First Drive: The Impressive 2024 Chevrolet Silverado EV Goes Big in Every Possible Way

Chevy’s electric pickup truck comes with a near-9,000-pound curb weight, a 450-mile range, and a $96,000 price tag

Jon Linkov, Consumer Reports Autos Editor.

By Jon Linkov
Autos Editor

Updated January 13, 2025

2024 Chevrolet Silverado EV, front driving — 2024 Chevrolet Silverdo EV

The Chevrolet Silverado EV may share a name with the conventional line of light- and heavy-duty pickup trucks, but the all-electric truck has little else in common with its internal-combustion-engined siblings.

Chevrolet based the Silverado EV on a bespoke electric vehicle architecture (also used by the GMC Hummer EV) instead of modifying an existing pickup truck platform like Ford did when it created the F-150 Lightning. By taking this approach, Chevrolet was able to give its truck some impressive capabilities and features that would have otherwise been challenging—if not impossible—to achieve if it based the design on the conventional, body-on-frame Silverado.

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Chevrolet Silverado EV: CR's Take What We Like What We Don't Like What We'll Keep an Eye On Safety and Driver Assistance Systems

Similar to the Rivian R1T and Tesla Cybertruck, GM’s electric pickup truck has a unified bed/cab structure and independent rear suspension. It uses GM’s modular electric-vehicle-specific Ultium design—the same one that underpins the Cadillac Lyriq, Chevrolet Blazer EV, GMC Hummer EV, and other future GM vehicles, as well as the Acura ZDX and Honda Prologue.

The Silverado EV is available in three trim levels with different range estimates. The base LT Extended Range version starts at $75,195 and has an EPA-estimated range of up to 408 miles on a full charge, while the midtrim RST Extended Range truck starts at $89,395 with an EPA range of 390 miles. The RST Max Range, like the one we bought to test and are covering here, starts at $97,895 and has a GM-estimated range of 450 miles. (Maximum range is 460 for the 2025 model.)

There is also a fleet-oriented Work Truck (WT) with three trim levels: 2WT, 5WT, and 8WT. The 2WT starts at $55,000, but Chevrolet has not released details on its range. The 5WT starts at $67,400 and can go an EPA-estimated 452 miles on a full charge, while the 8WT starts at $75,700 and has an estimated range of 492 miles. Specifically designed for contractors and fleet work, these trucks are much more utilitarian than the consumer-focused versions of the Silverado EV.

If you’re a Consumer Reports member, our initial expert assessment of the Chevrolet Silverado EV is available below. Once we complete 2,000 break-in miles, we’ll put the big pickup truck through more than 50 tests at the CR Auto Test Center, including empirical tests of acceleration, braking, handling, and usability. CR members will have access to the full road-test results as soon as they’re available.

What we bought: 2024 Chevrolet Silverado EV RST
Powertrain: 754-hp, dual electric motors; 205-kWh battery; 1-speed direct drive; all-wheel drive
MSRP: $94,500
Options: None
Destination fee: $1,995
Total cost: $96,495 (before the available $7,500 federal tax incentive)

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Jon Linkov

Jon Linkov is the deputy auto editor at Consumer Reports. He has been with CR since 2002, covering varied automotive topics including buying and leasing, maintenance and repair, ownership, reliability, used cars, and electric vehicles. He manages CR’s lineup of special interest publications, hosts CR’s “Talking Cars” podcast, and writes and edits content for CR’s online and print products. An avid cyclist, Jon also enjoys driving his ’80s-era sports car and instructing at track days.