Although I grew up shifting my dad’s Chevrolet S-10 pickup truck from the passenger seat, I’m not exactly Chevy’s target market. I favor hatchbacks over cargo beds. But after tooling around Detroit for a day in the Silverado EV, I realized that Chevy might make a truck guy out of me yet.
The Silverado EV drives, well, almost like a car. Yet the bed is massive, its frunk, cavernous. The back seat has enough room for me to cross my cursedly long legs, and the cabin is quiet. It’ll power your house in case of a hurricane, and it’ll haul, tow, and navigate down the freeway without a finger on the steering wheel. Plus it travels over 400 miles on a charge. That should be a dream combination for an American pickup lover.
And yet, it hasn’t exactly been flying out of showrooms. GM sold about 14,000 last year in the U.S. and Canada. The fossil fuel Silverado sells 10 times that in a quarter. After my drive, I’m kind of stumped. GM might have made the perfect American EV, but nobody’s buying it.
The Silverado EV’s frunk is sizable, able to swallow several roller bags.Image Credits:Tim De Chant
Maybe it’s the looks? At a glance, the Silverado EV resembles the old Chevy Avalanche, and whether that’s a good thing depends on how you felt about the original. Like the Avalanche, the Silverado EV has four doors, a short bed that can be extended into the cabin, and a “sail” between the cabin and the bed, a stylistic flourish that helps minimize drag. I thought the EV looked fine, but then, I’m not a truck guy.
