Each year Chevy updates their most popular truck with a litany of changes, alterations, upgrades, and fixes. Typically, there’s a mid-cycle refresh that brings a ton of new features to the slate. Then, each year between a refresh, or overhaul, there are lots of small changes to further refine the driving experience, the comfort levels, or even some of the luxury items included in the trims. That’s why it’s helpful to look at all the ins and outs of a vehicle design when looking for a new truck like the 2021 Chevy Silverado HD.
The Ins of the 2021 Chevy Silverado HD Interior
Some new changes have been made to the interior of the 2021 Chevy Silverado HD, proving that the heavy-duty line of pickups isn’t just about its capability but also how comfortable and convenient it is inside the cabin as well. Front seat storage is now standard on the base trim with the bench seat armrests, allowing you or your passengers to store baubles and gadgets during travel. Several trims also come standard with front and rear floor liners with carpet inserts, great for keeping mud, dirt, or other outdoor muck from staining the carpet of the Silverado. And new interior color combinations have also been made available, including the Jet Black and Carhartt Brown combination, available for the special edition of the Carhartt Chevy Silverado HD.
The Outs of the 2021 Chevy Silverado HD Exterior
General Motors decided to replace two of the exterior colors for the Chevy Silverado HD for the 2021 model year edition. Both the Shadow Gray Metallic and Cajun Red Tintcoat have been cast out of the color option palette, and two new colors have taken their place: Mosaic Black Metallic and Cherry Red Tintcoat. Meanwhile, the EZ Lift manual tailgate has also been ousted for a power lock and auto-release EZ Lift tailgate as a standard feature for the LT trim, making it more convenient for drivers.
The LT, LTZ, and High Country trims for the Silverado HD also come with new wheel options. While one of the options has been removed (the 20-inch machined aluminum 10-spoke wheel with a high gloss black painted accent), Chevy added six new wheel options. You can find some of these new options as standard or optional on most Silverado trims, including the Work Truck, Custom, LT, LTZ, Z71, and High Country.
The Ins of the 2021 Chevy Silverado HD Infotainment
Infotainment is a big feature for any vehicle released in today’s generation. It’s expected that certain technological amenities are made standard, whether it’s for a compact, a sedan, a crossover, an SUV, or a pickup truck. In the case of the 2021 Silverado HD, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto wireless connectivity are now standard on LTZ and High Country trims while being optional for the LT trim. This gives you complete access to the media on your smart devices without having to plug them into the ports within the truck’s cabin.
However, speaking of ports, the base Work Truck trim and Custom trim have added an extra device port and now come standard with two USB ports on the instrument panel so that you can charge up to two devices at a time. Both trims also now have the option to make use of SiriusXM Satellite Radio, while the LT trim makes it a standard option. For LTZ and High Country trims, they come standard with the more advanced SiriusXM 360L, which provides more than 10,000 hours of recorded on-demand content. The big difference between the normal SiriusXM and the 360L is that there are more in-depth curation and recommendation options available.
The Outs of the 2021 Silverado HD Towing Capabilities
Gone is the 35,500 lbs towing capacity limitation that the 2020 Chevy Silverado 3500 HD suffered from. Yes, it’s an impressive number, no doubt, but the engineers felt that they could make some tweaks and improvements to the overall towing capabilities of the Silverado HD, and they did. For the 2021 Silverado, the heavy-duty pickup is now capable of towing up to 36,000 lbs for select trims of the 3500 HD series with two-wheel, rear-wheel drive configurations that have a 6.6-liter Duramax diesel engine and a Max Tow Package equipped. The engineers actually made some modifications to the wheels and updated the suspension to allow for an additional 500 lbs of towing capacity with a 5th-wheel or gooseneck hitch.
The Ins of the 2021 Silverado HD Technology
Additional cameras to view the Silverado have been added, giving those within the interior plenty of angles of the exterior, specifically for trailering and towing. The 2021 Silverado has 15 unique camera views, including a rear trailer view that comes with highlighted guidelines and a trailer-angle indicator, so you know exactly where the trailer is in relation to the truck. Split-view angles are also now present with the rear side-view enhancement camera. This allows you to see two different angles of the left and right side of the trailer, giving you a view of where the trailer aligns with the truck and how to effectively reverse with a trailer in tow.
Enhanced cargo bed views with bed hitch guidance and zoom are also part of the smorgasbord of camera views, giving you a clear indicator of where the gooseneck is attached. The camera views are complimented with improved alert systems as well, including jack-knife alerts when the trailer and vehicle run the risk of potentially colliding due to sharp-angled turns and trailer-length indicators that provide overlays, so you know how the trailer aligns with the vehicle and how to best maneuver during lane-changes.
The Outs of the 2021 Silverado HD Performance
The performance output for the 2021 Silverado HD has been given an ever-so-slight makeover. A few additional changes have been made to improve the overall powertrain output of the heavy-duty truck, including getting rid of excess fuel consumption for more eco-friendly and cost-effective performance. The 6.6-liter L8T V8 gas engine has been outfitted with direct injection E85 FlexFuel capability, available on the base Work Truck trim. The E85 FlexFuel is a blend of 15% to 83% ethanol and gasoline, which helps reduce the overall miles-per-gallon consumption, and increases the overall fuel economy of the vehicles that adopt the E85 Flex Fuel direct injection configuration.
The 6.6-liter L8T was also on the receiving end of a previous model year upgrade, providing an 11% increase in horsepower output, as well as a 22% increase in peak torque. This engine now produces 401 hp and 464 lb-ft of torque. So not only do you get more output performance from the powertrain, but you also get better gas mileage with the 2021 Silverado HD.
You’ll Definitely Want to Get Into the 2021 Silverado HD
Almost everything that was changed or adjusted for the 2021 Silverado 2500 HD and 3500 HD has been for the better. Lots of new package options, improvements to the performance, new interior options, and improved technology all make the 2021 Silverado HD a truck you’ll certainly want to get in and never get out of.
Most of what they removed or took out of the 2021 model year edition of the heavy duty truck has been for its benefit. Whether it was removing excess fuel consumption for improved fuel economy or axing the lower towing capabilities by improving the suspension and raising the overall trailering and tow ratings by 500 lbs, everything that was changed for the 2021 model has been a decidedly welcome improvement. If you’ve been waiting for the right combination of price, performance, and features to arrive before purchasing a Silverado HD series, then 2021 seems like as good a time as any to decide to get into the Chevy pickup.
