Off-Road in HD: GMC Announces the Sierra HD AT4X and Extreme AEV Edition

Chris Teague
by Chris Teague

People use pickup trucks as everyday vehicles, even heavy-duty models, so it’s not surprising to see automakers adding more luxury and capability to their most work-ready models. Rugged, off-road-read heavy-duty trucks are nothing new, but GMC’s taking it to the next level with the new Sierra HD AT4X and Extreme AEV Edition trucks. The pair comes with a slew of upgrades to improve their off-road capability while maintaining the workhorse attitude that people expect from heavy-duty trucks.


The 2024 GMC Sierra HD AT4X gets a 6.6-liter gas V8 as standard, but buyers can add the 6.6-liter Duramax diesel. A ten-speed automatic transmission and four-wheel drive are standard. The truck delivers 18,500 pounds of towing, a 1.5-inch lift kit, Multimatic DSSV dampers, an electronic locking rear differential, and 35-inch Goodyear tires. The HD also gets a new off-road driving mode, which recalibrates braking, steering, and other settings to improve traction and performance. 


The Extreme AEV Edition brings touches from American Expedition Vehicles, including 18-inch wheels and underbody steel skid plates. It also offers steep bumpers with integrated recovery points and a winch mounting point. 


Both trucks bring the luxury inside, where GMC equipped leather upholstery and massaging front seats. Ash wood trim and a Bose 12-speaker premium stereo come standard, along with a 13.4-inch touchscreen and 12.3-inch digital gauge cluster. GMC offers several driver aids, but most are withheld in added-cost options package. Available tech includes a transparent trailer-view camera system, blind spot monitoring with trailer coverage, and adaptive cruise control with trailering.


GMC hasn’t detailed pricing for the new trucks yet but said more information would become available closer to their on-sale date this fall.


[Image: GMC]


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Chris Teague
Chris Teague

Chris grew up in, under, and around cars, but took the long way around to becoming an automotive writer. After a career in technology consulting and a trip through business school, Chris began writing about the automotive industry as a way to reconnect with his passion and get behind the wheel of a new car every week. He focuses on taking complex industry stories and making them digestible by any reader. Just don’t expect him to stay away from high-mileage Porsches.

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  • Jrhurren The EV haters would keep complaining until prices hit $0, at which point they would proceed to complain some more.
  • Kwik_Shift_Pro4X Remember the Mitsubishi Pajero? 😆
  • Macca Judging by the atrocious reliability record and general lemony snicket nature of the ICE Wagoneer and GC, this makes about as much sense as the electrically-challenged Brit marques going EV. Upper trim interiors on the GW & GC are a case of 'nice at 10 paces' (or glammed up press photos). In person there are low-rent plastics throughout at critical touch points (center tunnel, seat & mirror controls on the door panel, for instance) where there is unnerving flex akin to a toy. Adding more screens when the main Uconnect screen is already flaky doesn't bode well.
  • Ted Bryant HA! Taught my son on my 84 FJ60. One day coming home from baseball we drove some of his friends home. One kid in the back asked how to put the window down. I thought he was joking -- he never "rolled down" a window before.
  • Jeff I don't believe that a teenager should have a brand new vehicle nor should they be driving a really old vehicle. Most teenagers will not fully appreciate being given a brand new vehicle and need to learn that there is a responsibility to owing and driving a vehicle. An older vehicle especially one that is very old lacks the safety equipment that newer ones have.
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