14 Sierra All Terrain vs. Denali ride quality?

ASW · November 18, 2013

Hey guys,

Got a question for you...just spoke to my dealer and was having them locate a 2014 Sierra SLT all terrain fully loaded w/ a short box for me...I asked the dealer what the major differences were between the all terrain and denali, and he said that aside from the cosmetic differences that the denali rides better...

...From al my research, I'm not sure if this holds true for the 14's. Maybe for the 13's but not 14s.

Thoughts?

grizzlyrafting · November 18, 2013

Not sure but my new "ordered from the factory" loaded Sierra All Terrain short box drives like a dream.

- Al

crushNchowda · November 18, 2013

The All Terrain automatically comes equipped w/ Z71 which includes rancho shocks that are stiffer. The Denali comes standard w/ the squishier suspension on all base trucks unless ordered w/ Z71.

I've had seat time in trucks equipped w/ both suspensions and I prefer the Z71.

ASW · November 18, 2013

The All Terrain automatically comes equipped w/ Z71 which includes rancho shocks that are stiffer. The Denali comes standard w/ the squishier suspension on all base trucks unless ordered w/ Z71.

I've had seat time in trucks equipped w/ both suspensions and I prefer the Z71.

Curious, what about the Z71 do you prefer?

Swazimoto · November 18, 2013

I am 100% sure about the 2014 but in years past the Denali has also come with a different tire. That also can have a ride difference. In the Denali Yukon and Yukon XL they also always had Air Ride suspension. Was that also in the Sierra Denalis? That made for a very different feeling (I have a couple with it now) and personally I would avoid it. It makes the trucks drive like an old cadillac and is actually more difficult to control in thick muddy situations. I know most people don't drive their denials off road a lot but... this guy did all the time.

fondupot · November 18, 2013

My all terrain rides better than my 2011 F150 FX4. The All terrains get the Z71 package, which in turn gets the Rancho shocks. So it will ride rougher than regular 4x4 models. They might do something different for the Denali's though.

crushNchowda · November 18, 2013

I am 100% sure about the 2014 but in years past the Denali has also come with a different tire. That also can have a ride difference. In the Denali Yukon and Yukon XL they also always had Air Ride suspension. Was that also in the Sierra Denalis? That made for a very different feeling (I have a couple with it now) and personally I would avoid it. It makes the trucks drive like an old cadillac and is actually more difficult to control in thick muddy situations. I know most people don't drive their denials off road a lot but... this guy did all the time.

They had different suspension in the past because they had AWD platform, now they have the exact same suspension/drivetrain setup. There's no difference in suspension components (at least from what I have read) between an SLT Sierra and a Denali Sierra.

crushNchowda · November 18, 2013

Curious, what about the Z71 do you prefer?

It makes the steering feel a little tighter/more controlled body motions, feels like it grips the road better and lets me know what's going on underneath more than the first SLT non-Z71 I was in for about 5,200 miles. I have 4,300 miles on my All Terrain.

The non-Z71 was cushier, still held the road well, but communicated very little about what was going on beneath you, and to me that also translated into a looser steering feel as well.