywhere, and an 8-inch driver display screen screen that shows important info like navigation, audio, phone and probably speed somewhere too.

The truck will be offered in four-wheel drive only, with either a 5-foot-8-inch or 6-foot-6-inch bed.

The Denali Ultimate will likely compete with other premium-priced pickups such as the Ford F-150 Platinum and Ram 1500 Limited. Chevrolet’s Scrooge McDuck truck hasn’t been announced yet*.

When equipped with the 6.2-liter V-8, the Denali Ultimate will sport active noise cancellation to quiet its interior, a feature lifted from Cadillac models.

*That’s made up.




Aaron Cole
Aaron Cole

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  • Crtfour Crtfour on Nov 18, 2015

    I wonder if those wheels are real aluminum or GM's crappy chrome plastic covered steel wheels?

  • Tjh8402 Tjh8402 on Nov 19, 2015

    This probably could've been part 2 of the Cadillac Xt6 article from a few weeks ago. Everyone complaining about the 4 cylinder in a $50k Cadillac? If you want lots of leather, column shifters, spacious seating, and a torquey rumbling V8, GM still has a vehicle for you. Wouldn't surprise me if the profit margins on this are higher than an XT6 as well. This is what the market, in all its foolishness, has determined is the luxury vehicle of choice. Carmakers are happy to oblige and laughing all the way to the bank.

  • Wjtinfwb Malibu will be the Ford Panther of this decade. We won't miss it until its gone. GM will tell you there's no market for sedans anymore. Honda, Toyota, Nissan, Hyundai, Kia, Mercedes-Benz, BMW, VW, Audi and others will challenge you on that. GM gave up on Malibu as soon as it was introduced in 2017, no development, only de-contenting and relegation to "Fleet" status. I've had a lot of Malibu rentals, they were fine. Not as nice as an Accord or Camry, but preferable to an Altima, Sentra, Sonata or Jetta in my mind. A little development in the powertrain, refinement of the suspension and clean up on the styling would have done wonders. But that's not the GM way. Replace it with something else equally mediocre or worse but charge more because it sits higher. It's a shame GM has been relegated to such a back of the class manufacturer when spectacular cars like the C8 Corvette show what they can do when someone really gives a damn.
  • SCE to AUX This has been a topic for at least four decades.In a world filled with carcinogens, you'd need an enormous study to isolate the effects of seat foam compared to every other exposure we have.Besides, do people really drive around without any fresh air purging the cabin?
  • Rna65689660 This is NOT new information. They’ve known this for decades.
  • Wjtinfwb Had an E38, loved it dearly. I thought nothing could make me love the subsequent "Bangle" 7 series, but this latest version did. Apparently the psychotic drug epidemic plaguing North America has made its way to Munich and filtered into the design studios. This car is just grotesque.
  • Wjtinfwb Any Focus with a manual is a great car. The automatics... beware. I've had two, both manuals, a Gen 1 SVT and a Gen 2 ST, bulletproof, super low maintenance costs, reasonably entertaining to drive and very comfortable for long drives. Unfortunately, manuals are very scarce, this one, if decently maintained and not thrashed, would be a helluva deal at 4k and under 100k miles.
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