The 2019 GMC Sierra 1500 AT4 takes the pickup to a different terrain combining off-road goodies with a luxurious cabin. Playing in a rare segment, luxury off-roading pickup, the AT4 has its sights on filling this gap and providing a new type of off-road pickup.
Unveiled prior to the 2018 New York International Auto Show, GMC executives showed off their latest creation with body-color matching bumpers and black chrome. Along with the red, vertical tow hooks, the AT4 trim is quite the departure from the chrome-laden Denali trim.
“The 2019 Sierra AT4 is designed for the customer who wants an elevated presence on the road and the capability to venture off life’s beaten path,” said Duncan Aldred, vice president of Global GMC. “It’s also the beginning for the AT4 brand, which will be seen on every vehicle in our lineup in the next two years.”
Standard content on the 2019 Sierra AT4 includes:
- 2-inch factory-installed suspension lift
- Standard 4WD with a two-speed transfer case, locking rear differential and skid plates
- Off-road-tuned Rancho monotube shock absorbers
- 18-inch wheels with all-terrain tires or available mud terrain-rated Goodyear Wrangler Duratrac tire, or available 20-inch wheels with all-terrain tires
- Exclusive wheel design with machined-face, dark-tinted appearance
- Hill Descent Control
- Traction Select System
- GMC exclusive, industry-first MultiPro Tailgate
- Black chrome finish on the fog lamp bezels, fender surround and grille insert
- Body-color grille surround, door handles and bumper
- Exclusive athletic interior trim elements
- Red vertical recovery hooks
- Standard 5.3L V-8 engine
Available content on the 2019 Sierra AT4 includes:
- Segment-first Multi-Color Head-Up Display
- Segment-first Rear Camera Mirror
- GMC exclusive, industry-first Carbon Fiber Pickup Box
- A full suite of advanced safety features* including Surround Vision, Lane Change Alert with Side Blind Zone Alert, Front Pedestrian Braking and Low Speed Forward Automatic Braking
- 6.2L V-8 or Duramax 3.0L inline-six turbo-diesel paired with a 10-speed automatic transmission
Our Take on the 2019 GMC Sierra AT4
The factory lift and locking differentials are slowly becoming standard equipment for off-road pickups and GMC engineers were smart to include it in this package. Also, unlike the All-Terrain X with its many aftermarket accessories like the light bar and bed sail fin, the AT4 is much cleaner. It is really tailor made for someone to outfit themselves. This, again, is a smart strategy – give the customers the choice of building it to their needs.
We also like the wheels with their unique exterior design and the black chrome on the grille and fog inserts. It really allows the red tow hooks and GMC logo on the grille to stand out although we can see consumers blacking both of those items out.
GMC finally did something different with the interior beyond the headrests. As all the other competitors have improved their interiors in recent years with unique badging and finishes, GMC has seemed a little reluctant to join in and the AT4’s seat styling is a good addition.
We are hopeful GMC continues to push the envelope on making their interiors more unique on each trim level. Also, we are hopeful GMC will bring the Denali Ultimate trim found on the Yukon to the Sierra.
Finally, GMC says the AT4 trim will make its way throughout their lineup. This is pretty interesting considering that lineup includes everything from the small Terrain, large Yukon and heavy-duty 2500 and 3500. One thing to consider is a GMC Sierra 2500 with the locking differential, lift, Duramax diesel and 20″ wheels. Swap out that truck’s bumper for a winch and forget about being a Raptor competitor, but rather how about a Ram Power Wagon competitor? It would be missing the front disconnecting axle, but that can be added through an aftermarket supplier. Now that possibility is pretty exciting to consider.
