HSV have finally released Silverado pricing today with the Chevrolet Silverado 2500HD WT model starting at $114,990. This is cheaper than what was expected for the entry level Silverado, and some $25,000 cheaper than its closest competitor, the RAM 2500 Laramie. It’s also $15,000 cheaper than the Ford F-150, which is imported by Performax International.
HSV have announced there will be a five-model Silverado line up starting with the $114,990 2500HD WT, and including the 2500HD LTZ at $134,990, the 2500HD LTZ Midnight Edition and Custom Sport at $139,990, and the top of the range 3500HD LTZ, due for release towards the middle of the year at $147,990.
All HSV Silverado’s will come with the infamous V8 turbo-diesel 6.6L Duramax engine, putting out a rather solid 332kW/1234Nm. This will be matched to an Allison 1000 six-speed auto, and also have a heavy duty, locking, rear diff.
Payload capacity on the Silverado’s isn’t overly exciting nudging just under a tonne at 975kg, however all of the 2500HD’s will have a towing capacity of 5890kg, so long as they can get it through ADR & compliance certification. Standard features across all models will include reversing camera’s, front, side and curtain airbags, as well as a myriad of other safety features. 
Interior wise they will all get the Chevrolet MyLink infotainment system, six-speaker audio and the usual Bluetooth and USB connectivity. Seating capacity will be six seats with a 40/20/40 front bench seat. 18-inch wheels are set as standard, wrapped in Goodyear Wrangler SR-A LT265/70 R18 all terrain tyres as the OEM fitted option.
HSV are also to expected to announce the Silverado 1500HD sometime next year, which will follow RAM Trucks Australia’s announcement of the RAM 1500 this year, which should see an entry level Chev pick-up priced well under $100,000. RAM have already stated their 1500 series will be priced to compete with mid sized offerings already on the market such as the Toyota HiLux. 
28 comments
Is it likely to replace the 79/200 series etc as well as a bunch of utes?
I have been looking for a tow vehicle that can be a useful load carrier when its not towing the van.
So I don’t need 5 tonne towing and I would be hard pressed to find anyone who does. Nice to have though especially with a long wheelbase for stability.
But at $114k with less then a 1 tonne payload it really can only be a tow vehicle rather than a really handy all round work and play machine. its competitive with the 200 series in price but I’m not sure they compete in the same market.
Its more expensive by a long way that other vehicles with similar payloads, its much larger so its hard to use in a shopping centre. So it can tow the van and sit in the driveway looking pretty ( very pretty I might add) but it wont fit in most suburban garages.
So from my point of view its lost its way. Its just a really expensive BT50 or Ranger .
If I did not need a ute I would buy a 200 series
I can’t see the point of this. Very few people need a tow capacity above 3.5 tonnes and its not even confirmed as 5.89. It’s too big for daily use here, or in some off-road situations and still overpriced. The payload is dismal and matched by vehicles half its price.
Sorry Ray, to my eyes it is far from pretty. It looks crass and overblown to me.
At the moment I tow with the Rc Colorado and it is a good vehicle but you cannot compete with the comfort of the new Silverado.
It will be a fantastic tow vehicle and great on long trips. Yes I would park it in my drive any day of the week, when I am home that is.
I agree with all of the above. Impractical as a car & ute substitute due to its size. Then, take it bush and it would take all of the road in some places. A lot of the price is Govt. “Luxury” car tax. Not for me. My 79 series is just great!
Payload is a joke for a vehicle of that size, when are manufacturers going to give us something useful.
Well I have been a very loyal Toyota LansCruiser advocate & love my 200 Series VX Twin Turbo Diesel. I have had the 60, 100 & 200 Series. Have been considering likes of the Ram & Silverado. My choice would be the top of the line Silverado as it gets you all safety features that will not be offered on lower less expensive models. What gets me there is the towing capacity….i do tow a 36′ 3500kg GVM caravan & i am within 20kg of the maximum towing capacity of the LandCruiser. I really do not want to have the current LandCruiser upgraded as this money put into doing this will be lost at re sale. Silverado with 332kw & 1234nm (nearly double nm over the LandCruiser) will be extremely satisfying as i am very pleased with the 650nm i get from the LandCruiser. Toyota are going to outprice themselves eventually as there are going to be many options available to us in Australia competing for our hard earned dollar & retirement superannuation funds.
The payload need to be 1500-2000kg to be affordable otherwise your only benefit is the bigger donk and a nice tow capacity .
Why would you buy other than being a cashed up guy flashing the cash around with what you buy.
A decent tray and canopy takes a bit of the tray weight capacity
Merc tray utes are in the same price range but are severely lacking in the tow capacity 2500kg and are very heavy to even begin with starting close to 3t
Too big for your average Grey Nomad and for the average driveway. I think the LC200 is safe!
this over piced ute is nearly 3 times the retail price in the u.s which sells in the 4wd version from $38,000-$40,000. even including the r.h.d conversion & import duty a tidy little profit for g.m.h
norm- 100% correct – when will we stop getting ripped off in Australia. The govt taxes on imports are a joke.
Bring in a base spec model like the GX double cab cruiser for 70K and watch them run out the door. Toyota should be ashamed charging 80K for a base model vehicle.
975 kg load capacity is just a hopeless design feature of this truck. Here is the rub, 250kg towball mass, the towbar 50kg, bullbar and winch 100kg, fuel 100kgs+ spare fuel, driver and passenger 200kg, canopy with some recovery stuff 250kg+ = 950kg. Better stop there…. dont add the kids or 100l extra fuel or fridge or food or lots of nice accessories. “What a friggin hopeless design truck regarding load capacity.
This is better for towing larger vans above 20ft than the cruiser. I have a 200 GXL and sit on max GVM and GCM provided I am light on adding equipment and only two people. Need GVM upgrade as well as GCM upgrade and the latter is hard to obtain with the price of GVM being high for after market. These bigger cars are my next option.
You really do need to quote the on road prices or indicate that the prices do not include on road costs because it is not possible to purchase at the prices you have indicated in the article.
Also no point comparing the base level Silverado WT with the top spec Ram Laramie.
A friend of mine, purchased a 4WD, dual wheel Dodge Ram, brand new in Texas, (USA), for $50000.
Shipped to Australia in a container. $8000. Had the right hand drive conversion carried out, for $30000.
Total price, $88000.
You go figure, why you would be paying, up to $150000, for this rig, in Australia. I know the dealers have to make a living. But a $60000 mark up. No thanks.
Payloads of all these big rigs is a joke.
But even the 200 series Yota is a laugh when you consider it can only carry around 160kg more than
my daughter’s little Suzuki Alto. lol.
Re pricing…. what stuff is actually supposed to benefit from our Canberrian Clowns ongoing rhectoric about free trade agreements?
Aussies bend over and take it with a smile.
Righto they might be able to pull the bend out of a river,but how would you live with something this large
on a daily basis? Try and park it in garage shops street etc .caravans are getting rediculiously too big
to heavy .I have a LC 200 with 3.800 up grade will pull most reasonable size vans with ease with reasonable
economy to boot not perfect but fits in garage shopping centres no problem. All a bit of post pissing goes on I think.
Dibbo.
This is all getting to be a joke!
It is fortunate for the vehicle companies that Australians are cashed up from their Super when they need the rig to do the lap. And the companies are taking full advantage of our stupidity.
It is easily seen that there is no way I would even consider a vehicle as discussed here.
I have a GMC Seria 3500 4wd with an 8 foot bed, tows a 30 ft goose neck at speed limit at 16 – 20 liters per 100k, it is a incredible towing machine, these new ones have more power and torque, so would be great. Can you get one in long wheelbase with 8 ft bed, and in 4wd. I agree on the price comments, you could do a private import of 1 year old unit and save $30000 to $50000.
Already have the dual cab cruiser with all the tricks , honestly Toyota needs to pick up their act and American trucks are going to kick their ass . Can’t wait until I can afford to dump the 79 series and get a truck that is finished properly.
I have a two year old Colarado and an eight year old Silverado extracab, just did 3600 ks towing a 3.500 kg car and trailer, would not even consider doing that in a Colarado, pity they will not have the extracab available, would suit us here and inside cab space is still great for five adults in mine
I really don’t think these things are badly priced. Check the price of the 6.6 litre LTZ at the same level of spec in say Canada where the dollar is around parity. Add shipping, conversion and 10% gst. Also consider warranty because it is very likely that the private import has none. Not too far off the price of a Landcruiser Sahara either.
from experience the silverado is hopeless as a 4wheel drive , they have plenty of problems with sensors etc . stick will toyota and have no dramas
Don’t pay the FERRYMAN. Here we go with the truck thing, mate it’s a utility vehicle (ute in australia) a truck is what they deliver this overpriced rubbish on. Dave
Having owned two F250’s in Australia I can tell you from experience that they are a huge problem on our narrow roads.
We bought ours for towing off road and had nothing but trouble with the steering and front ball joints flogging out on both of them.
Two of our friends who tow 5th Wheelers bought Silverados and have had nothing but problems with Sensor failures.
We lived in America and have a good understanding of the Truck market.
The problem is that the US trucks are not designed to go off road.
Yes they are very good tow vehicles on good roads but once you take them off road in Australia they fall apart.
In Australian the ute market is about Hylux, Navara, Ranger, etc.. and In America the same market is about F250, Silverado, Ram and Nissan Titan.
When we lived in the US Ford were making something like 1 million Trucks so there is a huge new market but more importantly there is an even bigger second hand market and every work person owns a Truck.
The American trucks are not about Payload and hence you can easily overload them once you hook up a caravan.
So if you are someone who just wants to tow a large horse float, large caravan or large boat then these trucks are worth looking at but if you want to tow plus have payload they are a dismal failure.
Horses for courses guys! “pick up trucks” are designed and engineered from the ground up as tow vehicles. If you need to tow a full 3.5 tonne trailer, safely, legally, confidently and securely, there are few genuine options on the Australian market and I would urge anyone wanting to tow a trailer over 3 tonne to seriously consider a pick up truck.
The LC200 is the obvious first consideration. Very popular and in the right hands with the right modifications, it is well engineered and does quite a good job. However, it is very much a compromise vehicle in that it is just acceptable around town, just acceptable (without modification) in serious off road, very good on rough gravel and great on the highway. The pick ups are less acceptable around town and off road but just as good if not better on gravel and highway.
The real difference is in towing and that is not just the power, but the length of the wheelbase (about one metre longer) which is what makes it less attractive around town and off road but far safer and more secure when towing. They are a far safer and more reliable tow vehicle.
In terms of cost, the pick ups dont need modifications to springs, gear boxes, tow mirrors, brake controllers etc etc. There is no issue with warranty from modifications or legalities with raised GVMs and whether the new GVM has also raised the GCM. My Chev may only be able to carry approx 1 tonne, but it can do that whilst legally and comfortably towing 5 tonne. Looking underneath, it is just so much bigger and stronger where it counts; the chassis, suspension, motor, gearbox, diff, universals etc and it does have a transfer case with 4WD, low range and locking rear diff as well as converter lock up in tow haul mode and exhaust brakes.
They are a different beast with a different purpose to a Toyota or 4 door ute and shouldnt be compared in the same class.
I wonder why the engine is described as “infamous “ which indicates it has a problematic history?
infamous
adjectivein·fa·mousˈin-fə-məs
1 : having a reputation of the worst kind : notoriously evil an infamous traitor
Looks like HSV does a quality conversion…new $119k price is where it should be. Performax $145k plus is starting to look expensive. Second hand and new pricing on this vehicle will drop at least 25k…thanks HSV!! Ram has a base model coming out for under 100k so they are becoming more accessible for the average punter. New Silverado great for horse floats, tradesman etc. Probably wouldn’t take it offroad in Australia. Would be better though if we did a Sweden and drive on the other side of the road…c’mon Australia we can do it!
Many comments are getting hung up on poor design or limited payload of the silverado. Yet how many “one tonners” do we see on our roads overloaded, towing car trailers / caravans as an example also overloaded? Massive generalisation but typically people have no problem carrying more than their payload on current dual cab ranger wildtracks, xlts, amaroks, hiluxs, or even xr6 and Commodore utes etc. Its not the design that cant cope with 1t payload. They are trying to keep it on a car license less than 4.5t gvm in aus. Nothing to do with what it can actually carry/ is designed to carry. Just check cheverolet u.s site on any combination of the 2500hd you like