2025 Chevrolet Silverado ZR2 review

The full-size pickup segment in Australia continues to grow, but the Chevrolet Silverado 1500 still has a couple of unique selling propositions.

Firstly, it’s the only one of its competitive set – which also includes the Ford F-150, Ram 1500 and Toyota Tundra – to offer a variant in Australia specifically tailored for off-roading.

Sadly, off-road pickups like the Ford F-150 Raptor and Ram 1500 RHO aren’t sold here, at least not yet.

Secondly, with the Ram 1500 moving to twin-turbocharged inline six-cylinder engines, the Silverado is the last pickup standing with a V8. Again, you can still get V8 power in the F-150 and Ram 1500 overseas, but not here.

Therefore, the Silverado 1500 ZR2 has a special appeal to both American pickup truck traditionalists and off-road enthusiasts.

WATCH: Paul’s video review of the 2024 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 ZR2

It’s pricier than the more tarmac-oriented Silverado 1500 LTZ, but is the ZR2 worth the premium?

How much does the Chevrolet Silverado cost?

The ZR2 commands an $11,000 premium over the LTZ, with prices starting from $141,500 plus on-road costs.

To see how the Silverado lines up against the competition, check out our comparison tool

What is the Chevrolet Silverado like on the inside?

Climb on up – and yes, it’s a bit of a stretch – and you’ll find an attractive interior.

The ZR2 is subtly differentiated inside from its LTZ sibling, but the changes are positive.

The first thing you’ll notice is the two-tone Jet Black and Greystone colourway with green stitching, bringing some more warmth and contrast than the black-on-black cabin of the LTZ.

A facelift in 2023 brought a dramatically overhauled interior that’s one of the nicest in this segment.

Ram is often held as the segment standard in terms of opulence, but I’d argue the Chevy’s interior is more resolved visually and more user-friendly thanks to a touchscreen angled towards the driver.

Mind you, that screen isn’t entirely user-friendly, as the anchored shortcut buttons sit on the passenger side instead of the driver’s side.

The infotainment system is easy to navigate and has attractive graphics. There are some missing features, however.

There’s no embedded satellite navigation, so you’ll need to use wireless Apple CarPlay or Android Auto – and if you’re heading somewhere with poor reception, it’s best to download offline maps ahead of time. There’s also no digital radio, just AM and FM.

There’s an attractive digital instrument cluster that’s easy to read and navigate, as well as a head-up display.

Other than buttons being on the ‘wrong’ side of the touchscreen, there aren’t many other left-to-right-hand drive conversion quirks, however, and everything also feels well-assembled.

As with the LTZ, you’ll find soft-touch trim on much of the dash and doors, plus attractive metallic trim for contrast and a little bit of smudge-prone gloss black trim too.

We appreciate the Silverado helpfully turning on the heated seats and steering wheel upon startup when it’s cold out, or the ventilated seats if it’s hot. Those seats are comfortable, too, and feature 10-way power adjustment plus memory for the driver.

In another surprisingly thoughtful and luxurious touch, the heated steering wheel will also eventually turn off, while the climatised seats will drop down though the stages before turning off, too.

It’s details like these, as well as the illuminated USB surrounds and the way the interior lighting gently activates, that shows GM sweated the small stuff in the Silverado’s interior.

We also appreciate the continued use of physical switchgear, including for the climate control. There’s also a handy shortcut button to toggle the lane-keep assist on or off; this is located on the centre stack instead of the steering wheel, however, and it may take you a moment to adjust to the volume and skip track buttons being behind the steering wheel.

Storage is ample, and includes a deep centre console bin, two glove compartments, a large tray at the base of the centre stack, and commodious bottle holders in the doors.

There are even little unexpected books and crannies like a pocket in the side of the centre console and a groove behind the touchscreen. We also like the cleverly situated wireless phone charger that keeps your phone snugly in place.

There’s even more storage in the rear. Lift up the bench and there are capacious storage compartments, while there’s even a clever compartment within the rear seatback. There are bottle holders in the doors, plus cupholders at the rear of the centre console, and map pockets on the (soft) front seatbacks.

Other amenities include heated outboard seats, air vents, a USB-A outlet and a USB-C outlet.

As expected of a full-size pickup truck, it’s positively palatial back here with ample headroom and legroom. You can sit three adults side-by-side comfortably.

The rear window can be opened if you want more air flow, or perhaps if you’re carrying a longer item. Unlike its rivals, however, the Silverado can’t be had with a panoramic sunroof – only a single-pane unit.

ABOVE: LTZ pictured

You’ll find handy steps in the rear bumper make it easier to get into the tub, while the tailgate can drop with the press of a button.

Inside the tub, there’s a spray-on liner and 12 fixed tie-downs. There’s also an LED light back here, plus a camera pointed down at the tub itself.

To see how the Silverado lines up against the competition, check out our comparison tool

What’s under the bonnet?

There’s a big V8 under the bonnet, unlike the Silverado’s six-cylinder rivals from Ford, Ram and Toyota.

We’d be remiss if we didn’t mention the major global recall GM is conducting, following multiple engine seizures. The company says it has identified the issue and has made changes to the engine from model year 2025 (MY25) that address it. More on this issue here.

We averaged 13.7L/100km on a loop consisting of inner-city, suburban and highway driving. While that was more than the LTZ over the same loop (12.9L/100km), it was still less than the old V8-powered Ram 1500 Laramie Sport (13.8L/100km) and the current twin-turbo V6 Ford F-150 XLT (13.9L/100km).

Not bad for a big V8…

At the end of my time with the ZR2, it was sitting at 14.9L/100km. That’s a bit of a jump up from the claim, and it’s worth noting much of this driving was done with one person on board and no load. Hook up a trailer and fuel consumption is likely to get a lot higher, though at least it’ll take regular unleaded fuel.

As with many full-size pickups, the payload figure isn’t anything grand – you have just 713kg to play with when you start loading the vehicle up with people and their stuff.

To see how the Silverado lines up against the competition, check out our comparison tool

How does the Chevrolet Silverado drive?

You’ll feel like you own the road in a Silverado 1500 ZR2, though in narrower side streets and lanes you’ll feel like you’re pleading to borrow it.

I’ve been in plenty of these big American pickups now, to the point where I’ve gotten thoroughly used to driving them in the urban grind. But if you’re a newcomer to this type of vehicle, you’ll initially find their dimensions daunting.

If you’re anything like me, you’ll quickly get used to the sheer comfort full-size pickups offer, both in terms of their expansive cabins and their generally pliant ride quality. Oh, and being able to see over everything short of buses and trucks in traffic is delightful, too.

We had back-to-back loans of the LTZ and ZR2, and while the latter still rides comfortably – like essentially every American pickup sold here today – it feels slightly firmer and more fidgety than the LTZ.

Part of this could be attributed to the Goodyear Wrangler tyres, which also require you to be mindful of stopping distances when the roads get wet. They also let in more noise into the cabin, which isn’t as quiet as some rivals like the tranquil F-150.

Much of that noise, though, is from the bellowing V8 engine rather than the wind, and that’s hardly the worst thing to hear…

The ZR2 features a raft of enhancements over the LTZ, including an upgraded two-speed transfer case, electronically locking front and rear differentials, and Multimatic DSSV dampers.

These feature an external oil reservoir and two sets of spool valves, one handling rebound and the other compression. A third spool valve in the main chamber takes care of harder rebound and compression.

In short, they offer more variability without having all the trick electronics of adaptive dampers.

There’s still a bit of float to the ZR2’s ride, like in the LTZ, which gives the Silverado a somewhat more ponderous feel than, say, an F-150 – something furthered by steering that’s a bit slower, heavier and vaguer than its fellow American.

That makes the Silverado a bit more of a handful in a parking lot, while the lack of front parking sensors also makes this big pickup more difficult to park.

Oh, and be mindful of height limits in parking lots as the ZR2 stands even taller than the LTZ. The thwack of the metal antenna against the Caution bar will be your sign not to proceed further.

There’s an automatic stop/start system which may irk you, but it’s easily turned off.

Unfortunately, there’s no auto hold function in the Silverado, while the paddle shifters don’t allow you to manually shift through all 10 gears and instead lock you to a highest gear.

There’s a suite of active safety and driver assist features, including adaptive cruise control, autonomous emergency braking, blind-spot monitoring and lane-keep assist.

The lane-keep assist can prove a bit intrusive, while GM’s vibrating safety seat is polarising – I love the idea of an alert that only warns you without alarming others in the vehicle, but many people I’ve spoken with find this to be more akin to a sudden and violent massage.

The Silverado’s camera system is excellent, with great resolution and myriad selectable camera views including an underbody view ideal for off-roading and an invisible trailer view.

While we didn’t take the ZR2 off-road up here in Queensland – apart from a short beach drive, where it performed commendably – we’ve previously put the pickup through its paces on our off-road test course in Victoria.

This includes a water crossing, rocky rails, offset moguls and hill climbs, all of which the ZR2 tackled without fuss.

You can see how the ZR2 handled it all in our video review above.

If you’re towing a trailer, there’s a handy trailer menu. This allows you to not only perform a trailer light check, but also go through a trailering checklist. There’s also a function that tells you how close you are to your gross combined mass.

To see how the Silverado lines up against the competition, check out our comparison tool

What do you get?

There are just two members of the Silverado 1500 lineup locally, unlike in North America where there are many more trim grades, more engines, and more body styles.

2025 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 LTZ Premium highlights:

• 20-inch alloy wheels
• All-terrain tyres
• Rancho Twin Tube shock absorbers
• LED reflector headlights
• Automatic high-beam
• LED tail-lights
• Cargo bed LED light
• Dual active sport exhaust
• Z71 skid plates
• Chrome exterior highlights
• Chrome side steps
• Power up and down tailgate
• Power sliding rear window
• Power sunroof
• Spray-on bedliner
• 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster
• 13.4-inch touchscreen infotainment system
• Head-up display
• Wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto
• Wireless phone charger
• Seven-speaker Bose premium sound system
• Dual-zone climate control
• Proximity entry and push-button start
• Rear camera mirror
• Power tilt and telescopic steering column adjustment
• Black leather upholstery
• Heated and ventilated front seats
• 10-way electric adjustable front seats
• Heated outboard rear seats
• Tow bar and 12-pin wiring harness
• Electric trailer brake controller
• Automatic trailer light test
• GCM alert

Silverado 1500 ZR2 adds:

• Removes up function for power tailgate
• 18-inch alloy wheels
• Goodyear Wrangler mud-terrain tyres
• Full-size spare wheel
• Multimatic DSSV dampers
• Enhanced two-speed transfer case
• Electric locking front and rear differentials
• Black exterior highlights
• ZR2 skid plates
• Front recovery hooks
• Jet Black and Greystone leather-appointed upholstery

To see how the Silverado lines up against the competition, check out our comparison tool

Is the Chevrolet Silverado safe?

None of these big pickup trucks have been crash-tested by ANCAP, and there’s no Euro NCAP rating either. The Silverado did, however, receive an overall ‘Good’ rating from the US Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.

Standard safety equipment across the range includes:

• 6 airbags
• Autonomous emergency braking (AEB)
• Blind-spot monitoring
• Rear cross-traffic alert
• Lane-keep assist
• Adaptive cruise control
• Surround-view camera
• Front parking sensors (LTZ Premium only)
• Rear parking sensors
• Tyre pressure monitoring system

How much does the Chevrolet Silverado cost to run?

The Chevrolet Silverado 1500 is backed by a three-year, 100,000 kilometre warranty.

GMSV and Ram are laggards in this segment when it comes to their aftersales offering. Both companies offer shorter warranties and have no capped-price servicing scheme, unlike Ford and Toyota.

Service intervals are 12 months or 12,000km (whichever comes first), matching the Ram and (almost) the Ford, which has 12-month/15,000km intervals. It betters the Tundra’s six-month/10,000km intervals at least.

CarExpert’s Take on the Chevrolet Silverado

The enhancements Chevrolet has made to the Silverado 1500 to transform it into a more off-road-capable pickup still make the ZR2 worth the premium – if you’ll actually take it off-road.

If you’re not a keen off-roader, you’ll find the ZR2 a little less comfortable and a little bit more cumbersome to live with than the LTZ.

Regardless of which Silverado you buy, however, you get a comfortable, spacious and well-appointed full-size pickup truck.

Oh, and you get a big honkin’ V8 engine – and for a lot of buyers, that’ll make all the difference.

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