Leman's Chevy City

• Introduction  »
• Interior / Walk Around  »
• Driving Impressions  »
• Summary

Driving Impressions

The Chevy Silverado HD is the most car-like of the heavy-duty pickup trucks.

That said, an HD Silverado drives heavy, as in a solid feel and deliberate control inputs. It feels confident empty or with a maximum load on board. The added frame stiffness and body build quality mean there is much less sensation of a separate cab and box. They are, of course, still separate pieces, but you don't feel like you're being tossed between two camel humps. Pogo-sticking or bobbing is dependent on road surface and wheelbase and ultimately hard to avoid everywhere, but such motions are now well-controlled and unlikely to redistribute improperly secured cargo.

The HD is a serious truck, designed to carry anywhere from a ton up. The steering is heavily weighted, as is the throttle, perhaps to remind you there is much weight under your control, and the amount of precision is directly related to which type of tire you have: street or all-terrain.

The Silverado has slightly crisper steering response than the competition for three reasons: One, it tends to ride closer to the ground for a lower center of gravity. Two, it tends to be a bit lighter up front, especially comparing a gas Silverado to a V10 gas Ford. And third, the Silverado uses torsion-bar independent front suspension on two- and four-wheel drive models, where the Ram and Super Duty use a heavier, live front axle on 4WD models. (That enabled the engineers to lower the ride height.) The areas where some of the competition deliver a better ride are those with small bumps and irregularities where their larger tires soak up more, and in empty dually configurations; the Silverado does not kick more in the back, but it is noticed more because the front is more relaxed.

Brakes are all vented disc with ABS and plenty stout to handle the load or aggressive driving.

An integrated trailer brake controller is available to slow your trailer much more comfortably and more controlled than an aftermarket controller can. (Like Ford's system, however, it is not compatible with all the electric-hydraulic disc brakes becoming more common on high-end RVs.)

Towing capability is impressive: A 2.5-inch receiver hitch allows conventional trailer ratings to 13,000 pounds, eclipsing many competitive offerings; the maximum for fifth-wheel trailers on properly equipped Silverado HD models is 16,700 pounds. The strongest Silverado HD will haul 23,500 pounds of truck, cargo, and trailer. We've found these trucks make great tow vehicles.

The new 6.0-liter V8 gas engine employs variable cam timing to widen the power curve. It generates 360 hp in lighter models and 322 hp in heavier models, with 380 lb-ft of torque at 4,200 rpm in either case. That's about the same horsepower as the old big-block 8.1-liter V8 but down 75 lb-ft on torque, so a new six-speed automatic is used to make up for the deficit.

And 6.0-liter makes up the difference fairly well, smoothly and quietly propelling the truck on daily chores. It will tow, but grades will have it working above 3500 rpm and since it's providing essentially the same propulsion as an 8.1-liter with four-speed automatic, it will use nearly the same gas doing so. The Tow/Haul mode works exactly as it should, as does the tap shift manual control, and were we making a habit of driving around with more than 12,000 pounds in truck, cargo, or trailer, we'd spend the big bucks on the diesel.

The Duramax turbodiesel and Allison six-speed automatic adds only a small bump in horsepower but nearly doubles torque to 660 lb-ft at just 1600 rpm, and truckers and engineers alike will tell you horsepower is irrelevant for getting a load moving. Additionally, the turbocharged diesel will lose less horsepower than the V8 at altitude, important when towing trailers through the Rockies. The diesel will deliver 25 percent to 35 percent better fuel economy (maybe more if you work them both hard), and it runs so clean that diesel tailpipes remain steel-colored inside while the gas engine pipes go black. The Duramax is approved for B20 biodiesel only in fleet applications.

Go to Summary