The standard, full-size Silverado pickup has been basically the same for the past 4 or 5 years and it is due for a major overhaul. Meanwhile, only minor improvements have been accomplished. The Silverado is not uncomfortable and handles well, but it is a truck and not a luxury vehicle. It rides smooth over all but the largest bumps. It is definitely a truck that is designed for hard work.
Inside, it doesn’t have a lot of fluff, but the interior has been redesigned for this year. There is a lot more feeling of space and open, but the cabin is quiet. The seating is very comfortable. The rear seats fold up easily with one hand, making a flat floor for cargo. In the crew cab model, and available on the extended cab, consumers have a stadium style rear seat, meaning that the seats are slightly elevated over the front seats. Buttons, switches, knobs, and other controls are easy to reach and use.
The Chevy Silverado offers a wide array of safety features that are standard equipment, including Electronic Stability Control and Traction Control. These are two very desirable features that assist the driver in maintaining control of the vehicle under adverse conditions. There are rear seat head restraints, tire pressure monitors, daytime running lamps, and four-wheel ABS.
There are no special storage compartments or cargo bed super designs. Competitors are offering a lot of extras in their models, but the Silverado is retaining the appearance of a solid, everyday, pickup truck. It is simple, but strong. It is capable, yet convenient. There are a lot of options and configurations available that should suit almost every driver. Touch-screen navigation, XM radio, dual-zone climate control, powered sunroof, and a lot more are available add-ons. Mileage is in the range of 15 city and 20 on the highway. Pricing for the Silverado 1500 has a base MSRP of $20,850, but can easily go much higher depending upon configurations and options.
Hybrid vehicles have become accepted in the marketplace, but the Silverado line-up has something new – a hybrid pickup truck. Occasionally, fuel economy has to be sacrificed for the sack of capability and heavy usage. GM has introduced a very fuel-efficient 2011 Chevy Silverado Hybrid and an almost identical GMC Sierra Hybrid. The Silverado Hybrid only comes in one configuration – a crew cab with a short bed in the back.
If you compare the Hybrid Silverado against the gas-only regular model, there is about a 40 percent increase in mileage. It does not have all the capabilities of the regular gas model, such as heavy towing. It performs well under most situations. The hybrid pickup is comfortable, has plenty of room inside, and provides most of what customers want in a pickup truck.
New for 2011 in the Silverado lineup are the heavy-duty trucks, both at Chevy and GMC. They may look the same, but underneath, they are practically all new. The test-drive introduction of these outstanding trucks was held several months ago up in Maryland. We took the various configurations and models over twisting and turning back roads through West Virginia, Maryland, and other area states. We pulled heavy-duty trailers loaded down with maximum cargo. We drove over highways that were slick with rain. These Heavy Duty Silverado trucks are comfortable, yet highly capable.
The frame and suspension is totally new on the Heavy Duty Silverado. It really increases the capability in almost every measurable way there is to do it. The Duramax 6.6 liter V-8 diesel engine is twin-turbo charged and provides 397 horsepower. The 6.0-liter V-8 gasoline engine has a new camshaft and had other improvements.
Bottom line – the lineup of Chevy Silverado pickups is terrific and offers something for almost everyone.
