How Does the Chevrolet Silverado EV Compare to the Chevrolet Silverado?
The electric truck wars have officially begun. Rivian may have kicked the ball off, but it seems like the big three are working pretty hard to run it back. Between the Ford F-150 Lightning and the Chevrolet Silverado EV, the big boys have started running away with the ball. The real question is, how does the Chevrolet Silverado EV compare to the Chevy Silverado, its gas-burning sibling? Something tells me these Chevrolet pickup trucks won’t have much in common.
How much is the Chevrolet Silverado EV?
According to Car and Driver, the Work Truck (WT) trim will start at around $40,000, which is $10,000 more than the newest gas-powered Chevy Silverado. The top-trim RST will be around $100,000, a nearly $50k premium over the gas-powered Silverado RST.
This price comparison makes an honest comparison between the two models seem a bit silly. The Chevrolet Silverado EV is so much more expensive, even in its cheapest form, that the two models have little else in common other than a name and general pickup truck shape. However, we will continue to look at the two Chevrolet pickup trucks to see what all that extra money gets you.
How much can the Chevrolet Silverado EV tow?
The Silverado EV makes an astounding 664 hp and 780 lb-ft on the top RST trim. Even the base electric WT is makes 510 hp and 615 lb-ft. However, the EV can’t quite pull the same maximum towing capacity of the gas Silverado’s 13,300 pounds, but the RST can still pull up to 10,000 pounds.
The biggest and baddest gas-powered Chevrolet Silverado comes with the 6.2-liter V-8 in the Silverado 1500 makes a strong 420 hp and 460 lb-ft of torque. That ain’t nothing to shake a stick at, but it isn’t even close to the electric pickup truck on power and torque.
Weirdly, the payload capacity for the Chevrolet Silverado EV is the same story. While the gas-powered Silverado can haul between 1870 to 2280 pounds, the Chevy EV pickup truck can only do 1300 pounds between the cab and bed.
What are some other major differences between the Silverado EV and the regular Chevy Silverado?
Another big difference between the two Chevrolet pickup trucks is suspension. The gas Silverado has a control-arm front suspension and an old-school live rear axle, while the EV Silverado also gets an independent rear suspension. Plus, air springs at all four corners allow the electric truck to be raised or lowered up to two inches.
Chevy’s electric pickup truck is definitely different
The Chevy EV will also get the MultiFlex Midgate that was previously only available on GMC pickup trucks.
As of now, the Chevrolet Silverado EV only has two trims, the WT and RST. In that regard, the regular Silverado is beating the pants off its flashy new brother. Surely, in time, the Silverado EV will have more trim levels like the rest of the pickup truck world.
It will be interesting to see which electric pickup truck will win out in the future-truck wars. Will Ford continue to dominate, or will Chevy rise to beat its rival? Or, could one of the newcomers, like Rivian, put a dent in the market? Only time will tell.
