It was timed perfectly – Chevrolet’s launching of its revitalized 2014 Silverado pickup.
Full-sized pickup sales are booming again after four or five years of slackened demand, and the renewed appeal of the Silverado moves it right up against the Ford F-150 and Ram for supremacy in the truck market.
The ’14 Chevy hasn’t changed a great deal in appearance, maybe a bit more upright in its stance.
It was easy to crawl up into the tall review model delivered to me, the Silverado 1500 Z71 four-wheel-drive LTZ Crew Cab, by means of its chrome running boards. Access to the box has been eased with a step in the bumper at each of the rear corners, and the tailgate has been damped and can be opened or closed with one hand.
It’s a handsome truck, other than, what seems to me, a very busy grille. The main grille is separated, upper and lower halves, centered with the trademark bowtie, flanked by stacked headlights, adorned with a Z71 emblem, and the lower air dam area includes tow hooks and other finishing touches. The ’14 GMC Sierra 1500 has retained a cleaner-looking one-piece grille.
Raise the hood on that front end and it unveils an outstanding, smoothly powerful 5.3-liter V-8 engine (355 horsepower and 383 lb.-ft. of torque) and 6-speed automatic transmission. Optional engines are a 4.3 V-6 and a 6.2 V-8. The direct-injection engines, with aluminum blocks and heads, have improved efficiency. EPA estimate with the
5.3 is 16/22 miles per gallon; I averaged 19.3.
As I drove the Silverado, looking over flooded areas of northern Colorado, it was interesting how often a “V4” indicator lighted up in the instrument panel. It’s an indication that cylinder deactivation is effective and the engine is running with four cylinders, instead of eight. With any increase in acceleration or climb in terrain, the “V8” light replaces V4.
The Z71 offroad package adds stiffened Rancho shocks, transfer case skid plate, front tow hooks, automatic locking rear differential and all-terrain tires. Leaf springs are used at the rear. Wheels are 18-inch, though optional wheels can be ordered up to 22 inches. The full-time four-wheel-drive system is complemented with a low-range set when needed for offroading.
Maximum tow capacity is 11,500 pounds with the 5.3 V-8.
Borrowed from Cadillac for the Silverado is a lane-departure warning system, in which in the event of the vehicle drifting off the driving lane or toward nearby objects when parking, pulse patterns in the seat alert the driver. Among other safety features are the rear vision camera and forward collision alert when the truck moves in too quickly on a vehicle ahead.
Wind noise has been reduced with inlaid doors, instead of those which wrap into the roof. The new crew cab has been designed with a bit shorter front doors and longer rear doors, which creates an added 2 inches of legroom in the rear-seating area and more footroom on accessing and departing the rear area.
Inside the roomy cab, the large front-seat center console contains two USB ports, auxiliary jack and SD card slot. Upper and lower glove boxes are also handy.
A $43,165 base price for the Silverado LTZ crew cab grew to $48,750 sticker price on the review model with the addition of optional items, such as the safety features, 8-inch touch-screen navigation, heated leather seats and trailer brake controller.
Front, side and head-curtain airbags are standard, as well as hill-descent control, remote start, power sliding rear window, rear window defroster, dual-zone air conditioning, leather-wrapped steering wheel and SiriusXM satellite radio.
The Silverado has long been Chevrolet’s strongest-selling vehicle.
Notes from e-mail
Q: Bud, do you plan to review the new Corvette C7? It seems like a great car. I ordered one last month, trading in my C6Z06. The dealer (Purifoy) said it might take a year to get delivery. – D.D.
A: That’s impressive and exciting, Dennis. Good luck with a reasonably quick delivery. I was in Detroit in January for the unveiling of the C7, and am looking forward to driving and reviewing one soon.
Q: Could you give us information about the Nebraska auto auction in Pierce? We would like to attend, but are not sure of dates and times. This should be something to see. – P.R.
A: The auction begins at 9:30 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 28, and continues Sunday, Sept. 29, at Pierce, Neb. Enjoy it. Try dana.kaufman@proxibid.com for more info.
Saturday Drive can also be viewed online at DenverPost.com/budwells. Bud Wells can be reached via e-mail at bwells@denverpost.com.
