The 2007 Chevy Silverado may not have the aggressive styling of the Dodge Ram or Nissan Titan or even the Toyota Tundra or Ford F-150, but its upright design may be considered both bold and appealing to its faithful customers, and they buy hundreds of thousands of Silverados each year.
The new design gives the 2007 Chevy Silverado a taller and stronger appearance than the previous generation. Indeed, the new Silverado should look stronger because it's some three inches wider in front and an inch wider in the rear.
However, a more raked windshield (raked at 57 degrees) and careful aerodynamic and body-building engineering make the truck both quieter on the inside and more fuel efficient. GM boasts that the Silverado and GMC Sierra are the first full-size trucks to offer both 300 horsepower and 20 miles per gallon on the highway.
The large, gold Chevy bowtie badge is set against a wide, three-bar chrome grille. The grille is flanked by stacked headlamps sporting the latest reflector-optics. The front bumper incorporates rectangular fog lamps.
The hood has a wide power dome. Bulging front fenders wrap over the front wheels and incorporate the headlamps within their forward sweep. Likewise, the rear quarter panels are punctuated by large faired wheel wells.
The rear view of the truck features stacked tail lamps on either side of a tall tailgate that has a sculpted center section that mimics and inverts the shape of the fender flares.
Built on what General Motors calls its GMT900 platform, the Silverado shares much of its underpinnings with the Tahoe SUV, though the pickup truck gets a unique rear frame section that is 245 percent stiffer. Overall, compared to the former GMT800 truck, the frame is 234 percent stiffer torsionally, 62 percent more resistant to bending and 136 percent stiffer laterally. All of this allows such things as reducing the gap between the truck bed and passenger compartment and between fenders and bumpers. It also enhances aerodynamics and fuel efficiency and allows suspension components to provide improved ride and handling characteristics.
The front suspension has switched from torsion bars to coil-over shock absorbers and the rack-and-pinion steering gear is mounted to the engine cross member frame to provide enhanced control and feedback. The truck also has a new rear axle design with shocks absorbers mounted outboard and more upright for better dynamic control.
The Silverado WT and LT come with what Chevy calls the pure pickup truck interior while the LTZ features a more luxurious interior.
The pure pickup interior is more driver oriented, includes two glove boxes in the dashboard, one of them just about the right size to hold a pair of work gloves and a few small items, and a 40/20/40-split front bench seat with the center section of the seat back folding down to form a wide arm rest with lots of storage capacity. This interior also features larger switchgear controls and interior door handles designed to be easily manipulated even while wearing bulky work gloves.
The more luxury-oriented interior includes bucket seats with a permanent center console with 20 liters of storage capacity. The center stack also puts ventilation and audio controls within easy site and reach of the front seat passenger. This version has a single glove box in the dash.
Extended cabs feature stadium-style seating with an elevated view for those sitting in the second row. Both the extended cab and crew cab versions offer plenty of rear legroom. The rear seat bottoms can be easily be folded up to provide more room on the floor for cargo. Rear seats are split 60/40 so one side can be folded up for cargo while the other is used for seating.
Chevy says the interior of the new Sierra is 20 percent quieter than its predecessor, thanks to enhanced insulation materials, much like those used in the company's sport utility vehicles, and to aerodynamic improvements that reduce wind noise.
We've driven two versions of the all-new 2007 Chevy Silverado on paved and gravel roads in the desert west and north of Phoenix. We drove an LTZ crew cab with the 5.3-liter V8, four-wheel drive, and the Z85 suspension. Later we got into the more upscale version of the LT with an extended cab and standard bed, same V8 engine and same Z85 suspension. The LTZ had the luxury-inspired interior while the LT had the pure pickup interior, though with optional bucket seats.
The suspension did a nice job of providing stability and also soaking up the rough surface of the gravel road, even in areas which featured a surface you might better call rocky than graveled. But it also was sure-footed and the V8 provided more than sufficient power on winding two-lane roads that climbed from the desert into the mountains.
The Silverado can be equipped for a towing capacity of as much as 10,500 pounds, and that's for the light-duty version. The heavy-duty Silverado models will be coming to market early in calendar year 2007.
The 2007 Chevy Silverado is available in several trim levels: WT, LT and LTZ, plus an LS version in standard cab, extended cab and crew cab body styles.
The WT ($17,860) is a basic work truck that comes with a driver information center, AM/FM stereo, 40/20/40 split-bench and vinyl-covered front seat, dual glove boxes, two auxiliary power outlets, tire pressure monitoring system, one year on OnStar service and a four-speed automatic transmission.
The LT ($23,510) adds a cloth-covered front seat with lockable storage under the seat, a CD player and MP3 compatibility, power windows/locks/mirrors, remote keyless entry, auto-dimming rearview mirror with compass and outside temperature displays, 17-inch chrome-styled steel wheels and power folding and heated exterior mirrors. The more upscale version of the LT comes with premium cloth front bucket seats with six-way power adjustment, dual-zone automatic temperature controls, audio controls mounted on the steering wheel, fog lamps, aluminum wheels, chromed bumper, and a spare tire lock.
The LTZ ($31,205) adds heavy-duty trailering equipment, an automatic locking rear differential, body-colored bumpers, reclining and heated leather front seats with 12-way power, an in-dash six-CD changer with Bose speakers, turn signal indicators in the exterior rearview mirrors and heated windshield washers.
Engines include a 195-hp 4.3-liter V6 engine; a 295-hp 4.8-liter V8; a 315-hp 3.5-liter V8 in gasoline or flexfuel (gasoline and E85 ethanol) versions; and a 367-hp 6.0-liter V8. Naturally, not all engines
Extended cab and crew cab models have back seats and windows in the side doors that power down. The crew cab has four front-hinged doors, much like a sport utility vehicle. The extended cab has rear access doors that are hinged at the rear but that open to 170 degrees to provide full access to the rear seating area.
The standard cab can be outfitted with a standard (6-foot, 6-inch) or long (8-foot) beds. The extended cab also offers a short (5-foot, 8-inch) bed, which is the only bed available on the crew cab.
Cab configuration has a significant influence on base pricing. For example, the most popular version of the Silverado, the LT, starts at $23,510 as a regular cab, at $24,345 as an extended cab and at $27,305 as a crew cab.
Two-wheel drive and four-wheel drive are available in all three body styles, with 4WD costing some $2,000 more than 2WD.
Five suspension setups are available: Z83 is the standard suspension and is designed for a smooth ride; Z85 is a little stiffer for enhanced handling and towing; Z71 is for off-road driving and includes 18-inch wheels; Z60 is for maximum street performance and includes 20-inch wheels; NHT is for maximum towing capacity and includes high-capacity rear springs as well as off-road tires.
Safety features on all new Silverado models dual front airbags, anti-lock brakes, tire pressure monitoring system. Options include driver and front-seat side-impact air bags, side-curtain airbags, StabiliTrak electronic stability control with rollover mitigation technology, Autotrack active transfer case, Ultrasonic rear parking assist, OnStar.
Option prices vary by trim level and body style. Among them: a cargo management rail system for the truck bed ($175), a power sliding sunroof ($795), 20-inch wheels ($1,295), a power sliding rear window ($200), rear-seat entertainment system ($1,955), navigation system ($2,250), rear-locking differential ($395), StabiliTrak electronic stability control ($425). Accessories such as step rails and chrome exterior trim are available from Chevy Truck dealers.
Note that until production of the all-new 2007 model ramps up, dealers will continue to sell the former version as the 2007 Chevrolet Silverado Classic. This is the previous-generation version and should not be confused with the vehicle covered in this report.