I like the interior and exterior styling. The gas mileage (normal 18, towing 11) is pretty good.

The engine knocks for the first 10-15 seconds. The truck will not pull nearly what it should. There are many rattles on the interior.

I bought this truck to pull a 24' travel trailer and for general usage. I also use the truck for hunting. The truck has a lot of trouble pulling the travel trailer even on the smallest of hills with the tow/haul activated. In order to get to the top of a hill without losing 15mph the trucks has to drop into second gear(3500rpm). Overall, this is a solid truck. I do feel that GMC has started building trucks suited more for city people than for the common working man. This truck is too low to the ground and doesn't feel as solid as the older models. I owned a 96 model that felt more solid than this truck. I have always owned GM but I just ordered a 2002 Ford F250 SuperDuty SuperCab V10. I am going to try my luck with Ford.

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1996 GMC Sierra 4X4 - Better built than the 2000
2001 3/4 Dodge Ram - Seemed more solid but I questioned reliability.
2002 Ford F250 Super Duty - On order. Appears to be much better than GMC.

This truck was made for long hauls across the interstates. The 5.3L engine
is great for towing a light trailer (3200lbs loaded). Mileage isn't bad (92 gas 22mpg, 89 gas 18mpg), towing trailer 11mpg to 14mpg.

The same old GM wide turning radis, kind of a pain to park in tight parking lots. Not one problem so far (fingers crossed) and all raedy have 25000 mile in four months.

Love it. Great for pulling a 6'x12' cargo trailer across the country. Rides like a car, (much better than my 98 Dodge van). Very nice inside, liked the dash better than the dodge or ford. Grill and lights are more sytlish than the Chevy. Power Bucket seats afford better comfort than the other models I looked at. The 2 power seat memory bottons are a plus (when my 5'5" wife takes the wheel).

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Last truck I had was an 87 Ford F150, this is a whole different animal.

Gas mileage, dependability, very powerful for it's size and gas mileage, smooth ride and very comfortable. Also tons of room in the interior.

Large turning radius, transmission seems to shift sluggishly (since new), engine rattle for first 10 seconds of startup, would like it to be a little taller.

Quick rundown:

Purchased new with 12 miles- now have 45,000.
5.3 L engine w/4 speed automatic trans.
Driven on vacation (3000 miles) around the country hauling a camper trailer.
Driven daily to work- primary vehicle.
Used to haul rock, sand, firewood, whatever else I need it for! It shows some wounds now, but I bought it to use!!

I have had very few problems with the truck. I was worried- we bought it the first couple months of availability- that can mean trouble in a newly redesigned vehicle. Many miles later, I am now a believer! No real problems- the rear glass repaired due to wind noise, some small problems (I don't even remember what they were- dealer took care of all of them).

It does everything I require of it- what else needs to be said? (We will see how the next 45,000 miles does!

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Test drove Ford, looked at Dodge. I felt GMC was a better truck (at least for now). (I traded in a 1991 Ford truck for this one).

Styling, seat comfort, nuclear-winter cold A/C, gauge package, cheap price compared to competition, lots of features for $$, good ABS brakes, handling

Transmission replaced at 30k miles, horrible body panel fit, windows & doors leak badly, body rust at 45k miles starting in door frames, bottom of doors and floor pan, Acceleration? What's that? poor load-carrying capacity, 5-speed trans does not like to shift into third gear, audio system blows speakers easily & cd player skips, all plastic trim is broken, dash cracked, glove box will not close, door panels come off if you pull too hard, tailgate hard to shut due to bad alignment, dealer attitude problems TO THE EXTREME, expensive parts always back-ordered,
clutch-starter interlock switch keeps failing, usual GM squeaks & rattles,
paint chips easily, factory tires & shocks only lasted 35k miles, exhaust system replaced at 40k miles, exhaust manifold keeps coming loose, oil filter darn near impossible to replace yourself, I can go on and on ....

This is the absolute last American brand product I will ever own.
This truck has been a problem since the day I bought it...the worst thing is the attitude of the local GMC dealers. The product itself was a bargain in terms of equipment for the price but now that it is out of warranty it is costing a lot of money to keep on the road. I am buying a german or japanese product next time, no questions asked. My biggest complaint about the GMC Sonoma is that it literally is falling apart.
The plastic and vinyl trim is all shot, and now the body panels are sagging and rusting. Who should buy this truck ? Someone without the money for something better. Save your $$, buy a Nissan or Toyota.

When the transmission went bad at 30k miles, the dealer service manager took one look at the red lights on top of the truck (I'm a volunteer firefighter) and said "You volunteers are hard on your vehicles. We don't cover abuse under warranty. Sorry." An angry meeting with the dealership owner and about 3 calls to GM Customer Service got me a new transmission, new shifter assembly, new clutch, and all associated parts...which had to be ordered from Korea or some such place.

This alone is enough to make me switch to another brand of truck.

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1993 Dodge Dakota...more power, larger cab but even worse quality.
1987 Nissan Hardbody: It went 187,000 miles with nothing but scheduled maintenance!!!
1981 Jeep J-10 3/4-ton 4x4: BIG, go anywhere, very reliable, crappy mileage and it rusted out completely.
1996 Dodge Ram: About as bad as the GMC, a real lemon.
1998 Nissan Frontier: 90,000 miles and no problems.

Interior room seems to be adequate.

I have had problems with this truck from day one. The first problem was with the transmission hesitating from a stop. Took it to the dealer and there was a TSB, so they flashed the computer with the new PCM. That problem is fixed, now there are more problems. I have had the valve body replaced, a "new" transmission fluid added. The biggest problem I have is that sometimes from a complete stop the transmission starts out in 2nd then dropping down into 1st. I have taken it back to the dealership three times for this problem, they are not able to duplicate or are they willing to troubleshoot. I have been talking with GMC customer service since 7/9/01. That is a big help.....not. They have the worst customer service I have ever heard of. You can never call anyone there directly. You have to rely on them calling you back. They are supposed to be contacting the area service manager to have him come and look at the truck, guess what, they don't know when is will be there.

I like the styling. It is comfortable to drive as a daily driver. Seems to be fairly quiet.

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The other products work.