2009 GMC Sierra Hybrid. Click image to enlarge

Related articles on CanadianDriver First Drive: 2009 Chevrolet Silverado/GMC Sierra Hybrid Manufacturer’s web site General Motors Canada Join CanadianDriver’s Facebook group Follow CanadianDriver on Twitter

Review and photos by Jil McIntosh

Find this vehicle in CanadianDriver’s Classified Ads

Photo Gallery:
2009 GMC Sierra Hybrid

Oshawa, Ontario – When hybrid vehicles first appeared in our showrooms, size was a major factor: the Honda Insight and Toyota Prius were small vehicles. When the technology eventually made its way into large SUVs, I always thought of them as low-fat potato chips: just as those are better than regular snacks, but not as healthy as an apple, it would seem to make sense for many buyers to just get into a smaller car.

That isn’t always an option, though, especially when the vehicle in question is needed for serious work. And so General Motors has taken the hybrid system it uses in the Suburban, Yukon and Escalade hybrids, and has fitted it to the pickup siblings of the Chevrolet Silverado and my tester, the GMC Sierra. Toyota and Dodge have indicated that the Tundra and Ram will receive similar gas-electric systems, possibly by 2010, but for now, the GM versions are the sole hybrid trucks on the market.

2009 GMC Sierra Hybrid. Click image to enlarge

General Motors first offered the Silverado and Sierra as hybrids for 2005, but these new trucks are entirely different. The earlier versions were “mild” hybrids, with an electric motor that only assisted the gasoline engine when needed. The new models can operate on gasoline or battery alone, depending on conditions, which gives them their name of 2-Mode Hybrid. As with all hybrids, the gasoline engine stops running at idle, such as when stopped at a traffic light, providing it isn’t too cold outside and the battery is sufficiently charged. This not only saves fuel, but eliminates tailpipe emissions, and since the electric motor restarts the gasoline engine, there’s no worry about wearing out a conventional starter.

The 2-Mode comes solely with a 6.0-litre V8 engine, also used in conventional pickups. While you might initially question using such a big powerplant, the Sierra Hybrid gets better fuel economy than the 4.8- or 5.3-litre V8 engines available in GM’s conventional model, and even better than the available 4.3-litre V6, while still retaining acceptable towing and hauling capacity. Part of the fuel savings comes from the engine’s Active Fuel Management system, which shuts off half the cylinders under light load, such as when cruising on the highway; thanks to the electric motor’s additional power boost, the truck can stay in this fuel-saving mode for longer periods of time. My 4×4 tester is officially rated at 10.5 L/100 km (27 mpg) in the city, and 9.8 L/100 km (29 mpg) on the highway, while I averaged 12.1 L/100 km (23 mpg) in combined driving. In comparison, a conventional 6.0-litre 4×4 Sierra gets 15.7 L/100 km (18 mpg) in the city.

2009 GMC Sierra Hybrid. Click image to enlarge

As with any hybrid, the trade-off is the price. The Sierra Hybrid is going to be a low-volume seller, and so choices are limited: you can only get it as a four-door crew cab with short box, in either 4×2 or 4×4 configuration. It comes as a fairly loaded trim line, starting at $46,725 for the 4×2, and $50,875 in 4×4. The hybrid’s list of equipment puts it about halfway between the Sierra SLE trim line, which starts at $34,910 for 4×2, and the SLT, which starts at $43,065. Average those out, and you’re looking at a premium of about $7,700 for the hybrid system. Transport Canada estimates you’ll save about $680 each year in fuel over the conventional model, so it’ll take some time to even that out.

Standard features on the Hybrid include trailer package, electronic stability control, 18-inch chrome-clad wheels, heated mirrors, soft tonneau cover, variable intermittent wipers, Bluetooth, power windows, keyless entry, split-bench cloth seat, satellite radio, leather-wrapped wheel, dual-zone automatic climate control, cruise control, and carpet. An upgrade package can be added, for $7,340, which adds power-adjustable bucket seats, navigation system, hard tonneau cover, rear parking assist, rear defogger and garage door opener. I didn’t have that package on my tester, but mine was equipped with several stand-alone options, including leather bucket seats, rear-seat DVD system, power-folding mirrors, sunroof and fog lamps, for a total of $57,885 before freight and taxes.

That’s a fair chunk of change, and one of the complaints I tend to have about hybrids: given that the general idea is to save money on fuel, it would seem to make more sense to equip them sparingly and sell them for less to those who’d like to simply save more money overall. In the case of a hybrid pickup truck, which would likely return its premium much faster to a tradesman than to a casual user, outfitting the Sierra as a work truck with steel wheels, manual air and vinyl floor, at lower cost, would probably have more buyers interested.

2009 GMC Sierra Hybrid. Click image to enlarge

As with all currently-available factory hybrids, you don’t plug the Sierra in to recharge the battery. Rather, the system captures and converts braking energy, which it stores in the battery pack that’s located under the rear seat. Having it there eliminates the under-seat storage space offered by the conventional Sierra crew cab (the rear cushion folds up as a single unit, unlike the gas-only Sierra’s split seat), but there’s really no other place to put it. The system works automatically, switching between gasoline, electricity, and a combination of the two whenever required; that depends on several factors, including battery charge, ambient temperature, vehicle speed, and how heavy you are on the accelerator. When I got caught in some nasty rush-hour traffic on a Toronto-area highway, I was able to inch along past two exits solely on electricity, using no fuel and spewing no emissions. GM says the truck can go up to about 40 km/h on electricity alone, but no matter how light my foot, I couldn’t get it to go that high; I generally got up to about half that before the engine kicked in. When the gas engine does come to a stop, or when it’s running on battery alone, the climate control, lights and stereo continue to operate.

There are several devices to help you with fuel economy: the driver information centre can be set to show instantaneous and average fuel numbers, and if the truck has the optional navigation system, it can also display the flow of power. There’s also an “Eco” gauge in the cluster, but its green bar design is far too minimalistic. Only by delving into the owner’s manual do you discover that the idea is to keep the needle in the middle, and that too far to one side means you’re accelerating too hard, while the other side means you’re not letting the regenerative braking do its work. It doesn’t have to be as fancy as the sprouting-leaves display on the Ford Fusion Hybrid, but a couple of simple pictures would help explain exactly what the gauge is measuring.

The Hybrid can’t do quite as much heavy lifting as its conventional siblings, but for most buyers, it’s probably more than enough. While gasoline-only Sierras can tow between 9,500 and 10,600 lbs when they’re properly equipped, the Hybrid can pull 6,100 lbs in 4×2 configuration, and 5,900 lbs as a 4×4. Payload is 1,459 lbs in 4×2, and 1,418 lbs in 4×4. While I haven’t tried it myself, other writers have found that the Sierra can tow in electric-only mode under the right conditions.

Overall, the Sierra Hybrid generally looks and feels conventional, save for the massive decals that GM has plastered across the doors and windows. The transition from gasoline to electric is pretty much seamless; occasionally you’ll hear an electric motor whirring, or feel a little jolt that’s similar to a transmission shifting gears, but nothing so loud or hard that it’s objectionable. Handling is accurate, the steering is easy but not too light, and the brakes are firm and bite close to the top of the pedal. In short, it’s a good, solid truck.

2009 GMC Sierra Hybrid. Click image to enlarge

The interior set new truck standards when the Sierra was redesigned for 2007, and while Dodge and Ford have since worked over the Ram and F-150 and have surpassed it, it’s still handsome, and my optional cowhide seats proved very comfortable. The bucket seats also include a massive centre console with open storage, and between that, the deep console box, the twin gloveboxes, an open dash cubby and the big door pockets, all of your small-item storage should be easily handled. Interior build quality is excellent. My truck was the last of its breed to come from GM’s Oshawa, Ontario plant, before that truck division was shut down; 2010 models will now come from Mexico.

My truck also contained Turn-by-Turn Navigation, an OnStar program that is meant to take the place of a traditional navigation system. You hit the OnStar button, tell the live operator your destination, and he or she downloads the directions into your vehicle. Each turn is then indicated by a command that comes through the stereo, and an arrow in the instrument cluster. It’s great in theory, but in reality, I’ve found it to be as much miss as hit in the various vehicles in which I’ve tried using it. On a California trip, one operator forgot to download the directions to our vehicle; another couldn’t find a town in her system, even though we were sitting in front of its large “Welcome To” sign. Trying to find a street in Niagara-on-the-Lake, an Ontario town very popular with tourists, I was routed to an American operator who told me the only street by that name was actually in “Gee-yule-up.” Mystified, I finally had her spell it out: she meant Guelph, some 120 km away. Both towns have a Lakeshore Road, but so does every other settlement near Lake Ontario. And despite the fact that my house has been here since the 1940s, OnStar can’t find it. It consistently sends me to a dead-end street about four kilometres north that sounds nothing like my road’s name, tells me to turn, and then informs me that I’ve arrived, repeating my house number and street. This time around, I pushed the Sierra’s OnStar button again, and got an operator who tried to find my address manually, couldn’t, and told me to hold on while he talked to his supervisor. He then disconnected the call and never came back. I’m glad I wasn’t depending on it to find my way.

The mapping system aside, the Sierra Hybrid is a very nice ride, offering considerable fuel savings over a comparable conventional vehicle, decent work capacity for its system, handsome styling, comfortable interior, and good performance. For now, it’s also the only hybrid choice for a pickup, but its tipping point is its price: it’s not cheap, and that’s going to be an issue for drivers who will have to weigh the extra cost against any savings reaped at the gas pumps. It’s a great truck if it fits your bottom line, but be sure to figure the calculations before you buy.

View full article on one page Share |