2023 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 car review

Review Chevrolet Silverado 1500, Rising interest rates, rising costs of living and restrained wage growth are frequent topics in the evening news. But while these financial concerns are delaying vacations and scheduled surgeries, there’s absolutely no evidence that they’re making people think twice about big American pickup trucks worth over $100,000.

North American manufacturers aren’t intimidated by regular facelifts and updates either. To prove it, General Motors Special Vehicles (GMSV) has released an updated version of the Silverado 1500 (a mid-cycle improvement, in GM terms). The move adds features and capacity to the well-known LTZ premium model, and also introduces a new variant called the ZR2, designed to take the Silverado concept even further on the road and in remote areas. Gone is the Trailboss variant that disappointed many buyers.

Price and features – What is the cost performance? What features are included? 6/10

The new Silverado lineup starts at $128,000 for the LTZ Premium and $133,000 for the ZR2. But for the latter, designed to increase the ZR2’s off-road capabilities and reduce its weight to improve its towing capabilities, he gets more gear because there are distinct differences between the two packages. is not easy.

Both variants have most of the standard features such as privacy glass, LED lighting, keyless entry and start, wireless device charging, dual info screens, front and rear USB ports, dual zone climate control and front 10-way power steering. I’m here. With driver’s seat storage.

It gets a little harsh from there as the trim levels juggle a bit. For example, the ZR2 has all the off-road features: mud tires, different impact plates, tow hooks, an optimized transfer case that allows for single-pedal driving and crawler modes, taller suspension and clever passive adaptive dampers. Equipped with loading equipment.

The ZR2 spec also adds a full spare tire, rear parking assist and head-up display, but loses side steps, sunroof and power steering column adjustments. It’s all an act of juggling to make mounting the ZR2 as easy as possible while trying to compensate for the extra curb weight that limits the towing capacity of the vehicle. A mountain that will surely die.

Design – Anything interesting about the design? 7/10

The big, bold looks of American pickup trucks don’t fade in this latest Silverado.

It’s a monster from every angle, and you have to imagine Chevrolet went to great lengths to enhance that effect, from the LTZ version’s chrome-plated grille highlights to the ZR2 model’s raised, blackened bonnet hump. .

The new Silverado is not only somewhat indistinguishable, but indistinguishable from the older model. Of course, this is a mid-term facelift for a brand new model. So maybe it’s a good thing that Chevrolet (mostly) left it alone and focused more on substance than looks.

If you get to see his new LTZ in person, you’ll notice that the ZR2 has all the chrome details like door handles, belt his moldings, wheels and door handles painted black. The latter also features a truncated front bumper and hidden tailpipes for off-road capability, and the LTZ proudly appears in chrome.

Practicality – How practical is the space and technology inside? 6/10

If interior space like this is your measure of utility, the Silverado has the game on hand. With a two-cabin layout and a five-seater, the interior is spacious. But just as importantly, the range also addresses a major complaint of traditional crew cab boat owners. The loading space is too narrow. No such problem here, but the cargo space he adds to the huge overall length of 5931mm. The load floor downsizes the traditional crew cab, which is 1776mm long and 569mm deep, and features more than a dozen attachment points. The deciding factor is that Chevrolet can accommodate a standard pallet between the wheel housings despite the extremely high loading height.

Inside, the Silverado sticks to an American comfort theme, with plenty of charging and USB ports front and back.The front seats are comfortable, with plenty of room in all directions, and the steering column tilts and The reach can be adjusted electrically. Interestingly, the column-mounted shifter on the previous model seemed like a better idea to us, while the console-mounted shifter occupies a better spot as a cup holder.

Speaking of the shifter, I feel a little luxury and conflicting action. Similarly, his 12.3-inch animated dashboard layout on the new car looks pretty classy, ​​but lacks the hallmarks of the analog gauges of previous versions. Sometimes progress is unimaginable. The 13.4-inch touchscreen located in the center of the dashboard is a significant improvement over its predecessor.

In the back seat, a Chevrolet-like Ute should work well. The seats themselves are more comfortable benches than in previous cars, and there’s no shortage of legroom, kneeroom or headroom. There is plenty of legroom under the front seats.

However, the vents that feed the rear seating area seem a bit underwhelming, and while the front vents expel plenty of cool air, there doesn’t seem to be enough air moving around the rear. No. ZR2 models no longer have side steps (to reduce weight and provide more ground clearance), making it harder for smaller people to get into the cab. Yes, there are armrests on the B-pillar for easy access, but they are quite far apart. The same armrests are too far apart to be useful off-road support points.

Of course, the real problem with Silverado is when it has to be left alone. Several parking spaces are tested to find a parking space large enough for a pickup over 2 meters wide, but the driver’s skill is most tested at about 6 meters in length. A height of over 1900 mm makes some underground car parks think twice. The 14.3m curb turning circle makes it difficult for the driver to trust his camera up front. When it comes to cameras, Chevrolet has a lot of them. There are actually 8, and he in the tray area could offer 14 different views, including 4.

There are also four parking view modes and, with an optional accessory camera, a screen view that hides the trailer for added convenience and safety. The system uses a total of eight cameras distributed throughout the vehicle, allowing 14 viewing angles. This is impressive, and when you add towing tech like standard sway control, hill start assist and auto braking, the Silverado becomes a capable tow truck.

Another new design direction is his ZR2 off-road version of ute. It sacrifices traction a bit, but it comes loaded with gear designed to get you in the bush most owners want. These additions include suspension, differentials, driving modes, camera placement, front bumper design, tires and even underbody protection.

Another great thing about such vehicles is their traction. Start thinking big. The LTZ has a trailer capacity of 4.5 tons, while the ZR2 (with 70 mm balls) has a higher technical spring and a trailer capacity of 4.2 tons. Chevrolet has also added several features designed to make towing easier and safer. Many of them are enabled once the trailer is attached to the car. This includes a light check program (which allows her alone to check his lights on the trailer) and an anti-theft feature on the trailer (if someone without an ignition key unlocks the trailer, the vehicle will be warning).

The Silverado also features a combined Gross Mass Warning (GCM) when vehicle and trailer mass approaches the legal limit (7160 kg for LTZ and 6851 kg for ZR2). Using a load sensor in the gearbox, the Ute can assess the mass it is carrying and issue the first warning when the GCM is within 15% of its maximum value. As soon as this maximum value is exceeded, a red alarm is displayed to the driver.

This is a tail spine. While the full 4.5 ton LTZ has a payload of just 117 kg (passengers, fuel, camping equipment, etc.), the ZR2 is even thicker, with a payload of just 68 kg, for a whopping 4.2 tons in total. This makes it almost impossible to tow full legal capacity unless you are unaccompanied by a driver and weigh less than the national average.Even without a trailer, the Chevrolet has a payload of less than 800 kg. is. Good enough for some, not good enough for others.

Under the Hood – What Are the Most Important Values ​​of an Engine and Transmission? 8/10

Silverado’s motives are clearly outdated. There’s no use looking for hybrid drives or common rail turbo diesels. However, lift the hood from half an acre and you’ll find a hunk of petrol V8.

All Silverado variants are powered by the same 6.2-liter V8 alloy engine with pushrod valve actuation. This is the famous engine of the GM family, offering 313 kW of peak power and 624 Nm of torque. GM claims this is the most powerful engine in his $100,000+ pickup market.

The transmission is a 10-speed automatic, shifted via a console-mounted controller. All versions keep his 4-wheel drive, but the ZR2 supports rock-and-roll style with low-ratio (with push-button controls) transfer-case terrain and crawl mode settings. The ZR2 also upgrades the suspension with adaptive dampers, front and rear electric locking differentials (the LTZ has a mechanical rear locking differential), and off-road drive mode. The downside is that the towing capacity he dropped slightly from 4.5 tons to 4.2 tons.

The suspension consists of coil springs at the front of the independent axle and leaf springs at the rear of the driven axle. The brakes are huge discs throughout, and while the LTZ models run on 20-inch alloys and off-road tires, the ZR2 reverts to 18-inch rims just to run mud tires.

Efficiency – what is the fuel consumption? What is his driving range? 6/10

The V8 engine’s ability to deactivate cylinders is said to reduce fuel consumption in driving situations. In fact, the Silverado can shut off up to six cylinders, allowing the computer to manage power demand and use only the engine power it needs. It’s also seamless enough to go undetected when you’re holding the steering wheel. The pickup’s official combined fuel economy is 12.2 liters per 100 km, but real-life tests suggest this is closer to highway mpg. This is thanks to taller gears that allow the Chevrolet to rumble at his 1500 rpm and display speed of 70 mph.

The fuel tank is a 91L unit, and the cruising range of the truck is said to be about 700km.

GM recommends premium unleaded vehicles.

Driving – What’s it like to drive? 7/10

While it’s true that full-size pickups have been improved with more modern suspension, there’s no question that the Silverado is actually a body-on-frame design with a leaf-spring driveshaft at the rear. There’s always an unsprung heft to it, and the steering is light, but with very little transmission.
There is also plenty of steering lock, and although the turning radius gives him over 14m (because of the long wheelbase), you’ll spend a good deal of time cutting wheels to avoid underground parking.

Perhaps the best reflection of the old-fashioned chassis is the typical roads of the region, with potholes, ruts and ridges.

Quite convincingly swallowing higher amplitude bumps, these puttery conditions force a sort of bounce and bounce as if building a unique harmony within the body.
However, the engine is a different story, and there is always a lot of grunt. This is thanks to a gearbox that tries to go off target, but it can be a little too eager to descend if you step on the gas a bit. But at cruising speed, when that impending petrol V8 hums, the Chevrolet drives quietly and can actually feel quite sophisticated on smooth roads.
His ZR2 model with 18-inch mud tires is slightly louder. Ironically, the tread pattern gives off a faint background sound on equally slippery surfaces. However, we hear that mud tires are noisy, and the other downside is that they have little to no tarmac grip in mud terrain, like the all-terrain LTZ version.

But for most people, the overwhelming impression when driving the Silverado is its length and width. Parking becomes an exercise in precision, and finding his two adjacent empty spaces becomes a habit. Life in such a truck quickly becomes a Tetris parking game, not fun. Some drivers get used to it quickly, others not at all.

Things don’t matter so much in the bush, and it feels like the Chevrolet can handle anything here. Ground clearance, approach and departure angles are good, and there’s no shortage of grunt when navigating or overcoming obstacles. The descents are smoother than many previous attempts, but we’re still out on whether the single-pedal off-road mode is an improvement or something new.

The ZR2’s more sophisticated dampers also make a big difference in rough terrain, and the ride is well controlled.

Safety -What kind of safety device do you have? His security evaluation? 7/10

In terms of safety, the truck really seems to be catching up with the rest of the world.But it may still have a long way to go, especially at this price point, especially when compared to more modest passenger cars.

The new Silverado is equipped with active safety systems such as Rear Cross Traffic Alert, Stability Control, Traction Control, Forward Collision Warning, Active Cruise Control and Low Speed ​​Automatic Emergency Braking. But where is the AEB when the car is going faster than 80 km/h? It means that there are signs of a fairly aggressive collision when you do (most cars are).

After all, all the cameras are spread out around the vehicle, allowing you to see some of it if you want, but let alone for a vehicle of this size.

Six airbags, including curtain airbags, are standard on all outer seats, as is lane departure warning when towing a trailer. These include onboard tire pressure monitoring and front and rear parking assistance.

GMSV here he did not crash test the Silverado, but it was tested in the US (by US standards) and received up to 5 stars for safety. Interestingly, however, the car was field tested with side crash bars and performed very well.

Title – What warranty do you offer? What are your maintenance intervals? What is the running cost? 5/10

That’s where Chevrolet hints it’s not from here, these days he’s too used to six or seven year warranties, but at this price point he said the three year 100,000km factory warranty might surprise not. On the plus side, with three years of roadside assistance, the Silverado has to be serviced every 12 months or 12,000 km, the latter figure again falling short of Hyundai’s expectations. GMSV does not provide price management services.

verdict

As with all American-made car clichés, the Silverado is a relatively simple product with easily recognizable strengths and weaknesses. It’s not good at subtlety, and it’s not difficult to understand where this vehicle’s strengths and weaknesses lie. With that in mind, the final verdict should be a simple case of weighing these pros and cons…but the equation becomes less obvious at this point.

So think of the Silverado as a vehicle that can tow 3.5 tons and has plenty of room for what you need. But can’t you do the same with a ‘regular’ 2-cylinder? Because, in the same conditions, you’d be in the same perilous state that Chevrolet was pushed to its limits. Even if it were technically possible, his conventional 3.5-ton crew cab hauler wouldn’t be able to tow his larger RVs and boats as easily as the Silverado.

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