Powerful+Fast+Luxurious = Long Term Love Affair!

Interested in buying a new full-sized pickup truck? Then you've probably looked at the Ford F150, The Dodge Ram, and the Chevrolet Silverado/GMC Sierra. While many buyers will gravitate towards a certain brand based on past experience, I was a first-time truck buyer and have owned vehicles from many other manufacturers. This allowed me to evaluate each truck on its own merits.
I posted a similar review for the 99 Sierra, which is essentially the same truck as the Chevy. I was lucky enough to get an opportunity to compare my father-in-law's Chevy to mine when I borrowed it to move my sister from her apartment to a condo, which turned into about two weeks of driving between the apartment, the condo, a storage unit, and our parent's house. Since many first time truck buyers may not be aware of the similarity between the two vehicles, I decided the information could be valuable for those reviewing only one of the two trucks.
I personally chose a 1999 GMC Sierra, which is essentially the same vehicle as the Silverado, just because of slightly better incentives available at the GMC dealership, as well as the fact that I've bought two other cars from them and am comfortable with the service people.
The only differences between the two trucks are in appearance and the trim packages. Mine has an extended cab, the engine is the 5.3 liter V8. I opted for the "Z71" off-road suspension upgrade as well as nearly every other option available.
I've owned it since new year's eve, 1998. It's been used for heavy towing, hauling WAY too much topsoil, commuting in heavy snow conditions, and navigating the maze of poorly maintained trails on my farm in the Shenandoah Valley.
Overall, it is a high quality truck. Unfortunately, first-model-year vehicles always have more bugs than more established models. This is important to consider if you are looking at a 2000 or later model. Most of the problems I encountered will not be present in later model trucks.
The first impression of this truck is that it is BIG. The rear seat is the largest in any full size pickup, excluding club-cab models. It will easily hold the largest of baby seats. If you chose to put the child seat in the front, the passenger-side airbag can be disabled with an ignition key-operated switch on the dash.
The 99 model has only three doors, with the third door on the passenger side. The newer models have four doors, a big improvement. The interior is well laid out, with comfortable seats (Mine are power-adjustable leather, with a 2-way lumbar adjustment that first-time passengers just love to play with.) Plenty of headroom, too; enough for a six-footer in a big cowboy hat.
The engine is very powerful, able to cope with heavy traffic and tight merging situations. There are many aftermarket goodies available to this truck. (Studies show that the average truck owner spends about $1000 on aftermarket accessories in the first month of ownership.) I am no exception. I first put on step bars ("nerf bars", at about $200-$350) so my wife could get in while wearing skirts and dresses. (The Z71 offroad package lifts the suspension a bit.) A bed liner followed at about $200. I installed a bug shield, at about $125. The windows got wind/rain deflectors that slide into the window channel, rather than ones that use adhesive to attach, for about $50. A K&N reusable air filter, which is designed to last up to one million miles and gives a slight performance increase went in for about $40. With the help of a friend I installed a Gibson dual exhaust system, which delivered a noticeable performance increase as well as a nice deep V8 exhaust note cost about $300. The dual exhaust pipes really set the truck apart from the crowd; I firmly believe it was the best money I've spent on my truck so far. A 160 degree thermostat went for about $40. Finally, I bought a Hypertech Power Programmer ($350) which allows you to alter the vehicle's computer settings, such as top speed, shift points, rev limiter, shift firmness, tire size, thermostat type, and fuel type. It is designed for racers that want to tweak these settings until they get the best 0-60 and 1/4 mile times. It makes a difference in regular driving, even more when combined with the other modifications I made. Even after all these changes, My decidedly non-leadfoot wife has no complaints in driving it. They are barely noticed until full throttle is applied, and in regular driving, We have seen a small increase in fuel economy.
An option on this truck is the "AutoTrac" four wheel drive system, which allows the driver to switch to 4 HI, 4 LO, or AUTO 4WD by pressing a button, even while moving. The AUTO 4WD feature is what I feel sets this truck apart from its competitors. It allows power to the rear wheels, and when it detects a loss of traction, it transfers a percentage of power to the front wheels. With so much power available, it makes taking off-ramps or other curves at higher speeds or wet weather much easier. It also makes driving on days where you may encounter an occasional patch of ice much less stressful and dangerous. In other trucks your only option is to engage 4WD (not a good idea on long highway jaunts) or just be really careful.
Overall, the problems I encountered were minor and quickly fixed under warranty. Service is inexpensive, and easily worth the small expense, since this truck will last even the most demanding driver well over 250,000 miles.