GMC Sierra 1500 review: the pickup for buyers who want a Silverado with better seats
4/5motorssouq Editorial Team
Buy the Sierra over the Silverado if you actually want the MultiPro tailgate or the nicer AT4/Denali cabin and can live with a thinner GMC resale pool in Bahrain. Buy the Silverado instead if resale liquidity matters more to you than either. Either way, the 5.3-litre V8 in a crew-cab 4WD is the configuration that makes sense here.
Pros
- MultiPro tailgate is a genuinely useful advantage over the Silverado's simple gate
- AT4 and Denali trims bring nicer materials and more standard equipment
- 5.3L V8 has real towing and payload capacity
- Parts commonality with the far more common Silverado keeps consumables affordable
Cons
- Full-size width and turning circle are a daily cost on Manama's older streets
- Thin GMC-specific resale pool compared to the Silverado
- Fuel consumption is honest rather than flattering for the class
- Smaller GMC dealer footprint than the mainstream Japanese trucks
The Sierra's mechanical case is identical to the Silverado's — same 5.3-litre V8, same 10-speed automatic, same fully boxed frame — and the reason to pick a GMC over a Chevrolet in Bahrain comes down to two things: the MultiPro tailgate, which splits into a step and a load-stop that a Silverado's simple tailgate cannot match, and the AT4/Denali trims, which put nicer materials and more standard equipment where a Chevrolet buyer would have to option them in.
The 2022 facelift brought a new dashboard, a larger available touchscreen, and revised front-end styling that reads more distinctly than the earlier truck did — useful in a market where a Sierra still gets mistaken for a Silverado from thirty metres away.
Living with a full-size pickup in Bahrain
A crew-cab Sierra is a genuinely large vehicle for Manama's older streets and multi-storey car parks, and buyers coming from a Hilux or a Ranger should drive one before committing — the width and turning circle are the daily cost of the load bed and cabin space. Where the Sierra earns its size back is towing and payload: it will pull a boat trailer or a laden car hauler without the strain a mid-size pickup shows doing the same job.
Fuel consumption in the low 13s (L/100 km) is honest for the class rather than flattering, and running costs track the Silverado's — parts commonality with the far more common Chevrolet keeps consumables reasonable even though GMC's own dealer footprint is thin.
Who it suits
Buy the Sierra over the Silverado if you actually want the MultiPro tailgate or the nicer AT4/Denali cabin and can live with a smaller resale pool. Buy the Silverado instead if resale liquidity matters more to you than either.