First Impressions 14 GMC SLT 6.2 CC std bed

[ChrisNJ]

Background: Have owned a late 80's, two 90's, two 00's, and an 11.

Have mostly had the higher end models, with the biggest gas engines avail., the last two were 07 and 11 S. Denali with 6.2's.

So I've pretty much had them all, from 5.7's, 6.0's with low gears and high gears, and the last two 6.2's were 3.42's.

 

I just got the truck this week and took a fishing trip, 500mi. through mostly rural roads in NE PA, some interstate.

 

In a few words, very impressed.

 

Ride is like a big sedan. Can still tell it's a truck, but the harshness is gone. I have always hated the jarring (I loved the 70's 80's, big boat cars that floated!), and this truck does not hit hard at all. My friends 14 5.3 rides a little better, his is a Z71, mine is not, just standard suspension for a SLT whatever that is.

 

Very quiet, but not as quiet as my friends 14 5.3. I have some very little buzz from the back, could be tires, only happens at mid speeds of 40'ish. But still a little quieter than my past 11.

 

When I went to pick up the truck, sight unseen, I gasped at the Goodyear SL2's, as they came stock on my last two Denali's, and I really didn't like them for their ride quality, which Bridgestone Dueller HL's made better. Well, the GY's didn't seem to matter anymore as the ride was very good. Probably keep them on. They do look better than the Bridgestones.

 

Interior is very nice, but I also liked the 900 Denali's too, but the new seats are superior in lateral support, needed to keep from sliding around on fast turns, 900's lateral support were horrible, had to hold on to something to turn fast.

 

Back seat seems a little bigger and little more comfortable.

 

Have the Nav Infotainment system, and it is complicated. Don't think I'll ever learn it's full capabilities. But I'm 50 so I really don't care either, after I learn how to get around it for my uses. Have the Bose system and it sounds better than the Bose was in my 11.

 

My happiest improvement is the trans shifting issues. FINALLY I have gas pedal that works........................... push it down and she shifts down a gear to go, push a little more and one more gear down and she starts rocking. HATED the last two 6sp I had and they were 6.2's, so it wasn't the engine. Let up and she upshifts to what you would expect, not too low or slow. It even has the feeling of the old 4barrel pumps that squirted a jet of fuel in. Hard to explain to those who have never driven a good 4barrel, but if you are going up a hill with power on pretty good, rpms up a little, and you press the pedal down a good amount the truck lurches forward with a lot more power. Yessssss. And she doesn't try and upshift too early like the last one did. Love it................

I don't particularly like the V4 to V8 mode, but not a biggie, I'll probably get used to it. And yes, I can feel it, while most say you can't.

 

Worst (improvement, not so much). Headlights...... OMG are they bad. Worse than a 70's sealed beam. Have no idea how GM made such a mistake on this. I've always put real 100w Daylighters on all my trucks, except the last two '07 and '11 which stock were very very good, high and low beam. These '14 lights are hands down dangerous. TSB or recall must happen on these. If you don't like yours, you have to complain to the dealer or nothing will happen, Looking at fixes, aftermarket, etc.... right now, or back to Daylighters.

 

Did I say this truck goes good? Don't see any other truck, other than a new 6.2/3.73 keeping up with this one. Fantastic. And for those people that care about mpg, the computer said I did 17's mixed rural roads which I took out on my trip, and 22 coming back which was half interstate and half county roads. I don't believe the 22, so I started playing with the computer and it only looks at last 25, 50 or 400 miles, and I had it set to 25, so it must have just been registering the highway mpg, but still pretty impressive for a nice big engine like this. My 11 would have done about 14 out 17 back for comparison.

 

ohhh, visibility seems a little worse than the last one. Hard to see close forward left and right with the higher hood line. I can't even reach the oil dipstick, hahaha. Step-in seems about same as 900, maybe 1/2-1" higher seat height (I do not have steps, I'm 5'-8"). Same for reach-in for bed, just a little higher, but nothing like Ford-Dodge. Interesting that my friends 5.3 seems lower, maybe cause his has 18" rims vs my 20;s. Don't know how these would make a difference, but his is for sure a tad lower than mine.

 

Overall, very impressed and that's saying something from this picky old-man that would rather be driving a new 70's Cadillac with a big block. Now hopefully I won't hit two or three deer before the lights get fixed.

 

Let me know if anyone has any questions and I'll do my best to answer.

[redwngr]

Which rear end does it have? (or did I miss that)

[ChrisNJ]

It has the 3.42's.

Update:

The Bose radio is a ton better than the 11. Put some Collective Soul-Heavy in, and OMG it shook the mirrors and sounded amazing even at 90% volume. My son (15) was impressed. He said he would try one of his 'base' songs, don't know what it was, but he said it is very good. He didn't like the 11 Bose system.

We had some fun and did some 0-60's, and our non-scientific clock showed 6.2s. Hard to launch it, as the nannies want to take over, but I got the rears to break loose just a little on the 6.2 second run. Not too bad for a truck.

Don't like the mirrors, but didn't like the 11 either because they cut out the inside lower edge, which I like so I can see the rear tires, which you can't see.

Finally the drivers window has an auto-up feature.

Turning radius is better even vs my 11 which was the shorty bed, this one is the std bed.

More later.