The GMC Sierra EV Denali just claimed the top spot on Edmunds’ EV range testing leaderboard by traveling 507 miles on a single charge, beating the previous record holder, the Lucid Air Dream Edition by one mile. Edmunds says it was able to achieve this range using real world parameters for its test. Rather than just get on the highway and cruise at 70-plus mph to measure a range, Edmunds does a 60/40 mix of city and highway driving while staying within 5 mph of posted speed limits.
The result was an impressive showing by the Sierra EV Denali, also beating its platform mates, the Chevrolet Silverado EV and GMC Hummer EV. Using Edmunds’ leaderboard for comparison, the Sierra EV got 23 more miles of range than the Silverado EV and 117 more miles of range than the Hummer EV. It’s especially interesting as, if you look at the EPA’s range ratings, the Sierra doesn’t have the longest figure. Per the EPA, the Max Range version of the Sierra has a 460-mile rating while the Silverado has an EPA rating of up to 492 miles.
As impressive as the Sierra’s range is, it all comes at the cost of efficiency, as Edmunds explained:
The Sierra EV Max Range Denali is our leader in terms of electric range but not when it comes to efficiency. In fact, it’s not even the most efficient pickup we’ve tested. We measured consumption at 48.1 kWh/100 mi, placing the Sierra EV behind the Rivian R1T, Ford F-150 Lightning and Tesla Cybertruck. The Lucid Air did nearly the same distance as the Sierra EV but was significantly more efficient, measuring 28.3 kWh/100 mi.
Unsurprisingly, the Sierra EV’s massive weight is one of the reasons it’s so inefficient. At 8,800 pounds, Edmunds says the Sierra EV is one of the heaviest vehicles it’s ever tested. That weight reared its ugly head in performance testing, too. The Sierra EV Denali needed 4.3 seconds to reach 60 mph; while that’s not exactly slow, this thing has 760 horsepower and 785 pound feet of torque. Don’t count on having a comfortable ride, either. The Sierra EV Denali is only available with 24-inch wheels, and as we’ve mentioned before, this makes for a driving experience that’s all over the place.
Equally massive is the price. The Sierra EV Denali Max Range starts at $100,990, including a $2,095 destination charge. With options, Edmunds’ Sierra EV Denali cost $102,085, some $5,590 more than the Silverado EV they tested. Between the Sierra EV’s efficiency, price and massive size, GM’s Ultium tech would make much more sense in a way smaller pickup.