|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
THE CHEVROLET SILVERADO Reviewed by Colin Hefferon  The Chevrolet Silverado Proof positive, as if more were needed, that I'm getting old. I remember when a pickup truck was a bare-ass appliance used to carry stuff like torn-down trannies, bales of hay and empty beer cans. And behind the wheel there always seemed to be a bad tempered, very rough-looking character who looked like he shaved (when he got around to it) with a busted rye bottle. The Silverado Crew Cab 4x4 is a new-style pickup. It bears about as much resemblance to the pickup driven by the kid delivering car parts for your local Mazda dealer as a Corvette ZO6 does to a Chevette. This, in other words, is one very sophisticated piece of automotive engineering. The surprising thing is not so much what it does, but that you can buy a pickup truck — conceived as a basic working vehicle, after all — with such an amazing list of engineering and luxury features. Introduced in 2001 as 2002 model, the Silverado 1500HD Crew Cab 4x4 with Quadra-Steer has won all kinds of industry awards for innovation and build quality. That said: You would be making a mistake if you bought the Silverado when what you really need is a minivan. This is not a vehicle for nipping to the corner store for a loaf of bread or hauling the teenagers around on their exhausting round of after-school activities. It's a working truck, even if it does have convenience and comfort features rarely available in luxury cars even a half-a-decade ago. It's also enormous, which makes it a real handful on crowded city streets. And don’t even think about parallel parking at a meter on a crowded urban street. Tricked out with all the goodies available, the 1500HD is not cheap, either. Which somewhat limits its potential market. But it should be well 'nigh irresistible to highly-paid 20-something tradesmen, affluent hobby farmers, and 5th wheel-type RV owners living off 401(K). Because the Silverado 1500HD is a truck, not a car masquerading as a truck — unlike most sport utility vehicles out there — it has a real frame and a steel body mounted on that frame. Which makes for a very rugged, very heavy package. It uses Chev's half-ton 1500HD platform, which has been beefed up quite a bit. GM calls it a "heavy half" and it has almost the same carrying capacity as a 3/4 ton. The Crew Cab model I tested features four full-size doors. GM says it will hold six people. I doubt that. I think five adults is a more accurate number, but those five will have lots of leg and shoulder room. This one comes with a short box— about six-and-a-half feet long. With the tailgate down, however, the short box easily accommodates 4'x8' sheets of plywood. The test vehicle sported a couple of modifications, each of which has both a functional and a purely aesthetic role. The rear fenders are flared to accommodate the 4-wheel steering system, and it has truck-size eight-stud wheels to accommodate extra heavy loads. Crash test information? Unless the other guy's driving a Peterbilt, he's in serious trouble. Oh, you mean how will you and the other occupants of your Silverado make out in a collision? Probably okay. At any rate, front passenger and driver-side airbags are standard. No side airbags or side curtains are available though, so you definitely don't want to roll this one over. Build quality as well as fit and finish are excellent. Nobody ever said GM couldn't build a superb small truck. The standard engine on the Silverado 1500HD includes a massive 6-liter GM Vortec 6000 V8 developing 300 hp and 360 pound-feet of torque. A heavy-duty 4-speed automatic transmission comes with it. Other engines and transmissions are also available in the Silverado line, including the marvelous new Duramax V8 turbodiesel (with 5-speed Allison automatic transmission). Unfortunately, they’re not available in the 1500HD Crew Cab model. This 4-speed auto comes with both overdrive and a tow-haul mode and shifts with considerable authority. You'll most appreciate this feature when you're hauling a heavy load, not when you're taking a sip of hot coffee. My test Silverado was equipped with GM's optional "Autotrac" automatic 4x4 system. It can be shifted through the various modes using dash-mounted buttons or left in automatic mode. With its very high clearance and tall 75-series standard wheels and tires, the Silverado 4x4 looks like it would acquit itself well in genuine off-road circumstances. However, this truck's true forté is the open road. After all you wouldn’t want to mess up those great-looking (optional) alloy wheels. Acceleration numbers are not readily available for trucks in this class but a seat-of-the-pants impression is that it goes like stink. An educated guesstimate would be O-60 times in the high 9's or low 10-second range. It pulls very hard past 120 kph (70 mph) too. The Silverado 1500HD with 4x4 is built to tow a 4500 kg (10,000) trailer, which is sufficient to haul both a 34-foot Airstream Classic Traveltrailer and the Budweiser team of Percherons— although not at the same time. The Quadra-Steer 4-wheel electronic steering mechanism deserves special mention here. It allows this immense pickup truck to turn in tight spaces like a compact. The turning radius is 37.4 feet (1140 mm) which compares with the 37.1 feet (1130 mm) of a Saturn coupe and humbles rivals like the Ford F150 Supercab, with its turning radius of 45.9 feet (1400 mm). But you'd better be prepared for some serious sticker shock: Quadra-Steer is awfully expensive, though much appreciated on a vehicle this size. ABS with "dynamic rear proportioning" is standard. The latter feature helps prevent a lightly-loaded vehicle from reversing ends while under braking on a slippery road. Anyone who has ever spent time in a lightly-loaded older pickup on a wet or icy road knows what I'm talking about. Stopping distances are good for a truck but nowhere near the stopping distances for a passenger car. So, eyes up, folks. The Silverado Crew Cab has an immense interior; simply enormous. It has all kinds of cupholders (four for the back seat occupants alone) and all kinds of pockets and slots to store stuff. All are lined with a useful non-slip material. Occupants will be surrounded by (optional) leather with power everything, including both driver and front passenger seats. A DVD-based entertainment system is also available for the rear seat passengers, which also tells you this is not really a workingman's working truck. Although not quite theatre-style seats, they do provide back seat passengers with a fairly good view outside. In 2002 a climate control system became available on the Silverado for the first time. My Silverado with top-line LT trim was almost eerily quiet for a truck. GM has done a fine job with sound insulation. With the powerful stereo system (both CD and tape) turned down, you can hear a faint rumble from the V8 engine's exhaust, but very little wind noise intrudes into the sybaritic interior. It does, however, have an awkwardly high climb-in height. People with limited mobility won't enjoy this part. Neither will families with small kids (or small dogs). My vehicle came with an optional Driver Information Center. This is a bewildering set of controls operated by a steering wheel-mounted button, which allows you to set up all the vehicle's electronic functions to your personal taste. It includes the length of time the headlights will stay on after you turn off the key, to the quality and intensity of the alarm sound, plus a whole raft of other functions that you never even thought you'd want to customize. Just like a really big hauler, my Silverado has side-mounted directional signals. In this case, they're mounted in the mirrors and, at night especially, can be seen from quite a distance behind. Neat trick, eh! For towing, the big side mirrors extend about 10 inches from their normal position so you can see what's aft of the trailer. This is a very useful convenience and safety feature. The Silverado 4x4 does not ride like a car for the simple reason that it is not a car. It's a truck; ergo, it rides like a truck, which is to say that by car standards it's quite bouncy and harsh. This bounciness smoothes out to a lope when there's a heavy load in the back, though. Fuel economy was not quite as horrific as I would have predicted. In "combined highway and city" driving (in fairness, mostly short-haul urban) I got 13 mpg. I'll admit I kept a very light foot on the gas pedal most of the time, out of concern for the impact of the alternative on my credit card. However, this is the kind of mileage you should expect if you own a vehicle like this. As most Silverado Crew Cab 4x4s are not likely to carry much more than a toolbox or a set of gardening tools, more attention should have been paid to achieving reasonable fuel economy. Even if it spends its life hauling a 10,000 lb trailer back-and-forth across the country, all the more reason why it needs a fuel-efficient engine. In my opinion, something this size shouldn't be allowed to leave the factory without a hybrid or a diesel under the hood. After all, who benefits from wasting fuel? Besides, conspicuous consumption is not cool in these post-Enron days. Right? In general (excepting fuel economy) the Silverado LT Crew Cab 4x4 with Quadra-Steer represents a technological tour de force and a very useful working-type vehicle. Fortunately, General Motors has begun to put some of this creativity, which it lavished on high-return truck divisions in the '90s, into its passenger car divisions. Not a moment too soon, I'd say. Photos © Chevrolet Vancouver-based Colin Hefferon regularly tests and reviews new vehicles. Though an automotive enthusiast by nature, Colin takes the perspective of the average car owner. Which, after all, is most of us! Colin Hefferon is the road test editor for About Cars where more of his car reviews may be found. |
|
|
|
Search the Used Cars and Trucks