The Chevrolet Silverado Electric Vehicle will do this job. It has a smart “midgate” that makes it useful, it lives up to its impressive range claims, and it has enough power on board to power your home, your tools, and your camping gear. All of this power comes with a cost, both in the real world and in the mind.
This truck weighs about 9,000 pounds. This makes it harder to ride, at least on the RST version. Also, the inside looks like it’s worth less than $100. I don’t know if this Silverado EV is worth that much money. Still, the other vehicles will have a hard time competing with this one because it can do so many things.
The Silverado EV is GM’s first electric pickup truck designed to carry heavy loads. A few WTs (base work trucks) are already out there. The company has now launched the high-end RST model, a top trim with lots of features made for regular people (those with six figures lying around).
Given how well the Silverado does many things, let’s start with those. The battery pack can hold as much as 213.7 kWh, but only about 204 kWh can be used. This huge amount of energy is an important part of the sum. Pickup users need to be convinced to switch to electric cars by giving them a good range and quick charging. This pack is better than all of its competitors because it can charge quickly at 350 kW and has a range of 440 miles. With 754 horsepower and 785 pound-feet of torque, this pack has a lot of power.
The big battery also solves problems with pulling a trailer. Any electric truck’s range will be cut in half or less if it has to pull something big. Up to 10,000 pounds can be pulled behind the Silverado, which is a lot. With that much stuff, please get where you’re going without having to stop and charge. Chevy’s solution to the problem of charging while pulling a trailer is to get rid of it completely by giving the cars a lot of range.
But the battery is long, thick, and heavy, so the car needs a long wheelbase. That’s fine; the RST can turn loops like a Chevy Bolt because it has rear-wheel steering. If you put standard-sized wheels and tires on it, though, it would look like a cross between a longboard and an orthopedic shoe.
To solve this problem, 24-inch wheels are now popular, and the size seems right. However, each corner of the car now weighs more than one hundred pounds, which means there is a lot of loose inertia. The big electric drive units are also attached to subframes, which move around in relation to the body.
Chris Perkins, senior editor, doesn’t think that magnetic shocks or adjustable air suspension will help solve this issue. No matter which of the three suspension settings is used, the road is always bothering this car. It never really settles down, even in the most basic setting. It goes up and down in peaks and dips. It still needs to be set up perfectly by default, but it works fine most of the time. The suspension of one of the biggest trucks ever made had a sport setting, so if you ran over Osmosis Jones while it was in sport mode, you’d know.
Weight changes how well you do. That 754 horsepower is a lot for any truck, and this huge thing feels so heavy when it’s moving that it’s almost scary. The WOW mode, which stands for “Wide Open Watts,” is a great launch control system that looks like a Raytheon drone rocket with katanas that pop out. You don’t want to get in the way of it. If you speed up quickly, sway to the left or right could make you lose trust, and repairs need to be done carefully.
The inside of the Silverado works well, but it might need to be better for a $100,000 truck. The RST has a big 17.0-inch screen for entertainment, an 11.0-inch digital center for the instruments, and heated or cooled seats. Yes, these parts are used by a number of other GM EVs, but everything works perfectly because Google services and apps like Maps and Assistant are built in.
Thanks to the long wheelbase, the back has a lot of space. The cabin’s flat floor and high glass roof make it comfortable, if not very stylish. If you don’t like the way this one looks inside, the GMC Sierra EV has another choice.
Because the front fascia is so big, wind noise is going to be a problem. It will get even worse if you open the “midgate,” which is the convertible panel at the back bulkhead that separates the cab from the bed. In any case, the midgate has a lot of advantages. When the bed lid is added, the Silverado EV will have one of the biggest cargo bays of any pickup truck. It can tow long loads of up to 1,500 pounds, which is almost unmatched.
In addition, energy can be used for different things. 10.2 kW of energy can be plugged into outlets in the bed. This is a huge amount of power that can be used continuously for a long time. GM showed this could happen by pulling a big camper behind the car with the engine. According to the sign on the camper, it should be about 50 amps at 120 volts. The car had a huge amount of power, even at 6.0 kW.
In conclusion, the big battery can be used for many things. The Silverado will have to weigh four and a half tons, which could be better. When you look at this car as a whole, it’s beautiful. It does better than its competitors in almost every important way. Does this makeup for what’s wrong with it? Most people, especially fleet buyers, should be able to tell the difference between weight, ride, and handling in WT trim.
I don’t know about this kind of high-end RST car. If you want a big, powerful electric car, you can already get the Hummer EV. Soon, the GMC Sierra EV will also be available. But many people will not be willing to spend that much on a car that doesn’t feel like a hundred grand inside or a hundred grand to drive. The Silverado EV could be a hit, though. It only lives up to promises once the price hits the sky-high levels of the RST, especially when compared to its ICE rival.
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