I gave my buddy a ride to the local GMC dealer to pick his truck up from the service department and they had a 19 Denali sitting on the showroom floor so my curiosity got the best of me. I test drove a 2019 SLT before I bought my Ram. Even when I bought my 2015 SLT I couldn't justify the price increase for the Denali I just didn't see the value. However the new Denali has significantly better quality materials than the lower trims for this generation, more stitching better resolution screen and a few other features specific to the Denali. All that being said my Laramie is still nicer in every aspect except the seats, the leather in the Denali is pretty nice but the Denali is nowhere near on par with a Ram Limited. despite the better materials the interior is still just as ugly to look at. One thing I do like on the new GM's which I don't have maybe not an option on the Laramie and maybe it's available on the limited trim is that all 4 doors have proximity key access not just the front doors. I'm a contractor so trips to the job site involve safety gear that I keep stored under the rear seat every time I get back in he truck I go to the rear door first to put my hardhat and safety gear away always reach for the handle then realize I have to use the front handle to unlock the truck first. First world problems for sure but gaining access to the rear is something I do a lot for work and a prox handle on the rear doors would be nice.
I haven't looked at 19 GMC, but when I bought my 16 GMC, I parked my SLT beside a Denali and told the salesman to leave me for awhile. I jumped in and out of each of them staring and trying to figure out which I wanted. The sales manager was taking $10K off either of the ones I wanted, so price really was no issue. At the time, I couldn't justify the cost of the word "denali" being stitched in the seat, the automatic running boards, and the stock sunroof. I just didn't feel any different sitting in either of them----felt the same. Maybe something changed since, but not in 16. The one thing that made an increase in price worth it was the magnetic ride and, at the time, Denali was 8 speed stock and my SLT was 6 speed stock.
I just couldn't see $10K difference. I was a diehard GMC guy for sure, so I don't hate them or anything now that I have a Ram. The interior is just soooooo dated. I don't mind the exterior on them because I love the front end. But I know this .........alot of truck guys want it to look as 'truck' as possible on the inside and they'll stick with GMC. They don't want all the fancy stuff