2010 Chevy Silverado 1500 Hybrid

The 2010 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 Hybrid gains E85 compatibility for its V8 engine and a revised optional navigation/audio system (now featuring a back-up camera and a USB port). Last year's oversize "Hybrid" body decals are no longer available.

If you like the sound of dual-mode hybrid technology in a full-size pickup, the 2010 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 Hybrid crew cab and its GMC Sierra twin are the only games in town. However, we question the value of these trucks relative to their conventionally powered brethren.

At first glance, the 2010 Chevrolet Silverado Hybrid would seem to be the perfect savior for those who are fed up with the gluttony of regular full-size pickups. Around-town driving is where conventional pickups really swill gas, as their big, thirsty engines are taxed with getting nearly 3 tons of mass up to speed every few blocks. Allowing electric motors to handle much of this motivation -- they're at their most efficient state at lower speeds -- helps the Silverado Hybrid achieve city fuel economy that's about 50 percent higher than that of non-hybrid trucks. But behind this impressive improvement are a number of drawbacks that make the Silverado Hybrid a questionable proposition.

First, though, we should give the nifty inner workings of the Silverado Hybrid their due. A complex four-speed electrically variable transmission -- essentially a combination of a conventional automatic transmission and a continuously variable one (CVT) -- works in tandem with a 6.0-liter V8 and two 60-kilowatt electric motors to move the Silverado's considerable mass. A nickel-metal hydride battery pack (located underneath the rear bench seat) provides the juice for the electric motors, and a regenerative braking system recharges that battery pack during deceleration.

With the electric motors kicked in, the combined output is a claimed 379 horsepower. And to maximize fuel efficiency, the V8 has cylinder-deactivation technology, enabling it to run on just four cylinders under certain conditions, such as light-load freeway cruising or when driving downhill. The V8 also shuts off at low speeds when it's not needed, and it seamlessly comes back on when more power or higher-speed operation is required.

Unfortunately, the Silverado Hybrid is only offered in just one body style, costs thousands more than a comparably equipped Silverado 1500 LT and doesn't provide much of a fuel economy boost in highway driving. In fact, the fuel-miser Silverado XFE is rated just 1 mpg less than the Hybrid's 22 mpg highway rating. And even the standard Silverado with the 5.3-liter V8 rates 20 highway mpg. The Hybrid power plant's somewhat quirky power delivery and unremarkable towing capacity further limit this truck's appeal.

Considering the premium that the Silverado Hybrid commands over its conventionally powered siblings (even with federal tax credits), it doesn't strike us as a smart purchase for most buyers. Certainly, some green-oriented businesses might like the truck's reduced carbon footprint, and contractors who do a lot of city driving might even recoup the initial price premium before too many years have gone by. For most people, though, the 2010 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 Hybrid will likely remain an overpriced curiosity.

The Silverado 1500 Hybrid is available in either two- or four-wheel drive. It's powered by a 6.0-liter V8 with cylinder-deactivation technology, teamed with two 60-kilowatt electric motors, which are in turn supplied by a nickel-metal hydride battery pack. Official output is 332 hp, but GM claims a total output of 379 hp with the electric motors taken into account. The electrically variable transmission is a complex cross between a regular automatic and a CVT.

In spite of all that power, the sprint from zero to 60 mph takes a leisurely 9.2 seconds, a time that we suspect even the Silverado crew cab's base 4.8-liter V8 could match. The Hybrid's maximum tow rating is 6,100 pounds, which is roughly on par with the 4.8-liter and 5.3-liter V8s, but well below the 10,600-pound maximum for the big-daddy 6.2-liter V8.

EPA fuel economy estimates are 21 mpg city/22 mpg highway and 21 combined with 2WD and 20/20/20 mpg with 4WD. The city is where the Hybrid shines -- most full-size trucks are in the 14-15-mpg range.

The 2010 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 Hybrid comes standard with stability control, antilock disc brakes and full-length side curtain airbags. OnStar is also included.

In government crash tests, the Silverado 1500 Hybrid earned top five-star ratings for its protection of occupants in frontal and side-impact collisions. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, in its test of the regular Silverado 1500, gave the truck a top score of "Good" for frontal-offset crash protection but the worst rating of "Poor" for side-impact protection.

The 2010 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 Hybrid doesn't feel as powerful as 6.0 liters and a claimed 379 hp would suggest. The main culprit is the powertrain's complexity: Floor the Hybrid from a stop and there's a noticeable pause as the truck creeps forward in electric mode, then hurtles away once the gas engine comes online. The transmission is quirky, too -- under the same conditions, it will whisk the engine up to 4,500 rpm, pause noticeably to change ratios and then settle down around 4,000 rpm, from which point it acts much like a CVT.

It's undeniably neat to take a full-size pickup from zero to 29 mph solely under electric power, but the eccentric power delivery and unremarkable towing capacity render the cheaper 4.8-liter and 5.3-liter V8s wholly viable alternatives, particularly if fuel economy is not the highest priority. The electric power steering system is characteristically light and numb but adequately precise, while brake feel is impressively natural for a regenerative system.

Other than a few Hybrid-specific gauges behind the steering wheel, the 2010 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 Hybrid's cabin is pure work truck. The plastics are a uniformly somber black, and the functional but rudimentary switchgear doesn't exactly exude class. That's not a problem for a regular Silverado, but considering the Hybrid's elevated price, it'd be nice to have the prettified dash of the Silverado LTZ at least as a stand-alone option. The rear seat is roomy and comfortable, as it should be in a crew cab, though the seatback angle is a bit upright.