Video: 2019 Chevrolet Silverado: First Drive

Now there's a lot to talk about with this truck but we're going to try to keep it focused. I'm going to talk about the interior, the bed, our off-road impressions, how it tows and what it feels like on the highway. Inside the Chevy Trail Boss's E71, it's got the cloth interior, the new redesigned center stack, which is closer to the driver and passenger to control the Nav system and any AC functions. It's got a nine switch lineup here, depending on what features you have, and also the four wheel drive system is now in the upper left-hand corner, both with the Tow/Haul mode and a Sport mode. And thankfully they've put the trailer brake controller, down here at easy access here at the right end, but it also has a huge center console. Whether you have the storage bin here in front, or whether you have the middle seat that pops up with a hidden storage underneath the seat, you still have tons of room inside for any of your personal gear. Here at the back, we love the dual exhausts. They've also redesigned the bumper steps to make it easier to access the bed itself. Here on the tailgate, push button electronic drop, and also on some trim packages, all it takes is a push of the knee and it automatically closes all by itself. But the bed itself has some of the most interesting features we've seen in a pickup bed in a long time. On the floor, cold rolled steel for strength. Also the walls, the walls themselves are made of a high strength steel. So this is probably some of the strongest beds in the half-ton segment. Also 12 different tie-down points each 500 pound capacity on every pickup truck with nine other exterior holes to give you a total of 21 different holes that you can have for tie-downs, to keep your cargo safe. But the feature we liked the most, the optional 120 volt, three prong plug, right here in the bed. On the off-road course, the Trail Boss's E71 was impressive. There's no other way to explain it. This vehicle has a two inch suspension lift, makes room for bigger wheels and tires, more aggressive treads, the Goodyear Wranglers, but also has monotube Rancho shocks. Very good for this kind of obstacle course that we had created here by Chevy for us. We had a log run, we had a hill climb over some loose dirt and rock. We also had a rock strewn area, very similar to a Rubicon trail. And then we also had a big mud pit that we were able to get up some speed and do some very nasty splashing. But this vehicle does very, it's going to compete very well with other off-road packages. It's not a Ford Raptor but it's a very impressive 4*4. When it comes to trailering, Chevy is really upping their game. In fact, they've created for this new half-ton Silverado they've created what's called, the Advanced Trailering package, which is a combination of integrated cameras, along with a lot of accessible information, they've loaded right into the Nav screen that they can get any time. They can program different types of trailers that they're going to be using, and they can keep track of the fuel economy, and different connections around the truck. In fact, you can even check from the driver's seat, whether or not all the lights on your trailer, and your vehicle, your tow vehicle, are all working at the same time. Now the connections here accommodate a fourth camera. It has to be hardwired, but it can provide you with a view off the back end of the trailer. So when you pop it into reverse you know exactly what's behind you when you're trailering. Now we had a chance to take this trailer, a 6,000 pound cargo trailer, out on the road, and we have to say that this is a very comfortable and confident vehicle to tow with. 6,000 pounds isn't your normal weight, in fact, that's probably more than 90% of people are going to be towing with their half-ton pickup truck, but we can say with the suspension changes and also this technology advancement with this trailer package, this is probably one of the best trailer packages we've had a chance to drive. So we're out of the mud, we've disconnected the trailer, we're back on the highway. So this is just two lane road where it's 6,000 feet. So the powertrain feels a little underpowered but that's okay because there's a lot of horsepower in both the 5.3 or the 6.2 V8 engines that are available for this new Silverado. On the road, very composed. This is probably the single biggest improvement. Not that the last half-ton Silverado was bad, but this one is so much better, it's almost difficult to even compare the two. Very composed especially into hard corners, it's a wonderful little switch that puts a little racing flag up on the information dash that lets you know you're in Sport mode, you get a little tighter feel to the steering wheel, a little quicker response on the throttle and this thing just stays hugged to the ground. We're in the Trail Boss, so that means we're a little higher because of the suspension lift, but there's nothing about this vehicle that feels tippy or, you know out of sorts, whether we're pushing it, and we've pushed it a few times around some corners. It absorbs every kind of corner that we could throw at it, no matter what the speed is that we're going into that corner. So, I mean, overall this is a very impressive feel on two lane highways. It seems like almost any of the trim package combinations are very versatile doing moderately well, if they're four wheel drive, but also doing very, very well. If you want to get a little more enthusiastic on pavement. What's our biggest takeaway from our time behind the wheel of the 2019 Silverado half-ton, is how far they've come. Now we love the classics, but this new half-ton pickup truck looks like it could be a game changer for Chevy. And we love the fact that they're requiring on every single vehicle, and this isn't a government mandate but every single vehicle on the door jam, lets the owner of that specific truck, know exactly what the maximum trailer capacity is, and maximum payload capacity is for each truck. That's about safety and we like that. For more information about this truck go to pickuptrucks.com.