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http://www.gminsidenews.com/forums/f70/first-drive-2014-chevrolet-silverado-1500-a-118315/
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http://www.gminsidenews.com/forums/f70/first-drive-2014-chevrolet-silverado-1500-a-118315/
In North America, the full-size truck market is the never-ending dogfight of the automotive world. Both among owners and the teams developing these beasts, allegiances run deep and one-upping the others is the name of the game. Chevrolet is attempting to one-up their stiff competition with the 2014 Silverado 1500 – a fresh take on a nameplate that has remained largely unchanged for a staggering seven years.
GM’s full-size truck strategy is very methodical and, arguably, predictable. The company has historically avoided high risk in this high-margin segment; sticking to a philosophy that is more like, “slow and steady wins the race.” Over the years, the company has only changed things that are meaningful and purposeful – making a truck that is just a genuinely good pickup truck, without the gadgetry and flare that occasionally creeps into the segment.
With the 2014 Silverado, the strategy continues the company’s legacy. There are no twin-turbo powertrains, electronic gear selectors or eight-speed automatics. Instead, Chevy has stuck with what it knows best and improved just about every aspect of the Silverado, from hood to hitch.
The bones of any good pickup start with the frame it rides on. For 2014, the Silverado frame is similar to the fully boxed frame on the current trucks, though even it received a host of updates necessary for both the truck’s increased capabilities and to enhance ride quality.
Cross members throughout the frame have been enhanced with the use of high-strength steel to increase rigidity and prevent energy from crushing the cab during side impacts. All frame mounts have been modified as well, with the rear cab mounts changing to a hydraulic type that absorbs up/down movement to prevent the “hop” pickups sometimes exhibit at highway speeds on rough surfaces.
While most buyers will not appreciate the structural updates to the frame, they will appreciate their effects. The new Silverado feels noticeably stiffer than its predecessor and the cab projects a vault-like feel often associated with the Silverado’s cross-town rivals from Ford and Ram. There is virtually no chassis flex, even during light off-roading, with the cab always well isolated from the work effort the frame has to endure.
The passenger cab has also seen structural enhancements that add to that vault-like feel. Engineers have increased use of high-strength steel throughout the cab, including mandating a B-pillar in the new Double Cab; the replacement for the former pillar-less extended cab. While the Double Cab back door openings feel anecdotally smaller than those of today’s extended cab, rear passengers will enjoy being able to actually open the doors in a crowded parking lot.
GM has, thankfully, switched back to inlaid doors on all 2014 truck models. What this does is reduce wind noise in the cab and remove the noises that are often associated with the outgoing GMT-900 truck doors. From a visual perspective, the inlaid doors also give the truck a more significant presence.
Rounding out the structural changes is a long list of new hardware to assist in noise isolation, both environmental and engine noise. Use of sound insulation material is up across the board, including a new material lining the wheel wells (similar to that found on luxury sedans) to isolate the “sizzle” noise rainwater makes when splashing off the tire tread. GM also switched to hydraulic engine mounts to reduce noise and vibration associated with Active Fuel Management, the use of which has increased on 2014 trucks.
With good bones intact, the next critical piece of a pickup is its heart – the engine. Now, this is where skeptics have been critical of GM, and rightfully so. The competition has not sat still and a lot of innovation has splashed the segment with turbochargers, high-tech V-6s and eight-speed transmissions.
Look at the 2014 Silverado engine lineup and you might experience déjà vu. You see a 4.3-liter V-6, a 5.3-liter V-8 and a 6.2-liter V-8, but appearances are deceiving.
All three engines are entirely new from the block up. In fact, GM engineers assure us that the amount of carryover parts between today’s engines and these new EcoTec3 engines will fit in a quart-sized storage bag and after driving them, that’s entirely believable.
Today’s Silverado engines are not bad, but as previously noted, the competition has gotten a lot better. Instead of trying to beat the competition with a twin-turbo V-6, GM has built a 5.3-liter V-8 that is truly a worthy competitor to the F-150 EcoBoost – this coming from a reviewer who thinks very highly of the twin-turbo F-150.
Take any assumptions you have about GM’s 5.3-liter V-8 and throw them out. The new engine boasts 355 horsepower and a healthy 383 pounds-feet of torque – on a flatter torque curve, no less. But figures really don’t do this engine justice.
Whereas today’s engine makes the truck feel lethargic and somewhat anemic by current half-ton V-8 standards, the new engine feels athletic. Power delivery is smooth and robust – almost like GM cut out a lot of the torque management that today’s trucks have. At no point does the engine feel taxed and refinement both in engine sound and power delivery is, yes, superior to the F-150 EcoBoost.
The Silverado 4X4 with the 5.3-liter wears EPA fuel economy ratings of 16 mpg city and 22 highway. GM engineers also say they expect buyers will see better real world fuel economy than the outgoing trucks and our short time with the Silverado suggested that will likely be the case. During our short drive, we routinely saw high teens in mixed conditions, even with occasional hard acceleration.
While the 5.3-liter launches first, the all-new 4.3-liter V-6 will launch shortly after. For as old and low-tech as the current 4.3-liter is, the new one is the exact opposite. Rated at 285 horsepower and 305 pound-feet of torque – the highest torque rating of a naturally aspirated V-6 in the truck segment – and like the 5.3-liter it is based on, the new 4.3-liter is impressive both in refinement and power delivery.
Buyers who opted for the 4.8-liter V-8 in today’s trucks will find no problem choosing the new 4.3-liter. It arguably feels more robust than the old V-8 and one could say it is more refined than some of GM’s car V-6 engines. Fuel economy ratings for the V-6 have not been announced.
All three engines feature three core technologies from which their EcoTec3 name was derived - variable valve timing, GM’s Active Fuel Management and direct fuel injection.
While Active Fuel Management has been a staple of GM trucks for several years, the system has been greatly enhanced in the EcoTec3 lineup. In V-8 applications, the engines noticeably run in V-4 mode more often, thanks to the increased torque across the power band. While driving 5.3-liter testers, the trucks routinely stayed in V-4 mode even during some acceleration.
GM engineers have also spent much time assuring that the transition from V-8 to V-4 (or V-6 to V-4) mode is undetectable by passengers and they were successful. Aside from the driver’s information display, there is nothing sensory to tell the driver the engine just switched modes. The 4.3-liter V-6 appears to spend considerably less time in V-4 mode than its V-8 counterparts, however.
Chevy claims that just over 30 percent of today’s trucks have an average transaction price above $40,000, meaning that high-end trucks are becoming buyers’ preferred choice. For that reason, Chevy upped the ante on the Silverado interior and feature list, but has it done enough?
The new interior design is, as Chevy says, “tailored for truck buyers.” It does look like an evolution of today’s truck interior, which means it is high in function, but perhaps not up to the competition’s form.
Material quality on higher trim levels is a mixed bag, too. The quality of dash plastics is a huge improvement over today’s models and better than what you’ll find in most of the competition. An issue arises in that, even on trim levels that will easily exceed $50,000, the interior has faux aluminum and wood trims.
In all fairness, the 2014 Sierra will offer the real elements, but that fails to erase that a $50,000 truck in the Chevy showroom will use fake aluminum. By contrast, there is enough aluminum in an F-150 Platinum to build several Apple products.
Chevy also fixed one of the biggest issues with today’s Silverado. The rear doors on Crew Cab models are now wider, meaning legroom and egress have increased to acceptable levels. The rear is still not as large as the limo-like cabs from Ford and Ram, but most buyers should find the rear seat just fine.
The front center console is also larger, to the point that buyers will never lack storage space. The huge console offsets the fact that GM is not offering a console-mounted shifter like Ford, an omission that may disappoint some younger buyers.
Younger buyers will enjoy the connectivity of the new Silverado though. Most trim levels are equipped with a staggering five USB ports, ensuring rejoice amongst our connected society.
Those five USB ports come in conjunction with Chevrolet MyLink, the brand’s latest infotainment system. The system includes an eight-inch touchscreen in the center stack, with natural voice control and an excellent navigation system.
While we’re big fans of GM’s infotainment system, during our time in the trucks, we noticed a considerable amount of lag with it. Specifically, volume controls had a one- or two-second delay, which deemed the system annoying to use.
Aside from MyLink, Chevrolet has tapped the GM technology bin extensively with the new Silverado. The company’s lane departure warning, forward collision alert and patented Safety Alert Seat are all optional on the new truck.
Engineers have also developed a new Hill Descent control feature exclusive to Silverado Z71. By pressing a button on the center stack, the truck will hold its current speed on a hill by using the ABS and stability control sensors. The feature even works in reverse. The Z71 also adds Rancho shocks, revised suspension tuning and all-terrain tires. And of course, the iconic Z71 badging shows on the exterior sides of the bed.
Outside the 2014 Silverado looks, well, like a Silverado. The exterior design is evolutionary, however it is evolves more from the GMT-400 design of the late 1990s than from today’s truck and that’s a good thing.
The truck’s track is 10 millimeters wider than today’s, allowing designers to align the sheet metal and wheels to give the truck a more balanced look. The door panels also feature more sculpting than photos suggest. Overall, the more time we spent with the Silverado, the more we liked the exterior design. It looks more substantial than today’s truck without taking on a cartoonish character.
In all, the 2014 Silverado is the new Silverado everyone should expect to come out of GM. The company’s methodical approach to the full-size truck segment hasn’t changed with substantial updates across the board, but it is devoid of anything Earth-shattering.
From a mechanical perspective—which is typically the most important on a pickup—the 2014 Silverado is a fantastic truck. It feels stronger and more refined and some fantastic new engines power it. The only questionable aspect of this new truck is the interior, which has been a questionable Silverado trait for generations.
What remains to be seen—and what only buyers can decide—is if the mechanical greatness of this new Silverado and its feature list are the correct formula for success in the full-size truck segment.
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