When it comes to pickup trucks, capability is the most discussed quality by both sellers and buyers. When you have a vehicle like the 2024 Chevy Silverado 1500, which can tow up to 13,300 pounds and carry a payload of up to 2,260 pounds, you’re probably going to brag about that as often as you can. However, knowing what luxury features your truck contains can be a deciding point on what model to purchase. After all, you’ll be spending a lot of time inside it, so why not make sure it is as luxurious and comfortable as possible?
The days of an austere work truck interior are as gone as the days of rotary phones. Every manufacturer offers different luxuries, and some make more of an effort than others to include as many as possible. Today, we’re going to take a look at the luxury features of the 2024 Chevy Silverado vs 2024 Ram 1500. As these models are two of the most powerful trucks on the current market, it is revealing to see what luxury features they come with, as both pickup trucks tend to be trendsetters and can tell us much about what the future of trucking holds.
Seating
The most important luxury item in a vehicle is where you sit. It doesn’t matter how long your trip is whether across the country or just down the block. Seating matters. All of the other luxury features could be fantastic, but if seating for you and your passengers is subpar, then those other features do not matter one whit. Both the Silverado and the Ram come with seating that’ll keep you mighty comfortable so that you and your passengers can enjoy the ride, no matter how long it is. Manufacturers like Chevy and Ram know trucks don’t have a reputation for comfort, so they’re flipping the script and making sure these seats are like settling into silk.
Both trucks have heated seats, which is especially useful in a truck since drivers are often doing some labor that might have them out at a remote location in the cold, or possibly need a heating pad on their back at the end of the day. Heated seats are not available in every trim of the Silverado and Ram, but they do come standard in plenty of trims on the Silverado. On the higher trims of both, you can also have your passenger seats heated, too, so everyone stays cozy.
There are also ventilated seats. These serve the opposite function, keeping you comfortable when it’s hot and humid outside. The Silverado and the Ram do offer ventilated seats on their higher trims. It’s on more Silverado trims than Ram trims, as the Silverado offers more trims in general, which is another reason that the Silverado has such a tendency to come out ahead.
The design of the seats themselves matters quite a bit, too. You want your passengers to feel impressed when they climb into your truck, and the appearance of your seats plays a huge role in that. It’s hard to declare one truck better than the other in this regard, as it comes a lot down to your aesthetic tastes. While we may prefer the Silverado, it’s worth taking both for a test drive to see which vibe you like better. In terms of comfortable seating, though, the Silverado has an outstanding 10-way power driver seat with power lumbar support that’s standard on almost all trims. Your back will feel fully supported, and you’ll be able to position the seat exactly to your liking. But be warned, if you lend someone your truck, they may not want to give it back after they sink into the driver’s seat.
Sound Systems
On the one hand, a sound system is a no-brainer. Of course, your truck would come with one, right? However, there are sound systems, and then there are sound systems, ones that make the whole vehicle rock, letting you feel like you have front-row tickets to see your favorite performers. Since pickup trucks tend to be imposing vehicles to begin with, it follows that they should all have an aggressive sound system. Sadly, this isn’t always the case.
The 2024 Silverado 1500 comes with one heck of a system. Its six-speaker audio, which you can upgrade to a seven-speaker Bose system with Richbass woofer, is intuitively installed into the truck. The trick with this system is that it’s not the speakers themselves that are key, stellar though they are, but their placement. Far too many vehicles, be it a truck or a sedan, have fine speakers, but they’re not installed in the best places in the vehicle so that sound is optimized. The Silverado’s speakers are installed in all the right spots, including in the doors themselves. You’ll find a huge difference in sound quality due to this if you take a Silverado for a spin.
The 2024 Ram 1500 comes with a similar six-speaker system, although it’s quite as intuitively placed throughout the vehicle as the Silverado’s. What the Ram does come with is a stellar audio upgrade, a 19-speaker premium sound system. That’s some incredible power right there. The issue here is that this higher-end system only comes on the highest trims, so the average driver is probably just going to have the normal six-speaker system. This is still quite good, but perhaps not as good as the Silverado’s.
Small but Elegant Technological Touches
Many luxury features are not large elements, but small yet memorable touches that make drives more memorable. Sometimes it can also be fun to show off a bit in terms of what your truck can do. It can be as simple as the Silverado’s carpeted floors that look sharp, yet soft and match the interior color, or it can be some fun tech, like keyless entry and push-button start that makes it look like you’re doing a little bit of magic. Or it can be both, like the Silverado’s 13.4-inch crystal clear touchscreen that makes navigation and infotainment as easy as can be all while looking futuristic.
Then, there are some features where your tech is so smart that it seems like AI. Take Adaptive Cruise Control, which is available on both the Silverado and the Ram. This luxury feature combines comfort and capability. Adaptive Cruise Control lets you set your desired speed, but the truck can sense when vehicles ahead of you are slowing or speeding up, and will adapt to the speed. Your passengers will sit in awe when they see this occur, and you’ll be under a little less stress as a driver.
The Silverado’s available Super Cruise takes adaptive tech to the next level and will leave your passengers reeling from the amount of intelligence your truck has. Super Cruise can not only do the same as Adaptive Cruise Control, but it can also steer the Silverado for you on 200,000 miles of compatible roads, mainly highways. Such technology was science fiction not long ago, but now your Silverado 1500 can drive itself down the road under your direct supervision. That’s more stress relief for you.
Luxury Trucks Are the Future
Both the Silverado and the Ram are paving a clear path forward, and other manufacturers will need to catch up. Trucks these days are just as likely to be used for social events as labor. Luxury qualities, from infotainment to leather seating, are going to be an expectation consumers have. The Silverado and the Ram have already come up to bat to show some truly impressive features, with the Silverado coming out slightly ahead. Now we’ll have to wait to see if other companies will be able to do the same or end up left in the dust.
