2024 Chevrolet Silverado 2500 HD Review and Test Drive
Capability comes with compromises in this heavy-duty truck.
Tim Stevens
QuickTakes:
With full-size trucks such as the Chevy Silverado 1500 and its light-duty rivals offering remarkable capabilities paired with increasingly practical, comfortable accommodations, it's easy to question the necessity for heavy-duty trucks. I've even towed some sizable trailers with family-friendly SUVs lately, leaving me to wonder: Who really needs a truck with HD, Heavy Duty, or Super Duty in its name?
The mainstream appeal of heavy-duty trucks includes those who need to pull large horse trailers or even bigger RVs. But, as it has been with heavy duty trucks for years, there are cost, efficiency, and day-to-day livability trade-offs to consider. I aimed to discover how the 2024 Chevrolet Silverado 2500 HD balanced those trade-offs.
Tim Stevens
2024 Chevrolet Silverado 2500 HD prices and configurations
The 2024 Silverado 2500 HD is not only bigger than the Silverado 1500, it's also more expensive. Where you can get a base Silverado 1500 for roughly $39,000, the 2500 HD starts at just over $46,000 for a Regular Cab Work Truck (WT) and goes up to about $75,000 for the High Country Crew Cab before options. The Custom, LT, LTZ, and ZR2 models are between those two extremes.
The truck I tested, provided by Chevrolet, was a Crew Cab in mid-range LT trim with four-wheel drive (4WD) and a base price of $54,000. The as-configured price of $64,445 included $9,550 in options, a $1,000 package discount, and a $1,895 destination charge to ship this big truck from its final assembly plant in Oshawa, Ontario, Canada.
Tim Stevens
Silverado HD Styling is Both Ominous and Simple
The Silverado 2500 HD makes a heck of a first impression. The recently redesigned Silverado 1500 is more angular than ever, and the 2500 takes that to another extreme. Blacking out that massive grille can't hide its height.
You'll find virtually every styling detail on the 2500 on its nose. From stem to stern, there's nary a crease on the side of the truck, with only some subtle notches in the overall shape of the taillights out back providing any visual intrigue.
The hood is the most needlessly fussy part of the design, with a bold raised center section on top and even a hood scoop framed in chrome. It all looks impressive enough, but take a peek underneath, and you'll quickly see the standard 6.6-liter V8 sits down low in the engine compartment. There's nothing but a void on top, and that hood scoop is completely blocked off. It's just for looks, providing zero airflow, only drag.
Vanity, thy name is Silverado.
Though the HD Front End Design is Bold It Limits Forward Visibility
From the driver's seat, the hood scoop negatively impacts forward visibility. A child standing before the truck would be utterly invisible to the driver. And while ultrasonic parking sensors are found at the back of the truck, they are not installed on the front. That's a curious omission and a seeming safety risk.
Climbing up into the driver's seat takes a little effort. The Z71 edition I tested here was not equipped with running boards, though they are available from Chevy in various sizes and configurations for between $900 and $1,300. Even at 6 -feet tall, I needed to use the grab handle and haul myself up into the seat. My 5-foot-tall wife's entry into the passenger seat was more of an ordeal.
Tim Stevens
The Silverado 2500 HD's Interior Is Cavernous
Once you're inside, you have plenty of room. More than a foot of distance separates the front seats, creating space for a massive center console with storage compartments, a wireless charging pad, two USB ports, and even a 110-volt outlet.
Another pair of USB ports live on the dashboard, next to the climate controls, which are of the traditional, button-heavy variety. That includes dedicated buttons for heating the entirety of the front seats or just the back portion. Either way, they get mighty toasty. Traditional trailer brake controls sit to the left of that, an easy reach from the steering wheel.
Even more buttons are found on top of that before you get to the star of the interior, a 13.4-inch touchscreen display running Chevrolet's Infotainment 3 Premium system, itself powered by Android Automotive.
Tim Stevens
Silverado 2500 HD's Rear Seat Is Spacious but Spartan
There's little in the way of creature comforts in the back seat beyond another pair of USB ports and acres of room. Seating three adults across for short trips won't be any problem. If you're only carrying two, the massive armrest will give them both plenty of usable space.
When there's nobody in the back, those rear seats fold upward, creating a generous, flat space that's actually at the perfect height to be something of a mobile workbench. It would be ideal for assembling tools, swapping drill bits, that sort of thing.
Tim Stevens
2024 Chevrolet Silverado 2500 HD Is Built on Android Automotive
The Silverado’s glossy infotainment runs on Google built in, which puts access to the truck’s integrated 360-degree camera and a comprehensive set of settings at your fingertips. The Android Automotive operating system — called Google built in by Chevy — should not be confused with Android Auto or Apple CarPlay. Both of those are apps layered on top of a vehicle’s native infotainment system, and are available in the Silverado HD. Android Automotive is the native operating system, which is similar to having Windows or MacOS on a laptop.
There's also a helpful app called Trailering, which allows you to add and configure trailers, whether of the hitch, fifth-wheel, or gooseneck variety. From here, you can specify reminders for maintenance and test lights. You can even track fuel economy when that trailer is attached.
Whether or not you're hauling, you have easy access to Google Assistant, Google Maps, YouTube Music, and lots more, even if you don't connect a smartphone. With integrated Google Assistant, direct voice commands — "find my closest Starbucks" — execute as quickly and as easily as more nuanced ones —"I'm hungry." And since Google probably has a good idea of what you like by now, the results are quite good.
Tim Stevens
Google in the Dash Adds Convenience and Apps
If you're already a Google user, sign in on the touchscreen, and all your contacts and destinations will be right there. The same goes for your YouTube Music playlists. Other apps such as Spotify are easy to download and install.
You can still connect to Android Auto or Apple CarPlay wirelessly. It's a very comprehensive infotainment offering, although it's sadly backed by a decidedly underwhelming sound performance. Buyers must step up to at least the LTZ trim to unlock the seven-speaker Bose sound system.
Tim Stevens
2024 Chevrolet Silverado 2500 HD Active Safety Offerings Are Limited
More disappointing than the LT's sound system, though, is the limited safety offerings on the truck. While the Silverado 2500 HD offers automatic emergency braking with pedestrian detection and lane-departure warnings, adaptive cruise is only available as an option. It isn't even standard fare on the top-shelf High Country trim, where it's part of the $1,775 Technology Package or the $2,815 Premium Package.
The truck I tested did not feature adaptive cruise, meaning it simply flashes a warning if you're following too closely to vehicles ahead.
While the 2500 HD will likewise beep at you should you wander from your lane, it won't do anything else to correct it. And that beeping is so sensitive that you'll soon want to turn it off. That explains why there's a dedicated button for doing precisely that situated to the right of the steering wheel.
Curiously, the 2500 HD features Chevrolet's Teen Driver Mode, which allows you to restrict the truck's capabilities for certain drivers. I can't imagine, however, letting a new driver behind the wheel of a truck this large.
No Safety Ratings for 2024 Chevrolet Silverado 2500 HD
Regarding formal safety ratings, neither the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) nor the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) has performed crash tests on the Silverado 2500 HD. Typically, these organizations don't test heavy-duty trucks.
Tim Stevens
A Big V8 With a Proper Four-Wheel-Drive Drivetrain
Chevrolet equips the Silverado 2500 HD with a standard gasoline-fueled 6.6-liter V8, making 401 horsepower and 464 pound-feet of torque. It's connected to a 10-speed automatic transmission and a proper 4WD system with a central transfer case offering low and high modes. For nearly $10,000 more, you can get a Duramax turbo-diesel V8 engine good for 470 horsepower and 975 lb-ft of torque, with more towing capacity and power than most owners will ever need.
Each corner of the test truck had 20-inch wheels with Goodyear Wrangler A/T tires, offered as part of the Z71 package. In addition, the Silverado 2500 HD Z71 comes with an off-road-tuned suspension, hill descent control, and underbody skid plates.
Slow and Steady Is the Silverado 2500 HD's Way
Some big cars and SUVs hide their mass and volume in fascinating ways, relying on rear steering or an adaptive suspension to corner and handle better than they should. The Silverado 2500 HD is not one of those vehicles. From the long throw of the brake pedal to the relaxed steering ratio, this thing feels every bit like the big rig it is.
Those slow-responding controls bring precision, though, and that's especially important should you find yourself in the unfortunate position of doing some rock hopping or trail crawling in this monster. From a drivetrain perspective, it's more than capable, with a two-speed transfer case and a locking rear differential. But it'd better be a trail without too many twists and turns.
Tim Stevens
The Silverado 2500 HD is Big, But it Shines When Put to Work
Aside from the normal and off-road drive modes, there's also a trailer option. Regardless of mode, the 6.6-liter V8 makes a good sound but doesn't exactly rocket this more than 7,000-pound rig forward. At full throttle, the truck accelerates cleanly but not strongly enough to make any of your passengers look up from their social media feeds.
The new 10-speed Allison transmission can be slightly harsh at times, but this vehicle clearly is tuned for work. It is rated to tow more than 18,000 pounds with the gooseneck mounting points in the bed, and the transmission's fortitude is a big part of what enables that.
The suspension is also harsh. The 2500 HD bounces and crashes over uneven pavement when empty — as most heavy duty trucks do — but again, it can haul up to 3,600 pounds in the bed, depending on the configuration. The priority is capability over comfort.
Tim Stevens
The Silverado's Trick Tailgate Is a Winner
The 2500 HD's standard bed measures 6.8 feet long — 8.2 if you go for the long bed — and the new Multi-Flex tailgate means you can more easily take advantage of that. A variation on GMC's MultiPro tailgate, it has many tricks up its sleeve.
Fold the smaller portion of the tailgate down, and it can suspend longer items above the bed. When you fold the entire tailgate down, that inset portion of the tailgate makes it easy to get cargo farther into the bed. My favorite mode is to flip part of that center inset section of the tailgate down a third time, creating a rigid step that makes walking up into the bed a breeze.
That's important when the bed is this high. Indeed, the 2500 HD has steps situated at all four corners of the bed, but climbing up onto them while carrying anything heavy is a challenge. With the Multi-Flex tailgate, it's easy.
All that capability comes at a cost, though. As a full-size heavy-duty truck, the EPA doesn't officially rate the Silverado 2500 HD for fuel economy, but during my testing, which included a mix of rural and highway driving, it delivered 13.8 mpg.
Tim Stevens
The Silverado 2500 HD Is an Up-Sized Downgrade for Most
The Silverado 2500 HD is worth the compromises over the Silverado 1500 and other full-size but not heavy-duty trucks only if you need all that extra capability. If you are legitimately trailering something heavier than 13,000 pounds on the regular or if you need compatibility with a gooseneck trailer, your hand is forced to go with something like this.
Additionally, if you're hauling a couple of tons of gravel or mulch and just can't make do with the roughly 2,000 pounds that the 1500 can carry, you may have to go with something like this.
I can't think of any reason otherwise why someone would pay more for a truck that is less pleasant and more difficult to drive. The only reason would be wanting something that fills a bigger hole in the universe and that, as with the big fake scoop on the hood, is an act of vanity.
