2022 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 Crew LT 4WD
Over my years in the auto industry, one thing has been made abundantly clear: Truck buyers are loyal. Sure, the occasional fluctuation will occur, but for the most part, Ford buyers will buy another Ford when the time comes, and the same with Chevy, GMC, Ram, and Toyota.
Why, then, do the truck makers keep redesigning? Beyond incorporating new technologies for improved performance, safety, and efficiency, there’s always a risk of alienating their base customers when reaching for conquest sales. Chevrolet did that a few years ago with the Silverado, revealing a truck with an interior that was not nearly as nice as the rest of the industry. The good ship Bowtie has been righted with the 2022 Chevrolet Silverado, thankfully, as even on this LT trim the passenger accommodations have been vastly improved.
I might be showing my trucking ignorance here a bit, but I’ve long wondered why most trucks end up with a console shifter for their automatic transmissions. Certainly, should one choose a pair of bucket seats, that wide console area could be used for much more productive things than a shift lever when the steering column is right there. Automakers keep coming up with convoluted solutions (looking at the power foldaway shifter from Ford) when simplicity has already been achieved.
My test vehicle had no such nonsense – and it wore another relic from a bygone era, a split bench seat! While I don’t often have a need to haul six people, my kids each invited a friend to go with us for an evening out and we could do so (in reasonable comfort) in one vehicle. Ditch the three-row crossover, people! Buy a bench-equipped pick-em-up truck!
I was surprised at how comfortable I was in the bench seat – certainly, I’m used to a bit more lateral support from a combo of the bucket seat and a console hemming me into a defined compartment, but the seat itself was plenty supportive. I was even happier – at least when driving without a teenager in the middle seat – when I could move my legs around while cruising on the interstate. Manspreading isn’t just for airlines or subway cars – on a long drive, it’s kinda nice to be able to tweak your knee and hip a bit to alleviate some stress. Yeah, I’m getting old and I feel it.
The big news on the interior is the revamped 13.4-inch touchscreen, with baked-in Google support. As an Android user, I’m quite familiar with using Android Auto, so having that capability baked-in was quite nice. The interface was snappy and intuitive, allowing me to log in to Google from my phone and easily choose destinations I’d searched previously on my desktop. Google has done a much better job at mapping and navigation than most automakers, it seems, so using Google Maps as a default rather than some poor excuse of an OE map is refreshing.
In contrast to the significant aesthetic upgrades found inside, the exterior of the latest Silverado is only mildly changed. The marketing people call the changes bold – I’m not sure I’d go that far. Depending on the trim level, the grille, headlamps, bumpers, and wheels may have been changed a bit. But the tweaks make the Chevy a bit more appealing than it used to be.
For those perusing our FastFacts info box, you’ll notice that my tester was equipped with the 2.7-liter turbocharged four-cylinder. It’s been upgraded since last year – while 310 horses are still on tap, each horse is a bit more stout for stump pulling. 430 lb-ft of torque is a 24 percent increase over last year’s 348. In my time behind the wheel – which sadly didn’t include more hauling than a bedful of recyclables a few miles to a drop-off point – I can’t honestly say that I noticed a huge difference, though I’m sure with back-to-back testing things would become apparent.
With the windows down, a pleasing turbo whistle was noticeable when the throttle was cracked – but it’s still not as audibly fun as a burbling V8. In real-world driving, I’m not sure that the turbo four does much for fuel economy – the 18mpg combined EPA rating seems accurate based on my experience, while a similarly-equipped Silverado with either of the V8 engines is rated for between 17 and 18 mpg as well. I’m wondering if the 10-speed automatic fitted to the V8 trucks makes a significant efficiency difference as compared to the eight-speed ‘box found on this four-cylinder.
The Silverado is equipped standard with the Chevy Safety Assist suite of driver safety and assistance (duh) features, including:
- Automatic emergency braking
- Front pedestrian braking
- Lane keep assist/lane departure warning
- Forward collision alert
- Automatic high beams
Beyond this, the top-trim High Country edition, slathered as it is in gorgeous leather and chrome, also offers GM’s Super Cruise hands-free adaptive cruise control as an option. It’s not, however, available on any other trim.
It makes the cheapskate deep within me cringe to say this about a truck that stickers out to over $52k, but considering the state of the truck market right now I have to call this 2022 Chevrolet Silverado LT something of a bargain. For a relatively stripped vehicle, it has basically everything most people need out of a full-sized truck, and I’d take a long look at this one were I in the market.
[Images: © 2022 Chris Tonn]
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