1998 GMC Sierra SLE review from North America

At 65,000kms the car would not shift into 4x4 (has dash mounted electric switch). Dealer replaced the switch for $250CDN. Problem has never recurred.

This is by far the most reliable vehicle I have owned, even much better than my previous truck, a Toyota. I do not regret buying this truck at all, and would not hesitate to buy another with only the 1 minor problem. I have had many people ride in it, and a few drive it too, and many comment that it still feels like a brand new truck.

Pros:

This car is very comfortable for long highway trips, it's primary use. It's also a very tough truck, having been used as a work truck, a farm truck, and for towing.

Performance is very good, and fuel economy for a large V8 is outstanding. Did I mention reliability? This truck should easily be on the road with no problems for another 100,000kms and probably another 100,000 after that.

Maintenance costs for the first 100,000 have been very cheap, however required services for the next 100,000 promise to increase. Still I believe the cost of service to be relatively low. The first tires lasted for 80,000kms and the front brakes for 100,000kms.

The design is clean and modern despite the fact that this model came out in the late 80s. Not until seeing pics of the new '04 F150 did I think my truck's design was in any way dated.

The price I paid was very good, but I bought it Dec.'98 after the new '99 design trucks had come out. I had also shopped many dealers and knew exactly what I should pay. The sticker price seemed to compare well with Ford stickers, and less than Dodge.

Cons:

The truck's interior has 2 ergonomic quirks. The column automatic blocks view of the dash electric 4x4 shift buttons and light. A 4x4 light in the instrument panel would be nice. Also the left function stalk has way too many controls. Please GM, remove the cruise from there to simplify it and move it to the steering wheel.

The seats do feel somewhat squishy, unlike the harder more supportive seats in newer model trucks. Materials quality is fairly high, the vehicle doesn't show much wear, but commonly touched dash controls (headlight knob, radio volume, transmission shifter) show a fair amount of rubbing wear.

Basically there's not much to complain about at all with this car.