Rospa Imports South Africa, in partnership with Australian-founded Autogroup, has added General Motors’ upscale GMC bakkie and SUV brand to its portfolio by announcing pricing of the heavy-duty Sierra 2500 and the ultra-luxurious Yukon XL.

Joining the newly priced Toyota Tundra, both the Sierra 2500 HD and Yukon XL are converted to right-hand drive and then imported to South Africa without official backing from GMC in North America or GM.

A three-year/50 000 km warranty is, however, standard on both.

Sierra 2500 HD

Updated in its home market three years ago, the plusher twin of the Chevrolet Silverado 2500 HD is being imported in top-spec Denali Ultimate guise only, and powered by the famed 6.6-litre Duramax turbodiesel V8 engine.

The trim grade means the standard fitting of a 13.4-inch infotainment system with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, a 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster, rain-sense wipers, heated and ventilated electric front seats, a 12-speaker Bose sound system and heated rear seats.

Mounted on 20-inch machined alloy wheels, the Denali Ultimate also gets a wireless smartphone charger, Head-Up Display, a surround-view camera system, Blind Spot Monitoring, Trailer Blind Spot Alert, Forward Collision Warning, Adaptive Cruise Control, Autonomous Emergency Braking and a backwards-facing loadbin camera to aid hitching a trailer.

Able to tow a maximum of 10 206 kg, the Sierra 2500 HD has a claimed payload of 1 382 kg and will do 0-100 km/h in 7.4 seconds, according to Rospa.

Laying claim to the latter is largely thanks to the engine, which develops 350kW/1 322Nm. A 10-speed Allison automatic transmission sends the amount of grunt to the rear or all four wheels.

Yukon XL

At the other end of the scale, the Yukon XL provides seating for seven or eight and comes exclusively in Denali trim guise.

GMC’s version of the Chevrolet Suburban, the Yukon XL, measures 5 732 mm long and can accommodate between 1 163-litres and 4 097-litres of luggage.

Based on the same GMT T1XX platform as the Silverado and Sierra, the Denali grade means the standard fitting of 22-inch alloy wheels, a 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster, a 16.8-inch infotainment system, retractable side-steps, an 18-speaker Bose sound system, air suspension and Adaptive Cruise Control.

Up front, two of three engines available in North America have been allocated, the non-starter being the 5.3-litre petrol V8 that makes 265kW/519Nm.

Options, therefore, include the 3.0-litre Duramax straight-six turbodiesel outputting 206kW/624Nm and, due later, the 6.2-litre V8 petrol rated at 313kW/623Nm.

The Ford co-developed 10-speed automatic gearbox is the sole option, as is drive going to all four wheels.

Price

• Sierra 2500 HD Denali Ultimate 6.6 Duramax 4×4 AT – R4 470 000
• Yukon XL 3.0 Duramax Denali 4×4 AT – R4 320 000

This article was first published by The Citizen.

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