Our thirst for the full size truck is a distinctly American affair, and the Chevy Silverado, combined with its GMC Sierra brother, collectively sell just as many units as the F-150. Now in its fourth generation, the Silverado is GM’s most advanced truck ever. Right now, G.M. is pushing a number of incentives to move unsold models of the Silverado. You just might be able to get an amazing price on a brand new full size truck.
While no longer hailed as Like A Rock, the Heartbeat of America carries on the Chevy full size truck tradition. The “Silverado” nameplate only came into official existence in the very late 90’s, but today’s Silverado bears a striking resemblance to the “Chevy Trucks” and “C/K 1500’s” that came before it. As with the Ford F-series, there is a dizzying number of potential configurations, so here’s the rundown. The bare bones Silverado WT (work truck) starts at $36,800 with 12 standard tie downs, push button start with remote entry, and a short bed / short cab. Double cab starts at $42k and Crew Cab $44.5k. Similar to the F-150 XL and the Ram Tradesman, the Silverado WT will help you get the job done.
The popular Silverado Custom starts at $43,600 and includes a TurboMax 310 horsepower / 430 lb-ft of torque engine, 10-way power driver seat, and covered armrest storage, along with 20-inch aluminum wheels. Custom Trail Boss with Z71 Off-Road package is $51,800 including black 18 inch wheels and a raised hood with black insert. The less racy LT starts at $48,000 with a 13.4 inch color touch screen display and 12.3 inch driver information center. Luxury LTZ trim starts at $57,200 with leather seats and 8 cameras to see up to 14 views, and the top tier luxury High Country starts at $62,700 with premium leather and custom perforation and stitching as well as open-pore wood trim. The ZR2 with off road shocks, e-lockers, aluminum skid plates, and mud tires starts at $69,900 msrp. Heavy Duty Silverados start at $43,400, and if you pony up for the right options, can pull a whopping 36,000 pound trailer or carry 7,000-plus pounds in its bed.
Four engine choices are a bit simpler to comprehend than Ford’s six, with the standard high-output four cylinder 2.7L TurboMax serving up a beyond-respectable 300+ horses and over 400 lb-ft of torque — huge numbers for any base engine, let alone one with four cylinders. Other engine choices include a 5.3L V8 with 355 hp and 383 lb-ft of torque, and a 6.2L V8 with 420 hp and 460 lb-ft of torque which is related to GM’s venerable LS motors from Corvettes. There is also a 3.0L Duramax Turbo Diesel inline 6 engine with 305 horsepower and 495 lb-ft of torque. Heavy duty Silverados are available with a 6.6L turbodiesel V8 that has 470 hp and a gut wrenching 975 lb-ft of torque, or a 6.6L V8 gas engine with 401 hp and 464 lb-ft of torque.
While it is a Silverado underneath, there are a host of reasons to call out the Sierra separately from its Silverado brother. It arguably kicked off the luxury truck trend with the Denali trim, which persists to this day with its trademark in-your-face chrome grille. The Sierra also has different exterior styling than the Silverado, which may be preferable depending on ones subjective judgment. Options and trims differ slightly than the Silverado, including the AT4X off-road as well as the Denali Ultimate, which stickers at $84,990 msrp; it still has a hard time measuring up to the fully-optioned Ram Limiteds in terms of opulence, though. Entry-level Silverado models start at just over $37k msrp and the next level up SLE starts at $50,300 msrp, making the Sierra quite a bit costlier than Silverado Custom or Silverado LT.
Right now Silverado 1500 Crew Cab RWD Turbomax and 1500 Crew Cab 4wd Custom with Turbomax have attractive lease rates per Chevy’s website. Chevy also has cash allowance on select Silverado models. Chevy “Truck Season” promotions are also worth keeping an eye on.
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