Long Term Update: 2002 GMC Sierra Denali Quadrasteer
Photography by Thomas Voehringer
How do you make a full-size pickup drive like a compact car? Build one with four-wheel steering, of course. Our $44,130 long-term Quadrasteer, optioned with only a block-heater and running boards, is an absolute hoot to drive in tight, congested areas, not to mention that it shines when trailering a 6000-pound boat.
So far, the only real complaint is about the rear suspension: It's stiffly sprung for towing, resulting in severe freeway chop on certain types of concrete-poured highways. Maybe not too surprisingly, we're also unimpressed with fuel mileage. On a recent 1400-mile trip to Oregon and back, the Denali yielded a wallet-gouging average of 12 mpg, although 360 miles between fill-ups makes long-distance travel tolerable.
Our Magic 8 Ball tells us the future of full-size trucks is heading in the direction of this Quadrasteer. Four-wheel steer works great for towing and will become even more affordable if GM creates a more compact, second-generation version and bolts it into its 1500 series trucks and SUVs. Until then, we'll have plenty of fun dodging parking-lot traffic in our Denali.