2014 Chevrolet Silverado – Quiet And Connected

Five USB ports in a pickup? That’s not all

Pickups aren’t just for towing and hauling anymore, though they can still tow and haul as well as ever.

The new Chevrolet Silverado checks all the basic pick-up-truck boxes: It tows up to 11,500 pounds and carries 1,800 pounds in the bed. It comes with either a direct-in-jection 5.3-liter, 355-hp, 383-lb-ft pushrod V8 or with a more frugal 4.3-liter, 285-hp, 305-lb-ft V6, and in either two-or four-wheel drive. Both powertrains include a carryover six-speed automatic. A 6.2-liter V8 will arrive in the third quarter with even better specs. The Silverado launches with a spacious four-door crew cab, while smaller double-cad and regular-cab models will arrive in the third quarter, too.

Pickups aren’t just for towing and hauling anymore, though they can still tow and haul as well as ever

You’d expect all that.

Buyers want much more than basic utility nowadays, though. Many use their pickup truck for work and look at it as an office, Chevy says. And no one wants a loud, tinny, shaky, rattly office. So the first thing you’ll notice when you get into a new Silverado is how quiet and refined this truck is to drive. Engineers stiffened everything from the front-end-radiator support to the trailer hitch bolted to the fully boxed frame with six big bolts. The body mounts are stiffer rubber that resists movement in specific directions better than before, and the two mounts smooshed under the aft end of the cab are even hydraulic.

The cab itself uses more high-strength steel, and the rear doors on the crew cab, the big four-door body style available at launch, are hinged on the forward edge and mounted on the B-pillar, so the whole structure is stiffer and can better protect passengers from side impacts. With this stiffer structure, engineers were then able to recalibrate the shocks to better control un-sprung weight. The result is a surprisingly well-controlled ride and a remarkably quiet cab.

You’d expect that, too.

Poke around inside the cab and you’ll find there are probably more electronic links in this thing than are at your desk

As with most higher-end luxury sedans today, the Silverado offers more connectivity than your average home office. Poke around inside the cab and you’ll find there are probably more electronic links in this thing than are at your desk. Count what you have at home right now and see if the Silverado doesn’t beat it: Most impressive are the five – yes, that’s right, five – USB ports. What is anyone going to do with five USB ports? The latest MyLink infotainment connectivity app is also available, along with three 12-volt jacks, an SD card reader, 115-volt 150-watt outlet and a nice slot in the console where you can place your iPad or Phone up-right and within easy reach of you, the busy driver. It doesn’t have a Wi-Fi zone yet like Audi luxury sedans, but it has everything else. You might never have to leave your truck. We tried it all, and, well, it works.

Then we tried the Silverado out on the road to see if it works as a more basic and utilitarian truck.

We took our first drive on pavement, in a 5.3-liter V8 in LTZ trim with an empty bed and nothing on the trailer hitch. Expecting a bouncy ride from the leaf-spring rear suspension, we were pleasantly surprised to find there was not much of what you could call bouncing at all. It was smooth and well-controlled behind the wheel and pleasantly firm – no unsprung weight flailing around after potholes sending secondary and tertiary wiggles through the structure. The new electric rack-and-pinion power steering gave good feed-back and remained on-center with no wander or unwanted kickback from the road.

The Silverado has been roundly flambéed for its squarish, conservative looks

After that we drove a 5.3-liter 4x4 with an 8,500-pound CASE front-end loader chained down on a trailer in the back. A pretty trucky task. With the trailer weight under it, we were near 10,000 pounds pushing and pulling on the hitch like a recalcitrant pet on a steel leash, but the Silverado kept it in place and hauled it around on pavement and off with aplomb.

Next up was a 2WD V8 with 1,200 pounds of sand in the bed. This was our favorite, as the weight in the truck’s bed squashed a few more leaf springs and evened the ride all the more. It was comfortable and we recommend the 1,200-pounds-of-sand option for anyone considering a Silverado.

Off-road in a 4x4 V8, we tried out the hill-descent option, common on most four-wheel-drive SUVs nowadays, and found it was … like most four-wheel drives with similar hill-descent features. It hesitated some at first when you let off the brakes, like a roller coaster right at the top of the grade, then grabbed the front and rear discs one by one to slow downhill progress to a creepy crawl. Uphill, we got good grip from the all-season tires and found more than enough ground clearance for our easy four-wheel in’.

So the new Silverado makes the grade in both connectivity and in the performance of manly truck duties. Which leaves … looks and price.

It’s almost like styling a minivan

The Silverado has been roundly flambéed for its squarish, conservative looks. And there is no doubt it is squarish and conservative. But how much styling can you put on a full-size pickup? It’s almost like styling a minivan. Or, better yet, a dishwasher.

The original Ram was the last truck to do something different with styling. Maybe pickup buyers want conservative. We’ll see.

As for pricing, the Silverado covers both ends of the spectrum and everything in between. Entry-level price for the absolute base model starts at $24,585. The well-equipped LTZ model that we had the pleasure of driving stickered at $50,925, including navigation, sunroof and all those USB ports, among other features.

There are enough full-size pickups on the market to meet almost every buyer’s wants and needs. They all get better with every new model, and right now the Silverado is the newest model on the market. With such a great ride, quiet cabin and so damned many USB ports, it could – if you combine it with the GMC Sierra – very well lead the sales race in the U.S.