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"  Take a long, slow lap around these new GM pickups, and you&amp;#039;ll see plenty that looks familiar. Yes, these big heavy-duty trucks now share sheetmetal with the recently redesigned light-duty pickups. And they are certainly handsome. But unlike the half-ton trucks, the new Chevy Silverado HD and GMC Sierra HD pickups aren&amp;#039;t mechanically new at all. Under the skin, these trucks have the same engines, frames, axles, and springs as the ones on sale now, which were last redesigned back in 2011. The engineers adjusted the shock tuning to compensate for the added stiffness of these new cabs, and there&amp;#039;s a quicker-acting and quieter stability control system, too, which comes standard on all models. But the question becomes: Does it matter that these trucks use old parts? Are the big Silverado and Sierra trucks still competitive, or has GM yielded heavy-duty dominance to Ram and Ford? A day of driving the diesel versions of the new GM trucks in Arizona proves that yes, they are competitive with today&amp;#039;s offerings from Ford and Ram. While the 397 hp and 765 lb-ft of torque in GM&amp;#039;s Duramax is less potent compared to diesels from Ford and Ram (both of whom can crank out at least 800 lb-ft), this engine is no sluggard. After back-to-back drives with the competition, the Duramax still feels potent.  The real fun happens when driving up long grades. Dip a toe into the accelerator pedal and the wave of torque carries this three-and-a-half-ton hauler up and over the hills without downshifting\u2014and without the tach ever reaching 2000 rpm. When it is time for a shift, the six-speed Allison automatic reacts quickly and holds the right gear. Tap the Tow/Haul mode and engage the engine brake, and theses trucks can slow a load and maintain the speed you set on cruise control. You&amp;#039;ll almost never need to touch the brakes.   2015 Chevrolet Silverado 3500HD Okay, these trucks provide plenty of muscle. How do they haul? When it comes to maximum figures, the Silverado and Sierra have a slight edge in payload (7374 pounds, versus 7320 for Ram and 7080 for Ford). GM takes a gold with conventional hitch towing as well, at 19,600 pounds, but only under protest from Ram, which is limited to 17,000 pounds due to the hitch itself. With a fifth-wheel hitch attached to the bed, GM&amp;#039;s 23,200-pound rating is third to Ford&amp;#039;s 24,700 and Ram&amp;#039;s 30,000. Of course, most of those figures are simply for marketing. The popular 4WD, large-cab configurations are rated thousands of pounds lower for all three brands. So the new Chevy and GMC heavy-duty trucks are quick and competitive. And with their roomy and useful cabs\u2014especially the fully optioned upscale GMC Denali versions\u2014these workhorses set the benchmark for comfort.   2015 GMC Sierra Denali HD But this segment is only getting more competitive. GM&amp;#039;s archrival Ford will show its 2015 Super Duty later this year with a revised Power Stroke diesel. And though Ford won&amp;#039;t say just how much more power and torque it will offer, nor how much more it will be able to tow, you can bet every one of those numbers will go up. We doubt Ram will give up its maximum towing and torque crowns easily should the Ford top either figure, so expect something new from them, too.  All of this to say: We&amp;#039;re confused by GM&amp;#039;s strategy with these not-so-new heavy-duty trucks. They might be good enough for now, but in the modern truck business, shooting for good enough is close to giving up. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.popularmechanics.com/cars/trucks/reviews/a10051/test-drive-2015-chevrolet-and-gmc-heavy-duty-pickups-16443454/>