Most people will purchase the Chevrolet Silverado 1500 LTZ to tow horse floats the size of train carriages but you could make the case for buying it even if you’ve got nothing to haul at all.
That’s almost entirely down to the beguiling 6.2-litre atmo V8 under the bonnet, inserted to provide that unrivalled 4.5-tonne braked towing capacity courtesy of 313kW and 624Nm of twist. But it’s also one that – provided aforementioned equestrian train carriage is not on the hitch – makes this Yankee Doodle pick-up Australia’s quickest ‘dual-cab ute’.
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In our own drag strip testing we’ve recorded the Silverado 1500 LTZ snarling from 0-100km/h in a respectable (for a 2540kg behemoth) 6.4 seconds, on to a 0-400m time of 14.5 seconds. To 100km/h from rest, this American brute is a staggering 4.1 seconds quicker than Ford’s supposedly performance-focused Ranger Raptor (which we’ve recorded at a very lazy 10.54sec).
The Ranger Raptor and every other dual-cab ute in Australia are lucky the Silverado didn’t cop even more power again as part of a 2021 model year update now available in Australia.
Chevrolet has taken very much an ‘if it ain’t broke’ approach to its Silverado refresh as it holds off the bulk of changes – and a high-tech total interior overhaul – for the 2022 model.
61In the United States, the 2021 model year changes centre mostly around other Silverado variants, meaning the 1500 LTZ we get in Australia gets newly wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto plus a new rearward distance alert in the blind spot camera view when changing lanes with a trailer.
