I've been driving since I was old enough to get a learner's permit, and I love it. But despite living in California since I was a kid I've been slow to embrace our electric future, and when I had to buy a car earlier this year I ended up snagging a nice ol' gas-guzzling manual instead of a new EV.
A big reason was that I got a deal on an old Civic Si that was too sweet to pass up, but I confess I've also been leery of jumping on the electric vehicle bandwagon when it seems like we still have a long way to go before EV chargers are as ubiquitous as gas stations in this country.
They call that "range anxiety" in the industry, as I learned during a recent trip to down to Menlo Park to test-drive GMC's new 2025 Sierra EV Denali. It's the first of its line, and if you're willing to spring for the max-range model it's advertised as capable of ranging up to 460 miles on a charge--making it one of the electric cars with the longest range on the market.
This is the other big reason I didn't buy an EV this year: I semi-regularly drive 400 miles in a day to visit family, so I want the reliability of a gas engine. I'm scared about the prospect of a battery dying and leaving me stranded on the highway in the middle of the night if I can't find a charging station in time, or if the station chargers are busted.
So when GMC told me I'd have a chance to spend a day driving the Max Range model of the 2025 EV Denali for myself, I was intrigued. When I got there I was impressed as much by the electric truck's premium features as I was by it's eye-watering $91,995 starting price.
And that's just for the base model—if you want the Max Range model I had a chance to drive, the MSRP goes up to $100,495, though you have some time to save up since the trucks don't go on sale until the first half of 2025.
The sticker shock started to fade as soon as I had a chance to put my foot down on the open road and put the engine's 760 horsepower to the test. I'd heard about how quickly EVs can accelerate, but it's a different thing altogether to feel it while you're snaking around corners atop the truck's 24-inch wheels.
As fun as it was to put the 2025 EV Denali through its paces, its the features I tried out that really ruined all other trucks for me. Some of these tricks are already available on other vehicles, but together they combine to make this EV truck seem compelling enough that I'm tempted to make bad decisions with my budget the next time I'm in the market for a truck.
CrabWalk
I love the way the 2025 EV Denali can enter CrabWalk mode, enabling the rear tires to twist tighter in towards the car to let you turn in a tighter radius.
I love the way the 2025 EV Denali can enter CrabWalk mode, enabling the rear tires to twist tighter in towards the car to let you turn in a tighter radius.
It's easier to watch in action on the GMC website than explain, but in brief: CrabWalk mode allows the 2025 EV Denali's rear wheels to rotate up to 10 degrees either way, so you can drive diagonally at up to 20 miles an hour.
During my test drive GMC set up a course for us to CrabWalk trucks through that forced me to basically slide the truck diagonally through a series of cones, drifting from side to side to avoid hitting them. I did horribly (sorry cones!) but learned that it's a ton of fun to use, and especially useful when you're trying to make tight turns with limited space: CrabWalk increases the turning radius, so the truck is easier to maneuver.
As much fun as it was to drift the truck back and forth at low speeds, as a city kid I really got excited about what kinds of sick parking jobs I could pull off using this feature on the street.
Collapsible midgate
As neat as CrabWalk is, the midgate on the 2025 EV Denali is actually what's ruined all other trucks for me.
GMC calls it the MultiPro MidGate, and while other GMC vehicles (like the2024 Chevy Silveravo EV) have had this feature in the past, this is the first time I've had a chance to see it in action.
The midgate is removable, which means you can pull the rear seats up, pop off the rear window and drop the midgate to extend the 5' 11" bed of the cab out so that you get 9' 1" of space between the driver's seat and the gate. You can choose to remove just the lower half (well, technically 60%) of the midgate, or remove it entirely.
And you can drop the MultiPro Tailgate if you really need a bit more room. Spring for the MultiPro Tailgate audio system upgrade ($819 MSRP) and it plays music, to boot.
I've been commandeering my family's old Dodge pickup at need for well over a decade at this point, and I gotta tell ya, there are times I'd have paid a fortune to be able to drop the midgate and use the back seat area to extend the bed.
Max Power mode
Like I said, I knew EVs could feel fast and I was still impressed by the 2025 EV Denali's acceleration. You really feel it in Max Power mode, which you flick on or off by tapping a button on the infotainment system.
Max Power mode does basically just what it sounds like: you get more power from the engine and more torque on the wheels when you're in Max Power mode, in exchange for a bigger drain on the battery and thus less range.
You have to enable Max Power mode to achieve the 2025 EV Denali's advertised 0-60 in 4.5 seconds, as well as its maximum 785 lb-ft of torque and its 10,500 pounds of max trailering capacity.
After doing my best to test it out for myself on the windy roads of Northern California, I can confirm that Max Power mode really helps this hulking truck haul ass. But when I talk to my partner's family about what it takes to trailer a classic automobile out to a show a few hours away, it's the 10k+ pounds of trailering power that really impress me about what the 2025 EV Denali can do in Max Power mode.
Outlook
I'm not in a place in my life where I can afford a $92,000 truck right now, nor do I live somewhere where I could reliably charge it at home. But the high price of gas here in the States has had me talking my partner's ear off about how my next car will be electric, and if EV trucks are as good as the 2025 EV Denali seems to be I'll have a hard time staying away.
If there's anything that could help me get over my range anxiety and go all-in on electric, it's the kind of premium features and long range offered by a vehicle like the Denali. Regrettably, the price tag needs to be a bit more palatable before I'll ever be able to pull the trigger on this EV.
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