The Chevrolet Silverado was high quality till it wasn’t. Rival full-size vans obtained main makeovers with whiz-bang options and sharp new tech, leaving the outgoing technology to really feel pretty low-rent by comparability. However the 2022 Silverado brings Huge Bowtie’s half-ton providing again into the fray with some distinctive tips up its sleeve and one hell of an general glow-up.
From a distance, the brand new Silverado won’t look all that new. A bit nip-tuck within the entrance fascia is all of the Silverado wanted, since exterior aesthetics was hardly the rationale anybody was speaking trash within the first place. My Excessive Nation tester’s grille seems a little bit air-conditioner-y, however it’s fairly sharp general. The $445 Multi-Flex tailgate provides a complete bunch of versatility to the mattress, whereas $1,495 retractable aspect steps make getting out and in simpler for shorter people, they usually tuck up towards the physique properly when not in use.
The one biggest level of enchancment on the 2022 Silverado, although, may be discovered upon opening the door. LT trims and up get a model spankin’ new inside that borrows rather a lot from GM’s full-size SUVs, and it is so significantly better than earlier than. The plastic-fantastic vibe is essentially gone, there’s extra soft-touch materials as a replacement, and the dashes of wooden across the cabin appear and feel premium. There are nonetheless some acquainted switches in acquainted locations, however for longtime truck house owners, a little bit continuity between generations goes a good distance.
Since pickups are equal components work and household machines lately, it should not come as a shock that the Silverado provides some strong each day practicality. The door pockets are enormous, and the middle console has three separate trays for storing no matter involves thoughts. The cubby beneath the armrest is positively cavernous, too, and I get pleasure from the additional cubby hiding behind the infotainment show. If you wish to throw a bunch of junk within the second row, the seats fold up for a little bit additional area. When hauling people as an alternative of buckets, second-row storage is almost as plentiful as what’s up entrance.
Each Silverado with the brand new inside additionally will get a serious tech increase. The brand new digs come customary with a 13.4-inch widescreen infotainment show operating the newest model of the Chevrolet Infotainment Three software program. A dock alongside the left aspect provides fast swaps between pages, however there is a split-screen setup that higher makes use of all that actual property. Wi-fi Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are customary, however the coolest half is a bunch of latest Google integration, together with a voice assistant and Google Maps, the latter of which lets me log into my Google account so I can convey searches from my telephone or desktop proper to the automobile.
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Lastly, a contemporary inside befitting of a contemporary truck’s price ticket.
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My Excessive Nation tester additionally features a flashy new 12.3-inch digital gauge show. There are 4 completely different configurations on supply, along with segments of the display screen that may show all kinds of car data. The one bummer is which you could’t put Google Maps in there; when navigation is operating, the gauge cluster solely exhibits the subsequent flip and the gap to it. The $1,870 Expertise Bundle provides a full-color head-up show that brings related data even nearer to my eyeline. When it comes time to cost, the entrance row can entry two USB-A and two USB-C ports, along with a 110-volt outlet, whereas rear passengers get one USB-A and one USB-C.
Whereas most of that stuff is spectacular, it is not precisely distinctive to GM or the 2022 Silverado. However you already know what’s? Tremendous Cruise. And whereas it’s important to shell out $60,000 or extra to entry it on the Excessive Nation mannequin, along with paying $2,200 for the system itself, it is price it. It is cool and composed in a means that Ford’s BlueCruise or Tesla’s Autopilot shouldn’t be, and it is rattling simple to determine what the system is making an attempt to convey, because of very apparent icons within the HUD and gauge cluster, along with that slick LED array within the steering wheel. Simply get the truck on top of things on the freeway, hit the Tremendous Cruise button, await the lights to show inexperienced and Bob’s your uncle.
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Tremendous Cruise’s LED array within the steering wheel is the only finest ADAS indicator throughout all the automotive trade.
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When Tremendous Cruise is energetic, simply preserve your eyes on the highway and the Silverado will deal with the remaining. The most recent iteration of this software program does a terrific job holding this massive mass of metallic within the middle of its lane. Its latest parlor trick is automated lane modifications, which may be began manually by tapping the flip sign stalk, however Tremendous Cruise can be able to figuring out when to vary lanes by itself. The actions are usually fast and drama-free. My favourite half is that Tremendous Cruise will not grasp within the left lane if it is avoidable; if the system detects an open lane to the precise, it’s going to preserve itself from being that man and holding up sooner site visitors. In that sense, it is higher than most human drivers.
Even in case you do not go for Tremendous Cruise, the 2022 Silverado continues to be fairly properly loaded with security techniques. All trims get automated emergency braking, blind-spot monitoring, lane-departure warning and lane-keeping help. The aforementioned Expertise Bundle provides adaptive cruise management, and whereas parking sensors are additionally a part of the equation, they arrived disabled on my tester due to provide chain points, though the window sticker features a $50 credit score for a later retrofit when components can be found.
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It doesn’t matter what you want your mattress to do, there’s in all probability a configuration that may deal with it with ease.
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In any other case, the 2022 Chevy Silverado is an everyday ol’ pickup truck. Patrons can go for a diesel inline-6, a turbocharged inline-Four or two completely different V8s, and my tester comes toting the top-tier 6.2-liter V8, which makes a sufficiently potent 420 horsepower and 460 pound-feet of torque. It isn’t precisely thrifty, coming in at an EPA-estimated 15 mpg metropolis and 20 mpg freeway, numbers I discover simple to fulfill however not the simplest to beat. Nonetheless, all that oomph permits a max tow ranking of 13,300 kilos, forward of the Ram 1500 however slightly below the Ford F-150. The 10-speed automated transmission is a easy shifter up and down, however overeager low-speed throttle sensitivity makes easy begins harder than I might like.
The Silverado’s experience high quality is predictably truckish, shuffling round like an enormous bowl of Jell-O on curvy forest backroads. My tester’s $900 adaptive suspension does a great job consuming up most highway inconsistencies, resulting in a experience that is usually chill, even with an unladen mattress. There is a Sport mode baked into the Silverado, however I do not know why anybody would activate it; it simply makes the whole lot really feel jumpy.
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The Silverado’s 6.2-liter V8 has by no means been a slouch, however as fuel costs attain the stratosphere, it is a disgrace the one electrified Silverado is a six-figure moonshot, and that does not look like altering any time quickly.
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The 2022 Chevy Silverado shouldn’t be an inexpensive proposition. Common-cab fashions begin at $36,395, however that limits you to the Work Truck trim that lacks the brand new inside. Crew-cab variants begin at $42,095 for the WT with rear-wheel drive. Getting into that new inside requires about $50,000 on the minimal, with my fancy Excessive Nation tester beginning at $60,300. My tester’s choices checklist contains $2,495 for the 6.2-liter V8, $2,425 for a moonroof and fancier wheels, and all of the upgrades I discussed earlier. All in, the window sticker rises to a staggering $72,870.
There’s additionally the matter of electrification. The Silverado EV nonetheless solely exists as a $100,000 kitted-out moonshot, whereas the Ford F-150 Lightning is reaching clients as we converse, and it may be had for as little as $53,000 in its XLT trim with the standard-range battery. The F-150 additionally is available in a gas-electric hybrid variant, and whereas the Ram 1500 solely provides mild-hybrid electrification, at the least it is one thing. However in case you’re not fairly able to convey batteries into the equation, the 2022 Chevy Silverado is kind of the compelling package deal, with the correct amount of killer tech and an inside that is so significantly better than something that got here earlier than.Â