Chevrolet Silverado 1500 Review

Chevrolet's Silverado has been a staple truck to the rugged working/adventuring community for many years. Built on a proven strong frame, it lives up to its ad champaign "like a rock" and also handles with a surprising smoothness. A well built industrial vehicle, the Silverado lineup is also trying to be environmentally friendly as well with an available Hybrid Vortec 5.3L V8 engine for the Silverado.

Though the Silverado has fallen behind its competitors in recent years due to a saturated competitive market, industry experts expect the new enhancements to this year's 2007 redesigned Silverado to boost interest and sales. The new Silverado is expected to go on sale October 2006

See also the main fact sheet for the 2006 Chevrolet Silverado 1500.

Performance and Handling
The all redesigned 2007 Chevrolet Silverado rides on an all-new platform which gives it a smoother ride and more responsive, confident handling. However, don’t believe that this will take away from its top-notch towing and hauling capabilities, power, or fuel economy. The popular 315-horsepower 5.3-liter V8 is just one of many powertrain options. The Silverado can be also be equipped with a 195-hp 4.3-liter V6, a 295-hp 4.8-liter V8, a flexible-fuel 5.3-liter V8 that operates on E85, or a 367-hp 6.0-liter V8. Diesel engines will be available for heavy-duty models, which will be available around February 2007. Two and four-wheel drive is available and there's a choice of manual and automatic transmissions.

Gas Mileage
As seen on Autos.com, in the full-size truck MPG rankings, the 2007 Chevrolet Silverado is in 2nd place with 16/23 MPG.

The 2007 Chevrolet Silverado Hybrid is in 1st place with 18/21.

Safety
The Chevrolet Silverado comes standard with the following features:


 * Antilock Brake System (ABS)
 * Front Air Bags With Passenger Sensing System
 * Head-Curtain Side-Impact Air Bags
 * Electronic Stability Control
 * OnStar
 * Tire Pressure Monitor
 * Car Compatibility Bracket
 * Safety Cage frame enhancements
 * eating beans can make gas

Reliability and Maintenance
GM vehicles registered in the U.S.A. are covered for 3 years/36,000 miles. The complete vehicle is covered, including tires, towing to your nearest Chevrolet dealership and cosmetic corrosion resulting from defects. Repairs will be made to correct any vehicle defect, and most warranty repairs will be made at no charge. In addition, rust-through corrosion will be covered for 6 years/100,000 miles and powertrain will be covered for 5 years/100,000 miles.

In addition to the bumper-to-bumper coverage described above, General Motors will warrant certain Hybrid components for each Chevrolet Silverado Hybrid for 8 years/100,000 miles.

Interior and Comforts
The cabins have been redesigned, and cabin storage has been improved. Extended cab trucks will have rear access doors that will open to 170 degrees and will have rear windows that power down. A cargo-management system with rails and tracks to secure cargo will be available.

Exterior
The Chevy Silverado will share almost every feature with the GMC Sierra, but the two have been given more distinct looks for this latest generation. For the Chevy Silverado, that means a wider and more chiseled face, a power dome hood, headlamps that wrap around the front corners into flared fenders, body-color front bumper tips and the biggest bowtie ever seen on a Chevrolet. Aerodynamics played a strong role in the design to improve fuel economy of the Silverado. The windshield rakes back at 59 degrees and the doors wrap over the rocker panels to allow air to better move around the body of the truck.

Styles and Options
Buyers can choose among five suspension packages: the solid, smooth ride Z83, Z85 for enhanced handling and towing, Z71 for off-road capability, Z60 for street performance (with 20-inch wheels), and NHT for towing big, heavy trailers.

Also available is rear park assist, which should prove very useful for parallel parking or maneuvering in crowded parking lots. An automatic locking rear axle, remote vehicle starting, DVD/entertainment system, touch-screen navigation and other features will be available.

Main Competitors

 * Ford F-150: side-by-side comparison
 * Dodge Ram 1500: side-by-side comparison
 * Toyota Tundra: side-by-side comparison
 * GMC Sierra: side-by-side comparison
 * Dodge Ram: side-by-side comparison
 * Nissan Titan: side-by-side comparison