Chevrolet decorated its event introducing the updated 2027 Silverado pickups with Chevy trucks from the past. The old trucks are gorgeous in their archaic way. But get up close and they're all painted metal, rubber mats, and yawning panel gaps. Old trucks were expected to do one thing: work hard. New trucks are expected to do everything. Chevrolet took Road & Track to Tucson, Arizona, to experience the both the "light duty" Silverado 1500 and the beefier Silverado HD. That's "HD" as in Heavy Duty. The abilities of both of these full-size Silverados have vastly expanded, but the case for choosing between them has vastly narrowed. The new Silverado 1500 does things only the HD models once did, and the Silverado HD now rides nearly as well and is otherwise as comfortable as any lighter-duty truck has ever been. I found it hard to imagine a civilian duty cycle that would lie outside these trucks' abilities. Or to imagine full-size trucks easier to live with every day. Chevrolet The beating hearts of these revised trucks are new engines: new 5.7- and 6.6-liter small-block V-8s in the Silverado 1500 and a monstrously torque-rich turbodiesel V-8 that's offered in the HD. At 8.3 liters, that diesel is the largest-displacement engine General Motors has ever sent into the consumer market. Keep in mind that both the 1500 and the HD are offered with huge choice of configurations. The 1500, for instance, is available in five different cab and bed combinations and seven trim levels ranging from the WT work truck to the off-road beastmaster ZR2. There's also, variously, rear- or four-wheel drive and four different engines, including an updated turbocharged 2.7-liter inline-four and a returning 3.0-liter turbodiesel inline-six. Every 2027 Silverado at the Arizona event, with one notable exception, was a well-equipped four-by-four. So, this is only a peek at a sliver of the high-end tippy-top of the Silverado line. Chevrolet Let's start with the Silverado 1500. The sheetmetal largely carries over, and the basic chassis design has only modestly evolved, but the new V-8s are sweet things indeed. Both the 5.7- and 6.6-liter displacements are familiar from small-block history. GM says these are sixth-generation engines, sharing their architecture with the 6.7-liter small-block in the 2027 Corvette Stingray and Grand Sport. It's an evolutionary step, still a cam-in-block, overhead-valve, two-valve design. The increase in displacement is the result of a 6-mm increase in piston stroke. The 5.7-liter displacement—350 cubic inches in old muscle terms—was the stalwart of GM's truck-engine lineup from the 1969 model year through 1998, when the LS-series small-block arrived. The new 5.7 essentially replaces the 5.3-liter version and is rated by GM at 402 hp with 428 lb-ft of peak torque. That's up 46 hp from the 2026 Silverado's 5.3-liter. Chevrolet The 5.7 operated effortlessly in an unladen Silverado 1500 running the now-familiar 10-speed automatic transmission. Thrust was ample, and the engine operated in near silence. The transmission has apparently had some behavior modification since I last drove one, with more positive and confident shifts. Previous 10-speeds have wandered between gears. Properly configured, a 5.7 Silverado can be rated to tow up to 13,700 pounds. Airstream's biggest trailer, filled with stuff, is around 10,000 pounds. That's so much towing capacity that, frankly, it makes moving up to an HD unnecessary for most buyers. The 6.6-liter small-block is rated at 481 hp and 501 lb-ft of peak torque. It was best showcased in the ZR2, where it helped the nearly three-ton truck practically glide over semi-rough terrain and across rutted trails. During this initial exposure, it was vice-free and easygoing, which wasn't unexpected. Chevrolet In celebration of America's continued commitment to imperial units of measurement, and in recognition of small-block heritage, GM has cast "350" into the 5.7-liter block and "400" into the 6.6. They're virtually impossible to see once the engine is installed in a truck, but it's so cool anyhow. The inside of the 1500 is updated with bigger screens—a massive 16.3-incher at the center, a 12.2-inch unit in front of the driver, and an 11.5-inch screen to keep the front-seat passenger entertained. It worked well with Apple CarPlay integration and there were still enough buttons and physical controls to keep the photons from demanding constant attention. Off-road, the various cameras aboard will pump images to the center screen making spotters superfluous except in the most extreme circumstances. For someone who is usually a lukewarm Luddite on digital displays, their value and potential become obvious navigating tight trails. Chevrolet Acclimating to and exploring the dazzling and dizzying array of drive modes on the ZR2 could eat up an entire three-year lease. It's enough, however, to know that getting stuck will take some willful effort in this immensely capable truck. On-road, higher-trim Silverado 1500s feature semi-autonomous SuperCruise driving. It's at the point now where SuperCruise is so competent at lane holding and stability that it feels more secure with a trailer than I ever have. Chevrolet But for all its superfluousness for most truck needers, there is something glorious about the Silverado HD. Especially the new diesel version. The Mongoose 8.3-liter turbodiesel V-8 is misnamed. It ought to just be "Mongo" after the horse-punching mountain of a man played by Alex Karras in Blazing Saddles. But unlike Mongo, this engine is not merely a pawn in the game of life. In a Silverado HD 3500-series dualie optimized for maximum towing, with a trailer laden up to 37,000 pounds (max is 38,000 pounds), the Mongoose proved shockingly capable when I drove the whole configuration down a drag strip. That was 18.5 tons being pulled by a single pickup truck on a fifth wheel and gooseneck. Chevrolet The Mongoose is an all-new engine built around a compacted graphite iron (CGI) block. NASCAR blocks are cast from CGI, and Ford uses it in some applications like the 2.7-liter EcoBoost V-6. And CGI is the secret sauce in making the Mongoose live under the pressure of its own power production. That's power as in 555 hp and a staggering 1230 lb-ft pumping though a new Allison 10-speed automatic transmission. In one bound, Chevrolet goes to the top of the class for torque. The 6.7-liter Cummins straight-six offered in Ram trucks peaks at 1075 lb-ft, and Ford's 6.7-liter PowerStroke turbodiesel V-8 rates at 1200 lb-ft. Those numbers are absurd, and not far off those for a modern semi-truck tractor unit. Chevrolet There is so much towing capacity that it's hard to imagine how a civilian would use it all. How big must a cabin cruiser be to approach that much weight? And with so much torque, why head to the mountains when you could just pull them down? Yet the Mongoose-powered 3500 is a totally civilized monster that hauls out past the bounds of mortal experience. A switch to electrically assisted rack-and-pinion steering for the HD, replacing the old steering box system, means a lightness to driver inputs that was previously missing. There was even some communication back through the wheel to my fingers. An electric brake booster also helps ensure that pedal pressure doesn't need to be extreme to be effective. Chevrolet As one engineer explained, the new Silverado is essentially a new truck below the cab. The high-end models on hand do ride astonishingly well even when unladen, which has often been the bugaboo of three-quarter-ton and one-ton pickups that are used to run errands when they're not towing a three-story, five-bedroom Colonial to a new foundation. If the Mongoose is overkill, the standard V-8 is a version of the new 6.6-liter small-block rated at 412 hp and 472 lb-ft. Running that engine in a properly configured truck drops the tow rating to a mere 19,000 pounds. Will that be enough? Chevrolet The new Silverados are significantly better trucks than the 2026 editions. The attraction of so much naturally aspirated V-8 power makes the 1500 series compelling. It will be more than enough truck for most buyers. But for those who do want to haul more, or to brag about their ability to do so, the HD and the Mongoose engine provides this with utter civility. Diesel fuel is expensive, and adding emissions fluid is a pain, but it's impossible not to like this much too much. I want one anyhow. Long road trips hauling equipment for work or toys for play will be the ultimate test for both of these trucks. And those are tests that will be relished. Chevrolet Pricing will be competitive with other full-size pickups because this is the meatiest part of the American new-vehicle market. It's easy to reach $70,000 with a 1500 even without stretching to the ZR2. And a Silverado HD equipped with the big diesel and several layers of luxury gizmology will easily push beyond six figures. Americans love pickup trucks, and here's more proof that pickup trucks are what American manufacturers do best.
Liked by Samuel Bouchard, Hannah Côté
Liked by Samuel Bouchard, Hannah Côté
Liked by Samuel Bouchard, Hannah Côté
