L.A. Auto Show 2018: Chevy’s Silverado pickup is roomier yet lighter
The newest version of Chevrolet’s Silverado 1500, the automaker’s full-size pickup truck, arrives with added space and a lower weight as it tries to close the gap with Ford’s top-selling F-150.
Certain models of the 2019 Silverado come with an all-new 2.7-liter, four-cylinder turbo engine that generates up to 310 horsepower, delivers up to an estimated 20 miles per gallon in city driving on rear-wheel-drive models, and provides a maximum towing capacity of 7,200 pounds.
Chevy said the base weight of the four-door Silverado with the turbo engine is 380 pounds less than the current Silverado with its V6 engine. Yet it has more interior room and cargo space; the automaker claims the Silverado has the largest cargo space of any full-size truck on the market.
The Silverado comes in eight trims matched with six engine/transmission combinations — V6 and V8 engines also are available — and the truck’s suggested retail prices range from $32,000 to more than $57,000. The turbo engine is standard on the Silverado’s LT and RST trims.
Also available is a drive-mode selector that adapts to different terrains, and Chevy’s Z71 off-road package that includes an off-road suspension and hill-descent control.
The Silverado’s cabin also was redesigned to provide more shoulder room, rear-passenger space and more head and leg room in front.
After a test drive of the new Silverado, Car and Driver reported that there “is none of the jouncing and bouncing once associated with driving an unladen pickup. And at long last, the Chevy’s steering column is finally squared to the driver, after years of being angled slightly to the left.”
Through the first nine months of this year, the Silverado was the second-best selling U.S. pickup behind Ford’s F-150. Both also compete with the Ram 1500, the GMC Sierra 1500 and the Nissan Titan.
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