The GMC Sierra Denali has essentially found its place as the Cadillac of pickups—a model with its work sleeves rolled up yet a feature set like an Escalade. Now General Motors is getting its other brand in on the premium-pickup game, too—with the debut of a new top-of-the-line 2014 Chevrolet Silverado High Country model.
Suitably named, the truck will reach higher in price and equipment than any Silverado ever has, but it doesn’t quite hit the high market altitude of the Denali. In pricing, the new trim will slot just above the top Silverado LTZ, and land between the LTZ and the GMC Sierra Denali.
The look on the outside is a bit more dressed-up, with more brightwork the most noticeable difference. The Silverado High Country, which will only be offered as a Crew Cab, includes special 20-inch chrome wheels plus a unique grille design, halogen projector headlamps, and more chrome accents throughout. According to GM Design Director Tom Peters, the company looked into both dramatically more brightwork or a more blacked-out look for the High Country, but found that most of the target pickup buyers wanted a little tasteful ‘bling’ in the form of chrome.
'Everyday heroes' with a big budget, apply here
With its Western-inspired color palette (read warmer, as shown to us in its Saddle Brown interior), the High Country is packaged to appeal to ‘everyday hero’ types who maybe have worked their way up in a company and still want to show their working roots but drive a premium vehicle. The GMC Sierra Denali will continue to appeal to what GM is calling the ‘disciplined achiever,’ continuing its more technical tack, with cooler colors and a more modern theme, outside and in.
The 2014 Silverado High Country goes head to head with the Ford F-150 King Ranch, 2014 Toyota Tundra 1794, and Ram Laramie Longhorn, while the 2014 GMC Sierra Denali will take on the Ford F-150 Platinum and 2014 Toyota Tundra Platinum.
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Chevy says that interior hues are unique to the trim level, and separate premium materials are used throughout the cabin. The High Country gets supple perforated premium leather seats—with contrasting stitching and piping—that are both heated and cooled.
Bose premium audio will also be included, as well as front and rear park assist and Chevrolet MyLink connectivity with an eight-inch touch screen. Through a High Country Premium Package, you can add a heated steering wheel, driver alert package (Forward Collision Alert and Lane Departure Warning), adjustable pedals, and an integrated trailer-brake controller.
GM’s new 355-horsepower, 5.3-liter EcoTec3 V-8 engine will be standard on the Silverado High Country and, Chevrolet says, will provide class-leading fuel economy of up to 23 mpg highway. The new 6.2-liter V-8 will also be available.
Chevy hasn’t put a price on the High Country yet, but it notes that 30 percent of light-duty trucks are now transacting at more than $40,000—and hinted that the new truck would be in that range. The base price for the 2014 Silverado is $32,710, while a loaded High Country could hit $55k or higher.
Pushing Chevy's (and GM's) best-selling model up the peak
The new High Country badge could comprise about five percent of Silverado sales; as Chevrolet’s best-selling model, GM sold 418,312 Silverado models in 2012.
The 2014 Chevrolet Silverado and 2014 GMC Sierra mark the first time these full-size trucks have been refreshed since the 2007 model year. Throughout their lineups, they’re more upright and chiseled in appearance, stronger yet more fuel-efficient (thanks to a new lineup of engines), quieter and more refined, and loaded up with more safety and infotainment technology
High Country versions of the 2014 Chevrolet Silverado will be available in the fourth quarter of this year.