A Big Deal | Chevrolet Silverado LTZ Drive

The Chevrolet Silverado 1500 LTZ Premium (big name bigger truck) arrives at Giltrap North Shore from North America via Melbourne, where the team who once turned Commodores from taxis to performance cars, now prepare the big Chevy's to drive on our side of the road.

The cab-off process results in a slick result, fitting for what is a surprisingly comfortable ride…or maybe not surprising, this is a big machine 1.92m tall, 5.9 metres long. At over two metres wide, it rivals a Mack truck for the amount of chrome on the front grill.

Behind the shiny great wall is a 6.2 litre V8 producing 313kWand 642 newtons, delivered through a ten-speed auto box. This adds up to a 3.5 tonne two rating, and if you fit the 70mm tow ball – that becomes 4.5 tonnes. Factor in the 760kg bed rating, five passengers, and a fully loaded Silverado can total over eight tonnes.

For all that cruising on the open road, you can get into the 9 litres per hundred, thanks to active cylinder control cuts the fuel to up to six cylinders at a time. If the economy isn't your focus, sub-seven seconds 0-100 times are easily achieved.

This truck was built to do serious work, but the result is seriously enjoyable to drive.