2015 CHEVY SILVERADO V6 REVIEW

If you're a car enthusiast, or a Chevy patriot or you find yourself looking through somewhere like this Salina used cars dealership, you know America's bow tie brand likes their three digit codes. These codes may look like alphabet soup to many but, if you speak the language, these simple pairings of numbers and letters (such as Z28, 1LE, ZR1, ZL1, and L88) can be enough to cause a slight uptick in heart rate. These codes, used most famously on the Camaro and Corvette sports coupes, are internal designators describing everything from suspension packages to engine fitments. While all Chevrolet cars and trucks have these codes to identify their options packages, generally, only the most desirable codes become well known to enthusiasts. For Silverado pickups, that code is “Z71” and it denotes the off-road package.

So when we approached the 2015 Silverado we were slated to test for the coming week and noted the Z71 badge on the grille, we were somewhat excited. Having grown up in an era when Z71 pickups sported massive tires, beefy axles, and a thick coating of mud, visions of dirt clods flying through the air were already dominating our thoughts when we twisted the key. But then something strange happened. Instead of the heavy, guttural straining of a large displacement V8 bursting into life, our ears were met instead by the subdued hum of something else. Scanning the gauges and readouts brought one particular readout to our attention. It said, simply, "V6."

That gauge, normally indicating the number of cylinders the engine is operating on (most modern GM engines larger than four cylinders can deactivate cylinders). This small readout may be for many the single most important feature of this all new truck. The new “Ecotec3” engine is a 4.3L V6, designed to go toe-to-toe with the incredibly popular Ford EcoBoost twin turbo mill and Dodge's younger, but still impressive, EcoDiesel. The performance of this new class of motors is arguably more important to the manufacturers than any other class of engine. Trucks, after all, are the American automakers' profit centres and ever-rising gas prices mean that thrifty trucks are the most important ones to get right.

For quite a while, the only V6 GM had made available in their Silverado and Sierra pickups just didn’t make the grade. It was ancient, asthmatic, underpowered and generally terrible. Though the “Ecotec3” shares the same 90 degree architecture and 4.3 litre displacement as the old lump, that is where the similarities end. The thoroughly modern Ecotec3 is all aluminum and based off the new LT1 V8 found in other Silverados. It starts almost instantly and is capable of producing a perfectly adequate 285 horsepower and 305 pound feet of torque. Best of all, it netted us a very reasonable 14.2 litres per 100 kilometres. Driving through a conventional six speed automatic, it's not exactly a powerhouse of a drivetrain but it has no trouble hauling the Silverado's roughly 5,500 pounds around.

But it's not perfect. The torque curve is decidedly small-displacement V6, which could make towing a chore. We also found that it vibrated quite a lot at idle; putting a little shimmy through the whole truck at red lights and feeling almost like it was running rough.

But perhaps we only noticed those occasional stumbles from beneath the hood because the rest of the equally new Silverado was surprisingly refined. We say surprising because in the past, GM interiors have been relatively plastic-laden. This one, however, does a good job of feeling decidedly upmarket. The only thing that still felt “Silverado-ey” was the switchgear. Some switches still feel wobbly enough to garner criticism. Likewise, the buttons associated with the infotainment system seemed to have more play in the up/down and left/right directions than other systems we’ve used. But it’s certainly comfortable. With a wide array of adjustment from the seat and adjustable pedals, pretty much anyone can get comfortable behind the wheel, and there’s enough storage bins to stow all the junk that accompanies a long road trip. And it’s quiet. Very, very quiet. Although partly a result of the subdued motor, Chevy is quite proud of the noise abatement efforts they’ve made with this new truck, and it certainly has paid off. At 110 kilometres per hour, the cabin is hushed to a level that would have some luxury carmakers jealous.

Being an American full size pickup truck, it’s not really crucial we agonize over the specifics and price tag associated with our specific tester; there’s probably thousands of various configurations to choose from and just as many various price tags to go with them. So instead, we’ll simply mention that a regular cab base model appears to start at just over $28,000, with a crew cab 4x4 kitted out in what we can only assume is the damned near fully loaded “High Country” specification tipping the scales at around $57,000