2020 Chevrolet Silverado HD Review with Video

2020 Chevrolet Silverado 2500 HD

MSRP: $73,265

Engine: 6.6 Liter Turbo V8

Horsepower/Torque: 445 and OMG 910 ft/lbs!!!!! shift +11111

0-60: OMG 6.5 Seconds!!

Text/Photography/Video: Yousef Alvi

Welcome to the vehicle that keeps the General Motors Corporation alive and well. The Silverado. How you say? GM sells 66 Silverados per hour (if i’m doing my math correctly)!!! Let me put it another way…Kia sold 589,000 vehicles in 2018. Yay. Good for them. GM on the other hand sold over 585,000 of the Silverado! That’s just one freaking truck! To say the lifeblood of the company is literally in the bed of this truck is an understatement.

Now when a new generation of the venerated truck debuts is not just an occasion…it’s a turning point for tthe entire company. This new generation has to not only keep the entire corporation floating in money…it also has to compete with the likes of the Ford F series and the new Dodge Ram. So it doesn’t need to be good…it needs to be great. So Chevrolet loaned us the newest variant for a review. Let’s check it out!

We have here is the new 2020 Silverado 2500 HD.  The war of the Heavy Duty class of pickup trucks is a war of torques.  Only a few short years ago…700 ft/lbs was enough to blow people’s minds…now we are at 910 ft/lbs with this burly sucker.  Yes you read that right.  910!!!!  Let me put that into perspective for you.  910 ft/lbs of torque is roughly the same amount of torque as all of Honda’s SUVs…put together.  Let’s put it another way..it’s only 200 ft/lbs or so off of the torque ratings on a 18 freakin’ wheeler!  It’s insane!  It’s great!  It’s glorious!  I can tow not just my house…but my entire neighborhood and no one can stop me.  TORQUES!

“Let me put that into perspective for you.  910 ft/lbs of torque is roughly the same amount of torque as all of Honda’s SUVs…put together.”

All of that torque is bolted to a Alison 10 speed automatic that delivers (honest to God) quick shifts and smooth engagement. The transmission and all of the torque makes the Silverado HD quick.  Like scary quick…because you happen to be 25 feet in the air when it hits 60 in only 6.5 seconds!  Slamming on the brakes will bring the truck down nearly as quick. Unfortunately that is accompanied by two inches of absolutely dead pedal travel until it engages.

If you’re done being a hooligan, the Silverado HD is surprisingly easy to drive around town. Sightlines are great, it’s easy to park and smooth as butter on the highway. The cabin is whisper quiet (even with the diesel engine chugging along) at any given speed and the ride quality would put some luxury cars to shame.   Along with that quiet interior you get a functional and easy to use dashboard. The interior may look familiar but the materials have been upgraded.  Soft touch materials now replace the flimsy plastic of old, the seats are just heavenly and my God there are now air vents in the back!  MyTouch infotainment has been overhauled as well and it’s been woefully underrated for years.  It’s quick, precise, beautifully rendered and easy to use. 

Let’s go ahead and talk about the 9000 pound gorilla in the room. It’s the looks. What don’t I like about it?  The previous generation was the right combination of bravado without being ostentatious.  This generation goes straight into ostentatious with a healthy dose of gaudy.  It’s almost unsightly to look at it..especially from the direct head on view.  I understand that automakers want their trucks to look like 18 wheelers…but this is too much. In my week with this truck, I never encountered a single person who liked the looks of it. Not. A. Single. One.

So what do I think of the 2020 Silverado 2500 HD?  In the bare knuckle fight that is the full size truck marketplace…Chevrolet has a winner on their hands (if you can live with the looks).