Pickup Review: 2022 Chevrolet Silverado High Country (2024)

Luxury pickup trucks are both popular and profitable these days, and expect them to stay like that for a while. I’m in the 2022 Chevrolet Silverado High Country luxo-liner, which benefits from the numerous upgrades made across this Chevy’s lineup for 2022.

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The High Country is no longer the priciest Silverado — that honour goes to the new ZR2 off-road racer — but it’s Chevy’s answer to its mechanical-twin GMC Sierra Denali. It might seem odd to have two such similar models from one automaker, but it makes sense in view of the much larger truck market to the south. Canadians buy GMC and Chevrolet trucks in almost equal numbers, with GMC often coming out the sales leader. In the U.S., Americans overwhelmingly choose Chevrolet, so offering a fully-loaded Silverado is an understandable business decision.

It ain’t such a bad decision up here, either. The High Country still isn’t quite as opulent as the Denali, but my 4×4 truck’s $73,748 starting price is $8,255 less than Denali’s, and even with several extra-charge options — including power running boards, Multi-Flex tailgate, adaptive suspension, sunroof, and 22-inch wheels that brought it to $79,468 before freight and taxes — it was still the lesser price of the two.

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The across-the-board 2022 Silverado updates include a new interior, 13.4-inch colour centre screen, more power for the available 2.7L turbocharged engine, and optional Super Cruise hands-free driving, including when you’re pulling a trailer, but that’s a late addition for the model year and wasn’t added to mine.

The Silverado starts off in two-door regular cab, which has such a low take-rate that it only comes in Work Truck trim; and in double-cab configuration. But crew cabs rule at all truck companies, and the High Country trim is restricted to those full four doors. With the 5-foot-8 short bed, this highest trim comes in 4×2 or 4×4; but with a 6-foot-6 bed, it’s 4×4 only.

But both offer a choice of engines. I had the base powerplant, a 5.3L V8 that makes 355 horsepower and 383 lb-ft of torque, mated to a 10-speed automatic transmission (operated by one of those ghastly electronic shifters where you push forward for Reverse, and have to press a button for Park). The High Country is also available with a 6.2L V8, making 420 horsepower and 460 lb-ft of torque; or a 3.0L inline-six turbodiesel for 277 horsepower and 460 lb-ft of torque.

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The 5.3L may be the smaller of the two V8s but it’s no slouch, with strong acceleration and a great growl to it. The 4×4 system includes 4High, 4Low and 4Auto — and that latter setting is always good to have as you can drive in four-wheel on hard pavement, handy on rain-slippery roads or when there are alternating patches of snow and dry asphalt.

Thanks to the optional ride control with its adaptive dampers, the ride is buttery-smooth and it handles broken pavement very well, even with its large wheels. If you’re going to choose a truck as your luxo-outfitted ride, it has to feel the part too. As for piloting, I find Ford’s F-150 to be the winner for sharpest handling and “doesn’t drive quite as big as it is,” while the Silverado and Sierra are close behind. Ram’s 1500 seems the most cumbersome of the Detroit-automaker trio.

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Compare the specs of full-size pickup trucks: Chevrolet Silverado, GMC Sierra, Ford F-150, Ram 1500

The redesigned interior is a considerable step up from last year’s truck, with horizontal layout and its centre screen perched tablet-style on the dash and with an open storage cubby taking up the otherwise-unused space behind it. As expected, the front seats are heated and cooled. The rear seats would normally be heated as well, but thanks to microchip issues, they won’t be working until dealers get their hands on a supply and can pop them in (in the meantime, you get a discount on the price). Legroom is generous both front and back, and the seats are long-drive supportive and comfortable. The rear seat cushions fold up for carrying cargo inside, and the rear seatbacks contain hidden storage compartments.

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Standard driver-assist technologies include emergency front braking, surround-view camera with bed view, lane-keep assist, blind-spot monitoring that includes a trailer, and a safety alert seat, which vibrates a warning if you need a quick reminder to pay attention and take action.

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The 13.4-inch screen, standard on the LT and up, comes with Google Built-In and obeys voice commands after you’ve woken it up with “Hey, Google.” It’s also easy to use as a touchscreen, as the menus are straightforward and there’s a dial for adjusting the volume. OnStar, navigation and satellite radio trials are included. The instrument cluster is a configurable 12.3-inch screen.

The High Country’s chrome grille makes quite a statement, and while I’ve always thought the GMC Sierra was the better-looking of the two, they’re getting pretty close. GMC was the first to get a multi-position tailgate, and now Chevrolet offers it also. Its positions include a work surface, two-tier loading, load stop — a handy item with these short beds for long loads — and full-width step that includes a handle in the bed side to pull yourself up. If you don’t opt for the multi gate, a $525 option, you still get the brilliantly-simple access steps in the bumper ends, pretty much a necessity with how tall trucks have become.

I like that you can get the High Country with engine choices, rather than just taking it straight to the biggest V8; and it’s a comfortable ride with controls that are easy to use. Everybody makes a good truck these days, and the Silverado deserves a look.

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