2007 Chevrolet Silverado

2007 Chevrolet Silverado - Though the Silverado’s “This is our country. This is our truck.” advertising campaign has generated its fair share of controversy, the new Silverado takes few risks in the styling department. The Silverado’s design has a broad, chiseled “face,” which accentuates a broad-shouldered stance and gives the Silverado a powerful and muscular presence.

GM claims that eventually, all 5.3s will be made with aluminum blocks, but for now, it’s a matter of production capacity. All four variants put out 315 hp and 338 lb-ft. At the top of the Silverado range is a 6.0-liter V-8 with 367 hp, 375 lb-ft, which, like the 5.3-liter, features Active Fuel Management to shut down four cylinders and save gas when you’re not standing on it. At first, only the Sierra will be offered in decked-out Denali trim, with the 6.2-liter, 400-hp V-8 from the Escalade, but rest assured that Chevy won’t take long to launch an SS model quite with the same innards.

Just as important to truck buyers is the frame, now fully boxed with hydroformed front sections and additional cross-members with coil-over-shock front suspension and rack-and-pinion steering. StabiliTrak is now standard on crew cab models and available on extended cab models. Other safety systems include head curtain air bags on crew cabs. Two Distinct Interiors.

Crew cab models feature a huge back seat, while the extended cab’s rear bench is acceptable for the average Joe, but only for “average” trips. One nifty feature is the way the rear benches on both models flip up into the cab wall with one hand to expand the cargo-carrying options.

Driving impressions

After being relatively impressed with the transformation of GM’s full-size SUVs, we had high expectations of the pickups with which they share so much. They didn’t disappoint. Though we tested only V-8 models, we found all to be smooth and quiet on the highway. Acceleration was impressive with the LTZ’s 6.0-liter V-8. though we remember the day of lighter, smaller trucks when 295 to 315 horsepower—as found in the 4.8- and 5.3-liter V-8s, respectively—would yield much more excitement.

We found body motions to be as well controlled, at least as well as can be expected of a big truck, and at no time did we notice any annoying front-end porpoising or on-road rear-end hop—a common problem, especially with an unloaded bed—at highway speeds. The LTZ’s slightly more aggressive suspension tuning and 20-inch wheels made for the most fun, naturally, but no Silverado could be characterized as sloppy in any way.

Competitive Pricing

Dozens of cab/bed/drivetrain/trim level combinations are available, with prices strarting around $20K for the base, regular-cab “work truck”. Extended cab models start at $23,605 and rise into the $30K range quickly if you go heavy on the options.

So it appears that Chevy has a built a truck with genuine appeal to pretty much any truck buyer, save the most ardent of Ford-o-philes. Now whether the Chevy’s suave superhero can help GM haul the rest of the company into the black again remains to be seen. God Bless America !