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PickupTrucks.com First Drive


First Drive: 2014 Chevrolet Silverado 1500

First impressions
Our tester had the 5.3-liter V-8 rated at 355 horsepower and 383 pounds-feet of torque. It didn't take long to figure out that the GM strategy of making a V-8 more efficient, rather than Ford's strategy of making a V-6 more powerful, clearly helps when stomping the throttle. Throttle responsiveness and the throaty sound of the exhaust are predictably progressive, both of which deliver a satisfying reward. We found ourselves watching the center 3.5-inch information screen between the speedometer and tachometer to see if we could sense any vibrations when the V-8 icon turned to V-4 or vice versa.

Our attempts proved fruitless — whether towing or near full payload, the V-4 mode stayed active. The transitions were so seamless they were close to nonexistent. Our biggest surprise with the V-8 was how long we were able to stay in V-4 mode, both on long highway stretches as well as a few long uphill grades. We're guessing many test hours have gone into finessing the computer and active fuel management cylinder shutoff, and it's paid off. During a small portion of our drive route, we covered about 60 miles through the hill country outside San Antonio — a lot of two-lane highways, a few stop lights and gently rolling hills — and found that by keeping a moderate speed (we don't hypermile) we were able to get 22.6 mpg before we pulled into our final destination, Knibbe Ranch. We should note that our 5.3-liter V-8 did have 3.08:1 axle gears but didn't feel sluggish off the line with the 6L80's 4.03:1 first gear. Silverados will offer a standard 26-gallon fuel tank, with a 34-gallon option on select wheelbase/bed configurations.

Powertrain performance
We also had a chance to drive a few new Silverados with the EcoTec3 4.3-liter V-6, newly rated at 285 horsepower and 305 pounds-feet of torque. As you might expect, GM powertrain engineers have tuned the base engine for torque (this is a truck engine, after all), so the pull off the line feels strong and suspiciously like a smaller, older V-8 (in fact, the torque numbers match the old-school Vortec 4800 V-8).

Both Ford and Ram have more sophisticated overhead valve V-6s that make more horsepower than torque with smaller displacement engines, but neither of those engines deliver the jump we got in our 4x4 crew cab (with 3.42:1 gears). It was only when towing a 4,000-pound camper trailer that the 4.3-liter V-6 felt a bit pushed, but we were still impressed with how quickly and solidly the newly tuned six-speed transmission adjusted the gear shifting, holding 1st, 2nd and 3rd gears much longer than when empty and quickly downshifting when we got off the throttle to keep speed in check. This grade-braking software — which works whether the Tow/Haul mode is engaged or not — even had us downshifting to each stop sign, saving wear and tear on the brakes, which are now four-wheel discs.

Additionally, we like the fact that the new truck offers three new, lighter and stronger axles, which include an 8.8-inch rear end for the V-6, a 9.5-inch rear for the V-8s and 9.75-inch for any truck equipped with the Max Trailering Package. The Silverado will offer four ring-and-pinion gears with the first two having the highest take rate: 3.08:1, 3.23:1, 3.42:1 and 3.73:1. There will be no half-ton GM truck offered with 4.10:1 gears.

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