2024 GMC Sierra 2500 AT4X AEV Edition On-Road Quick Spin: The Incredible Bulk

In the fall of 2023, I got to drive GMC’s latest heavy-duty off-road pickup truck, the 2024 Sierra 2500 AT4X AEV Edition, on some rough terrain in Montana. The truck’s capabilities impressed, but its size made even simple trails feel more challenging, and its poor forward visibility resulted in overreliance on its forward camera system. Despite its capability, it felt like a tow rig that should only be taken off-road occasionally lest you risk damaging a very pricey truck.

One thing I didn’t get to do in the Sierra 2500 AT4X AEV Edition was drive it on pavement, so when one showed up at Cars.com’s Chicago headquarters, it was time to get behind the wheel again to see how it fares on-road.

Related: 2024 GMC Sierra HD AT4X AEV Edition: Too Big to Trail?

Our test vehicle carried a whopping $103,075 as-tested price (including $1,895 destination), with its three options totaling $19,380. The Thunderstorm Gray paint cost just $495; opting for the Duramax turbo-diesel 6.6-liter V-8 will set buyers back $9,490, and the AEV Edition Package is another $9,395. That’s a lot of money to spend on extra off-road hardware, and we were interested to assess its effect on daily drivability.

The Good

There’s a lot to like about driving the Sierra 2500 AT4X AEV Edition on pavement. The optional Duramax diesel, which makes 470 horsepower and 975 pounds-feet of torque, has been optimized for better low-end torque response; the result on pavement is a truck that almost feels quick. That’s a very strange thing to say about a pickup truck with an 8,656-pound curb weight, but it’s the truth. At highway speeds, there’s ample passing power, too, and the truck also has an 18,500-pound maximum towing capacity.

Ride quality is also very smooth for an HD pickup due to the AT4X’s Multimatic Dynamic Suspensions Spool Valve dampers and off-road suspension tuning, as well as its meaty 35-inch tires on 18-inch wheels that have plenty of sidewall for impact absorption. Unladen, there’s still some bounciness, but not as much as in a traditional HD pickup.

My interior impressions are unchanged from my first experience with this truck; the cabin is comfortable and luxurious. It’s not six-figure luxurious, but almost $20,000 of the truck’s six-figure price tag is dedicated to capability, so I’ll let it slide. There’s an abundance of easily accessible physical controls throughout the interior, and the infotainment system is visually appealing and intuitive. Based on interior comfort alone, this would be an excellent road-trip vehicle.

The Not-So-Good

The size of this truck made me concerned about taking it off-road and coming away unscathed; in daily driving, its size made it impractical or inconvenient. And before you say, “Well, you shouldn’t drive an HD pickup around Chicago,” know that I was doing this well outside the city, where roads and parking lots expand considerably and parallel parking is just a scary part of the driver’s license test. I saw plenty of HD pickups during my testing, and I dwarfed them all in this behemoth. I found myself parking far away from store entrances and other vehicles to avoid trying to squeeze into a parking space and risk damaging the truck or someone else’s vehicle.

Vague brake-pedal feel is also worsened by the truck’s heft; bringing it to a stop can require more effort than you think and turn routine traffic lights into panicky moments. The steering also feels vague and uncommunicative — not surprising for an HD truck — and makes maneuvering in tighter spaces a methodical process. This is further hampered by the incredibly tall and wide hood that impeded my off-road experience; it’s worse even than the Ram 2500 Rebel, which is not a benchmark of forward visibility. In the GMC, this makes it nearly impossible to visualize where the front bumper is relative to obstacles in front of you. Fortunately, an excellent camera system and front parking sensors work to keep you from hitting anything when parking.

Size is also an issue where utility is concerned. The convenient side-mounted steps to aid bed access closer to the cab and the MultiPro Tailgate that converts into its own set of steps are so high off the ground that getting up to the bed is a chore even for taller people; it made one editor’s weekend errand run for mulch more annoying than expected. Cab access, thankfully, is relatively easy thanks to the truck’s power-retractable running boards.

More From Cars.com:

• 2024 GMC Sierra HD: New Tech, New Interior, Same Mission
• 2024 GMC Sierra HDs Priced From $47,395, New Denali Ultimate Costs Double
• GMC Brings AT4X Off-Road Trim to Sierra HD Lineup
• 2024 GMC Sierra 2500 Denali Ultimate Review: Bigger, Better, Even More Expensive
• Shop for a 2024 GMC Sierra 2500

The Verdict

It’s hard to envision the 2024 Sierra 2500 AT4X AEV Edition as a need as much as a want — and as with any want, be careful what you wish for. I enjoyed the truck’s commanding driving position high above almost all other traffic on the road, and the Duramax diesel is powerful enough to hustle more than 4 tons around town without complaint. But trying to negotiate simple day-to-day things like parking and running errands became tiresome, and I put off some things on my to-do list until I was driving a different vehicle. If you have the wide-open spaces and deep pockets to make this pricey pickup work as a primary vehicle, it’s worth a look, but you might be happier with a more vanilla (and more affordable) HD pickup.

Related Video:

Cars.com’s Editorial department is your source for automotive news and reviews. In line with Cars.com’s long-standing ethics policy, editors and reviewers don’t accept gifts or free trips from automakers. The Editorial department is independent of Cars.com’s advertising, sales and sponsored content departments.