INTERESTED IN A BIG TRUCK? GMC MIGHT HAVE THE ONE FOR YOU IN SIERRA 2500HD AT4

The GMC Sierra 2500HD AT4 is a big truck.

It’s also a beautiful truck and a very utilitarian vehicle, but your first impression is pretty much going to be, “Wow. This is a big truck.”

This is not the kind of truck you likely would want for runs to the local home improvement store to pick up a load of sod. This one you’d use for bringing back a load of trees for your landscaping project. Big trees.

Yes, the 2020 GMC 2500HD AT4 is for serious trucksters. GMC even touts it as “the most capable heavy-duty truck” that it has ever offered.

Standard features for AT4 models include a ProGrade Trailering system with an available 15 camera views, keyless open and start, remote start, dual zone climate control, heated front and rear outer seats, ventilated front seats, driver seat and mirror memory, folding exterior mirrors that can be extended with the push of a button, heated leather-wrapped steering wheel, LED reflector headlamps, a tailgate that flips down with the push of a button, a spray-on bedliner, a dozen cargo tie-downs, and side and corner steps for easy access to the bed.

An AT4 Premium Package ($4,215) adds such items as a rear sliding power window, a premium entertainment system with navigation, 8-inch HD touchscreen, voice recognition, Bluetooth audio streaming, Apple CarPlan and Android Auto, Bose premium sound system, wireless charging, LED roof marker lamps, front and rear park assist, lane-change alert with blind side alert, and rear cross traffic alert.

A new 6.0-liter V8 gasoline engine has increased power for 2020 (401 horsepower, 464 pound-feet of torque), but a 6.6-liter Duramax V8 turbo diesel engine is the real big boy. Mated with a new 10-speed automatic transmission, it pumps out 445 horsepower and a whopping 910 pound-feet of torque, giving this behemoth a towing capacity in excess of 30,000 pounds. It runs surprisingly quiet, too.

The AT4 model (as opposed to the upscale Denali) is designed for more off-road use with a 2-speed automatic transfer case as standard.

An off-road suspension, skid plates, a locking differential, and special shocks are included. Hill descent control, hill start assist, and a traction select system with a specific off-road (and tow) mode also are part of the package.

All this comes at a price, of course, and one that matches its size in bigness. Starting MSRP for the Sierra 2500HD AT4 is $57,700 plus a hefty $1,595 destination and delivery charge.

My well-equipped vehicle for the week had enough options to run the bottom line to $77,555 after a $750 AT4 Premium Package discount was taken off.

 What I liked about the 2020 GMC Sierra 2500HD AT4 Crew Cab: This is a great looking truck that is up go about anything you might ask of a full-size pickup. The infotainment features are numerous and very user friendly. The surround-view camera is a real plus. The running board makes the climb up into the Crew Cab much less of a task. You can go a long way between fill-ups with the turbo diesel.

What I didn’t like about the 2020 GMC Sierra 2500HT HT4 Crew cab: Maneuvering in a mall parking lot is a task, a huge task. Even fitting into many marked places is difficult. The backend hangs out into the street in some lots where perpendicular parking is required. The interior could use an upgrading.

Would I buy the 2020 GMC Sierra 2500HD AT4 Crew Cab? I am not a truck guy, especially a big truck guy, so no, I would not. But it is really a great option for those who need such a big vehicle and can afford it.

2019 F-150 LIMITED SHOWS WHY FORD CONTINUES TO RULE AMONG PICKUP TRUCKS

For over four decades, Ford’s F-Series has been America’s top-selling pickup truck, and it doesn’t appear that it will give up that title any time soon.

Numbers for the first quarter of 2019 show the F-Series holding a hefty margin over its top two competitors, falling just short of matching the sales numbers for the Ram pickup and Chevrolet Silverado combined.

Ford reported sales of 214,611 F-Series pickups in 2018, a slight increase of 0.2 percent over numbers for the same period in 2017 with the Ram showing a significant, 15.4 percent increase for this past quarter with 120,026 sold and the Silverado showing a decline of 15.7 percent to 114,313.

The three domestic manufacturers hold a comfortable lead over their import competition with No. 4 Toyota selling 54,183 Tacomas in the period from January through March.

The bell-cow in the Ford F-Series is the F-150, which began life when the company introduced Ford “Bonus-Built trucks” to replace the car-based pickups it had previously been manufacturing. The half-ton model became the F-1.

In 1953 when it moved into its second generation, the half-ton pickup got the label F-100,  and it served as the base truck through the 1984, though the F-150 had been launched in 1975.

Just two years later the F-Series became the best-selling pick up on the market and the remake the company gave it in 1987 when it moved into its eighth generation would eventually lead it to become the best-selling vehicle in America period. It still is that.

No doubt, those who designed the early F-Series models would be dazzled as to what the truck has become in 2019. The new F-150 is stunning in looks, more than capable in performance, and packed with a full-menu of technological features in the higher trim levels.

This review is based on the Limited edition, which is near the top of the food chain and carries a base MSRP of $67,135. A couple of options ran the final price tag for my test vehicle to $71,350 including the $1,495 destination and delivery charge, which is approaching Lincoln Navigator luxury SUV company.

MSRPs start at just over $28,000 for the base XL model with King Ranch, Lariat, Platinum, and Limited going up the scale. (The Raptor is pretty much in a class by itself.)

The Limited gets as standard the Supercrew cab with a 5-foot, 5-inch box and such features as LED quad-beam headlamps, power sliding rear window, remote tailgate release, power deployed running boards, twin-panel moonroof, heated and ventilated front seats, heated second-row seats (with 43.6 inches of max legroom), adjustable pedals with memory, memory driver’s seat, power tilt-and-telescoping steering wheel, a 360-degree camera, 8-inch center stack touchscreen, active park assist, push-button start, lane-keeping assist, voice-activated navigation (which could use some updating with changes in some key road configurations in South Florida), and pre-collision assist with automatic braking.

The 3.5-liter, Ecoboost high output V6 engine feature auto stop-start technology, but it can be turned off by pushing a button at the top of the center stack. The engine is rated at 375 horsepower and 470 pound-feet of torque and is mated to a 10-speed automatic transmission with manual gear selection via a button on the shifter. Mileage figures are 17 miles-per-ballon city, 22 highway, and 19 combined, and towing capacity is 7,000 pounds.

The F-150’s ride is remarkably smooth, quiet, and comfortable, especially considering the vehicle’s size. At 231.9 inches long and 96.8 inches wide including standard mirrors, the F-150 Limited is no shrinking violet. But then, why should it be?

What I liked about the 2019 Ford F150 Limited: The cabin is spacious with lots of legroom in the second row and very comfortable. The ride is not as rough as you might expect of a full-size workhorse like this. The retracting running boards also makes getting into the cabin a snap, and the fold-out step in the tailgate (a $375 option) eases the climb into the rear bed. The 3.5-liter Ecoboost V6 provides plenty of punch for a pleasant driving experience. Oh, yes. Infotainment features are user-friendly. Let’s hear for big knobs to operate audio and climate control functions!

What I didn’t like about the 2019 Ford F150 Limited: Some areas of the cabin could use an upgrade but my main complaint would be about the segment itself. The size of a full-size pickup like the F150 is not conducive to many mall parking lots. 

Would I buy the 2019 Ford F150 Limited? For $70K-plus? That’s a pretty high figure for a pickup, but you can get an F150 for under $30K so unless you just like to show off, that may be the spot to start looking. Several other nice trims are available as well.

CHEVY COLORADO OFFERS A COMFORTABLE WAY INTO THE PICKUP TRUCK SEGMENT

Crossovers and SUVs may be pushing aside sedans in the automotive world, but one traditional segment remains strong, and that is the pickup truck.

In fact, the top three selling vehicles in 2018 are pickups — in order, the Ford F-Series, the Chevrolet Silverado, and the Ram pickup.

Sales numbers for these three were a combined, 2,033,492 last year, which is well over 800,000 more than the next three vehicles on the list, Toyota’s RAV4, Nissan’s Rogue, and Honda’s CR-V. Little wonder that some manufacturers are cutting back on their sedan production to concentrate on their SUVs and pickups.

But as popular as they are, the traditional half-ton pickups (misnamed by today's capabilities) may be too much for someone who still might like a truck in their future. If you aren't going to carry a lot of cargo, you may find the disadvantages of the full-sized pickup offsetting.

A full-size pickup can be a real bear to maneuver in tight mall parking lots, usually is thirstier than a smaller model, and often comes with a higher sticker price. They’re not as fun to drive either.

But consider the midsize pickup. It can handle more modest hauling needs like runs to the local home improvement/garden center, generally is more fuel efficient, and is easier to get in and out of than its bigger brethren. And it still exudes more of “macho” image than your typical sedan.

There are several good choices to be found in the midsize segment, one of them being Chevy’s Colorado.

Introduced in 2004 along with its GMC counterpart, the Canyon, the Colorado is offered in a number of different cab/bed configurations in five trim levels starting with a bare-bones Base model and a slightly upgraded Work truck.

LT trim covers as standard what are options on the Work model, and the Z71 takes that another step by making standard features that are optional on the LT trim, like automatic A/C, rear-window defogger, remote vehicle start, driver’s seat lumbar control, 4-way power passenger seat, heated front seats, and the EZ lift tailgate.

The Z71 also is more off-road capable than the lower trims, but if that’s what you’re looking for, you need to splurge for the top-of-the-food chain ZR2 trim.

My test model was the Z71 trim with crew cab and a 3.6-liter V6 engine and 8-speed automatic transmission. A 2.5-liter 4-cylinder is standard, and a 2.8L Duramax Turbo-Diesel is also available.

The V6 is rated at 308 horsepower at 6800 rpm and 275 pound-feet of torque at 4000, which is a good deal healthier than the 200 hp/191 lb.-ft. of the 4-banger, but the diesel (186 hp) boosts that torque up to a robust 369 lb.-ft.

I found the performance of the V6 to be up to snuff. It certainly is no laggard. With its stiff suspension, the Colorado handles corners with little or no sway, and the ride on expressways is quiet  enough.

With the crew cab and the short box (5 feet, 2 inches), it is 212.7 inches long and a full 19 inches shorter than a Silverado Crew Cab, which makes driving it comparable to a midsize SUV.

In addition to what was mentioned earlier, standard equipment includes the Z71 off-road suspension, fully automatic locking rear differential, hill descent control, an HD rear-vision camera, rear park assist, 17-inch dark argent wheels, front fog lamps, front recovery hooks, rugged all-terrain tires, folding rear bench seat, cruise control, tilt-and-telescoping steering wheel, leather-wrapped steering wheel, sport cloth/leatherette seats, and connectivity features like a 4G LTE Wi-Fi hotspot, all in the $36,900 base MSRP.

Additional equipment included the Z71 Midnight Edition package (spray-on bedliner, body color grille, black bow-tie logos, dealer-installed all-weather floor liner, the Z71 emblem) and assist steps that ran the total to $41,565 including the $995 destination and delivery charge.

What I liked about the 2019 Chevy Colorado: It’s not too big to be a challenge to handle in mall parking lots, but big enough to handle most of the ordinary tasks non-construction workers might encounter. In other words, it’s just right. It’s a pretty good cruiser on the highway, and the infotainment system is intuitive to operate. The EZ Lift and Lower tailgate (standard on upper trims) is a nice feature. 

What I didn’t like about the 2019 Chevy Colorado: The running board makes it easier to get into, but seems at kind of an odd level. Legroom in the back of Crew Cab models is a modest 35.6 inches (but that is more than the 28.6 on Extended Cabs).

Would I buy the 2019 Chevy Colorado? There are other trucks I would look it if I were in the market, but the Colorado is definitely a contender.

PICKUP TRUCK BUYERS MAY BE MAKING A MISTAKE IF THEY OVERLOOK 2018 RAM 1500

One afternoon some time back I was sitting in an establishment enjoying an adult beverage and happened to be overhear a couple of guys discussing pickup trucks.

For the record, it wasn’t that I was eavesdropping. It’s just that we were the only people there save for the bartender, and it wasn’t a very big bar.

Anyway, one of them was a Chevy guy and the other was a Ford backer. Though not a participant in the debate, at one point I threw out a comment asking if either had considered a Dodge Ram. (That ought to date the conversation since it was announced in 2009 that Ram was being launched as a stand-alone division under the Fiat-Chrysler umbrella.)

The Chevy guy laughed, scornfully, You would have thought I had asked him to take Ford’s side and the Ford guy to pledge his loyalty to the bow tie. Or worse.

So I dropped out of the discussion and went back to more relevant issues, like should I have another adult beverage before leaving.

I shouldn’t have been surprised by that reaction. According to a recent survey by Edmunds.com, a leading auto website, 74 percent of those buyers who purchased a new pickup last year bought the same type of vehicle, if not the same model, they had previously owned.

Only SUV buyers (75 percent) were more loyal in sticking to the same type/model that they were trading in.

Chances are, you may feel the same way, and I’m not going to try to persuade you otherwise. I’m not a car salesman, just a car reviewer. But I will say that you might want to do yourself a favor and check out what you may be missing by expanding your shopping horizon beyond the traditional segment leaders Ford and Chevy.

The Ram 1500 is a very capable vehicle, especially the 2019 model which gets some serious upgrades especially in the way of technology and driver assistance features that included a new 12-inch touchscreen with two displays to operate infotainment functions and such safety systems as a surround-view camera, adaptive cruise control, and blind-spot monitoring.

But if you can live without techno-gadgets, you can get many of a pickup’s basic benefits and capabilities from the current 2018 Ram 1500 and perhaps even get a better deal.

Certainly there is enough to choose from.

The 2018 Ram 1500 is offered in 11 different trims from the base Tradesman to a new top-of-the-line Limited Tungsten with MSRP running from just over $27,000 to just under $54,000.

Three engines are offered with a 3.6-liter Pentastar V6 as standard. A 5.7-liter HEMI V8 and a 2.0-liter turbodiesel V6 also are available. All are mated to one of two 8-speed automatic transmissions shiftable via buttons on the steering wheel cross bar, and four-wheel-drive models have a low-range transfer case for off-road excursions.

Only one size bed (6-feet-4) is offered on Quad Cab models, but you can choose from two beds for regular cab models (8-feet and 6-4) and Crew Cab (5-7 and 6-4).

I recently spent a week in the Ram 1500 Sport Crew Cab 4X2 with the HEMI V8 and several stand-alone options and optional packages that ran the total cost from the base MSRP of $40,795 to $53,690.

Those extras included with leather-trimmed bucket seats, heated and ventilated front seats, keyless entry and push-button start, automatic high beam control, rain-sensitive windshield wipers, power sunroof, rear defroster, UConnect 4C Navigation with an 8.4-inch display, 22-inch wheels, and a parking assist program.

Included in standard equipment are a rear backup camera, rotary shifter, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, leather-wrapped steering wheel, power adjustable pedals, 10-way power adjustable driver’s seat with lumbar support, second-row storage bins, LED bed lighting, and fog lights.

In addition to the quietness and ride, the cabin is very roomy with a big storage bin on the console. Front riders get 41 inches of legroom in all trims, including Regular Cab, while second-row occupants get 34.7 inches in Quad Cabs and 40.3 in Crew Cabs.

Essentially, it makes the Ram 1500 an SUV with a open bed for hauling stuff.

What I liked about the 2018 Ram 1500 Sport Crew Cab 4X2: The technology is very user-friendly, and the ride is exceptionally smooth for a pickup. The rear seats flip up to provide an expanded, flat-floor stowage area.

What I didn’t like about the 2018 RAM 1500 Sport Crew Cab 4X2: With no running boards (available only as options on a couple of models for 2018 and a few more for 2019) getting up into the cabin can be a chore. Grips on the A-pillars help, but running boards would be a big plus.

Would I buy the 2018 Ram 1500 Sport Crew Cab 4X2? Well, I’m not a truck guy, so not for me. But if you are one, don’t be like the guys in the Ford-Chevy debate and limit yourself. You may stick with a Ford or Chevy, but you should do yourself a favor and give the Ram a look.