What do I Think of our 1st GMC Elevation?

What do I Think of our 1st GMC Elevation?  

What do I think of our first GMC Elevation?  I like it.  Quite a lot.

We test drove our new GMC Elevation very shortly after it came off the carrier at Sunshine GM in Sechelt, BC. Kathy just spotted the ad for it in time, because 2021 is NOT an easy year in which to buy a new truck.  Dealers of all makes are having a hard time getting ANY new trucks, and it’s not easy getting really nice late model used ones, either.

The truck is a beautiful color, called “Satin Steel Metallic,” that changes with the light.  It’s a full size crew cab in a half-ton pickup, which is a really nice combination.  There is a ton of legroom in both the front and back seats.  The truck has a handy console with arm rests in the front, but it flips up to offer a spacious sixth seat, complete with seatbelt. 

There’s a lot of storage under the back seat, but unlike our older truck, almost nothing behind it.  But with its slightly taller design, it doesn’t have a massive hump running down the middle, which makes it a lot more comfortable for extra passengers, and easier to put that extra luggage and big snack container on the floor for long trips.

There are also a couple of small but very handy compartments hidden in the seatbacks, themselves.

This is a four wheel drive vehicle.  It’s not at all what I’m used to.  We still have our 1990 Silverado 3500 (heavy duty one-ton) crew cab 4×4.  It’s the kind where you have to get out to lock the hubs, then shift it with a rather finicky stick into 4 high, 4 low, or two-wheel-drive.  Low is so low it will just sit on the spot and dig holes on loose gravel. But coming downhill with it, even in 4 Low, and first gear, still requires lots of braking.

With the Elevation, it doesn’t have 4 Low, but it doesn’t need it.  It’s a light truck, with lots of driving modes to play with, but the one that really is fantastic is called “Traction Control.”  When that’s coupled with four wheel drive on the “All Terrain” setting, it climbs so smoothly and easily it really pleasantly surprised me.

But even more surprising was coming down.  If you start out from a stop and set the traction control, it will quite literally come to a complete stop in low gear, even on a very steep hill, when you take your foot off the accelerator.  It’s pretty impressive!  I’m pretty sure the four wheel disc brakes are going to last a lot longer than the brakes on our one-ton ever did (especially the front brakes).

The GMC Elevation’s ten-speed automatic transmission is an engineering masterpiece, so far, anyway!  It’s very smooth shifting and coupled with the tiny 3.0 Liter 6 cylinder diesel engine, it is pleasantly and surprisingly powerful.  Even with it fully loaded, it accelerates just as well as it does empty.  At the same time, its fuel economy is almost twice as good as the 2015 Dodge Journey with the V6 and 6-speed transmission we traded in on it (we get under 10 liters per 100 km, which is the equivalent to 24 mile per US gallon).  With the present price of fuel and the amount of driving we do, the fuel savings really make this a good buy.

If there’s one thing I’m kind of disappointed in with the GMC Elevation, it is the braking.  I expected, since it is much newer and lighter than our old Chevy Silverado, AND because it has four-wheel disc brakes, rather than just on the front and drum brakes on the back, that it would brake a LOT better than the old truck.

In fact, it takes almost the same amount of distance and foot pressure as the 3500.  I have heard this from others, too, including the owners of the equivalent Chevy pickup.  GM needs to work on this.  I expected it to be a little less responsive to braking than the Dodge Journey, which is called an SUV, but is really just a tall car with all-wheel-drive.  The Journey is so light that it will almost develop a dent if you look at it too hard!

Granted that our GMC Elevation has a 3.0 Liter Diesel in it and it is a full-size 1/2-ton pickup, but I really expected it to be much more responsive to braking.  Thankfully, it doesn’t need much braking when using traction control to descend hills on rough roads, along with the awesome ten-speed automatic transmission.

But in spite of the less than expected braking power, it still has excellent brakes and handles city traffic with no problems.  It has great visibility all around, making it easy to navigate lane changes, even when surrounded by sub-compacts.  The only issue I have with visibility, surprisingly enough, is over the hood.  The tall, great looking design includes a very sharp drop over the front, which means you can’t see as well down into cross-ditches like you could in the older vehicles.  That takes some getting used to!  It’s also a little spooky on some residential roads here on the coast, where the road sometimes crest very sharply and you can only see air as you go over the top!  

There is a hidden advantage to the over-the-hood visibility challenges.  You will be more likely to get out and check a hole or ditch on an out-of-service forest road before you just try to drive through it, something that would have saved our brand new bumper on our first such trip!  When I couldn’t see down into it, I should have stopped for a look.  Live and learn.

It is a pickup, and therefore the back end is typically light.  This means that if you’ve been used to driving a front-wheel-drive car, you will have to get used to the fact that if you tramp on the accelerator to enter the highway at an intersection, you will spin the tires.  It has more than enough power to do that!

All in all, we are very, very happy with our GMC Elevation.  It drives like a dream, handling very well in all conditions and in all weather. The cab is very comfortable, well-appointed, and has plenty of legroom, even for taller people like us and our family.  We’re looking forward to many more long and comfortable trips in it!