2024 GMC Sierra HD 2500 Denali Ultimate Review

The Ultimatest Pickup: Luxury and toughness unite in the biggest Denali around

A (very) big truck. Photos courtesy GMC

BOSTON — Americans love big trucks. What's not to love? You get a commanding view of the road, an enormous amount of machinery and metal surrounding you to keep you feeling safe, and you can haul lots of people and stuff.

Hauling people and stuff is the best part of pickup truck ownership, except when your friends ask you to help them move. This happens quite often when you're the designated Friend With A Truck. Alternatively, you'll have friends wanting to borrow your truck, leaving you with a Toyota Prius to roll around in rather than your massive 'Murica-wagon.

That's better for fuel efficiency, but if you have this, you don't care. As a car journalist, testing dozens of cars every year, I'm often asked what I have in my driveway (Volvo wagon) and what I would have in my driveway if I had my pick (Rolls-Royce Ghost). But the dream garage is never a single-car — if I had my way, I might add my test vehicle this week, the 2024 GMC Sierra 2500HD Denali Ultimate.

It dwarfs this Subaru Forester. Jordan Golson / PRNDL

This massive machine is the best pickup that General Motors knows how to make, with almost every single feature, widget, and gizmo imaginable fitted, with an eye-popping as spec'd price tag of $94,835 to match.

Visually, it's an imposing presence. An enormous, dark grey grille dominates the front. It's a new color GMC calls Vader Chrome, which probably won't get them sued by Disney, and it's a deliciously luxurious alternative to the all-black packages that have exploded in popularity recently.

Rather than being murdered out, you might say the Denali Ultimate has been Midnighted. A gorgeous mix of curves and angles has the 2500HD looking something like a darkened spaceship, with clever illuminations from LED lighting everywhere, including an attractive horizontal marker lamp above each wheel and the all-important roof lighting (to emphasize just how immense this truck is).

The ultimatest Denali of them all.

The back is not nearly as impressive as the front, but you do get the 6-way MultiPro tailgate that debuted a few years ago, as well as toe holds for easy climbing at the rear corners of the bed and along the sides. Hints of chrome, a Denali signature, appear in the door handles and the Denali badging on the sides and rear of the truck — I suspect more than a few buyers will wish those shiny chrome bits were Vader Chrome instead.

That there are more instances of Denali branding than GMC badging on this truck is no coincidence. Denali is perhaps the most successful accidental subbrand in automotive, beginning a few decades ago as a mere trim level that has now grown into a near-standalone nameplate. Ask owners if they have a GMC, and they'll say, "No, I drive a Denali."

Even the steering wheel says Denali, and there are nods to the Ultimate-ness of this truck all over the interior. The exquisite leather interior is in an intoxicating dark tan called Alpine Umber. Chrome Ultimate badges adorning the center console and seats are engraved with the latitude and longitude of Denali mountain in Alaska. The wood trim on the glove box cover in front of the passenger has a topographical map of the mountain laser etched upon it.

You will not forget that this is a Denali.

And that's just the cosmetic stuff. Be sure to opt for the 6.6-liter Duramax turbodiesel for some next-level pulling power (and a nice diesel burble at the drive-thru). Then, you can enjoy all the terrific interior tech while effortlessly hauling your eight-horse gooseneck trailer down the interstate.

There's wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto — GM is only getting rid of that in its electric vehicles, or at least it's threatening to for some absurd reason — and a 4G LTE hotspot from AT&T. A 12-speaker Bose stereo and some big screens will keep you entertained, as will the graphics of the instrument cluster borrowed almost straight from the Iron Man-inspired look of the Hummer EV electric pickup.

Knobs and graphics and buttons, oh my!

There are actual knobs to adjust the climate control up and down, and the trailer brake controller has been moved to the center console, which will likely start some arguments amongst towing aficionados. The gear selector is on the steering column, I suspect because it makes life easier for plow drivers, but also because that's where Real Truck Guys Want It — I don't know if that's true or not, but it's what I've heard.

I'm reasonably sure the Denali Ultimate exists because wealthy truck buyers kept going into GMC dealers and asking for "The Best Denali," and they needed something to point to. That's undoubtedly what the name suggests.

GMC declares this the best pickup it can make. The Ultimate Pickup. The Denali of Pickups.

I think they're right.