Short Take Road Test
The HD stands for "heavy duty," a designation that is not even a slight exaggeration. Based on the GMT800 platform, this big bopper can really haul it -- whatever "it" may happen to be -- and that goes double in spades when it's propelled by the new Vortec 8100 V-8, as was this Chevy Silverado 2500HD.
To review: The new GM HD pickups -- the Silverado and the GMC Sierra -- complete the renewal begun in late 1998 with their half-ton 1500-series counterparts. Since then, that platform has become all but ubiquitous in General Motors full-size truckdom and is now the foundation for all the Silverados and Sierras, as well as an ambitious roster of big sport-utes -- the Chevy Tahoe and Suburban; the GMC Yukon, Yukon XL, Yukon Denali, and Yukon Denali XL; and the Cadillac Escalade. And it's also become a truck-industry benchmark, with its combination of hardy design and ease of manufacturing.
The HD trucks are new for 2001, and they're even more robust structurally than the garden-variety Silverados and Sierras, with significantly higher payload and towing capacities. They're also enhanced by a pair of new V-8 engines -- the Duramax 6600 diesel and the Vortec 8100. The Duramax replaces GM's old 6.5-liter turbo-diesel V-8, a unit that had fallen behind competing compression-ignition units from Ford and Dodge, and the 300 horsepower and awesome 520 pound-feet of torque (at 1800 rpm!) of the new engine make its predecessor (215 hp, 440 pound-feet) look very tame. We'd hoped to explore the capabilities of this prodigious torquer, but since none was available at the critical moment, we had to "settle" for the Vortec 8100: more horsepower -- 340 at 4200 rpm -- but not quite as much torque at 455 pound-feet. Still, that yields a trailering max of 12,000 pounds in a four-wheel-drive model with an automatic transmission. (For that matter, even the standard 6.0-liter V-8 -- 300 hp, 360 pound-feet -- can handle trailers up to 10,500 pounds, depending on the model.)
Hitching oxlike muscle such as this to a car trailer weighing, loaded, a mere 5000 pounds probably seems like overkill, but if that's true, vive la overkill. Thanks to all that V-8 thrust, this truck can step away from stoplights with surprising zeal when it's unladen -- we recorded 0 to 60 in 9.1 seconds, which is brisk for something that weighs 6240 pounds. But the impressive part is how little that performance diminished with a flatbed trailer and race car hooked on, plus about 500 pounds of spares and tools in the cargo bed.
We wish we'd been able to scientifically record acceleration with our puny load cinched onto this Percheron, because even though we're sure there must have been some measurable diminution of performance, it was not discernible to the less precise sensors in the driver's butt. This baby can tow, and the big V-8 -- its architecture is based on the old 7.4-liter big-block, with a 9.4mm stroke extension, but 80 percent of its parts are new -- makes lovely old rumbly American V-8 sounds as it goes about its business.
Besides the highest payload and towing capacities in the full-size-truck biz, there are other things to like here. Styling, for one. The HD trucks have a much more macho presence than the 1500s. And braking for another. Like the other GMT800s, the HDs have more braking power, much better pedal feel, and much better fade resistance than the previous generation, although our stopping distance from 70 mph is still well north of impressive at 222 feet, a function of mass.
Quibbles? A few. The side structure of extended-cab models with rear demi-doors seems inconsistent with the stout chassis; we noted a distinct quiver in the rear door when the front was slammed shut, and it required a firm closure to make sure it shut completely. We also think more steering feel would be helpful, and the seating in this rig seems to have been conceived by folks who ordinarily design sofas.
The HDs aren't cheap, either. The extended-cab version starts at $24,664, the fanciest LT at $31,140. With four-wheel drive, the new Allison 1000 Series heavy-duty five-speed automatic transmission ($1200 in LT models, $2295 in the LS), the 8.1-liter engine (an option that's well worth the extra $600), and assorted other goodies, our mid-grade LS test truck tallied in at $34,146.
Is that too much to pay for what seems to be the best truck in its class? Your call.
