2025 GMC Sierra EV Denali Gets Max Range, Tesla Supercharger Smarts: Review
EDMONTON, CANADA APRIL 13: A 2025 GMC Sierra EV Denali Max Range on display at the Edmonton Motor ... More Show on April 13, 2025, in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. (Photo by Artur Widak/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
The GMC Sierra EV Denali Max Range is a new breed of GM EVs that eliminates range anxiety. The easy Tesla Supercharger access is icing on the cake.
The Denali EV I tested this week showed over 500 miles of range when I did a full charge. Delete range anxiety. The icing on the cake was I did all of my charging on Tesla Superchargers with an adapter provided by GM (see video at bottom). The best analogy I can come up with is heaven and hell. Tesla superchargers are paradise compared to the hell of competing networks.
A massive Tesla Supercharger location with 76 chargers. The GMC Denali EV in the distance.
Welcome sight: a massive Tesla Supercharger network near Tejon Pass, California
After spending the day on Mount Pinos in the Mojave Desert, we did a quick search for the nearest Tesla Superchargers since the Denali came with a NACS (Tesla) adapter. To our surprise there was a new Supercharger location near Frazier Park at the base of Mount Pinos. And it was all super-fast V4 chargers. But we decided to skip that (maybe next time) and travel on to the Tejon outlets near Grapevine (a section of interstate 5).
At Tejon Outlets, we were surprised to find a massive Tesla supercharger location with 76 chargers and almost no users. It was simply a matter of plugging in, then charging commenced. During the time I was charging, there was only the Denali and two other Teslas. What a difference! After spending years using competing charging networks and experiencing untold amounts of waiting and frustration, it was cathartic.
The Denali has Tesla charging integrated into the charging screen. So, the infotainment screen will populate with the Tesla Supercharger locations. Then you just select your location and the specific Tesla charger and start charging.
The GMC Denali EV goes the distance
In 2025, many EVs on the market max out at a little over 300 miles of range. That's fine. That works for the vast majority of EV owners. But some people need the kind of range you get on a gas car. And that's what GM is aiming for. The beauty of a 500-mile range EV is that it takes a lot of long-distance driving to run down the battery. If you're not always able to home charge and on the road often, that's a godsend. And, again, it's even better if you have access to the best charging network out there: Tesla's.
In the video above I demonstrate how easy it is to now charge at Tesla Superchargers on a GM vehicle. General Motors will make it even easier later this year when it begins including native NACS charging ports on its cars. That in itself will eliminate a major obstacle to buying a non-Tesla EV. I know. Because Tesla owners are always telling me how the EV hoi polloi (non-Tesla world) are tethered to an inferior public charging network.
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