2024 Chevrolet Silverado EV RST Is EV Excess with Attitude

• The Chevrolet Silverado EV First Edition RST is arriving at dealers now, and starts at $96,395, including destination charges.
  

• Chevrolet’s Silverado EV RST features front and rear electric motors that add up to send 754 hp and 785 lb-ft of torque to the wheels.

• The 2024 Chevrolet Silverado EV First Edition RST advertises 440 miles of range from its 205-kWh battery pack.

From its time as a trim variant to its turn being the nameplate of Chevrolet’s pickup line, the Silverado carries weight. Both literally, and figuratively, so it only makes sense to keep it evolving with the times—and boy, those times are changing.

Initially rolled out under its work-truck branded W/T lineup, the Silverado is now ready for primetime consumers, and with a primetime price tag.

If you wanted a stripped-out BEV pickup from Chevy, that might be coming down the line eventually, but the brand is kicking off its consumer-facing models with a high-end First Edition RST model. What that means is that this Silverado EV has every option available thrown its way—including a massive battery pack, a pair of motors, and standard 24-inch wheels.

Moving the Silverado RST RV is a pair of electric motors: one powering the front axle, with another the rear. Combined, these two motors can send 754 hp and 785 lb-ft of torque to the wheels when thrown into the high-performance Wide Open Watts drive mode.

Feeding the motors is the big puzzle piece from the Ultium platform: 205 kWh of battery pack, which can move this big pickup 440 miles on a single charge. This is effectively the same battery pack you’ll find in the GMC Hummer EV, which shouldn’t be that much of a surprise considering they’re riding on the same scalable hardware.

Stuffing electrons back into that battery pack can deliver, in certain conditions, as much as 100 miles of range in 10 minutes, at 350 kW’s worth of DC fast charging. With more traditional Level 2 charging, you can see 34 miles per hour of charge.

Translating the stat sheet into motion is kind of exactly what you’d expect—at least, if you’ve ever been in a performance battery-electric vehicle. Dig into the 17.7-inch media screen to find the drive mode selector; unlocking Wide Open Watts mode with a chime straight from a Michael Bay production, your Home Depot hauler becomes impressively quick.

While we didn’t have a VBox on hand to measure its credentials, it did push us back into the seat with authority. From a roll start, the power delivery is similarly surprising. Power delivery is still more than adequate in the Normal and Sport drive modes, but unlocking the full potential of the Silverado EV somehow masks its hefty, four-ton curb weight.

While the absurd acceleration is undoubtedly the star of the entire Silverado EV’s show, the variety of ways to slow it down might come in a close second.

Chevrolet gave the Silverado EV RST variable regenerative braking, which is also controlled through the media screen. While one-pedal driving is a treat on the Silverado EV and easily managed, Chevy also equipped its best EV feature to date: the brake regen paddle. Affixed to the back of the steering wheel, you can essentially hand brake the Silverado EV by controlling how much brake regen happens in real-time.

As for truck stuff, unsurprisingly the Silverado EV RST can pull a trailer without much effort from its powertrain. Hauling a relatively small, enclosed trailer didn’t tax the vehicle’s performance, and the Super Cruise worked well with the trailer.

Unfortunately, towing does penalize the Silverado EV’s range. Our short time with a trailer wasn’t easily measurable, but you can expect a significant range reduction when pulling close to its max 10,000 pounds.

Payload is rated at 1,500 pounds, and the bed can easily handle building materials 4 feet wide. The removable midgate—the wall between the bed and the cabin—helps you haul long sheets of building material or sticks of lumber.

There’s also the added benefit of using your Silverado EV’s bed as, well, a bed. Sleeping in the cargo section is made even easier by some power outlets stuffed in the bed. If you need extra space, there’s the eTrunk, or frunk, at the front of the Silverado that adds an extra 10.7 cubic feet of waterproof storage.

Inside the cabin, you’re met with 17.7 inches worth of touchscreen media, which is flanked by an 11-inch digital driver display. The driver display works well, and is customizable, with navigation one of the customizable layouts. While the driver display works well, the native media system might have a bit of a learning curve. For starters, Apple CarPlay is out, Google is in.

That’s fine, at least for navigation controls and adding various apps like Spotify to your Silverado’s expansive screen. The downside is that the screen is busy, with layers of sub-menus, like your drive mode selector. Ultimately, this is probably a non-issue once you’re used to the truck and have time to become familiar with the system’s flow, but the interim could be frustrating for some.

Even though the screen might be the most important thing for some customers, the actual cabin space could make or break the truck. Front-row passengers are met with an almost limitless bounty of knee, shoulder, and headroom. The seats are comfortable, with a 7-gallon center console between them. A glass roof, without a sunshade, helps open up the cabin with even more front-row headroom.

The rear is a slightly different story. The rear seats are on the firmer side but could soften up with use. Headroom, for folks six feet and above, is tight. Slouching can curb some of the problems, but sitting upright puts your head into the headliner. However, legroom and shoulder space continue to be more than spacious enough for comfort.

Suspending all of this is a set of air springs and adaptive dampers. The air suspension can adjust two inches up or two inches down from its optimal ride height, a four-inch sweep in ride height at the press of a button. At speed, the ride height will move back to the optimal height to help optimize every electron in the battery pack.

Even with standard-issue 24-inch wheels, which are wrapped in 275/50 Michelin Primacy LTX tires, the suspension is frankly impressive. On paper, the four-ton Silverado EV and its 24-inch rollers shouldn’t be too compliant, but the air springs, large tires, and adaptive dampers all work in unison to give you a nice, soft ride.

Double wishbone suspension at every corner manages wheel and tire movement. There’s also rear-axle steering, which does help make the Silverado EV easier to maneuver in city centers.

And, frankly, the Silverado EV needs as much help as Chevrolet can throw its way to navigate tight spaces. Dimensionally, it’s not too dissimilar from the rest of the Silverado lineup. For length, the Silverado EV RST is 233.1 inches long, which makes it about the same as the Silverado crew cab with a 5’9” box.

The Silverado EV is 83.8 inches wide, sans mirrors, which makes it 2.6 inches wider than the same Silverado 1500. If you count the mirrors, the Silverado RST EV climbs to a wide 94.3 inches, which makes it wider than the GMC Hummer EV.

With light steering and a soft ride, the Silverado EV RST shouldn’t beat you up too badly on commutes or longer trips. Of course, with this Super Cruise-equipped model, you probably won’t do too much actual driving. Switching Super Cruise on is as easy as pushing a button, reading a prompt, and waiting for the green light on the steering wheel. The system holds corners well and keeps this massive rig in the center of the lane—even when lane markers aren’t exactly the best.

Now, you’re probably thinking that this kind of sounds like a luxury rig and is sure to be expensive. You’re right, it is essentially a luxury rig, and it’s certainly expensive.

Chevrolet says that the Silverado EV RST is getting shipped to dealers now and will set you back $96,495, close to the price of the dual-motor GMC Hummer EV that shares hardware with this Silverado EV. Still, at this price, it puts it in a space above the Rivian R1T and Ford F-150 Lightning and slightly below the Tesla Cybertruck.

There are more affordable versions of the Silverado EV coming down soon, but right now RST is all you’ll find.

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