2023 is proving to be an electrifying year for trucks. Ford and Rivian have recently started producing electric offerings. Tesla is poised to begin delivering their Cybertruck, and now Chevy is entering the mix with an all-new Silverado EV. But don’t let the name fool you; this is a radical departure from what Chevy has ever offered. Will this new Silverado deliver on performance, functionality, and comfort?
The new Silverado rides on GM’s Ultium platform, allowing for more configurability than any gas powered truck. Unlike its cross-town rival, the F-150 Lightning, Chevy can make better use of its EV technology and capability. So, what can this platform produce?
The new Silverado can get the job done at 664 horsepower and 780 foot-pounds of torque. This is possible thanks to the two permanent-magnet type motors connected to a single speed reduction gearbox. This combination will propel the Silverado from 0 to 60 miles per hour in 4.5 seconds.
Here is a fun side note, the 24 module 200 kilowatt-hour battery pack actually weighs more than a Honda Civic!
Yeah, that’s right. The 24-module battery pack weighs more than a Honda Civic! The battery pack gives the Silverado an EPA-estimated range of 400 miles. Still, as we have seen, it will depend on temperature and driving styles. This is further hurt by the fact that Chevrolet is not providing a way to unclutch one of the motors during lower demand to reduce power consumption.
But with all this power and massive batteries, what else can the Silverado power?
The Silverado EV comes equipped with 10 AC plugs, four 120-volt outlets in the bed, plus one in the center console and frunk. (Yeah, we said Frunk. It’s a trunk under the hood.)
There is also a 240-volt outlet in the bed, and an accessory “Power Bar” plugs into the Combined Charging System charge port, providing two additional 120-volt outlets and one 240-volt socket. The Power Bar allows for EV to EV charging almost close to a level 2 home charger!
So, next time your buddy who drives a Tesla runs out of juice after you finish laughing at them, there is a way to get it going again!
The system can produce 10.2 kW of electric power. The owner can set a minimum charge state to ensure there is enough juice to safely return to a charging station. Perhaps not by mistake, this eclipses the 9.6 kW power-export limit of Ford’s F150 Lightning.
Having this ability means that when rolling blackouts or natural disasters happen, you can power your house with a Silverado EV just like the F150 Lightning. Also, like the Lightning, the Silverado EV will be able to serve as a generator for work site tools, with the ability to control the amount of energy consumed on site.
Or, if you are interested in a bit of fun, the Silverado EV can also power your party equipment for those off-road parties! But can the Silverado EV handle your camping trailer?
The 2024 Chevy Silverado EV RST models are rated to tow up to 10,000 pounds and 1,300 pounds of payload. The F150 Lightning, for comparison, is rated for 10,000 and 2,000 pounds. The RST model will also get four-wheel steering to ease trailer maneuverability. The first Silverado EV RST off the line will come equipped with the Super Cruise system, which supports trailer towing. Soon, Chevy will also introduce a special towing-focused fleet model Silverado EV with a towing capacity of up to 20,000 pounds.
Why the special towing-focused model?
Towing will be EV’s Achilles heel. There is only so much power available, and the way motors are designed, they use a lot of power as weight and wind resistance increase. For now, we believe all EV trucks are intended for owners who do not tow.
But speaking of wind resistance or aerodynamics, the Silverado has a few tricks up its sleeve.
Due to the Ultium platform, the Silverado is a unibody design. Similar to the old Avalanches. This allowed the designers to get creative and treat the exterior as a single canvas. They focused on designing a truck that would move through the air with the least effort possible and as much style as possible. Extensive wind tunnel testing led to the front grill design, all the glass is flush mounted, rear sail panels to direct the air past the cab, tonneau cover to further guide the air past the bed, and rear diffuser to drive the air past the vehicle. This gives the 2024 Chevrolet Silverado EV the lowest drag coefficient of any production full-size pickup truck.
They managed all that and didn’t give up on style. The RST comes standard with 24-inch wheels that are remarkably smooth and feature 5 narrow slots to route air to cool the brakes. Chevy claims that the standard fixed running boards on RST trucks help manage airflow between the tires. Every component on the exterior has been thoroughly tested to ensure maximum performance! But that is only some of the unique features of this awesome truck. Can you believe a 10-foot couch can fit in a 5-foot bed?
You don’t believe us? Well, we couldn’t believe it was possible either. But chevy has once again proved they are the king of Tetris.
All Silverado EVs will come one way; crew cab, short bed. That said, the designers got to work creating one of the most versatile trucks on the market. The 5-foot 11-inch bed bests the F-150 Lighting by 4 inches. Then, the game of Tetris starts. The midgate (the panel behind the rear passengers) can fold down for longer items. In fact, the cargo area expands to 9 feet of flat space up to the closed tailgate.
If that is not enough, then tailgate open, and thanks to the optional Multi-Flex bed stop; the cargo capacity increases to a whopping 10 feet 10 inches.
You heard right; almost 11 feet of cargo capacity is what Chevy managed to create. Proving they are the Kings of Tetris! But does all that come at the cost of interior comfort?
Chevy is finally starting to get its act together with its new generation of interiors. The new Silverado EV features a tech-savvy interior, unique from anything else in the Chevy lineup. The top RST model features an 11-inch reconfigurable instrument cluster with five display themes. It also features a 14-inch heads-up display and a 17-inch “free-form” landscape-oriented infotainment screen.
The visibility has been dramatically improved thanks to the lower body lines and shorter hood. All interior materials are “vegan,” with RST production models touting handsome contrasting charcoal and light gray PVC pleather seating surfaces accented by red piping and blue stitching.
A fully-flat floor leaves room for a deep, two-level front center console with 1 cubic foot of storage space. By placing the speakers on the doors, Chevy has carved out enormous door pockets for extra storage. In the back, the seat cushions fold forward to allow the seat backs and midgate to fold down flat, and there are shallow stowage bins under the seats.
All RST First Edition models will get a laminated fixed-glass roof, which is promised to weigh about the same as a steel roof and headliner but allows for better headroom. There is no sunshade, but Chevy says deep tinting keeps the interior from turning into a cast-iron skillet. Like a Tesla, there will be no ignition switch or start button; sit down with a registered key, and the Silverado EV prepares itself for a voyage.
Speaking of Tesla, Chevy is taking a page out of Tesla’s playbook. The Silverado EV will be the first application of Chevy’s Ultifi. This platform separates the vehicle’s software from its hardware, allowing for more straightforward and rapid software and feature upgrades. More broadly described as a “consumer experience platform,” Ultifi gives owners a digital ID number and vehicle profile to quickly access various cloud services for a seamless electronic experience.
Orders started being accepted on January 5th, 2023, for consumers to reserve the First Edition RST models priced at $105,000, plus an unknown destination charge. Estimated to be around $1,700. Delivery of these trucks should begin around fall 2023. Only once those reservations have been filled will the system start taking orders for other variants, the least expensive of which should start around $42,000, just about matching the starting price of a new Ford F150 Lightning. That’s an enormous range if you think about it. You can add more options than the truck itself actually costs.
Keep holding your breath for those who need the commercial version. Orders will start in the 2nd quarter of 2023, and only the largest commercial users are expected to get one initially.
