Has there ever been a car as controversial because the Tesla Cybertruck? By no means has there been a mass-produced car of any variety that elicits the form of reactions that Tesla’s stainless-steel pickup does. The whole lot, from the video-game styling to the futuristic powertrain, creates a powerful response, and that is earlier than you get to the trims just like the Cyberbeast. Solely Tesla CEO Elon Musk may get away with a reputation like that.
2025 GMC Sierra 3500HD 4WD Crew Cab 172″ Denali Final
- MSRP
-
$96,400
- Engine
-
6.6L Duramax V8 ICE
- Drivetrain
-
4-Wheel Drive
- Transmission
-
Allison 10-speed automated
- Horsepower
-
470 HP @2800 RPM
- Torque
-
975 lb.-ft. @ 1600 RPM
- Most Towing Capability
-
20,000 lbs.
- Curb Weight
-
8435 lbs.
2025 Tesla Cybertruck Cyberbeast AWD
- MSRP
-
$99,990
- Engine
-
EV
- Drivetrain
-
All-Wheel Drive
- Transmission
-
Computerized
- Horsepower
-
845 HP
- Torque
-
863 lb.-ft.
- Most Towing Capability
-
11,000 lbs.
- Curb Weight
-
6898 lbs.
So it appears and sounds outlandish, however the true kicker is the value. A completely loaded Cybertruck with practically all of the bins checked will run you just about $116k. For a similar value, you should buy autos with supercar-like efficiency, to not point out luxurious pickup vans with appointments that put the Cybertruck to disgrace. For example this, we have pitted the Cyberbeast face to face towards one of the crucial succesful, luxurious pickup vans available on the market – the 2025 GMC Sierra 3500 HD Denali Final – to see how a combustion business stalwart that is available in greater than $7,000 cheaper fares towards the cutting-edge electrical competitors.
We take a look at the efficiency and luxurious of the 2 absolutely loaded pickup vans earlier than analyzing which is extra worthy of its sky-high value. To make sure as truthful a enjoying discipline as attainable, we have configured every truck in the most costly configuration, with the priciest wheel, tire, paint, and inside choices. We have additionally included each bundle attainable, and within the case of the Cybertruck, the most costly charging choices, however no miscellaneous equipment have been added to both. Costs embrace vacation spot.
Two Six-Determine Vehicles That Could not Be Extra Completely different
Earlier than we get into the meat of this story, we’ve to be clear: these two autos compete on value, however signify totally completely different philosophies. Sure, they’re each pickup vans with giant beds and loads of superior expertise, however one has a decidedly conventional powertrain and building, whereas the opposite is a rolling testomony to the trendy age. Only a few individuals who would contemplate one will contemplate the opposite, however it’s nonetheless enlightening to see simply how a lot of every you will get for roughly the identical value.
Whereas the Cybertruck could be surprisingly succesful when tasked with basic pickup duties, within the Cyberbeast trim, it actually blurs the traces between a daily pickup and a efficiency truck. This comes from the truck’s three electrical motors, which give it a succesful AWD system packing 845 horsepower and jaw-dropping acceleration for one thing that weighs roughly 6,850 lbs. Its payload and towing capability are additionally equally spectacular, and greater than sufficient for many patrons’ wants. It is actually a jack of all trades, however its hyper-minimalist inside, wild exterior design, and intensely excessive price ticket guarantee it’s going to stay a distinct segment product.
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In distinction, the GMC Sierra 3500 HD Denali Final is the evolution of the basic luxurious pickup truck, firmly grounded in actuality. It is surprising to us that it is taken this lengthy for the automotive business to supply actually luxurious pickup vans that add type and charm with out messing with the essential method, however go away it to GMC to determine it out.
It wasn’t straightforward choosing a single truck for this immediate, as we merely needed to contemplate contenders just like the Ram 1500 Tungsten and the Ford F-350 Restricted, however neither affords the mix of luxurious and functionality that the GMC Sierra 3500 HD Denali Final does, to not point out its hilariously lengthy title. This truck affords a wide range of physique/mattress types, to not point out the choice of twin wheels within the rear, however to maintain it inside our parameters, we stored the truck in a crew cab, long-bed configuration with solely 4 wheels beneath.
It is old-school diesel brawn versus new-age electrical ingenuity, and there is a lot to love about every.
The Denali Prioritizes Luxurious, Not Simply Tech
By this level, everybody has seen what the within of a Cybertruck appears like, and it is a shock to the senses. Tesla has at all times been about minimalism, because it’s turn out to be an indicator of the model, and this pickup continues that pattern. Flat panels of metallic, plastic, and suede textile trim dominate the inside, with imitation leather-based overlaying the seats. An enormous 18.5-inch touchscreen is the primary focus, sitting entrance and heart on the dashboard.
In the event you’re in search of a gauge cluster, there is not one, as these duties are dealt with by a head-up show. There’s one other, smaller 9.4-inch display screen within the rear for passengers, however past just a few vents, charging factors, and cupholders, there is not a lot to see on the within. That is in all probability why the roof is a large glass panel, which lets you see the sky, whether or not you need to or not.
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The 3500 HD Denali Final is drastically completely different, as the colour scheme is far hotter, and lots of extra conventional luxurious options take it up a notch. The whole lot you contact feels upscale, from the full-grain leather-based seats in Alpine Umber to the open-pore Paldao wooden trim that runs throughout the dashboard. As soon as you compromise into these seats, you will additionally have the ability to alter them 16 other ways earlier than utilizing heating and air flow, not in contrast to the Cybertruck. Nevertheless, the Denali takes it a step additional with therapeutic massage capabilities to make sure you arrive at your vacation spot refreshed.
The expertise is not in contrast to the Cybertruck, however it’s a little bit extra conventional, and extra classically built-in into the general design:
- 13.4-inch touchscreen infotainment system
- 12.3-inch digital gauge cluster
- 15-inch multicolor head-up show
- 12-speaker Bose Premium sound system
- Rear digital camera mirror and digital trailering system
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Tow, haul, and off-road in critical type.
Each of them pressure you to regulate loads of capabilities via the touchscreen, a casualty of our time, however the Denali does supply many bodily buttons in your most-used options, in contrast to the Cybertruck. Unsurprisingly, given a peak, size, and width bigger than the Cybertruck, it additionally affords a roomier inside in line with each metric, however this all comes on the expense of curb weight, which is available in at 7,079 lbs to the Cybertruck’s 6,898 lbs.
Functionality That Rivals The Cybertruck
Efficiency and functionality see the 2 vans diverge additional, largely as a result of they each have completely different goals. The Cyberbeast is generally about efficiency. The three electrical motors mix to provide 845 horsepower and about 864 lb-ft of torque, however the latter quantity is far more durable to derive given the complexities of electrical motors. Simply know that these figures, mixed with the launch management system, enable the truck to hit 60 mph in simply 2.6 seconds, on the way in which to a restricted 127 mph high velocity. This simply makes it one of many quickest pickup vans ever produced, however it’s succesful too.
Payload sits at 2,270 lbs when outfitted with the larger wheels, towing is a formidable 11,000 lbs, and the GVWR sits at 9,169 lbs, once more, when outfitted with the bigger wheels. These wheels do see the truck take a spread hit, nevertheless, because it drops from as much as 320 miles to 301 miles, however count on these numbers to drop even additional in case you’re utilizing the truck to tow or haul in any respect, one of many main drawbacks of present EV expertise.
Specification | GMC Sierra 3500 HD Denali Final | Tesla Cybertruck Cyberbeast |
|---|---|---|
Powertrain | 6.6L Duramax turbo-diesel V8 | Trimotor electrical |
Horsepower | 470 hp | 845 hp |
Torque | 975 lb-ft | ~864 lb-ft |
Transmission | 10-speed Allison automated | Single-speed automated |
0-60 MPH Time | ~6.5 seconds | ~2.6 seconds |
Towing Capability (Max) | 21,000 lbs (with gooseneck) | 11,000 lbs |
Payload Capability (Max) | 5,171 lbs | 2,270 lbs |
Mattress Size | As much as 8.1 ft | 6.0 ft |
Drivetrain | 4WD | AWD |
*All numbers derived from the precise trim and choices chosen | ||
One main promoting level of the Cybertruck often is the spectacular however misleadingly named “Full Self Driving”, Stage 2 driver-assistance suite, one thing GM’s HD vans generally cannot come near matching, due to missing Tremendous Cruise attributable to their extra conventional hydraulic energy steering (hands-free cruising requires electrical self-steering). Nevertheless, we doubt patrons within the further functionality of the 3500 will care that a lot.
Bear in mind, the Denali comes with a protracted mattress, which suggests you obtain 8.1 ft of mattress size to the Cybertruck’s still-decent 6.0 ft, however payload capability could not be extra completely different, with the GMC providing greater than double the hauling capability. Then, you get to towing, and right here, the vans aren’t even in the identical universe.
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The Denali Final comes commonplace with the potent twin-turbo, 6.6-liter Duramax Diesel V8 powertrain, supplying you with entry to 470 horsepower and 975 lb-ft of torque. That is greater than sufficient to get the four-wheel model to 60 mph in lower than seven seconds, and tow absolutely anything you can ever need.
The 11,000-pound towing capability of the Cybertruck is nothing to scoff at, greater than succesful for many patrons’ wants, given they will cope with the dramatically diminished vary that comes with heavy towing. Nevertheless, when outfitted with the gooseneck possibility like our truck is, the GMC completely crushes the Cybertruck’s quantity, able to towing 21,000 lbs when optioned with a protracted mattress and 4WD.
Which Truck Feels Value The Cash?
That is the place it will get sophisticated – or not, relying in your take. To place it plainly, neither truck is inherently higher than the opposite, simply completely different. We all know, we all know, it is far more enjoyable simply to say the Cybertruck “is not an actual truck”, due to this fact it mechanically loses, however it is not that straightforward, nor can we agree with the sentiment.
The Cybertruck is a truck, only a completely different form of truck. It is a car meant for displaying off spectacular straight-line acceleration, carrying mulch dwelling from the home-improvement retailer, and for throwing muddy pads in mattress after your kid’s wet soccer sport. It is for displaying off as a lot because it’s meant to be sensible, however it struggles to be taken significantly. Whereas Tesla does love displaying off ads of the truck being closely used on some building websites, that is virtually a fantasy. Simply ask any of your blue-collar buddies what would occur in case you confirmed up in considered one of them at a job web site, and you may be taught all you should know.
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On the opposite finish of the spectrum sits the Denali Final, which is as a lot a luxurious car as it’s a pickup truck. It is a car that can demand respect wherever it goes, largely as a result of its imposing measurement dwarfs practically anything on the highway, but additionally as a result of many will know what it is able to.
The best technique to perceive the distinction between the 2 autos is that the Cybertruck will make Tesla homeowners jealous, whereas the GMC will make different truck homeowners jealous. The percentages of there being any crossover between the 2 sects of patrons and the other truck are slim to none, however additionally it is by design.
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So, “which truck feels definitely worth the cash” actually comes down to non-public desire and your individual objectives. Want a truck that may do truck issues higher than different vans, with out trying completely misplaced on a job web site? Choose the GMC. Need one thing electrical with unbelievable straight-line velocity, cutting-edge expertise, avant-garde styling, and strong truck functionality in its personal proper? Go together with the Tesla.
Nevertheless, on the subject of luxurious, the Denali is difficult to beat, and once you’re hauling your 30-foot-long trailer down the highway at 80 mph whereas receiving a again therapeutic massage, you will in all probability be glad you did not select the car that is getting mistaken for a dumpster on wheels.
Sources: GMC, Tesla, MotorTrend.
