{"id":25685,"date":"2020-07-10T14:10:45","date_gmt":"2020-07-10T18:10:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/henrypayne.com\/?p=25685"},"modified":"2020-07-10T14:10:45","modified_gmt":"2020-07-10T18:10:45","slug":"payne-up-north-puts-the-versatile-gmc-sierra-at4-to-the-test","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/2020\/07\/payne-up-north-puts-the-versatile-gmc-sierra-at4-to-the-test","title":{"rendered":"Payne: Up north puts the versatile GMC Sierra AT4 to the test"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><div align=\"left\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/presto\/2020\/07\/07\/PDTN\/0b6d3182-da53-44b4-a220-176a2049528d-gmc_side.JPG?width=520&amp;height=390&amp;fit=bounds&amp;auto=webp\" alt=\"The 2020 GMC Sierra AT4 is made in America. In Fort Wayne, Indiana to be exact.\" \/><\/p>\n<\/div><p><span class=\"js-caption\">The 2020 GMC Sierra AT4 is made in America. In Fort Wayne, Indiana to be exact.<\/span><span class=\"credit gallery-viewport-credit\">\u00a0Henry Payne, The Detroit News<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"speakable-p-1 p-text\">When all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail, goes the old saying. But when all you have is nails, well \u2014 it sure is good to have a hammer.<\/p>\n<p class=\"speakable-p-2 p-text\">That\u2019s the way I feel about pickups.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">As a speed-addled sports car guy, hulking pickups are low on my list of performance vehicles. But when you need a tool to get things done, there is no substitute for a truck,\u00a0as I found out when I escaped to northern Michigan recently in a 2020 GMC Sierra AT4.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">As regular readers of this column know, performance cars have been my refuge during the shutdown: Cadillac CT5 V-Sport, Mazda Miata, Tesla Model 3, Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio, BMW M8. These stallions took me away to Hell, Michigan\u00a0and Woodward Avenue and the Huron River where I could social-distance at speed.<\/p>\n<div id=\"module-position-S2NDR5upYyI\" class=\"story-asset image-asset\">\n<p class=\"p-text\">Heading north, I thought it would be great to exercise a sports car as well. I wanted to flog it over the roller-coaster hills of Antrim County on M-32. Or up the Lake Michigan coast through the Tunnel of Trees on twisty Route 119.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">But when it came time to leave, the only thing in my driveway was &#8230; a truck. It would turn out to be an inspired choice. There would be lots of nails that needed a hammer.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">While southeast Michigan remained on lockdown, our benevolent Tsar Whitmer decided to open up north for business May 19. Apparently her husband wanted to go boating at their second home. We set course for our family\u2019s summer domicile as well.<\/p>\n<div id=\"module-position-S2NDR5uzScQ\" class=\"story-asset image-asset\">\n<aside class=\"wide single-photo\"><div align=\"left\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/presto\/2020\/07\/07\/PDTN\/c162f203-e97a-4694-b755-47f3c0cc5c44-gmc_int.JPG?width=540&amp;height=&amp;fit=bounds&amp;auto=webp\" alt=\"The interior of the 2020 GMC Sierra AT4 is comfortable and ergonomically useful \u2014 but it lags competitors like the Ram 1500.\" width=\"540\" data-mycapture-src=\"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/presto\/2020\/07\/07\/PDTN\/c162f203-e97a-4694-b755-47f3c0cc5c44-gmc_int.JPG\" data-mycapture-sm-src=\"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/presto\/2020\/07\/07\/PDTN\/c162f203-e97a-4694-b755-47f3c0cc5c44-gmc_int.JPG\" \/>The interior of the 2020 GMC Sierra AT4 is comfortable and ergonomically useful \u2014 but it lags competitors like the Ram 1500.\u00a0<span class=\"credit\">(Photo: Henry Payne, The Detroit News)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div><\/aside>\n<div class=\"clearfix\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"p-text\">Like a kind of mechanical centaur, pickups are half wheelbarrow, half auto. Travel with a family and the wheelbarrow half is useless \u2014 where does the luggage go? My recommendation: Buy a tonneau cover so you can use the bed for cargo when needed. Only Mrs. Payne and I would make this journey, so the Sierra crew cab\u2019s enormous rear seat was enough for our bags \u2014 and coolers, blankets, athletic bags, beverages and everything else you want on the lakes.<\/p>\n<div id=\"ad-position-72\" class=\"partner-placement partner-spike partner-placement-visible\" data-ad-placement=\"native-article_link\" data-ad-sizes=\"[&quot;fluid&quot;,[3,3], [2,6], [300,250]]\" data-monetization-id=\"native-article_link\" data-monetization-sizes=\"fluid,300,250,3,3,2,6\">Recognizing the wheelbarrow\u2019s shortcomings, pickups have become ingenious about creating internal cargo space (my favorite is Ram trucks\u2019 \u201cbasement\u201d compartments under the second-row floor). But the Sierra (and cousin Chevy Silverado) have their own hidden compartment \u2014 behind the backseat. What\u2019s next? A spinning door to a secret room?<\/div>\n<p class=\"p-text\">This cleverness continues up front where the Sierra boasts twin glove compartments, center console storage deeper than the Mariana Trench \u2014 there&#8217;s even a storage bin on top of the dash.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">GM has been shamed for its uninspired interior design compared to, say, the Ram 1500. For example, where Ram uses a compact rotary gear-selector, Sierra sticks to an old-fashioned, steering-column shifter. Nice for space-saving \u2014 but, compare Sierra\u2019s stalk to modern variants found in a Tesla or Mercedes GLE, and the pickup seems oh-so-15-years-ago.<\/p>\n<div id=\"module-position-S2NDR5ucWXI\" class=\"story-asset image-asset\">\n<aside class=\"wide single-photo\"><div align=\"left\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/presto\/2020\/07\/07\/PDTN\/425a0ce0-8817-47e8-9252-890033c0764a-gmc_rr-compt.JPG?width=540&amp;height=&amp;fit=bounds&amp;auto=webp\" alt=\"The 2020 GMC Sierra AT4 features hidden storage for clothes or a laptop behind the rear seats.\" width=\"540\" data-mycapture-src=\"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/presto\/2020\/07\/07\/PDTN\/425a0ce0-8817-47e8-9252-890033c0764a-gmc_rr-compt.JPG\" data-mycapture-sm-src=\"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/presto\/2020\/07\/07\/PDTN\/425a0ce0-8817-47e8-9252-890033c0764a-gmc_rr-compt.JPG\" \/>The 2020 GMC Sierra AT4 features hidden storage for clothes or a laptop behind the rear seats.\u00a0<span class=\"credit\">(Photo: Henry Payne, The Detroit News)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div><\/aside>\n<div class=\"clearfix\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"p-text\">The interior blah is especially notable because the GMC\u2019s exterior is typically awesome. Sculpted bod. Strong shoulders. Chrome grille. The AT4 got a lot of looks.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\"><em>\u201cNice truck.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\"><em>\u201cHandsome truck.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">The accolades just fell out of people\u2019s mouths. Sierra is also the sports car of trucks. With its best-in-class chassis light-weighting, I\u2019ve enjoyed pushing GMCs through the twisties since the first 2016 Sierra Denali I drove with a Corvette-shared\u00a06.2-liter V-8 under the hood.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">My 2020 Sierra was outfitted with a 3.0-liter turbo-diesel inline-6, but it provided plenty of giddyap \u2014 particularly its low end, 460-pound feet of torque. I had some fun through the Route 32 curves before my wife got tired of swinging from the A-pillar grab handle.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\"><em>\u201cSlow down!\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">We arrived at our Charlevoix family cottage and there were plenty of nails needing a hammer after a long winter away. Like bicycles.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">We share the cottage with family and eight bicycles were strewn about the garage, six in various stages of disrepair: flat tires, seized wheels, rotted seats.<\/p>\n<div id=\"module-position-S2NDR5vIbEo\" class=\"story-asset image-asset\">\n<aside class=\"wide single-photo\"><div align=\"left\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/presto\/2020\/07\/07\/PDTN\/6414744c-5cb9-46f8-8a2c-f7506e14fbdb-gmc_canoe.JPG?width=540&amp;height=&amp;fit=bounds&amp;auto=webp\" alt=\"Have bed, will travel. The 2020 GMC Sierra AT4 came in handy when Detroit News auto critic Henry Payne needed to transport canoes in East Jordan, Michigan.\" width=\"540\" data-mycapture-src=\"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/presto\/2020\/07\/07\/PDTN\/6414744c-5cb9-46f8-8a2c-f7506e14fbdb-gmc_canoe.JPG\" data-mycapture-sm-src=\"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/presto\/2020\/07\/07\/PDTN\/6414744c-5cb9-46f8-8a2c-f7506e14fbdb-gmc_canoe.JPG\" \/>Have bed, will travel. The 2020 GMC Sierra AT4 came in handy when Detroit News auto critic Henry Payne needed to transport canoes in East Jordan, Michigan.\u00a0<span class=\"credit\">(Photo: Henry Payne, The Detroit News)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div><\/aside>\n<div class=\"clearfix\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"p-text\">We called the local Revolution Bike Shop who told us to bring them over. No problem, we had a pickup. Bike capacity: six.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">I know it\u2019s six because we stacked every last one into the GMC\u2019s rear bed. Side-by-side. Try that in a sports sedan.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">The loading was made easier by GMC\u2019s six-function Multi-Pro tailgate. You know it from its jaw-dropping TV ads. Sports car motorheads like to wow friends by lifting the hood. I wowed neighbors with the Sierra tailgate. Push the button and &#8230;<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">1.\u00a0The full tailgate drops.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">2. A loadstop bar keeps boards from falling out the back.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">3.\u00a0An inner gate enabled a second-tier loadstop.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">4. Drop the loadstop and you have a work surface \u2014 or bar.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">5.\u00a0Drop the inner gate to \u201cwalk in\u201d to the tailgate and create a standing desk.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">6.\u00a0Drop a step that makes stairs into the bed<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">I used that last feature to walk the bikes into the bed \u2014 a task that would otherwise require two people.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">It wasn\u2019t just bike shops opening up north. Swiss Hideaway Canoe Rental was open for trips down the Jordan River \u2014 but with a catch. Due to social-distancing regulations, they couldn\u2019t pick us (and canoes) up in their vans at the end of the journey.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">\u201cWe\u2019ll rent you the canoes at a discount if you can bring them back yourself,\u201d they said.<\/p>\n<div id=\"module-position-S2NDR5uCrdA\" class=\"story-asset image-asset\">\n<aside class=\"wide single-photo\"><div align=\"left\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/presto\/2020\/07\/07\/PDTN\/3f0b024e-73ef-41db-81ae-db004fd7160e-gmc_engine.JPG?width=540&amp;height=&amp;fit=bounds&amp;auto=webp\" alt=\"Oil burner. The 3.0-liter diesel engine in the 2020 GMC Sierra AT4 can get up to 26 mpg. \" width=\"540\" data-mycapture-src=\"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/presto\/2020\/07\/07\/PDTN\/3f0b024e-73ef-41db-81ae-db004fd7160e-gmc_engine.JPG\" data-mycapture-sm-src=\"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/presto\/2020\/07\/07\/PDTN\/3f0b024e-73ef-41db-81ae-db004fd7160e-gmc_engine.JPG\" \/>Oil burner. The 3.0-liter diesel engine in the 2020 GMC Sierra AT4 can get up to 26 mpg.\u00a0\u00a0<span class=\"credit\">(Photo: Henry Payne, The Detroit News)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div><\/aside>\n<div class=\"clearfix\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"p-text\">No problem. We had a pickup.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">We dropped the Sierra at the East Jordan pick-up point \u2014 then piled into my son\u2019s rental car (he and his gal pal had flown in from Seattle) to drive to the put-in spot. After our two-hour canoe trip, we loaded the canoes into the pickup for the ride back to Swiss Hideaway.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">The Multi-Pro tailgate proved its worth here, too, as the \u201cwalk-in\u201d feature allowed me to better tie down the canoes. Meanwhile, my son used the GMC\u2019s corner bumper steps (why aren\u2019t all truck equipped with these?) to jump in and out of the bed around the canoes.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">Up north is pickup country. Far from urban Detroit where vehicles are used for commuting to tight parking garages, big trucks have more room to maneuver. The Sierra AT4 is also lifted two inches to explore irregular terrain.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">At a lifted $83,565, the Sierra costs the same as a, cough, a Mercedes GLE SUV. That\u2019s one fancy hammer.<\/p>\n<div id=\"module-position-S2NDR5uu32I\" class=\"story-asset image-asset\">\n<aside class=\"wide single-photo\"><div align=\"left\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/presto\/2020\/07\/07\/PDTN\/8ae8089e-1c4d-4569-82bb-b4b476243b9a-gmc_fr3-4.JPG?width=540&amp;height=&amp;fit=bounds&amp;auto=webp\" alt=\"The 2020 GMC Sierra AT4 can be pricey at $83,000, but it comes loaded with content including diesel engine, 2-inch lift for off-roading and the Multipro tailgate.\" width=\"540\" data-mycapture-src=\"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/presto\/2020\/07\/07\/PDTN\/8ae8089e-1c4d-4569-82bb-b4b476243b9a-gmc_fr3-4.JPG\" data-mycapture-sm-src=\"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/presto\/2020\/07\/07\/PDTN\/8ae8089e-1c4d-4569-82bb-b4b476243b9a-gmc_fr3-4.JPG\" \/>The 2020 GMC Sierra AT4 can be pricey at $83,000, but it comes loaded with content including diesel engine, 2-inch lift for off-roading and the Multipro tailgate.\u00a0<span class=\"credit\">(Photo: Henry Payne, The Detroit News)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div><\/aside>\n<div class=\"clearfix\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<h3 class=\"presto-h3\"><strong>2020\u00a0GMC Sierra AT4<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p class=\"p-text\">Vehicle type: Front-engine, four-wheel drive, 5-passenger pickup<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">Price: $54,995, including $1,595\u00a0destination charge ($83,565\u00a0as tested)<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">Powerplant: 3.0-liter inline-6 cylinder diesel<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">Power:\u00a0277 horsepower, 460 pound-feet of torque<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">Transmission: 10-speed automatic<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">Performance: 0-60 mph, 8.3 seconds (Car and Driver est.); towing, 9,000 lbs.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">Weight: 5,270 pounds\u00a0(base)<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">Fuel economy: EPA:\u00a023 mpg city\/30 highway\/26\u00a0combined (in 2WD)<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">Report card<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">Highs: Best tailgate in class; sculpted good looks<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">Lows: Uninspired interior; gets pricey<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">Overall: 3\u00a0stars<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The 2020 GMC Sierra AT4 is made in America. In Fort Wayne, Indiana to be exact.\u00a0Henry Payne, The Detroit News When all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail, goes the old saying. But when all you have is nails, well \u2014 it sure is good to have a hammer. That\u2019s the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7,87],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25685"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=25685"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25685\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":25686,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25685\/revisions\/25686"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25685"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25685"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25685"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}