2020 Chevrolet Silverado Trail Boss: The Weekend Warrior's Pickup Truck
Silverado Trail Boss is a weekday commuter and a weekend warrior getaway rig, ready to escape the city and play in the dirt or head to the lake.
An hour north of Los Angeles, a valley, nestled deeply into the rutted earth, separates the mighty Frazier Mountain, and the even mightier slog of traffic glued upon the surface of the I-5 freeway. It’s an amazing feat of nature, and a feast for the eyes. They call it Hungry Valley.
There are few places in which the Chevrolet Silverado looks more at home and natural than here. With the Z71 Off-Road suspension, two-inch suspension lift and chunky Goodyear all-terrain rubber, the Silverado Trail Boss also looks ready to go play with the Jeeps.
Though, at 241-inches long (that’s over 20 feet), the Trail Boss likely won’t have the patience to get twisted up in the rocks, or navigate the really tight stuff like it’s more nimble little brother, the Colorado ZR2.
Instead, playing pretend pre-runner in the dirt and loose trails is where the Trail Boss shines.
The optional 6.2L naturally-aspirated V8 offers up a hearty surge of instant torque delivered with a husky induction note, while a hushed, but authoritative exhaust rumble trails behind. With 420 horsepower and 460 lb-ft of torque on tap, it feels eager, though part of the credit goes to the 10-speed automatic transmission, which has tightly spaced gears, always keeping the small block V8 on notice.
The Z71 suspension, likewise, does a solid job of controlling the movements of those blacked out 18-inch wheels and the 275/65R18 Goodyear Wrangler Duratrac tires. The two-inch lift and under body skid plates afford the Trail Boss ample ground clearance over most rocks on the trails. Though, do expect to get jiggled around a bit in the cab when going over the washboard stuff.
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On the road, the Trail Boss wins the admiration and stares of other, lesser truck-owning aficionados. The blacked out color palette makes the most of the Silverado’s aggressive face and broad shoulders.
It also feels very civilized. The cabin is wrapped in leather, and a textured wood trim, thanks to a $985 leather package. The seats are comfortable and heated up front (as is the leather-wrapped steering wheel). And the addition of the optional convenience option ($1,420) sees the inclusion of multiple types of in-car charging, including power outlets, as well as an 8-inch touch display as part of the Chevrolet Infotainment 3 Plus system, which features wireless Apple Carplay and wireless Android Auto, among other goodies.
Similarly, the Z71 suspension is compliant, and even those chunky tires are a good bit quieter than they look like they should be. All of this makes the Silverado a great truck to put miles on, especially on the open road. This truck cruises along at 80 mph as easily as if it were a Trailblazer.
However, the engine tends to steal the show during the drive as it makes for one seriously quick truck. As riotously fun as it is, the standard 5.3 V8 is the engine to go with. Not only does that save $2,495 off the price tag, but it’s also more fuel efficient, and rated to tow the same amount as the 6.2. After all, it still produces 355 horsepower and 383 lb-ft of torque, and, unlike other Silverado trim levels, the 10-speed automatic is standard equipment on the Trail Boss, even with the 5.3, and with the same chunky wheel and tire setup, the same suspension, and the same chassis, it’s more than capable enough to tow up to 9,400 pounds.
The 6.2 Silverado is rated at 15 MPG city, 19 MPG freeway and 17 MPG combined, and after a week and 500 miles of driving returned 16.5 mpg, overall. A comparable 5.3 Trail Boss can crack 22 mpg on the freeway.
Oozing with curb appeal and packed with desirable upgrades, the Silverado Trail Boss represents a bad ass truck that can be comfortable on the day-to-day commute, and perform for the weekend warrior who wants to do a bit of off-roading, or who wants to get the family out of the city, with a boat or ATVs in tow. Just hope for your bank account’s sake that you can stomach the payments on this $59,185 truck.
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