Review Car

2011 Chevrolet Silverado

The 2011 Chevrolet Silverado suddenly looks far more contemporary than the Suburban or Tahoe. When looking at the Silverado your eyes are immediately drawn to the headlights, which angle down at the top. All of this is smoothly integrated into the front end, including the fog lamps and recessed tow hooks. Add the powerful hood and the Silverado presents an appearance that’s almost menacing. Squared-off wheel openings continue the aggressive theme down the sides of the truck. 2011 Chevrolet Silverado door openings are large, making getting in and out easier, and the door handles are big and easy to grab. Extended cabs come standard with four doors, though the rear doors only open about 90 degrees.

Optional puddle lamps mounted beneath the big side mirrors light the ground along the sides of the truck, handy in the woods and in the city. Mirrors are also available with redundant turn signal indicators, warning drivers alongside or in your blind spot, that you are moving over. Heavy-duty models have running lights on the roof, tailgate, and leading and trailing edges of bulging rear fenders. They add visibility for improved safety. Plus, they look neat.

2011 Chevrolet Silverado bed features built-in tie-down brackets near the four corners. Indentations stamped into the inner bed walls can hold boards to form bulkhead dividers or a second floor for two-tier loading. The 2011 2011 Chevrolet Silverado load floor is 31.6 inches above the ground on 2WD models, 33.7 on 4WD. That’s relatively low, and low is good when loading heavy cargo. Short-box beds are 78.7 inches long; long boxes are 97.6 inches long. Fleetside boxes are 64.8 inches wide (at the floor); Sportside boxes measure 49.1 inches wide. All measure 50 inches wide between the wheel housings. Inside, The 2011 Chevrolet Silverado is roomy and comfortable. The standard front bench seat is comfortable and can seat three, giving extended cab and crew cab models capacity for six people.

It’s split 40/20/40, and the middle part of the bench folds down to become a center console armrest. There’s lots of head room and plenty of leg room, hip room, and shoulder room. The standard bench is available in cloth or vinyl. Bucket seats are more comfortable and adjust every which way. We like both the premium cloth and the leather. The 2011 2011 Chevrolet Silverado’s seats are big and cushy, but not as comfortable as those in the Ram and F-150.

The bucket seats are separated by a deep center console that holds lots of stuff. The top of the lid features a nice rubber-lined indention handy for small items, though it would be even better if the rubber was an insert that could be removed for cleaning.

The back seat in Extended Cab models offers more room and comfort than expected. We wouldn’t want to ride across the state back there, but three adults can fit in reasonable comfort. The rear-seat bottom folds up to provide space for cargo, but it’s still in the way when trying to carry a lot of stuff and the floor is not flat. The entire rear seat assembly can be removed with a wrench and lifted out through the door when cargo capacity is more important than passenger space. The 2011 2011 Chevrolet Silverado Crew Cab offers roomy rear seats and additional interior cargo space.