The 2024 Chevrolet Silverado EV full-size electric pickup was first delivered in Work Truck specifications to fleet buyers nearly a year ago; But only now can civilians bring one home.
The first retail version to appear is the top-end 2024 Chevy Silverado EV RST First Edition. We had the opportunity to spend several hours driving through the vast flat areas surrounding Detroit, covering nearly 100 miles in a black car that costs south of $100,000.
Chevrolet representatives declined to discuss the specifications of versions that will be below the RST in the lineup. The RST adds many features not found on the base Work Truck, including an air suspension that raises or lowers the truck several inches, rear-wheel steering, a full-length glass cab roof, 24-inch alloy wheels, handlebars Optional Super Cruise -free cruise control and multiple driving modes.
Silverado EV range, performance: Average
The main selling point of the Silverado EV line is its EPA-rated hybrid lineup up to 450 miles from its approximately 205 kwh capacity (First RST version estimated at 440 miles). That’s more than any other electric truck on the market, and it should reassure shoppers who can afford one that they won’t suddenly run out of range.
Chevrolet Silverado 2024
Our driving route combines rural Michigan roads and fast interstate traffic at speeds up to 80 miles per hour. Over 100 miles of mixed traffic, we saw an efficiency of 2.0 to 2.2 miles per kilowatt-hour. That’s nearly identical to Green Car Reports’ results in a weeklong test of the Ford F-150 Lightning. It suggests that the Silverado EV, with its longer range and four tons heavier, might be a bit more efficient than its cross-town rival.
Two-way charging for home backup duty is also being implemented.
Chevy quotes a payload of 1,500 pounds. The rated towing capacity of the Silverado EV we tested was 10,000 pounds, and Chevy provided both the EV powerboat on a trailer and an attached trailer for test towing.
There are no figures on efficiency gains from towing, but Google’s onboard navigation takes into account any towing activity and adjusts range and charging stops accordingly. Super Cruise also works with towing capabilities,
Chevrolet Silverado 2024
Chevrolet Silverado 2024
Chevy Avalanche redux, electric
The first electric Silverado pickup truck has little in common other than its name with similar names to its gasoline and diesel engines. It’s lower and sleeker than those ICE models and has a simple design, if you don’t count how much it shares with the GMC Hummer EV, the upcoming Cadillac Escalade IQ, and other models. The front end is toned down, with slim LED headlights and a blank dashboard signaling the “grille,” four-door cab, and pickup bed integrated into the cab body.
In fact, the Silverado EV is the electric version of the 2002-2013 Chevrolet Avalanche, an early four-door sport truck that featured that same integrated pickup bed. Even the sail panels connecting the roof to the bed side similarly open and fold down to extend the bed floor and allow cargo to be carried behind the front seats all the way to the rear doors. (However, Chevy executives are always on the lookout for any suggestion that their new electric truck might be named “EValanche”… oh well.)
Chevrolet Silverado 2024
Chevrolet Silverado 2024
Chevrolet Silverado 2024
The limitation of the neo-Avalanche design is that the Silverado EV Work Truck cannot use the same specialized “equipment” accessories—tool chests, industry-specific bed covers, etc.—as the gasoline versions. That differentiates the Silverado EV from the Ford F-150 LightningThat’s a selling point.
Inside, the cabin incorporates soft-to-the-touch materials that you can feel in the hard, dot-patterned plastics on the dashboard surface and other large spaces. The top-of-the-line models we drove had contrast stitching and seat covers that indicated they were “First Edition” versions.
Silverado EV performance: Fast, heavy
On the road, the Silverado EV’s performance is enough to keep up with traffic in normal driving mode. The accelerator provides the acceleration that allows this big, heavy truck to squeeze into space, overtake at will, and generally move through traffic as fast as you want.
On the RST First Edition’s 24-inch wheels, it corners well, with air suspension keeping the car flat. That and a weak battery pack under the cabin floor help ensure it leans less into any corner than a similar full-size pickup truck with an internal combustion engine. But attentive drivers will notice there’s a lot of weight restrained by those 24-inch tires. Rear-wheel steering makes the truck feel much more nimble than expected, with a turning circle of 42 feet allowing for U-turns on two-lane roads with wide shoulders.
Chevrolet Silverado 2024
Chevrolet declined to quote horsepower or torque in normal use. The only stats provided are up to 754 horsepower and 785 pound-feet of torque when the driver intentionally invokes Wide Open Watts (WOW) mode. It is similar to the “Watts To Freedom” (WTF) mode on the GMC Hummer EV with which the electric Silverado shares much of its underpinnings.
We tested the WOW mode on a number of warm-up acceleration runs, and the quoted 0-to-60 mph time of 4.5 seconds seems perfectly reasonable. Equally impressive is the full-force emergency stopping capability; The antilock brakes brought the 8,500-pound truck to a complete stop in a slightly shorter distance than we expected. We found the Silverado EV RST First Edition to be smooth and quiet on most road surfaces, although like most electric vehicles, road and wind noise increased due to the lack of system noise or vibration. transmission system.
The Silverado EV is smooth, quiet, and spacious
Using a fixed step ladder to climb into the cabin, our first impressions included the wide dashboard between the seats—now necessary for full-size pickup trucks—and the large horizontal instrument cluster and touchscreen center. The front seats are comfortable and widely adjustable, and large door mirrors provide ample rear visibility. The rearview mirror includes conventional and video rear views, and the rear center seat headrest folds down to open up the rear view for mirror viewing.
Chevrolet Silverado 2024
Chevrolet Silverado 2024
Chevrolet Silverado 2024
The rear cabin floor is flat, making this one of the few cars where three US-sized adults can comfortably sit in the back seat. Outward visibility is good to the rear and rear, although raising the driver’s seat as high as possible is best to see over the relatively high and bluff roof. Build quality on our RST First Edition test truck seemed excellent.
The front trunk provides 10.7 cubic feet of lockable storage capacity. A static display compares the cargo length (up to 10 feet 10 inches) offered on the Silverado EV trunk (with the center door open and the Multi-Flex rear door down, limiting loading) versus competitors Electric pickup competition: Tesla e-truckFord F-150 Lightning, and Rivian R1T. No surprise, Chevy won.
Chevrolet Silverado 2024
Chevrolet Silverado 2024
Chevrolet Silverado 2024
GM and Google take control of the Silverado EV dash
Like some of Chevrolet’s most recent new electric vehicles, including Chevy Blazer EV And Chevy Equinox EVThe Silverado EV omits the expected Android Auto and Apple CarPlay smartphone mirroring capabilities.
GM employees pointed out another prominent electric vehicle manufacturer — without mentioning the word Tesla — that has never offered those features in its vehicles.
As it stands, Google Assistant provides Google Maps navigation that integrates with the truck’s battery state of charge, routing the vehicle through fast-charging stations where destinations significantly exceed its range, and to the driver. The car knows how long it will be there and how much charge the battery will have left. Next stop. In other words, just like Tesla has been doing for over 10 years.
Buyers will need to double-check that their favorite apps are approved for download by Google and GM through the vehicle’s Play Store. Another routing app we saw was Waze, which doesn’t come with battery integration. For electric vehicle charging locations, Plugshare (as well) is included — but not Route Planner or Better Highways.
Users must log into those dashboard applications through the vehicle to use them. GM representatives specifically couldn’t say who owns the data about the driver’s app usage, routing, destinations, song selections, and all the rest. GM said it expects to earn significant revenue from the digital services offered by the car, but the navigation feature on the Silverado EV will be free for eight years – maybe more. GM representatives couldn’t say whether free access will last beyond that or what the cost might be once the free trial ends.
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Chevrolet provided airfare, lodging and meals to allow Green Car Report to bring you this first-person driving report.
