2023 GMC Sierra 1500 vs 2023 RAM 1500

Take a step back and think about a full-size truck from the early 2000s. The nicest creature comforts included leather upholstery, an upgraded stereo, and, if you were lucky, heated seats. Today, nearly every luxury-car feature has found its way into high-end pickups. We’ve blown past heated leather seats; you can now get features like massaging seats in a full-size truck. The same brinksmanship that applies to pickup-truck capability now also applies to the luxury trims.

This is very evident in the 2023 GMC Sierra 1500. The Denali trim is what kicked off the idea of a “lux truck,” and it has been joined by the Ford F-150 Limited and Ram 1500 Limited. Those competitors deliver a higher grade of refinement than the Denali was providing. But upping the ante is a constant state in the truck market, and GMC now offers a Denali Ultimate trim that includes nearly every single option and package. So is the Denali Ultimate the new standard of luxury among full-size trucks?

Do you remember when pickup trucks were used only by construction workers and gardeners? They were work machines, meant to have scratched beds, a cab full of McDonald’s wrappers, and a big dent on the tailgate from an unfortunate run-in with a telephone pole.

Not anymore. Today’s trucks give luxury vehicles a run for their money, with fancy features and ridiculous amounts of technology. Today we’re looking at the 2023 Ram 1500. This truck hasn’t gotten a major update since 2019, and while it still holds its own next to the offerings from Ford, Chevrolet and Toyota, the others are catching up quickly.