2027 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 First Drive: Big displays meet big V8s

Chevy's new Silverado needs a few updates before it's ready for prime time.

Global fuel prices are spiraling out of control and smaller, more efficient engines are powering more and more cars, but don't tell that to Chevrolet. The new 2027 Silverado 1500 features a pair of new, bigger V8 engines that make more power and torque, delivering better towing and hauling, but sucking down more fuel in the process.

The bigger story, though, is what's going on in the cabin. A wholly new, Android-based infotainment experience with both Android Auto and Apple CarPlay runs across the entire dashboard, powering up to three displays plus a heads-up display above. Add on a fold-out workspace plus integrated 5G connectivity in a cabin bigger than most Manhattan apartments, and you have a potentially excellent mobile workspace.

It even has hands-off driving and a suite of new features and cameras that make towing a cinch. It's a compelling truck in the making, but as I learned after spending a few days wheeling several different trucks across and around Tucson, Arizona, things aren't quite fully baked.

More power

We'll get the numbers out of the way first, since performance figures sell trucks. For 2027, Chevrolet offers four different engines in the Silverado 1500. The smallest and most efficient of the bunch is a 2.7-liter turbocharged engine, which may sound underwhelming in a truck this size. But, with 350 horsepower and 455 pound-feet of torque, it's only lightweight compared with the rest of the lineup.

That now includes a new 5.7-liter V8, replacing the previously available 5.3. Power and torque step up to 402 horsepower and 428 pound-feet. The last gasoline-powered option is also new: a 6.6-liter V8 that delivers 481 horsepower and 501 pound-feet. That's the most powerful, but it's actually the 5.7 that enables the 1500's maximum tow rating of 13,700 pounds.

The fourth option is Chevrolet's Duramax diesel, with a 3.0-liter displacement, 305 horsepower and a whopping 495 pound-feet of torque. This is the most fuel-efficient of the bunch, with Chevrolet promising 900 miles out of the 34-gallon tank. This was formerly the economical choice, but the soaring prices of the stuff at the pump these days make this a little less appealing.

Chevrolet has seven trims available for the 1500, with the cheapest, the basic Work Truck trim starting at $41,395. From there, as you add on features like locking differentials, uprated suspension and luxurious interior touches, prices quickly climb. The base price on a top-trim, off-road-focused ZR2 is $79,995 after the $2,795 destination charge.

Redesigned inside and out

The new 1500 doesn't look radically different from last year's model, but it has seen some substantial design changes that make it look a little less busy and a little more sophisticated than in years past. It's perhaps not the most exciting-looking truck, but it is at least good-looking, something you couldn't necessarily say about the past few years' worth of Silverado.

Much more substantial changes are inside. For 2027, a 16.3-inch central touchscreen is standard, taking up much of the middle of the dashboard and is conjoined to a second display: a 12.2-inch unit that makes up the digital gauge cluster behind the steering wheel.

A heads-up display can be had to project speed and active safety information onto the glass above, and if that's not enough, the Silverado can be had with a display integrated on the passenger side of the dashboard. This 11.5-inch unit has a privacy filter that prevents the driver from seeing it, enabling whoever's riding shotgun to do a little streaming while underway.

That includes services like Disney+, Hulu and YouTube, plus iHeartRadio and Amazon Music. You can even bring your own video thanks to an HDMI input. Combine that with the available three-prong outlet, and if you pack your PlayStation 5 you could get some quality GTA VI time in from the passenger seat.

That comes with some caveats, though. For one thing, audio from the passenger display doesn't play through the car's speakers, so you'll need to pair a Bluetooth headset. The other thing is that the privacy filter is so aggressive that it creates a less-than-ideal viewing experience.

Even sitting dead-center in the passenger seat, the outer edges of the display fade to black, a vignette effect that I found quite distracting. The good news is that the display appears perfectly black from the driver's screen, preventing any temptation to glance over. The bad news is that, unlike the Audi A6 e-tron or other vehicles that can selectively turn off their privacy filters, driver and passenger here can't watch a video together while making a pit stop.

My biggest disappointment, though, is how little you can do with that display. It's for streaming, and that's about it. To me, the most useful feature of passenger displays is letting your co-driver search for destinations and scroll around the map without taking over the driver's navigation view. You can't do that here, and while the Silverado does have an AI-powered co-driver onboard that can do some of that for you, in my testing it didn't always work.

Android onboard

Chevrolet's new Android-based experience has plenty to be happy about, not least the massive display, which is bright, clear and generally easy to reach. Performance of the interface is also quite good, and I appreciate having Google Maps built right into the truck. It's my preferred way of figuring out which way to get where I'm going, and not having to rely on my phone is a bonus.

That said, it's extra nice to use my phone when I want to. Chevrolet has happily excluded support for both Android Auto and Apple CarPlay from most of its EVs, but the new Silverados have thankfully been saved from that misguided decision. Both services work here and wirelessly, even.

That's good, because I didn't love everything going on in the rest of the interface. While the bulk of it is clean and easy, vehicle settings are spread across a few different areas, with many of them hidden behind a quick-access panel accessible only via a tiny icon on the lower-left of the display.

Other frequently used features, like the truck's 360-degree camera view (something you will definitely need for parking), are also accessible via more tiny icons arrayed along the top of the display. Given the size of, well, everything in the new Silverado, I'm not sure why they're so small. Hitting one while on the go is a genuine challenge.

Towing tricks

Those cameras aren't just useful for successfully wedging your 5,800-pound, six-plus-foot-long truck into a parking space. Chevrolet puts cameras beneath the truck on its ZR2 model, so you can see whether your rear differential is about to shed its vital fluids upon a rock on the trail.

Cameras are also essential for many of the towing-centric features that make trailering a lot easier than it used to be. You can buy wired, remote cameras to mount on, and even in, whatever you're trailering. The truck can then create a "transparent trailer" mode, enabling you to see what's behind you when you're backing up as if your payload weren't there. You can also get a view inside of the trailer, useful if you have a nervous pony stomping around back there.

The Super Cruise hands-free driving system has also been optimized for towing, and I got a chance to go hands-free on a bumpy, narrow road with a 4,300-pound trailer behind. The system made it easy, keeping the truck perfectly centered without issue.

However, Super Cruise wasn't always perfect. On a later stretch of highway, driving trailer-free in a different Silverado, Super Cruise tried to automatically change lanes right into a motorcycle that was in the midst of passing me. I had to grab the wheel to stop the change. It was a surprising gaffe from a safety system that, in my experience, has been near bulletproof in the past.

Drive impressions

So the interface isn't perfect, and Super Cruise isn't either, but those are issues that can hopefully be quickly and easily addressed via a software update. What about the rest of the truck, the parts that won't be so easy to address? I was quite impressed.

I got to sample three out of the four engines, and all proved quite capable for towing and general driving. Yes, the 6.6-liter V8 was strong and had plenty of torque to drive the ZR2 model I tested up and over every obstacle in its way. But honestly, the 5.7 felt very nearly as strong on the road, and I have to imagine for everyday use the four-cylinder will be plenty.

Out on Tucson's highways and byways, the Silverado 1500 was surprisingly pleasant. Its ride quality has just enough of a harsh edge on it to remind you that you're driving a box-frame truck with live axles at either end, but not so punishing that you'll hate your life over every concrete separation joint. It's even reasonably quiet at highway speed, and the interior is so massively roomy on the Crew Cab that you won't have to worry about your kids in the second seat getting in each other's faces.

Wrap-up

The new Silverado is an impressive package already, though it'll need a software update or two to reach its full potential. Until then, the inclusion of wireless CarPlay and Android Auto is very appreciated, especially with the dual magnetic Qi chargers. The Super Cruise implementation here clearly still has a few kinks to work out, but otherwise the truck has a lot to offer.

That said, driving something like this is quite a commitment, both in terms of how much space it'll take up in your life and how much it'll drink. While Chevrolet doesn't post fuel economy figures for these trucks, I averaged 16.2 mpg in a 5.7-liter V8-equipped truck. And with that Trail Boss-trim truck coming in at $76,100 after destination with the options you see above, gas won't be the only thing you're paying for.