2016 Chevrolet Silverado: Hot Or Not?
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Chevrolet revealed its refreshed 2016 Silverado earlier today, and it was out with the chrome in with color.
The most significant change to the 2016 Silverado was the addition of new body-color matching grille piece, connecting a revised headlight design. Our first impression is it’s a much improved look over the stale styling introduced a few years ago.
That’s not to say the Silverado was a bad looking truck, but it certainly lacked some pizazz compared to the competition.
As stated in our initial story, the only photo provided by Chevrolet is what you see above, meaning, we don’t know how heavily the rear of the truck has been reworked, if at all. The same goes for the interior, though, expect the eight-speed automatic to have a much greater presence this time.
Overall, the new design is welcome, and should play better with the all-new F-150 in terms of swaying buyers through looks, not just specifications.
But, it’s your turn. Has Chevrolet done buyers right by this refresh? Or, do you prefer the looks of the outgoing truck better? Vote in the poll, and let us know in the comments.
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Looks a bit sleeker up front, but the rest of the truck still looks like it’s made of Legos. I’d like to see what it looks like with the chrome grille and bumper.
Let me guess, you are probably a Ford fan whose mind is polluted with bias.
Not that I should need to validate my status with you, but I am very much a GM guy. Growing up it’s all my family ever drove, and every car I’ve owned has been GM. I converted my wife (and her dad) to driving Chevys instead of Toyotas within six months of getting married, and I’m directing my parents to the GMC Terrain as a replacement to their tired Blazer. Currently, I’m awaiting the 2017 Buick Lacrosse as my next vehicle.
I really fail to see what is so offensive about my post. I have strongly disliked the current generation Silverado and Sierra for not reaching forward enough in the redesign, and relying too much on evolutionary styling instead of something new -they look more like an MCE of the old bodystyle than all-new. Just because I’m a GM fan, doesn’t mean that I’m a mindless fanboy that likes everything they pump out. I started off with a compliment to the styling looking sleeker up front, which is where I feel the styling needs to go from here. I’d love to see the next generation trucks be sleek and sculpted with some curves instead of the blocky square “macho” look, which was also popularized and continues to be pursued by, *aham* FORD (The Ford Superduty is the worst looking truck out there). I feel the Ram has been the styling leader among trucks for decades (upcoming Rebel excluded), though I’d most likely pick a Sierra if I were in the market for a truck. I prefer the fact that GMC is less commonly seen than Chevy.
…and yes, I like my trucks to have a classic chrome bumper and grille (at least the full width crossbar). have you ever seen a monochromatic Ram Sport after a few years, bumpers are covered in rusty chips from stones/road debris. If the pics of the updated Sierra released today are any indication, the bread and butter models of the Silverado will still wear chrome upfront too.
Better… but only slightly.
The monochromatic makes it finally look competitive, the current models chrome around the headlights rather than body color would have been fine for one special addition, but all that chrome was a bit much.. We’ll have to see the volume models to know, but I like this LTZ sample
Seems to me the reason behind this facelift was to further cut costs by being able to use the Sierra front bumper on the Silverado.
It looks good but the “old” grill looks good too, IMO they’re tied.
Well many complained the old nose looked too much like the past model and now they updated it and other now complain it looks too different? AYYY!
The truth is the truck did carry a lot of the old truck over and this one gives it a more modern face and futuristic look that this truck deserves.
We had a 09 that was a good truck but the interior, engine and suspension on our new 2012 make it feel like a totally different truck. It is by far the best riding truck empty out there and weight effects it little.
The only I am not crazy about on the 2012 is so much chrome. It gets stone chipped as they are now just plastic so there is no cost savings here.
Now our new one is a Z71 so the chrome is tames down. But I am pleased with the new nose as it sends a signal just truly how much has changed under the skin. The old nose just did not send that same signal.
GM well done and it is nicely tied to the Colorado in styling now to give that family appearance.
I thought the Ram was the best ride? But cain’t take a load, like the Chevy.
Well ours rides great and takes a major load with no complaints.
I can’t believe how well full size trucks ride has improved over the last few years. I think back at trucks in the 80s/early 90s, and the idea of driving 500 miles in a truck was almost painful thinking about it. In the late 90s, all of a sudden trucks became refined enough to drive, but the difference between a truck and a car was still noticeable. By the early 10s, some of the full size trucks ride better than most cars do. Today I have a 1 ton truck, and non-truck people can’t believe how refined the ride is. I’d gladly drive that thing cross country its so comfortable.
I’m a huge chevy fan, so I hate to admit it, but the Ram did have a heck of a ride. I attribute a lot of that to the rear coil suspension. I drive a 3500 now, but if I were to buy a 1/2 ton, I’d probably lean towards the Rams for that reason…. kind of like the old avalanche (which I loved). Sure it can’t haul as much, but 99% of truck buyers don’t need to haul over 10k lbs, and the new ram is good to I think 11,500? Maybe not as much as the others, but for a 1/2 ton its enough. If your really hauling 10-20k, you probably want a 3/4 or 1 ton, and as soon as you get there the game changes. Ram drops the coil suspension for leaf springs like the other players.
Actually, the issue with Ram’s suspension is payload, not max tow ratings. The only way you get enough payload rating to tow a 10,000 lbs trailer due to pin weight and a family inside is to opt for the $1500-2000 air bag leveling suspension add, otherwise you are limited to a very small trailer due to pin weight/payload. A regular coil suspension ranges from only 1200-1500 lbs payload while GM and Ford have upwards of 1900-2200 lb payloads. So with a Ram, by the time you add a family of 4 weighing 600-700 lbs, you only have about 700 lbs payload left which at a 10% tongue weight average for conventional trailers, means you are limited to around a 7000 lb loaded (not dry weight) camper.
I believe Ram’s 2500 series has gone to a coil suspension as well which means most people will be opting for the rather expensive air bag suspension so they can still tow and handle heavier loads.
I like it…kinda. At least GM are doing refreshes often (Malibu, Camaro, Cruze, etc.). But is it just me or does it look too much like the GMC Sierra now?
This is why GM needs a good CMO – not a tireless self-promoter who buys lines like Chevy Runs Deep. But someone who can keep lines from stepping on each other’s toes – GMC commercials that look like Cadillac commercials, Sierras that look like Silverados…
I’m surprised how many people gave this the “go”. I am typically gung-ho about new designs, but I really really dislike this one.
I loved my chevrolet avalanche. The only reason I didn’t buy a new one is because the 2007 redesign made it look like a tahoe- like an SUV, not a truck. I get the same impression here. I feel like it looks more like that Colorado or SUV than a truck.
When I go to Chevrolet.com, I see a big ol’ bear next to a big ol’ truck. It conjurs up the term, ” ‘merica”. Twenty years ago, that would have been “Baseball Hot Dogs Apple Pie Chevrolet”.
However, when I look at this new truck, I think, “mommy! can you take me to my soccer game?”. I think Honda Ridgeline, Chevy Colorado, Tahoe, late model chevrolet avalanche. The more I look at it, the more I say, “Is that the new Durango truck”? The more I look at it the more it resembles a Durango.
Maybe thats the market Chevy is going for, the refined “I’m not a truck guy” truck buyer. After all, thats the market some other players are reaching towards. But for me, a truck should look raw on the outside and refined on the inside.
I did think the old version looked much MUCH better in person than it did in pictures. Maybe this will be the same. The softening of the grille though seems like the wrong direction. Do I haul my kids around sometimes? yes, but thats not what I want to think about when buying a truck. I want to pretend like some day I might have a reason to haul a giant sequoia from California to New York. I don’t want to imagine soccer practice when I’m buying a truck. This one here screams “Soccer Mom/Dad!” to me. While that might be what 99% of truck buyers use their car for, 98% don’t want to admit it or imagine it.
I like the new look.
GMC Denali….hands down…even if not Denali trim front end of the Jmmy is much more aggressive.
As a seperate comment…headlights should be a styling cue. In the case of the Chevy the lights get lost in the 2 layer LED maze below the light housing.
On the Jimmy the LED’s are above and below which draws your eyes into the headlight housing and makes the whole mass pop. A subtle difference, but put a similar photo side by side and i think you will see the distinction. HID’s do not need to be small…lens structure can vary depending on need and design elements.
Also..since I have jumped on this issue… the LED for lights are wayyy too dainty…iI want TRUCK lights that could run…or look like they could run a World Ralleye night section or the Baja!!
The aftmkt should have a field day…helllllooo SEMA
I like the retracting step up. I hate my big bulky chrome thing that sticks out and makes the truck look like crap… I wish that could be retro fitted to a 2015. I love the front end.. not as bulky looking.