Chevy's Silverado Lining

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Among the Silverado's other appeals are the numerous luxury and convenience features. GM's OnStar telematics system with a year of free service comes standard on all versions of the truck, including the base model. On my test truck, both the interior and exterior rearview mirrors had an auto-dimming feature.

The optional "EZ Lift" tailgate ($95) is something I never would have considered paying extra for—until I tried it. It makes opening the closing the rear gate almost as effortless as opening the glovebox. Another seemingly superfluous feature I ended up really liking is the remote starting system that allows you to start the truck and warm up the cabin (or cool if off in summer) from inside a store or restaurant (the doors stay locked automatically, so no one can make off with the truck before you get there).

I do have a few nits to pick about the Silverado. The new two-tier glovebox isn't a great idea. A single big glovebox that could hold a lot of stuff would be more practical. You would also expect a bedliner to be standard on the higher-end versions of the truck, but my test truck, which listed for a relatively steep $40,974, didn't have one. The bed was already showing scratches even though the truck barely had 2,000 miles on it.

Though easy to steer, the Silverado's 47.2-ft. steering radius (two feet more than a crew cab F-150) makes it a bit hard to maneuver in tight spots. Pulling out of my little country post office in the Silverado, I actually had to back up to avoid clipping the picket fence in front of the house across the street, something I don't remember ever having to do before in other trucks. Another negative is that you can't get the Silverado with a manual transmission and the standard four-speed automatic is a bit choppy. It makes you wonder why GM didn't go with a more refined six-speed transmission.

Buy It or Bag It?

The Silverado is now the benchmark among domestic full-size pickups. Pickup truck buyers tend to be very brand-loyal, but even traditional Ford of Dodge buyers should check this truck out. Unless you're looking for some very specific feature like the Dodge Ram's living-room-size Mega Cab (see BusinessWeek.com, 3/22/06, "Dodge's Living Room on Wheels"). The new Silverado is very tough competition for the F-150 and Dodge Ram in terms of its ride, interior quality, versatility, and towing capacity. Its bigger, more-aggressive-looking grill also makes its exterior styling much more distinctive than the previous model's.

I would also suggest test-driving it against Japanese models, such as the new Toyota Tundra and the Nissan Titan. Recent J.D. Power research shows that nearly half of all buyers of domestic pickups never seriously consider buying a foreign model, while one-third of all import buyers never seriously consider buying a domestic.

But Toyota and Nissan have dramatically improved the ruggedness of their trucks and Americanized their styling, while GM has done a lot to improve the quality and durability of the Silverado. So many of the old reasons for avoiding one or the other are disappearing.

Keep in mind that you may end up spending more on a Silverado than you expected to. Though the '07 Silverado's list prices are highly competitive, the Power Information Network estimates that its average selling price is $34,192, way above the average for the Dodge Ram 1500 ($26,430), the Ford F150 ($27,400,) and the Nissan Titan ($28,537).

However, I suspect that means that once shoppers get into the showrooms and see all the features they can get on the new Silverado, they will sharpen their pencils and figure out a way to come up with the money for the extras they didn't know they wanted until they tried them.

Click here to see more of the 2007 Chevy Silverado.

Peterson reviews cars for BusinessWeek.com.