We get first drive of the new Chevy Silverado Trail Boss

There’s an interesting thing happens about an hour after I climb up into the cab of Chevy’s Trail Boss.
It shrinks.
When NZ4WD was offered the first New Zealand media drive of the Boss, it looked enormous, even alongside the high spec LTZ Premium version. Driving away from GM Specialty Vehicles’ base in Mangere I was critically aware of the mass of this big red pickup, which simply exudes full-flavour American Pie.
But as we got to know each other with a short run down the motorway to the southern edge of Auckland, its road manners and excellent visibility quickly won me over. It did that shrinking thing, folding itself around my road-awareness with excellent steering feedback and road feel.
The size numbers are, frankly, a plus. Longer, wider, able to carry more, tow more, with more leg room and head room and shoulder room than anything on the road around me.
Best of all, with fuel prices going through the roof, I was edging down toward 12l/100km. In a vehicle with a 6.2-litre V8 engine burbling under the bonnet.
Heading onto tighter roads at Pukekohe and toward the Waikato River my soundtrack for the drive was full of references: Don McLean (that American Pie thing again), the Boss (Down to the River), Led Zeppelin (When The Levee Breaks), even the late Pauly Fuemana (How Bizarre, though the OMC’s Chevy was a ’69) and even a couple I found that may not have wide appeal for prospective buyers: Snoop Dogg (Ridin’ in ma Chevy) and the Beastie Boys (So watcha want). To each their own. The point being that this big ‘Bowtie’ emblem has long carved its way into the heart of popular culture and will continue to do so.
The Boss is not quite as spec-loaded as the LTZ premium we also tested, but it is more ‘Kiwi’. These things will be seen working hard on forest roads and farms on the East Coast, towing fizz-boats and fishing launches to Tauranga or the Marlborough Sounds, lugging gear down to construction sites in our cities and then heading out to a restaurant in the evening (now that we are allowed to do so).
Much of the credit for how user-friendly this thing is rests with the full-frame ladder chassis underneath and the suspension bolted to it. Lashings of high strength steel provide the strength and twist-rigidity expected, while the parts that don’t need to be as strong – bonnet, non-stressed body components, doors, tailgate and more.
The suspension is based around Chevy’s own Z71 off-road package and features Rancho twin-tube shock absorbers, with coils springs up front and leaf springs to do the heavy lifting at the rear. Kiwis may not be familiar with the race-bred Rancho brand, but in the USA they stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the more familiar Fox shock. Off-road and on-road they do the job, managing bump and jounce as the big truck goes about its business.
The Boss sits on 18-inch Chev-branded alloy wheels in dark metallic grey with Goodyear Wrangler tyres – these are a mud terrain (M/T) tyre and do hum a bit on coarse chip tarseal, and GMSV says a few buyers have opted to change out to a less aggressive tread.
There’s no changing the laws of physics. This is still a 2.5 tonne truck, 5.9 metres long and almost two metres wide, but the driving dynamics are exceptionally good and the mass is only felt when braking from higher speeds for tight corners and intersections. The big disc brakes at front and rear are more than up to the job but it’s an adjustment the driver needs to make – and fuel efficiency improves a lot when the braking happens early.
So how does a 2.5 tonne truck with a 313kW/650Nm petrol V8 return such good fuel numbers? Savvy engine management technology. The Ecotec 3 direct-injection engine runs Chevy’s Dynamic Engine Management, cutting cylinders when they are not needed and then smoothly resuming combustion when the throttle is pressed. At the upper rev range, variable valve timing produces a quite impressive push, together with a sharpening of the V8 soundtrack.
Support that with a robust ten speed auto with a seriously overdriven 8-9-10 shift and you are cruising at open road speeds with the engine barely ticking over. Try 1500 rpm.
Couple that with the ability to tow a braked load of up to 4260kg and this thing is a serious weapon for work and play.
The wellside is 1.7 metres long – more than enough for many purposes. Width at the narrowest point between the wheel-arches is still 1.2m. In other words a sheet of ply – or ten – fits snugly into the tray bed and will have minimal overhang when rested on the tailgate. That tailgate is powered for the ‘down’ function and can be dropped using the dashboard switch or a button on the keyfob. The latter is practical if struggling out of the hardware shed with arms full of tools. A sprayed-in bed liner maximises load-carrying practicality and there are sturdy tie-off points to keep the gear in the right place.
Can it go off-highway? Silly question. With 260mm of ground clearance front and rear it will go places most double cab utes will not. A long wheelbase could be a blessing or a curse off-road but the front-rear clearance makes it much less so, and the front-end ‘attack’ angle is 30 degrees, though the body sits way up high and well out of reach of the ground. A couple of strong snatch rings are provided at the front to help if the truck does get nosed-in or tail-hung during off-road work.
Axle cross articulation is on par with the best, the truck hardly scrabbling in the silty sand tracks we explored in our time by the Waikato. Nor was there ever a need to switch to 4-lo on the drive mode panel beside the steering column.
There aren’t all that many ways to get behind the wheel of a V8 in New Zealand these days, especially one that is so proudly a blend of 21st Century technology and American truck-building prowess. If dinky wee cars that hum and buzz really aren’t on the shopping list, but towing and carrying some big loads is, then a proper pickup is just the ticket.
The new Chevy range – Trail Boss, LTZ Premium and soon the big diesel HD – are sold through GMSV’s main-centre dealer network and can be serviced at those dealerships or also at specialist service outlets.
My conclusion: the Trail Boss is something special. While the LTZ Premium version has already found a willing buyer audience in New Zealand, the Boss is a likely Kiwi favourite for its blend of off-road capability, V8 urge, road manners and full-size practicality. We all know utes and pickups suit our lifestyles best of all. The most disappointing thing about the Boss was having to give it back. At a shade under $120,000 it’s less than a deposit on an Auckland house, and so much more fun.
Now there’s a new Boss in the market.

SPECIFICATIONS
2022 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 Trail Boss
Engine: 6.2-litre V8 Ecotec 3
Max power: 313kW
Max torque: 624Nm
Transmission:
10-speed automatic, RWD/all-wheel-drive
Economy: 12.8/100km*
Emissions: 286.8 gm CO2
Suspension:
Unequal-length multilink independent front; multi-link live axle rear
Wheelbase: 3760mm
Turning circle: 14.1m
Towing:
760kg unbraked/4260kg braked
Brakes:
330mm ventilated disc brakes front, 345mm solid discs rear
Wheels/Tyres:
Aluminium alloy 18-inch/Goodyear Wrangler 275/65 R 18
Ground clearance:
260mm front and rear
Kerb weight: 2469kg
Euro NCAP safety rating: ?
Price from $119,900
*Official manufacturer figures