What does an all-electric future look like to you? For truck owners, it might look a lot like the Ford F-150 Lightning or the newly unveiled 2024 Chevy Silverado EV. But how exactly can an electric-powered truck match the capability of a tried and true internal combustion engine? The Silverado EV is out to prove exactly that by exceeding your expectations of what an electric truck can do and establishing a new reality in America–a reality that’s truly electrified.
For many, the 2024 Silverado EV is nothing more than a chip off the old Chevy block as the best-selling Avalanche brought back to life with a modern twist. Is that such a bad thing, though? The Avalanche held a 12-year tenure in the Chevy lineup and was praised for its capability and versatility, as well as its efforts to reinvent the traditional pickup truck. The 2024 Silverado EV is positioned to do the same.
The Silverado EV puts a unique spin on the best-selling Avalanche by improving its design and pushing its versatility to the next level. The truck’s exclusive midgate, multifunctional tailgate, and cutting-edge technology like Super Cruise are three of the Silverado EV’s most attractive features. This trifecta is reason enough to give the electrified road warrior a chance to make a new home in your garage.
Multi-Flex Midgate
The 2024 Silverado EV’s midgate isn’t a new concept and was first introduced in 2002 with the debut of the Avalanche. Designed to make the truck into a more flexible workhorse, the Avalanche’s exclusive midgate did exactly that by allowing drivers to haul both passengers and cargo with ease. Opening the midgate extended the truck’s bed from 5 foot 3 inches to 8 feet 2 inches, setting a new precedent for functionality and practicality in the segment.
The 2024 Silverado EV builds on that practicality by incorporating an updated version known as the Multi-Flex Midgate, aptly named to match the Multi-Flex Tailgate. The Avalanche featured a solid second-row seat that offered an all-or-nothing approach to hauling passengers or cargo. In contrast, the Silverado EV makes it possible to haul both with ease thanks to a 60-40 split-folding second-row that matches the function of the midgate.
With the second-row in use, the Silverado EV offers a 5-foot 11-inch bed, which is already impressive and far exceeds that of competing models like the Ford F-150 Lightning with its 5-foot 6-inch bed. If you need to haul longer items and a third passenger, you can move your passenger behind the driver’s seat, fold up the larger portion of the second row, and open the midgate to make use of over 9 feet of storage space. Hauling a fourth passenger is also easy and means using the larger side of the second row by folding up the single rear seat and using the narrow side of the midgate.
Having 9 feet of cargo space at your disposal at all times is a game-changer in the truck segment that will not only save time but will also save drivers money from having to rent a trailer to haul longer items. What’s truly impressive is that the Silverado EV offers an extra foot of space when equipped with Chevy’s Multi-Flex Tailgate. Unfolding the primary gate load stop brings the Silverado EV’s truck bed to 10 feet with the midgate in use. By adding a tonneau cover, you’ve got a fully lockable and weatherproof storage space.
Multi-Flex Tailgate
Chevy’s Multi-Flex Tailgate is one of General Motors’ best-kept secrets over the last decade and initially got its start in 2009 when a GM manager asked a designer to find a solution for a problem–items in the bed of his truck kept moving around and were always out of reach. The designer’s solution was to create a multifunctional tailgate that would help keep those items in place and make accessing the bed easier. The MultiPro Tailgate, as named by the GM brand, was born.
The MultiPro Tailgate made its way to the Chevy lineup as the Multi-Flex Tailgate and is revolutionizing how drivers use their trucks. It’s another huge selling point for the 2024 Silverado EV because it adds to the truck’s versatility, as you already saw in conjunction with the exclusive Multi-Flex Midgate. How else will it impact the EV segment?
The Multi-Flex Tailgate offers six unique features that make accessing the bed and your cargo easier. The primary gate adds convenience with its power open feature and incorporates a primary gate load stop that keeps longer items in place. The inner gate unfolds to give you easier access to the bed and features a full-width step and a flat work surface. It also offers an inner gate load stop that keeps second-tier items in place. The Silverado EV’s integrated corner steps in the bumper also add to the bed’s functionality, making the Silverado the most cargo-friendly truck in the segment.
Super Cruise
Chevy promises that the 2024 Silverado EV will offer a 400-mile range on a fully-charged battery. That’s truly impressive, considering that competing models like the F-150 Lightning and the Rivian RIT average around 300 miles. Chevy manages to make the Silverado’s range even better by equipping the truck with Super Cruise, the industry’s first true hands-free driver-assist technology.
Your appreciation for hands-free driver-assist tech like Super Cruise depends on your expectations. With Super Cruise, the Silverado EV will be able to navigate over 200,000 miles of compatible roadways throughout the United States and Canada. What does that mean for you in the driver’s seat? Can you browse your smartphone and let the truck do the work for you? Not exactly, because that’s not how Super Cruise is designed to perform.
Super Cruise relies on a driver attention system to ensure your focus stays on the road ahead. When the conditions are right (you’re focused and you’re on a compatible roadway), Super Cruise takes over the truck’s steering, acceleration, and braking, requiring minimal input from you. It’s a lot like being promoted to a management position where you oversee someone else’s work. You’re overseeing Super Cruise and can always take over as needed.
When you approach Super Cruise like this, it’s a huge selling point on the 2024 Chevy Silverado EV because it’s designed to reduce your stress and fatigue behind the wheel. Think about how boring it can be to navigate long, straight stretches of highway. Super Cruise can easily handle those situations and free up your hands to enjoy a cup of coffee and your favorite snack as long as you keep your eyes ahead.
Why Different Can Be a Good Thing
The 2024 Chevy Silverado EV isn’t what anyone expected. It doesn’t share the same platform as the legendary Silverado and, instead, relies on a unibody construction that likens it to the Avalanche of years past. This, however, isn’t a total dealbreaker that makes the Silverado EV an unworthy road warrior; quite the opposite, in fact.
The Silverado EV’s unibody design is responsible for the truck’s expansive bed and exclusive features like the Multi-Flex Midgate that you won’t find on any other truck in the industry. This makes the Silverado EV the most versatile truck in the segment and proves that being different can certainly be a good thing. Now, it’s just a matter of time until you can see that electrified versatility in action for yourself.
