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Flash and dash
Chevy Silverado SS sports style, speed and a workhorse attitude
By Bob English
Thursday, November 13, 2003
Big and quick aren't words that you often associate with the same vehicle, at least not since the early '70s when the last of the North American muscle cars faded from the scene. But they go together well to describe Chevy's full-size, extended cab, Silverado SS pickup.
Big? Well how about 5781 mm between the bumpers, 1994 mm between the door handles and an all-up weight of 2234 kg. If you haven't driven a full-size pickup for a while you'll be amazed at just how big they've become. The equivalent GM truck of 10 years ago came up shy of this by 381 mm in length, 43 mm in width and about 150 kg in weight.
And quick? My stopwatch clicked at 7.5 seconds for the zero to 100 km/h acceleration run, and it took just 6.4 seconds for the 80 to 120 km/h dash. Both times are more than brief enough to qualify the Silverado SS as a bit of a goer in my book, and are kind of neat to experience in such a large vehicle. From the elevated position in the driver's seat (it's a high step up) you look forward over a broad expanse of hood, while beside and behind you there's all that extended cab room, and a long way behind that, the tailgate. It's a big vehicle, no question. Stand on the gas pedal and the 6.0-litre, 345 hp V8 bellows out a muted NASCAR-like roar from the 87 mm exhaust pipe. The transmission winds itself up and delivers 380 lb-ft of torque to the all-wheel drive system (so no smoky burnouts) and this monster surges forward gathering speed more rapidly than you'd think possible. Full acceleration from 80 km/h is perhaps even more impressive, and just keeps building until prudence suggests getting off the throttle. Fun? You bet, but not something you want to indulge in too often. It requires about a $100 to fill the gas tank.
The Silverado is first and foremost a truck. And as such it can get the job done, whether it's carrying a load or towing one, but it's also meant to be a luxurious and potent personal machine that a driver can take pride in - and maybe brag about. Not surprisingly, about 80 per cent are expected to be purchased by males.
In GM parlance "SS" stands for "Super Sport" and in the 1960s and '70s the SS badge was bolted to cars such as the Impala SS and the Chevelle SS - factory hotrods that left long, black streaks of rubber on roads all over North America. Today you'll see the SS badge appearing on a new range of GM performance vehicles, including the new Impala SS and the SSR hot-rod truck. SS concepts shown by GM this year include the TrailBlazer SS, Silverado SS (regular cab) and Tahoe SS.
The Silverado SS is essentially a modified and tarted up 1500 extended cab, short bed pickup. Visually it's impressive to start with, but the SS version adds drama with a monochromatic colour scheme - ours was bright Victory Red, but you can also choose Onyx Black or Arrival Blue.
The colour scheme includes the grille, wraparound fascias and ground effects rocker panels. The final touch is a nice set of high-style, 5-spoke, polished alloy, 20-inch "Dubs" (wheels).
The "custom" interior, done in Dark Pewter, included leather upholstery on the soft, but supportive front power buckets (with embroidered SS logos) and narrow rear bench. The latter is accessed through a pair of rear opening half-doors. Knee room is at a premium.
The full suite of instruments, observed through an outsized, leather-clad wheel, look cool with their white back-lighting and orange needles, and there's a premium Bose stereo system with in-dash, 6-disc CD changer. Other equipment on our tester included GM's OnStar communication system, steering wheel audio controls, power folding and heated outside mirrors, and compass and temperature readout in the interior mirror.
Cruise control, automatic headlamps, a driver message centre, dual electronic climate control, and keyless entry are standard, as are all the usual power operated features. It's lavishly equipped, very comfortable and remarkably quiet at highway speeds. Mirrors are huge, as they need to be. Headlamps are okay, but not great.
Providing the go for the SS is the high-output LQ9 version of GM's Vortec 6000 V8, which makes 345 hp and 380 lb-ft of torque. This prime mover is hooked up to a quick and smooth-shifting 4-speed automatic, a full-time all-wheel drive system and a locking rear differential.
Making this big brute handle well wasn't an easy task, but the Z60 chassis package lowers ride height by 20 mm up front and 50 mm in the rear. It also adds specially tuned shocks to the torsion bar independent front suspension and solid axle rear, and bolts on 20-inch P275/55R20 Goodyear Eagle rubber. The power steering is light and lacking in feel, but the lower ride height and suspension modifications make the truck quite responsive on smooth pavement. It doesn't do as well on rough pavement though. The shocks don't adequately tame the heavy-duty springs and the mass of the components.
Its weight also overcomes the available tire adhesion fairly early on when pushed hard, so don't get too carried away. Sporting pretensions it might have, but don't forget it's a big, rugged pickup truck. When you want to get serious, the optional heavy-duty trailer towing package ($260) allows it to tow up to 3402 kg. And you can carry 669 kg in the pickup box, which pretty much proves that point. Ride is muscular, but civilized enough for long hauls.
The Silverado SS is an impressive vehicle on a number of levels, including the price tag at a hefty $53,100.
Immediate competition:
Dodge Ram, Ford F-150,
GMC Sierra, Toyota Tundra
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