Road Trip Rides: GMC Sierra EV Elevation

Editors’ Note: This review is part of an ongoing Wildsam series, testing out new road-trip rides on the kinds of journeys we tend to favor.

It’s no secret that Americans love pickup trucks. So much so that more than 2.5 million of them were sold in the U.S. last year. Of those, just a tiny fraction are all-electric models, which are still relatively new to the marketplace and haven’t gained much traction with traditional truck buyers. But after driving the GMC Sierra EV Elevation for a week, it feels like we’ve been given a glimpse of the future: One where an electric pickup can do everything its gas-powered counterparts can do, and more.

Speed, Power, and Tech

GMC offers its electric Sierra in three trim levels, including Elevation, AT4, and Denali. Of those, the Elevation is the base model, although it certainly doesn’t feel that way when you’re behind the wheel.

Inside the cab, the Sierra EV Elevation wows you more with its tech features rather than luxury amenities. Don’t get us wrong, the truck is big, spacious, and very comfortable, but it has received some criticism for an abundant use of plastics on the dash, doors, and center console. Those materials are durable and easy to clean, however, making them very practical for use in a pickup. But the truck’s massive touchscreen infotainment system and 11-inch driver information center display are definitely more eye-catching. Both are bright, easy to read and customizable, allowing owners to configure quick access to important features, like navigation, Bluetooth audio and climate controls. 

Other nice features include heated and ventilated seats, an integrated wireless charger, and 5G cellular connectivity that serves as a Wi-Fi hotspot and downloads over-the-air software updates. A six-speaker audio system is good, but not particularly noteworthy, while multiple USB-C ports keep all of your gadgets charged on the go.

A Terrific Tailgater

During our week with the Elevation EV, it proved to be a handy vehicle. For instance, the truck bed proved very useful when moving some cargo around, and the frunk (front trunk) was excellent for stashing groceries after making a weekly jaunt to the store. The spacious crew cab was also great for hauling friends around, who were suitably impressed by the amount of space the backseat offered. But the truck really made an impression when we took it tailgating, where it quickly drew the attention of other football fans around us. 

For our tailgating adventure, we loaded up the truck with an electric grill and stocked a powered cooler with drinks, snacks, including hot dogs, condiments, and other items. We also threw in an LCD TV so we could watch other games while we set up shop in the parking lot. While driving to the stadium, we plugged the electric cooler into a 120V AC outlet located in the frunk, which kept everything fresh and cold while in transit. Once on-site, we opened the tonneau cover and plugged the grill into another 120V outlet located in the bed, quickly heating it up to begin cooking. The TV was plugged into a portable power station, although another 120V outlet was available in the backseat. 

Once we had everything up and running, it didn’t take long for others to take notice. Several people stopped to ask about the frunk, especially when they saw us grabbing drinks from a cooler where the engine should be. Others were drawn in by the Elevation EV’s distinctive good looks, which are similar to GMC’s Sierra trucks, but with a little extra flair added to the design. The electric grill piping away in the back was also a hit, with football fans asking about how we were cooking up food without propane or charcoal. 

But after our fellow tailgaters realized we were driving an EV, they quickly had lots of follow-up questions. Most wanted to know about the range, and were pleasantly surprised when I told them it could go more than 400 miles on a charge. Others wondered about the charging process, which we hadn’t tried yet at that point. Price was also a hot topic, with most feeling the Elevation's $86k price tag was not unreasonable considering everything it brings to the table and the price of a conventional gas or diesel pickup these days. After driving the truck for several days at that point, we tended to agree with them. 

We’d be remiss if we didn’t mention another feature of the Elevation EV that makes it great for tailgating—the tailgate itself. GMC Sierra pickups come with the MultiPro Tailgate, which offers six distinct functions to make loading, unloading, and transporting cargo easier and more efficient. In one configuration, with the tailgate fully in the down position, a separate portion of the gate folds open, creating a step that makes getting in and out of the bed incredibly easy. This was fantastic for accessing our portable table, camp chairs, and other gear we brought along for the pre-game activities. It also made the perfect place to sit when other fans dropped by to check out the rig.

An Elevated Driving Experience 

Modern trucks can be surprisingly quiet, comfortable and fun to drive, but an electric version takes things to an entirely new level. The Elevation is quick off the line, going from zero to 60 in the blink of an eye, especially in “Max Power” mode. That burst of speed is certainly thrilling, but it isn’t all that practical on a day-to-day basis for a number of reasons, not the least of which is the impact on range. That said, the pickup is fast even in its more subdued “Normal” driving mode. Other options include “Tow” and “Off-Road” modes, which tune the vehicle for those specific use cases. Drivers can even select a “My Mode” that allows them to personally adjust the suspension, steering, brakes, and other features to their own standards. 

On the road, the truck is quite nimble, weaving its way through traffic like a much smaller vehicle. That’s due in part to the instant torque the electric motors provide, but the Elevation’s responsive steering is impressive, too. Add in a cabin that is extremely quiet, along with front captain’s chairs that are plush and supportive, and it is easy to see how this EV would make for an excellent daily driver. Even the rear passenger seat is comfortable and spacious, with enough legroom to make you feel like you’re sitting on the couch at home, rather than cruising down the highway. 

The Elevation comes with a number of other features that enhance the driving experience. For instance, the truck has advanced lane keep assist, adaptive cruise control, blindspot monitoring, automatic parking assist, and a suite of high-resolution cameras that make monitoring the space around the vehicle a breeze. Like other EVs, it has a one-pedal driving mode that simplifies the driving process, allowing owners to use the accelerator pedal for both accelerating and decelerating. This mode makes extensive use of the truck’s regenerative braking system, collecting kinetic energy when slowing down and stopping that is then fed back into the batteries to help extend its range. 

Our test model also came with an active subscription to GM’s Super Cruise, which brings hands-free driving to most major highways and interstates across the U.S. and Canada. While the system isn’t fully autonomous just yet, it is very impressive to watch as it handles the ebbs and flows of traffic. It even has an optional Automatic Lane Change feature that allows the truck to pass slower vehicles, either on its own or when the driver switches on the turn signal. The system does monitor the driver’s attention and requires that they keep their eyes on the road, but it otherwise takes some of the drudgery out of a long road trip. 

This being a big, burly truck, we were surprised and impressed with how refined the overall driving experience felt. The Elevation EV was smooth, quiet, and offered impressive handling both on city streets and four-lane highways. We even put it through its paces on the Blue Ridge Parkway, where it handled the narrow, winding roads with ease. No one will ever mistake this pickup for a sports car, but its speedy accelerations and maneuverability were certainly noteworthy.

Charging the Sierra Elevation EV

When consumers consider buying an electric vehicle, the charging process is often a concern. That’s because in the past, chargers were hard to find and were often slow, unreliable, or just didn’t work at all. Fortunately, that experience is quickly becoming a thing of the past. Conservative estimates now put the number of charging stations in the U.S. at more than 70,000, with that number growing all the time. And with brands like GMC, Ford, Kia, Hyundai, Mercedes, and others adopting the North American Charging Standard—based on Tesla’s charging platform—things are rapidly moving in the right direction. 

After a week of driving the Elevation EV, we’d depleted the battery to below 30%. That meant I needed to recharge the truck before handing it back over to GMC. I used the vehicle’s Google Maps-based navigation system to find a charging station near my house and headed over to give it a go. True to form, the first charger I plugged into recognized I was there, allowed me to tap to pay, and authorized my debit card, but never started the charging process. After retrying several times, I finally gave up and moved to another charger down the line. Fortunately, that one worked fine. 

Once the charger began feeding power back into the battery, the truck’s digital display provided real-time updates on charging speeds and an estimated time to completion. It took roughly an hour to replenish the charge, during which I grabbed some lunch, chatted on my phone, and patiently waited. Despite the initial charger not working, the process ended up being fairly simple and easy, although having to wait for over an hour to recharge during a long road trip could be frustrating. A faster DC charger should cut that time in half, but real-world performance can vary greatly. And if you’re using the Elevation EV—or any other electric vehicle—as your daily driver, having a home charger solves many of these issues. 

And for the record, using the public charger cost us about $40, which seems like a lot. But when you consider the gas-powered Sierra has a 24-gallon tank, it would have run us roughly $48 for a similar fill-up at a gas station.

End of the Ride

For the most part, the GMC Sierra Elevation EV was a fantastic experience as the pickup proved its worth as a daily driver, road trip vehicle, and tailgater. It definitely reinforced the advantages of driving an EV, while demystifying preconceptions about charging and range. 

That said, there were a few things about the truck that we won’t miss. For starters, it’s just so big. If you’re in the market for a pickup, that isn’t a drawback at all, as you’ll certainly appreciate the cabin and cargo space, along with the versatility that owning a truck offers. But for those of us who don’t necessarily need that much truck, it’s hard to justify, even if it isn’t producing noxious fumes. 

The other thing that stood out was the truck’s lack of Apple CarPlay or Android Auto. Much has been made about GMC’s decision to drop both of those platforms from its EVs and phase them out from its ICE vehicles over the next few years. The automaker hopes owners won’t notice by delivering software that is better than what Apple and Google make. Based on our week-long test drive, we can say the onboard infotainment system is passable, but there was still functionality that we missed from CarPlay, most notably easy access to music and podcasts, the option to listen to incoming texts and respond via voice, and having reminders pop up on the screen with navigational prompts, among other features. Whether or not the lack of CarPlay or Android Auto is a dealbreaker for you is a personal choice, but as a fan of those services, I’d rather have them implemented in my vehicle, giving me the choice to use the one that works best for me. Most other car manufacturers are still committed to giving customers that choice, with GMC being the most notable exception. 

Aside from those two—admittedly very personal—nitpicks, the Sierra Elevation EV is a great option for anyone looking to buy a pickup, gas model or not. It offers a refined driving experience, has outstanding range and performance, and is filled with lots of fun tech. Whether or not it can lure traditional truck owners to the EV space remains to be seen, but anyone who has shied away from buying a pickup due to the carbon footprint will find a lot to love here. This is an American pickup truck through and through, it just happens to be faster, quieter, and more fun to drive, too.