Spied: 2019 GMC Sierra - Not Just Another Pretty Face

General Motors earned kudos from the TTAC crew by announcing a diesel inline-six for its redesigned 2019 Chevrolet Silverado 1500, as well as for efforts to shave hundreds of pounds from the body and adopt a more slab-sided look. The front end met with resistance from this author, however, and still does.

Bold, unconventional, and above all else, tall, the Silverado’s polarizing visage will surely add fuel to arguments between brand loyalists for years to come. But what about the Silverado’s equally revamped sibling, the GMC Sierra?

Here it is. Our money’s on this one winning the beauty contest.

As you might expect, the overall body is pretty much a dead ringer for its bowtie twin. Gone are the bulging wheel arches, replaced by flusher openings of more or less the same shape. The same lower character line runs between both aches. No surprise, the greenhouse carries over the Chevy unchanged, too.

While the taillights remain cloaked in impenetrable plastic, there’s more to see of the face, and what there is to see looks alright. Forgoing the Silverado grille’s layer cake look, this 2019 Sierra shows an offset eggcrate mesh pattern, not too dissimilar from the 2018 Sierra Denali’s grille. Depending on what variant we’re seeing here, the old horizontal slats could stage a return on lesser trims.

The same general grille shape, albeit a little rounder, carries over here, and the lower part of the opening cuts into the very flush bumper much like it does on the current generation. LED running lights set into the bumper move from a horizontal orientation to a vertical one. C-shaped headlamps appear very Ford-like, with the same front fender crease seen on the Silverado flows rearward from the truck’s peepers.

Depending on your view of the Silverado, the Sierra’s facial redesign seems much more conservative — which might be right up your alley. Expect the same powertrain options in the new Sierra: two 5.3-liter V8s, a 6.2-liter V8, and the 3.0-liter inline-six diesel. GM’s 10-speed automatic should find a home in most models.

Expect to see the 2019 Sierra wearing far less clothing at either the Chicago or New York auto show. Sales begin in the second half of this year.

[Images: Brian Williams/SpiedBilde]