2024 Silverado (Avalanche) EV

[Todd n Natalie]

2024 Chevrolet Silverado EV Debuts with Big Range and Big Power

Chevrolet has just revealed the Silverado EV. It has a max range of up to 640 km on a charge and Super Cruise hands-free driver assistance, but what has us more interested is the return of one of the best pickup features of the last 20 years: the Midgate.

www.autotrader.ca

Max Tow figure of 20,000 lbs looks interesting. Wonder what the range will be on that model?

 

[jbaucom]

I had to read the article 3 times before I picked up on the line about the the Max Tow WT that will be introduced capable of towing up to 20,000 lbs. The inner sidewalls of the bed appear to be MOLLE panels.

 

[plainjaneFJC]

Someone needs to fire the square wheel well designer

 

[Todd n Natalie]

Someone needs to fire the square wheel well designer

I might be alone but, I don't mind them. I thought they looked good on the GM '73-'87 and '88-'98 trucks as well as the '94 -'01 Rams.

 

[ABBB]

How does Chevy constantly make uglier trucks than everyone else?

Range on a 20000# tow is going to be like 75 miles. Is anyone who tows big really going to switch to an EV before charging is rapid and the grid is greatly expanded? That is a fun number to hype the truck with, I’m sure it’ll drive sales to folks who don’t tow.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[ChasingOurTrunks]

I might be alone but, I don't mind them. I thought they looked good on the GM '73-'87 and '88-'98 trucks as well as the '94 -'01 Rams.

I actually quite like the look of them too - I happen to think GM trucks are the best looking of the bunch (I do mean GMC; the Chevy front ends leave me wanting). But from what I read the square wheel wells do introduce practical limitations on tire sizes, though I don't know how limiting this would be in real-world use cases.


This thing confuses me a bit actually. The Electro-Avalanche does look a bit out of place on the construction site mockup, doesn't it? The angular wings behind the cab over the box don't really work for applications where the box actually get used. That's a great spot to store a tool box or other items, but the choice to put the aesthetic piece between the cab and the box is really limiting access. The old Avalanches had this problem too, as did the last generation of the Ridgeline's. Angular box edges just make getting stuff into and out of the box a pain, and I'd never buy one as a work truck based on that alone. And based on the stats, the payload is a paltry 1200 lbs (That's less than a Jeep 4XE, I think) but the cargo volume is ridiculously massive with that through-cab box design (which I like).

It seems like Chevy tried to hit a compromise between lifestyle users, electric early adopters, and work trucks, and managed to not quite hit the mark on any of the three.

 

[Todd n Natalie]

I actually quite like the look of them too - I happen to think GM trucks are the best looking of the bunch (I do mean GMC; the Chevy front ends leave me wanting). But from what I read the square wheel wells do introduce practical limitations on tire sizes, though I don't know how limiting this would be in real-world use cases.


This thing confuses me a bit actually. The Electro-Avalanche does look a bit out of place on the construction site mockup, doesn't it? The angular wings behind the cab over the box don't really work for applications where the box actually get used. That's a great spot to store a tool box or other items, but the choice to put the aesthetic piece between the cab and the box is really limiting access. The old Avalanches had this problem too, as did the last generation of the Ridgeline's. Angular box edges just make getting stuff into and out of the box a pain, and I'd never buy one as a work truck based on that alone. And based on the stats, the payload is a paltry 1200 lbs (That's less than a Jeep 4XE, I think) but the cargo volume is ridiculously massive with that through-cab box design (which I like).

It seems like Chevy tried to hit a compromise between lifestyle users, electric early adopters, and work trucks, and managed to not quite hit the mark on any of the three.

I actually think I prefer the looks of the WT model over the RST.




Maybe split the difference with a Trail Boss model?


Don't quote me on this but I think the sail panels are there for when you drive with the back window removed or something to do with having the midgate.

I seem to recall hearing or reading something about this when the Avalanche came out. But that was 20 years ago so my memory my not be accurate.

Yes, the payload isn't great. Not sure if that would change for the Max Tow? Being able to tow 20,000 lbs seems like a moot point because as soon as you hitched up a trailer and put a driver in the truck, you'd be over payload.

I wonder if they'll bring back the cargo boxes on the sides of the bed that Ram copied for their Ram Boxes?

 

[plainjaneFJC]

How does Chevy constantly make uglier trucks than everyone else?

Range on a 20000# tow is going to be like 75 miles. Is anyone who tows big really going to switch to an EV before charging is rapid and the grid is greatly expanded? That is a fun number to hype the truck with, I’m sure it’ll drive sales to folks who don’t tow.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

They love that Chevy chase family truckster look…?

 

[ChasingOurTrunks]

I actually think I prefer the looks of the WT model over the RST.

View attachment 700395
View attachment 700396

Maybe split the difference with a Trail Boss model?
View attachment 700397

Don't quote me on this but I think the sail panels are there for when you drive with the back window removed or something to do with having the midgate.

I seem to recall hearing or reading something about this when the Avalanche came out. But that was 20 years ago so my memory my not be accurate.

Yes, the payload isn't great. Not sure if that would change for the Max Tow? Being able to tow 20,000 lbs seems like a moot point because as soon as you hitched up a trailer and put a driver in the truck, you'd be over payload.

I wonder if they'll bring back the cargo boxes on the sides of the bed that Ram copied for their Ram Boxes?

Agree with you on the hierarchy there -- the WT looks better that that middle one. But the TrailBoss isn't too bad though!

I didn't know about that sail panel thing but it does make sense as I'm sure we've all experienced buffeting that can happen in a cab with windows open. I think in that case it comes down to what a truck is going to be used for; if the extra length is the most useful thing to the end user, the sail panels are no big deal. It does make me think of that "end user" thing though -- another example I think of Chevy trying to hit lots of different users and really not getting it right for any of them. Most worksites I've been involved with would just have stuff hanging a few feet off the back of the truck and flag it rather than have a wide open space in the back of the cab to move longer stuff. Or they'd contract a bigger truck. A feature like that seems like it'd great to bring your surfboard to the beach in California, but it seems like a less pleasant of a feature to haul some 2x8x12s from the shop to the job site where you and I live at this time of year!

Of course this whole opinion is based on how Chevy is positioning this thing -- as a "work truck" with photos of it on job sites. I don't think many people with that use case will seriously consider this particular truck anymore than they considered the original avalanche back in the day, which was a great truck in a lot of ways, but 100% focused on the lifestyle user in practical applications.

 

[jbaucom]

Unlike on the Avalanche, I don't believe the midgate is going to be standard on the Silverado EV. If that's the case, I don't believe you'll see the midgate on many, if any, WT trim trucks. I do believe that this will be a strong contender for many fleets that are currently using 1/2-ton crew cabs in daily service. The $40,000 starting price is not out of line with the cost of a current 4WD crew cab 1/2-ton, and the 400 mile range is consistent with the range offered by current 24-26 gallon fuel tanks. Most of those fleet trucks aren't hauling tremendous loads or racking up hundreds of miles per day. I see a lot of 1/2-ton crew cab trucks used on large construction sites, like interstate widening projects, and in law enforcement/emergency services, and if they can figure out the best way to recharge these fleets, EVs have a lot to offer in situations where vehicles spend a lot of time idling.

 

[ChasingOurTrunks]

Unlike on the Avalanche, I don't believe the midgate is going to be standard on the Silverado EV. If that's the case, I don't believe you'll see the midgate on many, if any, WT trim trucks. I do believe that this will be a strong contender for many fleets that are currently using 1/2-ton crew cabs in daily service. The $40,000 starting price is not out of line with the cost of a current 4WD crew cab 1/2-ton, and the 400 mile range is consistent with the range offered by current 24-26 gallon fuel tanks. Most of those fleet trucks aren't hauling tremendous loads or racking up hundreds of miles per day. I see a lot of 1/2-ton crew cab trucks used on large construction sites, like interstate widening projects, and in law enforcement/emergency services, and if they can figure out the best way to recharge these fleets, EVs have a lot to offer where in situations where vehicles spend a lot of time idling.

I can totally see the appeal of an electric halfton for all the reasons you stated - in my previous posts I didn't mean to dismiss the idea of an electric work truck. I think a basic electric work truck would meet the needs of 90% of the trucks being driven by tradesmen on a daily basis around the city and most of the fleet users as well. I'm more wondering about the design choices for this particular truck when it comes to the needs of most "Work truck" and fleet buyers day-to-day; like I said the sail panels make using the box just a titch bit harder. The cab pass-through being the reason for the sails makes sense, but then the cab pass-through isn't necessarily the most useful for a fleet truck - like you said if it's optional most of the WTs won't spec it, but that makes the sail panels an unnecessary encumbrance. No question EVs will make great work trucks, just a question about this EV perhaps being a "Lifestyle Truck" with WT marketing.

 

[T-Willy]

For "overlanding" the WT is the most compelling EV I've seen given price, range and charge rate:

Price: $40K
Range: 400 miles of range
Rate: 100 miles / 10 min

All that range (battery) comes at the cost of payload, but in my opinion that's payload well spent.

Ironically, I think the "work truck" design is far more compelling as a competitively priced no frills "overlanding" or lifestyle vehicle than it is for job sites.

 

[Zybane]

No $40K work truck is going to have 400 miles of range. Not sure where people are getting that from. 400 mile range has the largest 24-module most expensive battery. That's the battery pack on the $105K RST and the $110K Hummer EV.

 

[T-Willy]

No $40K work truck is going to have 400 miles of range. Not sure where people are getting that from. 400 mile range has the largest 24-module most expensive battery. That's the battery pack on the $105K RST and the $110K Hummer EV.

You could be right. Maybe that's an optional rather than standard battery. But I've seen zero information on a different battery option.

Here's the press release. https://media.chevrolet.com/media/u...s/us/en/2022/jan/ces/0105-2024-silverado.html It says: "Expected GM-estimated 400-mile range on a full charge offered on Work Truck (WT) and RST." Perhaps "offered" signals an option, and multiple battery options.

TFL: "The Silverado WT is rated at 400 miles of total range and will be available (starting with fleet customers) in the Spring of 2023."

The Detroit News: "The fleet-focused Work Truck will arrive ahead of the RST and will be more spare while still boasting 400-mile range."

Motortrend: "The Silverado EV WT shares the same Ultium platform with a 24-module battery pack with the rest of the Silverado EV lineup and will offer the same 400 miles of estimated range. The Silverado EV WT will come standard with DC fast-charge capability of up to 35 kW, which should be good enough to add 100 miles of range in just 10 minutes."

The Drive: "Like the 2022 GMC Hummer EV with which it shares GM's Ultium EV platform, the Silverado EV WT will only be produced as a crew cab. Underneath, it'll stow a ginormous battery pack my colleague Peter Holderith has taken to calling "a huge acid-filled mattress." GM hasn't stated its capacity but boasts the biggest-battery Silverado EVs will best 400 miles of range and recharge 100 miles in 10 minutes on 350-kilowatt DC fast-charging."

 

[ThundahBeagle]

Yes, offered means it will be an option