- Doors and Seats
4 doors, 5 seats
- Engine
6.6DT, 8 cyl.
- Engine Power
332kW, 1234Nm
- Fuel
NA
- Manufacturer
4X4
- Transmission
Auto
- Warranty
3 Yr, 100000 KMs
- Ancap Safety
NA
2018 Chevrolet Silverado 2500HD review: Custom Sport Short Haul
Everything is bigger in the USA.
While Australia can lay claim to creating the ute, with Ford developing the Coupe Utility way back in the 1930s, and models like the Toyota HiLux and Ford Ranger are the most popular vehicles in the country at the moment, they are too small for our cousins across the Pacific.
Pick-up trucks are where it's at in the States, with the Ford F-150 retaining its title as the country's favourite form of transport for the last 20-odd years.
The blue oval might own the top step, but there is also plenty of choice with full-size pick-ups from rivals such as Chevrolet, Ram and Toyota. And now they're migrating to Australia with the company behind Holden Special Vehicles transforming its business from developing its muscle cars to finessing hulking trucks to right-hand drive for Australian sales.
The Chevrolet Silverado is the latest to join the line-up, and we're testing the second-from-the-top 2500HD Custom Sport.
- Huge towing capacity
- Effortless engine
- Massively spacious cabin
- It's not easy to park
- It's not cheap to buy
- Average payload capacity
What is it?
Built in the land of Uncle Sam where bigger is better, HSV now imports and re-manufactures the Chevrolet Silverado. After undergoing roughly 100 man-hours and 700 new parts to complete the transformation to right-hand drive HSV offers the big bowtie beast as its heavy-duty truck range.
How does it drive?
It’s big. And it can be a little overwhelming in heavy traffic; kind of like threading a kneedle with a boat rope. Yet, once you're used to its sheer size the Silverado is a very comfortable cruiser - like driving around in your lounge room.
The ride is a little on the choppy side from the rear suspension when unladen, and rough roads show the firmness and how very little suspension travel the Silverado has particularly when the rear has a little skip around. While it's nothing out of the ordinary for this type of vehicle, especially when you consider how much weight the Chev can tow behind it, but it’s a little worse than most dual-cab utes.
The steering isn’t terribly sharp, but there is good weighting across the ratio and enough feedback to let you know which way the wheels are pointing. Once you get used to the truck and are confident with its mass you will genuinely be surprised how well it handles and how capable it is for a vehicle of its size.
The brakes have a good pedal feel and bite, although you have to be mindful of stopping distances as this big beast weighs in at 3616kg so it does take longer than a normal car to pull-up.
The grunt from its engine is simply astronomical; with 1234Nm of torque, it makes any driving situation effortless and, dare we say it, just a little bit fun. The V8 Duramax sounds great under load yet is quiet when cruising at highway speeds as it's ticking over at a modest 1200rpm. With that much pulling power, the steepest hills are hardly an issue as it eats up any gradient like it was porridge. The six-speed Allison gearbox is almost faultless for this type of car with good shift quality and intuitive logic.
What’s the interior like?
The interior is more than a simple cut-and-shut conversion job, with every aspect of the dash either changed or re-engineered. It's a massive undertaking, but one that masks its origins superbly and with great quality.
Like the outside, everything inside is big starting with the huge amount of space you climb into. The cabin is huge with enough room for five adults - and all the drinks they need, with double the amount of cupholders per person. All doors have plenty of storage space with two separate compartments in each, there is a humungous centre console that has shelving which can be moved around as well as two 12 volt outlets, two USB ports and a AUX port inside. The console also has other storage sections and more drink holders while the lid features a wireless phone charging pad sunk into it with a non-slip surface.
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Then there are two glove boxes, which are surprisingly smaller than you’d expect with the larger of the two having minimal room after the user and service manuals almost fill it. That said it’s not really a down side as there is so much storage in the doors, console and under rear seats as well.
The seats too are large with good support, comfort and adjustability from the all-electric 10-way controls with the added bonus of being heated and cooled. The rear seat has ample room for three passengers to sit comfortably although it was disappointing that there are no A/C vents in the rear for such a large cabin. Adjustable height seat belts, tilt and telescoping steering column and electrically adjustable pedals make finding the ideal driving position easy for most drivers while handles on the A and B pillars, and in the roof, make climbing in and out an easy task.
The truck has Chevrolet's MyLink infotainment system within an 8.0-inch colour touch screen that features navigation, Bluetooth streaming, Apple CarPlay/Android Auto and voice activation. The sound system itself is decent, pumping tunes through the Bose seven-speeker system including subwoofer.
Some other features include driver and passenger vanity mirrors with lights, sunglass holder, electric sliding rear window, climate control, heated steering wheel, easy-to-get-to dash illumination controls, leather steering wheel, auto dimming rear view mirror and a 360-degree camera. It's also worth noting the gear selector is still mounted on the right-hand side of the column but surprisingly it doesn’t interfere with anything. The selector also has a shift button allowing you to change gears manually while the 4WD controls are simple to use as is the standard electric trailer brake controller.
What’s the payload and towing capacity?
Payload for this variant is just 875kg and towing is legally limited to 750kg with an unbraked trailer. With braked trailers using a 50mm tow ball you can tow 3500kg, but a larger 70mm tow ball can increase that to 4500kg while a pintle can handle up to 5890kg.
What about load space dimensions and anchor points?
The cargo area bed is 2003mm long, 1296mm wide between wheel arches and has 535mm high sides. There are four tie down points in the bed.
How does it perform under load?
What load? With a full payload the chassis and driveline barely recognised anything was aboard. The only noticeable difference was the suspension, as the truck naturally sat a little lower in the rear especially with the weight placed behind the rear axle at the tailgate. With that any of its ride harshness disappeared, leaving the truck to drive with a much more supple character. As for the engine and gearbox, well they just laughed at what some utes struggle with. This really is a heavy-duty machine capable of carting heavy loads.
Any special features worth mentioning?
Although not crash tested by ANCAP, HSV has carried out barrier crash testing to verify airbag efficiency. The truck does have good safety features including curtain airbag coverage for rear passengers, stability control, lane departure warning, forward collision warning system, hill descent control descent control, parking sensors and a 360-degree camera.
Towing capacity and pure grunt top this list. The driveline feels indestructible, and when you look underneath the vehicle everything is massive; the engine, gearbox/transfer case, exhaust, and even the tail shaft is three times the diameter of a regular dual-cab 4x4.
Any criticisms?
There's no petrol V8 option available in Australia, and no rear passenger A/C vents, plus it can be hard to find parking spots big enough to accommodate. It's also very expensive.
How does the warranty and servicing costs rate?
Warranty coverage extends to three years 100,000km. The Silverado needs servicing every nine months or 12,000km (whichever occurs first) although additional services may be required under certain driving conditions such as towing. There is no capped price servicing available for the Silverado.
What else should I consider?
The Silverado only has one direct competitor here in Australia, the RAM 2500. Other than the RAM if regular dual cab utes don’t cut the mustard for you then light trucks are the next best thing.
Verdict
HSV has poured millions into the development and re-engineering of the Silverado and it shows in the end product. The overall build and the quality of the materials cannot be faulted, and are all proven by full GM backing.
The Chevrolet Silverado is an American legend renowned for its power, payload and towing capability, and with a Down Under tweak from an Aussie legend this bad boy won’t disappoint anyone looking for a heavy-duty truck that makes light work of tough jobs.
The Checklist
0-60km/h time: 3.7 seconds (unladen), 3.9 seconds (loaded)
0-80km/h time: 5.4seconds (unladen), 5.6 seconds (loaded)
0-100km/h time: 8.0seconds (unladen), 8.2 seconds (loaded)
Load testing weight: 865kg
Safety rating: Not tested
2018 Chevrolet Silverado 2500HD Custom Sport Price Specifications
Price: $139,990
On sale: Now
Engine: 6.6-litre V8 turbo diesel
Power: 332kW at 2800rpm
Torque: 1234Nm at 1600rpm
Transmission: Six-speed automatic, 4WD
Fuel usage: We averaged 12.8L/100km