2022 just got a silver lining

The Chevrolet Silverado is the first pickup off the rank for the newly minted GMSV operation here in New Zealand and can probably be described as the most advanced US truck currently on sale here. It earns the title by virtue of some sophisticated tech, high quality spec and the platform it sits on.
The silver Silverado LTZ Premium on test here launches this wave of fresh new Chevy product. It is worth noting that GMSV has chosen to launch with the top spec Silverado and it’s equally worth noting the very attractive pricing.
This was the first right hand drive Chevy we’ve driven, and is created in Melbourne by GMSV from American left hand drive stock. The conversion must be among the best we have seen – as it should be for such an evocative American brand.
We might debate which country created the ute, but there is no doubt which created the pickup – and still loves these big brawny vehicles with a mad passion. The Silverado LTZ Premium – 6.2 litres of petrol V8 goodness – is so American it should really come with a ‘stars and stripes’ tucked in the quite large centre console cubby. It does arrive with a nice soft microfiber cloth for wiping grubby fingerprints off the touchscreen in the centre of the dash.
Kiwis have never had such unimpeded access to such high quality, factory-backed, extensively engineered American pickups before. The good news for those wanting a RHD truck with a full factory warranty, there’s never been a better time than now.
Step inside – levering yourself up using the beefy side step and equally robust grab handle – and see what we mean. There are controls in huge slabs across the centre of the dash, all thoughtfully organised into groups of functions – seat heating, seat cooling, demist all together. Trailer sway control set on its own and with a lock-out function. Controls for cameras – the truck has many, and many can be configured to suit the preference of the driver.
Dials are conventional looking but a graphic array. There’s a heads-up display that can be configured according to the driver’s needs. Gear selection? Ignoring trends to rotary dials for engaging gears or modes, the Silverado has an old school column shift. Mounted on the right side of the steering wheel, the shifter is effectively the only visual clue that this was ever a LHD vehicle. To the right of the steering wheel are the mode selectors – again, pushbutton type – with auto, 2-hi, 4-hi and 4-lo.
There are six USB ports, more storage than you could find gear for, wireless charging, heated and cooled front seats with electric adjustment, heated rear seats, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, a quality MyLink infotainment and audio system, sunroof, rear of cab electric sliding window, power operated tailgate and a spray in tub liner. You also get six airbags, front and rear parking sensors, a rear-view camera into the wellside and behind the tailgate, cab operated wellside lights, and of course LED headlights.
Out the driveway, the Silverado has undeniable presence. Even in this subtle shade of silver it’s a massive statement to make on New Zealand roads. After all, this truck measures 5.8m long, 2.0m wide and 1.9m tall.
To glide up to a traffic light and look over at the roof of the Navara in the next lane is a special moment. Getting the thumbs up from the driver of the Commodore SS further along Great South Road likewise. And in these enlightened green-ish times, to know the tech under the hood is delivering better than 12 litres per 100 km, shutting down cylinders under trailing throttle to maximise fuel economy – that is cool. Not so long ago there was a wrestling match at our place when we had the old Holden Adventra for a couple of weeks and couldn’t get it to creep down past 16 litres per 100km. Those tiny trucks with their old LS-series V8s were only about 75 per cent of the kerb weight of a Silverado. Lower and more aero too.
It’s not just us feeling the Fanboy awe of the Bowtie, in the time we had it we never once got the ‘hairy eyeball’ from motorists, pedestrians or cyclists. Perhaps all the environmentalists were clustered around that building in Wellington.
The Silverado engages the driver in the job at hand and seems almost to shrink around them. The only place the size of this truck makes itself felt is in the motorway roadworks at Papakura, where haptic alerts shake the seat to alert the driver that they are edging closer to the wall of across toward the other lane. No crass ‘bing-bong’ here, just an attention-getting shake of your rear end. The warnings are replicated on the dash though, where they light up orange to repeat the seat alert.
It’s getting so that we just expect all new vehicles to have a five-star safety rating and to arrive absolutely dripping with active and passive safety gear. Silverado is right there: autonomous emergency braking, adaptive cruise control, those visual and seat-shaking lane departure warnings, front pedestrian detection, proactive roll avoidance, stability control, traction control, hill start assist and hill descent control all included.
If there’s anything missing in that lot, blame the Aussies (we Kiwis are good at that). Being such a ‘tiddler’ market even within the broader but still tiny world of RHD auto markets, we take their spec and that’s all right.
The LTZ Premium Edition specification brings with it plenty of standard kit too. The quality of the trim, the fit and finish, general cabin ambience and comfort are all top notch.
After all, this is effectively America’s family vehicle. Chevy has been doing this for a while now, so they have had time to deliver what the people want.
As already mentioned, the Silverado is powered by a 6.2-litre petrol V8 that pumps out 313kW and 624Nm and is mated to a ‘proper’ 10-speed automatic. It’s a conventional torque converter auto set up for long periods of hard work. In particular, the truck has been engineered to safely tow 4,500 kg with a 70mm towball. That’s a mighty big boat, or horsefloat or caravan.
The engine has idle-stop tech as well as Chev’s Dynamic Fuel Management system, which deactivates up to six cylinders in trailing throttle or low throttle load driving. It’s a clever driver that can feel the cylinders dropping out. The official fuel claim is 12.3L/100km, which is interesting. We averaged 12.2 in combined small-road, motorway and gravel driving without putting too much thought into the fuel economy. The editor of NZ4WD’s sister publication Company Vehicle managed to pull the numbers back even further, setting the benchmark at 12.0. Comfortable open-road cruising to – say – the Bay of Plenty might well reveal even better figures. More to the point, all this could happen while carrying five large occupants and up to 710 kg of gear in utter comfort.
So who’s buying the Silverado LTZ? People who can use its many capabilities and who need a pickup with four-wheel drive, that’s who.
This is the more road-oriented of the Silverado range; for tougher driving conditions the Trail Boss might be more handy; and this year will see the arrival of the immensely capable big diesel HD version.
A bloke we know down south with a caravan business uses one to move stock around and may have also been seen towing a decent sized snapper harvesting device at weekends.
There are a couple of LTZs on horse-moving duty just down the road at Karaka.
This is not a vehicle to cruise inner city streets with, though these days most vehicles are forbidden in the heart of our cities. Ironically, it also does not fit into the drive-through of the American-brand burger joint at Takanini. Don’t ask us how we know.
Company owners and directors will own this truck, people who have been there and done the hard yards and still need a ‘full-size’ pickup. They won’t use it to motor into the city for jolly japes. It’s perfect for site visits or travelling to and from the logistics hub at Pokeno or the inland container port at Manukau or – at a pinch – Lyttelton.
We’d bet the Clevedon rural people will love this, or the lifestylers at Ohoka outside Christchurch where it might snow once every couple of years, or the new breed of snow bunnies now inhabiting alpine real estate outside Queenstown or Wanaka.
In the big pickup market, things just got a tad interesting.