Chevrolet Silverado review

• Overview
• What is it?
• Does it come in lots of configurations?
• Are there just as many engine options?
• Is there an electric one like the Ford F-150 Lightning?
• How’s it handle macho truck stuff?
• Will it off-road?
• How much does all this trucky goodness cost?
• Hang on, isn’t there also a GMC?
• What's the verdict?
• Driving
• What is it like to drive?
• So many engines. Which one is best?
• Surely a truck this big can’t be efficient…
• Lots of helpful tech in this thing, I assume?
• Interior
• What is it like on the inside?
• How much stuff can I put in the bed?
• How’s the tech?
• Buying
• What should I be paying?
• Which Silverado is right for me?

Overview

What is it?

The Chevrolet Silverado simply screams Americana; it’s a Bruce Springsteen song in truck form. It’s also Chevy’s best-selling product by a country mile and is one of the finest full-size pickups on sale today, ugly schnoz and all.

Chevy sells beefier Silverado Heavy Duty models that compete with Ford’s Super Duty pickups and Ram’s HD line, but those are significantly different animals designed for serious truck buyers with serious truck needs. Here, we’ll focus on the Silverado 1500 – or half-ton, if you’re into trucky talk – which makes up the majority of sales.

Does it come in lots of configurations?

Yep, and that’s what truck buyers want. You can get the Silverado as a two-door Regular Cab, a Double Cab with a slightly larger rear seat and back doors, or a Crew Cab, which has the most space for passengers (it’s huge inside).

Where things get tricky is when you start to pair bed lengths with body styles. There’s an eight-foot bed; a six-foot, six-inch bed; and a five-foot, eight-inch bed. But not all of them can be fitted across the board. The eight-foot bed is exclusive to the Regular Cab, and the five-foot, eight-inch bed is reserved for the Double and Crew Cabs. Unless you’re hauling massive objects on the regular, definitely stick with one of the shorter truck bed options – they’re still plenty capacious, and goodness gracious, so much easier to park.

Are there just as many engine options?

More, actually. Chevy will sell you a Silverado with one of four engines: a 2.7-liter turbo inline-four, a 3.0-liter turbodiesel inline-six, a 5.3-liter V8, or a 6.2-liter V8. The 2.7 is matched with an eight-speed automatic transmission while all the others get Chevy’s slick 10-speed autobox.

Just like its beds, the Silverado’s engines can’t be selected on a whim. If you’re going for a Regular Cab, you’re locked into either the 2.7-liter I4 or 5.3-liter V8. The Double Cab adds the 3.0-liter diesel I6 to the lineup, while the 6.2-liter V8 is only offered with the Crew Cab.

At least every engine can be paired with either two- or four-wheel drive. Though that also depends on trim level, and that list differs for each cab style. Sheesh. The power of choice, eh?

Is there an electric one like the Ford F-150 Lightning?

There will be soon. Chevy says the Silverado EV will be on sale by the end of 2023, and should have a fully electric driving range of up to 450 miles. Impressive.

In the meantime, however, Chevy doesn’t offer any kind of electrified Silverado. No hybrid tech here.

How’s it handle macho truck stuff?

The Silverado can tow anywhere between 8,800 and 13,300 pounds, and it all comes down to which body style, bed length, and drivetrain you choose. It’s not necessarily the obvious choice, either. The weakest Silverado is the Crew Cab with the short bed, 6.2-liter V8, and four-wheel drive. The strongest version, meanwhile, is the DoubleCab with the 3.0-liter diesel I6, short bed, and two-wheel drive.

A quick word about towing: just because a truck can haul 13,300 pounds, that doesn’t always mean it should. If you honestly need to pull trailers of that size on the regular, your needs might be better suited by one of Chevy’s heavy-duty Silverados. On the other end, if you’re only going to be towing 4,000 or 5,000 pounds, do you really need a Silverado at all? Chevy’s smaller pickup, the Colorado, is far easier to live with everyday.

Will it off-road?

It definitely will. And once again, there are trim levels that come with varying levels of off-road capability. There’s the Trail Boss that has a lifted suspension, or the ZR2, which is much more hardcore in its go-anywhere ability, with sophisticated Multimatic shocks and beefy all-terrain tires.

But if you really want to hit the outdoors hard, go for the ZR2 Bison. This gets you all of the standard ZR2 off-road kit, plus the 6.2-liter V8 engine, unique wheels, heavy-duty bumpers, skid plates, and rocker protectors, all made specifically for the Silverado by American off-road upfitter AEV. It also looks cool as hell.

How much does all this trucky goodness cost?

You can’t get into a Silverado for less than $42,745, including a lofty $1,895 destination fee. On the high end, you’re looking at $82,080 for a Silverado ZR2 Bison, with a myriad trim levels offered in between.

The sweet spot of the lineup is somewhere in the middle, unless you simply must have the biggest, baddest, most extreme version of the Silverado possible. Something like the trusty Silverado LT, sporty-ish Silverado RST, or somewhat luxurious Silverado LTZ should tick the right boxes. Unfortunately, Chevy’s totally awesome Super Cruise driver-assistance tech – which will legitimately let you drive hands-free on hundreds of thousands of miles of pre-mapped highways – is reserved for the Silverado High Country, which will set you back at least $70,000.

Hang on, isn’t there also a GMC?

Look at you, smart-o. Chevy’s corporate twin, GMC, sells pretty much the exact same pickup as the Sierra 1500. The only real differences are styling, and the Sierra offers a mega-fancy Denali variant that’s chromed out to the max. We think the Sierra looks a whole lot better, but overall, you’re splitting hairs.

Chevy has made continuous improvements to the Silverado’s powertrains, cabin quality, and roster of tech over the years, and because of that, this truck is finally on its A game. A choice of four-, six-, and eight-cylinder engines gives the Silverado great prowess for on-road and off-road activities alike, and it’s a truck that’s really quite nice to drive – by full-size pickup standards, anyway.

User-friendly multimedia tech, lots of plush amenities, and one of the best hands-free driver-assistance systems on sale today round out the Silverado’s list of attributes. And while this truck isn’t perfect – it’s not particularly pretty and there are some weird option packaging decisions – it’s clearly a front-runner among pickups.

Continue reading: Driving

Driving

What is it like to drive?

It’s… well, it’s trucky. The Silverado lumbers about on the road and its highway handling can best be described as ponderous. The ride is cushy but also bouncy thanks to the body-on-frame construction, and at all times, you are very much aware that the Silverado is bigger than most other vehicles on the road. Genuinely, it’s huge.

So many engines. Which one is best?

This one’s a toss-up. Part of us wants to say “go big or go home” and pick the 6.2-liter V8, because what’s not to love about eight naturally aspirated cylinders cranking out 420hp and 460lb ft of torque? Behind the wheel of a Silverado ZR2 Bison, the V8 feels right at home, powering the truck onto Los Angeles freeways with authority. But it’s also easy to tame at low speeds, and the 10-speed automatic transmission is on its best behavior. This V8 is as refined as it is powerful.

But there’s something about the 3.0-liter turbodiesel I6 that just feels right. There’s no denying the inherent smoothness of an inline-six engine, especially one that makes the brunt of its power way, way, way down low. In the Silverado, this engine produces 305hp and 495lb ft, the latter of which is all you need. There’s an efficiency play with this engine, too, but we’ll get to that in a moment.

With 310hp and 430lb ft of torque, the turbocharged 2.7-liter I4 is perfectly peppy for around-town use, and it’s nicely behaved on the freeway. Honestly, the head-scratcher of the bunch is the smaller 5.3-liter V8 engine, which is outclassed by the Silverado’s other powertrains. Its 355hp and 383lb ft of torque are nice, but the other powertrain options offer so much more character.

Surely a truck this big can’t be efficient…

No, not really, though the 3.0-liter diesel does better than you might think. With two-wheel drive, this engine should return 24mpg in the city and 29mpg on the highway, falling to 22 and 27, respectively, with four-wheel drive. The base 2.7-liter engine maxes out at 19mpg city and 22mpg highway, while the big 6.2-liter V8 is rated at 16mpg city and 20mpg highway with rear-wheel drive, or 14mpg city and 18mpg highway with four-wheel drive.

Lots of helpful tech in this thing, I assume?

Yes, but it’s a damn shame that Chevy doesn’t offer its Super Cruise hands-free tech on anything other than the most expensive Silverado High Country. Super Cruise is one of the absolute best pieces of driver-assistance technology available in any car on sale today. It works seamlessly, and will make well-timed automatic lane changes. It’s a godsend for long freeway commutes, and you can even use it while towing.

As for other Silverado trims, Chevy packs ‘em with the full tech roster. You can get everything from blind-spot assist – that’ll account for the length of a trailer – to adaptive cruise control to an incredibly helpful 360-degree camera system and more. For real, if you live in a tight city, that bird’s eye view is a must.

Previous: Overview

Continue reading: Interior

Interior

What is it like on the inside?

For a long time, the Silverado’s interior was drab and poorly appointed, vastly outclassed by the Ford F-150 and Ram 1500. But Chevy’s made a big effort to step up its game in recent years, and the Silverado now stands toe to toe with the industry’s best trucks. Soft leather upholstery is available, as are heated and cooled seats, and this truck can be optioned with every creature comfort you desire. Then again, that’s not entirely surprising considering these trucks cost as much as luxury cars these days.

How much stuff can I put in the bed?

Much like the Silverado’s towing specs, this really depends on the truck’s engine, driveline, trim level, and bed length. On the low end, a Silverado Crew Cab with the six-foot, six-inch bed does the worst, able to carry 1,720 pounds. The Silverado Regular Cab with an eight-foot bed, on the other hand, will haul 2,260 pounds of dirt, rocks, the contents of your old apartment, whatever.

The bed folds down as you’d expect, but there’s also a Multi-Flex tailgate option that’ll let you open just the top half, the whole thing, convert the top half into a step, and more. It’s useful for securing and hauling all sorts of objects, and it’s simple and intuitive to use. Plus, it’s a Silverado. Go on and slam stuff around – this truck can take it.

How’s the tech?

Great, actually. On LT trim levels and above, the Silverado comes standard with a 13.4-inch touchscreen that’s colorful, bright, and immediately responsive, and the menu structure is a cinch to navigate. There’s Google built in, so you can connect your various apps, and both Android Auto and Apple CarPlay connect wirelessly. The big, digital gauge cluster complements the large center screen nicely, as well.

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Continue reading: Buying

Buying

What should I be paying?

The Silverado’s most popular cab/bed style is the Crew Cab with the short bed and four-wheel drive, so let’s look at pricing for this version, otherwise you’ll be here all day. $49,090 is the base price, including destination, for the entry-level WT (for Work Truck) trim, where you can pick between the 2.7- and 5.3-liter engines.

The 3.0-liter engine shows up at the Custom Trail Boss trim level, where it costs $54,340 – including the truck, natch. The LT starts at $57,490 with the 2.7-liter engine, or going as high as $59,830 with the diesel, and this gives you access to the larger touchscreen multimedia system and other creature comforts.

Skipping ahead slightly, the LT Trail Boss has a two-inch lift kit and slightly more robust suspension, starting at $61,790. For $69,930, you can open the door to a Silverado High Country, which unlocks the all-important Super Cruise option, and on the high end, the off-road-oriented Silverado ZR2 commands $75,290, or $82,080 if you want the Bison upgrades.

Which Silverado is right for me?

The $42,745 to $82,080 price range covers a lot of ground, as different engines and options are available depending on the trim level and each carry different price tags. What this means is, when it’s time to buy a Silverado, make sure you’re getting exactly the one you want. With so many configurations, it’ll be hard not to get a cab, bed, powertrain, and option combination that’s right up your alley.

Serious off-roaders will likely flock to the ZR2, while use-it-and-abuse-it worker bees will simply grab a base WT that they can beat up. As a daily driver, the Silverado LT or LTZ seem to make the most sense, offering the best blend of creature comforts and powertrain options without breaking the bank. But again, with so much good stuff baked into every Silverado, you really can’t go wrong.

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Continue reading: Specs & Prices

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