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Don’t fear, V8-powered American pickup vans aren’t utterly gone, not but anyway.
At a time when practically all of Australia’s most anti-social fashions have shifted to six-cylinder propulsion, General Motors (GM) has caught firmly with the engine sort that made this class of vehicle – the full-size pickup – so fascinating for a lot of within the first place.
And so, the Chevrolet Silverado remains to be accessible with a naturally aspirated V8 engine, and a reasonably old-school one at that. Next 12 months, an replace is launching abroad that’ll convey a brand new, extra highly effective V8, although this hasn’t been confirmed for Australia.
For now, the Silverado continues largely because it was. It’s offered domestically by General Motors Specialty Vehicles (GMSV), following an intensive right-hand drive ‘remanufacturing course of’ by the Walkinshaw Group.
It obtained a minor replace earlier this 12 months – dubbed ‘2026i’ – that introduced increased payload and gross automobile mass (GVM) figures, revised suspension for the bottom trim degree, and black badging together with black tailgate lettering.
It stays considered one of 4 full-size American pickups formally on sale in Australia, however solely considered one of two to supply a devoted off-road trim.
That’s the 2027 Chevrolet Silverado ZR2 on check right here, which will get distinctive suspension, underbody safety, wheels and tyres in comparison with its road-going sibling.
We do not typically get the possibility to drive pickups like this within the environments they’re designed for, so GMSV invited media together with CarExpert to Tasmania for an intensive drive occasion protecting each the Silverado and the Corvette. The latter can be coated in a separate overview.
How does Chevy’s V8 pickup stack up because the native phase shifts to six-cylinder energy, and is the ZR2 price the additional cash?
How a lot does the Chevrolet Silverado price?
The ZR2 is the most costly Silverado 1500 variant at present on sale, priced at $147,490 earlier than on-road prices.
| Model | Price earlier than on-road prices |
|---|---|
| 2027 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 LTZ Premium | $135,990 |
| 2027 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 ZR2 | $147,490 |
As an off-road-focused pickup, its solely direct rival is the Ram 1500 Rebel.
The V8-less Ram has two fewer cylinders than the Silverado, but boasts the identical energy output and barely extra torque. It’s additionally cheaper at $141,950 earlier than on-road prices.
It’s nonetheless price mentioning the opposite two American pickups at present on sale, even when they are not offered right here in express off-road trims. The Ford F-150 tops out at $163,950 plus ORCs, whereas the Toyota Tundra is the dearest of all at $172,990 plus ORCs.
To see how the Chevrolet Silverado stacks up towards the competitors, try our comparability software
What is the Chevrolet Silverado like on the within?
Spacious and borderline luxurious, with no clear indicators that it is all been taken aside and put again collectively within the native conversion course of.
Everything feels buttoned collectively to a excessive customary, to the purpose that you just’d assume it was inbuilt right-hand drive from the manufacturing unit. That’s precisely the impression a top quality remanufacturing job ought to give, and it is a credit score to Walkinshaw, given Australian-delivered Rams are the identical.
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Like each different American pickup, the Silverado is large inside. The centre console is sort of as huge as both entrance seat, and it appears like your passenger is sitting in one other postcode from a normal driving place.
That brings vital positive aspects in storage capability. There’s no scarcity of locations to place issues, with giant centre console cupholders, a two-tier passenger-side glovebox, and a cavernous central field between the entrance seats being simply a number of the highlights.
More choices reveal themselves the extra time you spend with the truck, together with notably discreet cubbies within the door playing cards and above the central touchscreen. It’s an extremely sensible cabin regardless of the place you look.
On high of that, it is snug. The seats are appropriately plush and show supportive on longer drives, and the house round you enables you to unfold out as desired whereas cruising. The beneficiant padding on the important thing contact areas can also be a spotlight.
The solely factor is that basic ergonomics may very well be higher. There could also be loads of energy adjustment in each the driving force’s seat and steering wheel to discover a appropriate driving place, however some objects do not fall handy as simply as we would like.
Behind the large steering wheel is just one stalk on the left-hand facet, which feels a contact too far-off and too excessive to instinctively attain with an average-size hand. The dials to the best of the wheel additionally take a second to search out, and reaching the left-side extremity of the central touchscreen requires a good lunge.
But these are nitpicks in a cabin that is in any other case a pleasure to spend time in. Slick tech is a key issue, thanks in no small half to the 13.4-inch infotainment touchscreen that is each responsive and good to take a look at.
Wireless smartphone mirroring is customary, although the display screen’s slim panorama structure means your cellphone’s projection would not take up the entire show. Instead, it sits on the left of the display screen, with the right-hand portion reserved for a small collection of widgets.
The display screen sports activities GM’s customary graphic id, which is comparatively clear and straightforward to navigate. The similar is true for the 12.3-inch show in entrance of the steering wheel, despite the fact that it is noticeably extra cluttered.
There’s no scarcity of knowledge crammed in right here, which implies you will all the time have a transparent thought of what is going on on with the automobile. You can navigate the assorted data readouts utilizing buttons on the steering wheel and toggle the complexity of the display screen’s backside ribbon to your style.
The solely sub-optimal tech inclusion is the head-up show. We like the thought, however the execution is disappointing: it is distorted and skewed, and no quantity of adjustment appears to assist.
Beyond that, it is nice that the Silverado nonetheless has so many bodily controls. The local weather system alone has an virtually overwhelming variety of buttons and dials, nevertheless it’s nonetheless preferable to the partly digitised association within the Ram 1500.
Directly beneath the infotainment system is an array of switches for numerous different capabilities, together with the differential locks, whereas the steering wheel’s face has one other small collection of buttons. Newcomers might miss the buttons behind the wheel positioned beneath the paddle shifters, used for audio controls.
So every part right here is match for function, however we’ll nonetheless level out using shiny black plastic. There’s heaps of it across the screens and local weather controls; it ages poorly in a daily automobile and makes even much less sense in a rugged off-roader.
Still, that off-road intent is portrayed inside by the earthy upholstery colors, and there is not any compromise on different luxuries like a stable sound system, leather-clad steering wheel, and seat heating and air flow.
As with each different American pickup, the second row of seats is large. Legroom and headroom are plentiful, the black headliner makes it look extra upmarket, and the big home windows make the house really feel a contact brighter.
You can comfortably match three adults again right here, and all three seating positions are moderately tender. When the center seat is not in use, rear occupants can use a fold-down armrest with cupholders, and the outboard positions get seat heating.
The again of the centre console additionally has two USB ports and air vents, with extra cupholders above. There’s an openable rear window behind the cab if you happen to want extra airflow.
Out again is a colossal tub, with larger claimed capability than the 1500 Rebel (1.7m³ vs 1.5m³). The tailgate is power-down solely, a downgrade from the assisted open/shut operate of the LTZ Premium, however a spray-in liner is customary together with no fewer than 12 tie-down factors.
| Dimensions | Chevrolet Silverado ZR2 |
|---|---|
| Length | 5931mm |
| Width | 2074mm |
| Height | 1991mm |
| Wheelbase | 3760mm |
| Tub size | 1776mm |
| Tub width | 1813mm – ground 1286mm – between wheel arches |
| Tub depth | 569mm |
| Tub quantity | 1781L |
To see how the Chevrolet Silverado stacks up towards the competitors, try our comparability software
What’s underneath the bonnet?
Powering the Australian-spec Silverado remains to be GM’s venerable ‘L87’ 6.2-litre naturally aspirated pushrod V8, although a extra highly effective 6.6-litre V8 is coming subsequent 12 months, no less than within the US. The present engine produces 313kW of energy and 624Nm of torque, despatched via a 10-speed computerized transmission.
| Specifications | Chevrolet Silverado ZR2 |
|---|---|
| Engine | 6.2L naturally aspirated V8 petrol |
| Power | 313kW |
| Torque | 624Nm |
| Transmission | 10-speed auto |
| Drive sort | Full-time four-wheel drive with low-range |
| Fuel financial system (claimed) | 12.7L/100km |
| Fuel tank | 91L |
| Fuel requirement | 91-octane common unleaded |
| Kerb weight | 2583kg |
| Payload | 922kg |
| Braked towing capability | 3500kg – 50mm ball 4200kg – 70mm ball |
| Gross automobile mass (GVM) | 3505kg |
| Gross mixture mass (GCM) | 6851kg |
We did not get sufficient time in anybody Silverado to file a consultant real-world gas financial system determine. That mentioned, a day of sand driving had the pickup’s journey laptop exhibiting roughly 19.0L/100km.
GMSV would not quote a carbon dioxide emissions determine for the Silverado.
To see how the Chevrolet Silverado stacks up towards the competitors, try our comparability software
How does the Chevrolet Silverado drive?
The Silverado is brash and burly, and the ZR2 captures the massive ol’ truck expertise higher than another at present on sale in Australia.
While it isn’t everybody’s cup of tea, Chevy earns brownie factors for retaining V8 energy in its smallest pickup right here in Australia. It’s at present the one American model to take action, no less than till Ram’s V8 resurgence takes full impact.
Honestly, that is the best way these massive rigs ought to be. Other petrol-six pickups could also be smoother, sooner, and extra fuel-efficient, however you merely can not beat the rumble and roar of an old-school pushrod V8, particularly in a full-size pickup.
Every chilly begin is stuffed with intent, and its meaty character sticks round lengthy after you flick the big gear selector down into Drive. The engine burbles away at a crawl, and it shortly turns into clear there is not any scarcity of grunt underneath your proper foot.
The truck provides oodles of efficiency proper throughout the rev vary, and throttle response is properly calibrated. Its lack of pressured induction additionally creates predictable, linear energy, and we love listening to the engine inhaling earlier than the exhaust bark.
Both Silverado variants characteristic a valved exhaust with two settings which can be tied to drive modes. It’s comparatively sociable in its customary (closed) setting, however switching over to Sport mode utilizing the dial to the best of the steering wheel makes it much more shouty.
It’s all a little bit of enjoyable, actually. These autos aren’t practically as frequent right here as they’re within the US, so that they’re nonetheless a novelty to drive and provide an extremely distinctive expertise. That’s very true within the Silverado ZR2.
Plant the throttle and you will really feel the rear-end squat because it hauls itself on top of things. The measurement of the factor could make it really feel such as you’re piloting a ship, or extra precisely a ship, such is its scale relative to most different autos on the highway.
It makes no effort to masks its heft, both. The steering ratio is gradual, and transferring the large steering wheel interprets into a lot smaller front-wheel inputs than you’d most likely count on. It’s the polar reverse of ‘nimble’.
When it involves the ZR2’s suspension, the Multimatic damping setup would not provide driver-controlled settings, however its character varies relying on the kind of driving at hand.
It’s softer at low speeds, making it extra compliant in city environments whereas additionally aiding wheel articulation for off-roading. This understandably creates a wobbly really feel and exacerbates that boaty allure at decrease speeds, particularly when rolling over wavy trails.
Everything will get firmer when the tempo picks up. While this does enhance stability, it additionally makes the experience busier and, in my view, much less snug. The Silverado’s ladder-frame development prevents it from being really plush, however some rivals nonetheless carry out barely higher on the freeway.
Naturally, the firmer setting additionally improves dealing with, however the ZR2’s mud-terrain tyres negate any positive aspects right here. As anticipated, there is a noticeable lack of lateral grip on sealed surfaces, however highway noise from the chunky rubber is surprisingly subdued at velocity, no less than by mud-terrain requirements.
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The ZR2, nonetheless, is not meant to be a freeway cruiser. Those adaptive dampers and big tyres are solely two elements of an general bundle constructed to be pretty much as good off-road as doable, a goal this Silverado clearly hits.
You’ll hardly ever discover an impediment this truck cannot simply navigate. Its enormous floor clearance eliminates issues concerning underbody scrapes, and the beneficiant method angle provides you extra front-on leeway than chances are you’ll ever want.
Better but, its lengthy wheelbase helps to navigate bumps and holes, conserving the tyres involved with the bottom to maximise traction. The torque on provide additionally retains issues chugging together with little or no effort, and low-range gearing is definitely accessible if wanted.
Not that the driving on the GMSV occasion was conducive to low-range testing. As you possibly can see from these pictures, the principle drawcard was sand blasting on Tasmania’s northern seashores.
There’s nothing fairly like stretching the legs of a V8 pickup in an surroundings reminiscent of this. It genuinely feels as if you happen to may be full-throttle in every single place, and the engine actually does sing because the tyres scramble for traction.
An benefit of this platform is the power to modify between four-wheel and rear-wheel drive on the fly. Flooring it in rear-wheel drive tends to convey out {the teenager} in you as sand shoots out behind, and you’ll simply interact the entrance axle if there is a soft-sand climb to deal with.
Some momentum all the time helps, however the ZR2 by no means felt out of its consolation zone. In reality, the largest sticking level was the automobile’s measurement, as a result of there have been a number of cases after we needed to be additional cautious to not scrape the autos on protruding bushes and branches.
Given the steering’s oblique nature and the free floor beneath, delicate inputs right here have been tough. This is one thing to contemplate if you happen to’re planning on bush-bashing your Silverado; pinstripes down the perimeters of the automobile are practically unattainable to keep away from.
But nonetheless, the ZR2 is buckets of enjoyable on the open dunes. We have been always working the steering wheel because the rear-end squirmed round, an expertise extra akin to crusing than driving – Jeremy Clarkson’s “speed and power” approach was legitimately helpful in conserving issues transferring in the best course.
And when you can nonetheless bathroom down within the sand if you happen to decelerate, the mud-terrain tyres all the time dig in to drag you free. The ZR2 is an extremely straightforward automobile to drive off-road, with loads of security nets in place if you happen to by some means get into bother.
Naturally, there can be a studying curve in regular driving. The ZR2’s bulging bonnet is colossal in your view out the windscreen, and it will take a second to regulate to the truck’s width whenever you’re navigating alongside parked autos.
A variety of security gear is included as customary that will help you out. Among probably the most helpful is the surround-view digicam, which lets you match between the traces if you happen to do discover a parking house huge sufficient, even when it’ll inevitably be too quick.
The regular blind-spot screens are additionally useful, even when their warning technique is considerably uncommon. In typical GM style, the driving force’s seat vibrates to warn you if you happen to’re about to merge into somebody’s lane. This will all the time really feel odd if you happen to’re used to autos from most different manufacturers.
All mentioned, the Silverado’s driving expertise is tough to fault. It’s loads fast sufficient, sounds wonderful, and in all fairness refined; what the ZR2 loses in on-road consolation, it makes up for in off-road functionality.
That’s why it is good that Chevy Australia provides two completely different light-duty Silverados with clear use-case variations, and each are well-equipped. If you are unlikely to take your Silverado correctly off-road, the LTZ Premium will hold you very comfortable.
Perhaps better of all, there is not a lot on the market that gives the ‘king of the highway’ expertise like this pickup does, and that is what these vans are all about.
| Off-road dimensions | Chevrolet Silverado ZR2 |
|---|---|
| Track entrance and rear | 1743mm – entrance 1728mm – rear |
| Ground clearance | 296mm |
| Approach angle | 31.8º |
| Departure angle | 23.3º |
| Ramp breakover angle | 23.4º |
To see how the Chevrolet Silverado stacks up towards the competitors, try our comparability software
What do you get?
Two grades of the standard-duty Silverado can be found in Australia.
2027 Chevrolet Silverado LTZ Premium tools highlights:
- 20-inch sterling silver alloy wheels
- All-terrain tyres
- Full-size spare wheel
- Auto rear locking differential
- Auto LED headlights
- LED tail-lights
- Chrome exterior accents
- Dual chromed exhaust shops
- Dual lively sport exhaust
- Digital rear-view mirror
- Leather-wrapped steering wheel
- Power steering wheel adjustment
- Heated steering wheel
- Black leather-appointed seat upholstery
- 10-way energy driver’s seat adjustment with place reminiscence
- 10-way energy entrance passenger seat adjustment
- Heated and ventilated entrance seats
- Heated rear outboard seats
- Head-up show
- 12.3-inch digital instrument show
- 13.4-inch touchscreen infotainment system
- Wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto
- Bluetooth
- Front and rear USB ports
- 7-speaker Bose sound system
- Wireless cellphone charger
- Dual-zone local weather management
- Rear air vents
- Sunroof
- Rear privateness glass
- Power sliding rear window
- Power tailgate – up/down
- Spray-in bedliner
- Cargo mattress digicam
- Keyless entry
Silverado ZR2 provides:
- 18-inch gloss-black alloy wheels
- Goodyear Wrangler Territory mud-terrain tyres
- Driver-controlled locking entrance differential
- Driver-controlled locking rear differential
- Lifted suspension
- Multimatic DSSV dampers
- ZR2 skid plates
- ZR2 off-road entrance bumper
- ZR2 raised bonnet
- Black exterior accents
- Hidden dual-exit exhaust
- Black/gray leather-based seat upholstery
- Power tailgate – down
To see how the Chevrolet Silverado stacks up towards the competitors, try our comparability software
Is the Chevrolet Silverado protected?
The 2027 Chevrolet Silverado doesn’t have an ANCAP star security ranking, nevertheless it did earn a ‘Bronze’ collision avoidance ranking in 2025 testing. ANCAP’s evaluation lists a susceptible highway person safety rating of 27 per cent, and a security help rating of 49 per cent.
Standard security tools highlights:
- 6 airbags
- Adaptive cruise management
- Autonomous emergency braking
- Blind-spot monitoring
- Front and rear parking sensors
- Hill descent management
- Lane-keep help
- Rear cross-traffic alert
- Surround-view monitor (14 views)
- Tyre strain monitoring
For context, the Ford F-150 earned a ‘Platinum’ collision avoidance ranking in 2025 testing. It has a susceptible highway person safety rating of 82 per cent and a security help rating of 81 per cent. The Ram 1500, in the meantime, holds a ‘Gold’ collision avoidance ranking, with particular person scores of 74 per cent and 70 per cent.
To see how the Chevrolet Silverado stacks up towards the competitors, try our comparability software
How a lot does the Chevrolet Silverado price to run?
Like the Ford F-150 and Toyota Tundra (however not the Ram 1500 which is roofed by solely a three-year. 100,000km guarantee), GMSV Australia backs the Silverado with a five-year, unlimited-kilometre guarantee. Servicing is required each 12 months or 12,000km, whichever comes first.
| Servicing and Warranty | Chevrolet Silverado |
|---|---|
| Warranty | 5 years, limitless kilometres |
| Roadside help | 5 years |
| Service intervals |