We Take The ‘High Country’ Out On The Highway
The 90’s isn’t just alive in Portland – it’s living and breathing at your local gas station across the country in 2016. For around a dollar a gallon in some parts of the U.S. you can fill up yer red-blooded American pickup without breaking the bank. The truck market is booming and there seems to be no end in sight for most American consumers. Luckily the latest Silverado 2500 HD from Chevrolet is here and packed full of features in this “High Country” trim. We took it out on the road to burn up as much “dino-juice” as we could and see what the appeal might be.
THE MODERN FAMILY HAULER
Up until the 1970’s the families of America would all pile comfortably into large sedans with bench seats. You could take mom, dad, and four kids cross country with plenty of room to spread out and enjoy the view. Today we have all forms of safety nonsense that has led to less sheetmetal and therefore less room in the interior of our cars. We had a Chrysler 300C at our disposal the same week but trying to force more than four adults into the “full-size” sedan for any extended period could be classified as torture. You read that right, five normal size adults cannot fit into a modern Chrysler full-size sedan – Virgil Exner must be turning in his grave.
Here enters part of the popularity of the full-size truck market for many people. Sure a Suburban is up to the task to haul everybody but nothing can haul cargo in addition to passengers like a truck. There aren’t too many forms of transport that can allow you to bring along your fifth wheel and a fifth family member. Inside the Silverado 2500HD we comfortably loaded up five adults and our luggage and headed out into the Nevada desert.
OUT ON THE ROAD
The presence of the new SIlverado 2500HD on the road remains less than subtle. You will certainly stand out from the crowd with the metallic black paint set off to a fair bit of chrome on the grill, mirrors, side assist steps, and massive 20 inch wheels as we had in our loaner. The “High Country” badges on the fenders are the only indication on the exterior of the upgrades that envelop the interior. Saddle premium leather covers the seats and give a luxurious – yet rugged – feel to the truck. Other options from include the Bose premium audio system, 4G LTE Wi-Fi system, and touch screen MyLink radio system. Behind the driver’s seat you feel in command of the road and a spacious interior with massive center console make it feel more like a battleship than a pickup.
Our Silverado 2500HD was equipped with the fantastic 6.6L Duramax V8 Turbo Diesel. Your right foot is in command of 397 horsepower and scant 765 ft-lb of torque. With that much power the 2500HD is rated up to 18,000 pounds – exceeding the Ram 2500 by 20 whole pounds and short 1,000 on the Ford Super Duty. Without any payload or trailer in tow the Silverado moves about the highway with the grace and acceleration of a much smaller machine. The diesel engine works effortlessly at cruising speeds and even reached economy numbers around 17 MPG on our longer highway trip.
The updated MyLink system allows for new features such as the Apple CarPlay when connected through USB to your iPhone. It allows you to have control over your music and map applications as well as receive notifications without picking up your phone. Android Auto is quickly approaching a future update but was not available at the time of testing. Overall the 4G system allowed us to connect multiple devices to the in-car Wi-Fi and delivered reliable speeds via the AT&T network.
CONCLUSION
In a world where the full size truck is replacing the Cadillac family-hauler you can expect to pay the Cadillac pricing. At the trim level we tested the 2500HD appears with a sticker around $66,425. So if you want to let the other contractors know who’s boss you best have the coin to back it up when you head to the local Chevrolet dealer. But in a sea of Ford Super Duty trucks the new Silverado 2500HD offers up a ton of utility and convenience for the price. But once you do pony up the cash you can be confident to know that life is good in the High Country.
