Three trucks qualified for the 2011, all heavy-duty variants of established players in the full-size segment: the Chevrolet Silverado Heavy Duty, Ford F-Series Super Duty, and GMC Sierra Heavy Duty. All we needed to make this one of our standard comparison test was the Ram Heavy Duty, but it won Truck of the year twelve months ago.
The Three Heavy-Hitters for 2011
The six key items that are measured during testing are:
- Advancement in Design
- Engineering Excellence
- Efficiency
- Safety
- Value
- Performance of Intended Function
As was done last year, Motor Trend elected to bring two variants from each of the qualifying brands. Along with three gas-powered single rear-wheel trucks, they selected a turbo-diesel, double cabin, and dual rear wheel “Dualie” variant of each, for a total of six trucks.
Heavy- Duty trucks demand heavy-duty testing, so they headed to a world-class vehicle evaluation facility just outside of Phoenix, Arizona, with a professional, knowledgeable and helpful staff. Nissan’s Arizona Technical Center (ATC) is a top-notch testing facility utilized not only by Nissan and it related companies, but also a number of well-known automobile and motorcycle manufacturers and suppliers on a contract basis.
In addition to the standard complement of acceleration, braking and handling test, they also performed acceleration tests with giant sandbag payloads ranging from 2,000 to 4,000 pounds, depending on the truck. The towing ability of each truck with 7,000 pound trailers for the gasoline trucks and 12,000 pounds for the diesels were also tested. After the empty and laden test regimen, they ran all the trucks back-to-back through a driving loop that incorporated many of ATC’s varied driving surfaces.
Along with the testing performed at ATC, the trucks were evaluated in the real world, on a rotating schedule during the roughly 350 mile drive from Los Angeles to Phoenix.
After all the timing and testing, sandbag loading and note taking, they sat down to discuss the test results, reviewing the driving impressions and debate the individual selections. Then all was placed into a vote.
Here are some of the comments made about each line:
Ford F- Series:
- Too Much Flash
- Not as powerful as it sounds and the engine sounds great.
- Looks like a ‘Transformer’
- Tap up – tap down transmission very functional.
Chevrolet Silverado:
- Understated – Very low-key, clean and simple. Making this an ‘honest’ truck.
- Wonderful Dynamics
- Absorbs road bumps nicely.
GMC Sierra HD Denali:
- Great styling
- Extremely similar to Chevrolet
- Drives like a car
All said and done, it was deemed that the 2011 Chevrolet Silverado HD would be announced by Motor Trend as the 2011 Truck of the year. This was decided based on a one-vote difference between the 2011 GMC Sierra HD Denali. The key factor is that the Denali package should be stretched more to cultivate a luxury image.
This being said, it is clear to state that General Motors has dominated the market with their HD Trucks as compared to their all-time leading rivalry of Ford.
See How it Measured. (Video)
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Source: www.motortrend.com
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