Chevrolet has thrown down the next hand in the pickup truck poker wars and revealed at least a couple of potential aces – depending on which numbers matter most to you. The 2014 2014 Silverado 1500 with its 5.3-liter EcoTec3 V8 gets 335 horsepower and 383 pound-feet of torque, is mated to a six-speed automatic, can tow 11,500 pounds with the optional Max Trailer Package and costs the same as the outgoing Silverado, $24,585 (*including $995 destination fee). Chevy says the Silverado also stands atop the fuel economy charts when comparing any competitor with a V8 engine – and some competitors with V6 engines. The two-wheel drive model returns 16 miles per gallon city, 23 mpg highway, 19 mpg combined in two-wheel drive guise and 16 mpg city, 22 mpg highway and 18 mpg combined as a four-wheel drive.
For context around those numbers, the most fuel efficient V8-powered 2013 Ford F-150 pickups lose about two mpg in every metric compared to the Silverado, the 3.5-liter V6 EcoBoost returning 16 city, 18 highway and 22 combined in two-wheel drive. However, that EcoBoost does have 365 hp and 420 lb-ft of torque. You can get a Ram 1500 with a 3.6-liter V6 that gets 25 mpg highway, but it has 305 hp and 269 lb-ft of torque. The 2013 Ram with the 5.7-liter Hemi V8 and its 395 hp and 407 lb-ft drops one mpg in every category to the Silverado. Its tow rating is 200 pounds beyond its nearest competitor, the F-150 with the Max Trailer Tow Package.
Elsewhere, the new Silverado gets a quieter cab with a redesigned interior, a new bed with improved load-management possibilities, disc brakes all around, tweaked steering and suspension, along with free standard scheduled maintenance for two years or 24,000 miles.
It goes on sale later this year with pricing throughout the lineup held constant from the 2013. The Double Cab (which replaces the Extended Cab) will cost $28,610, the Crew Cab going for $32,710, prices inclusive of destination. Two more engines, 4.3-liter and 6.2-liter EcoTec3 V8s, will join the range later on.
Also, if you prefer the slightly different styling of the 2014 GMC Sierra seen below, most of the same performance metrics apply, but pricing is a bit higher – $25,085 for the standard cab, $29,110 for the double cab, and $33,210 for the Crew cab model.
2014 Chevy Silverado priced from *$24,585, V8 gets better economy than Ford EcoBoost V6
