Our lighter, lower-spec GMC's Z71 off-road package riding on 265/70R17 tires felt considerably more compliant--on-road and off--than did our Chevy's Z60 high-performance setup, with its low-profile 275/55R20s. The Silverado was described as "bouncy" and accused of inciting copious "gut-jiggle" over washboard surfaces (presumably among editors lacking washboard abs). Of course, in terms of suspension, Chevy and GMC both offer a wide range of options.
A long week of testing served to satisfy our judges that the new General Motors full-size pickups had earned top marks on the superiority front, and by restricting the price-increase to about $300 on most models, the Chevy and the GMC also scored well in the Value category. All that remained was to select a winner among these closely matched contenders. To do this, we first examined the breadth of each model line. The bottom rung at each brand is a no-frills work truck priced at $18,760. The Chevy range will eventually be topped by a Silverado SS performance model, while the GMC line will be capped by a Sierra Denali lux-truck. Each is likely to employ a detuned version of the Cadillac Escalade's 6.2-liter V-8, but the Chevy will price out a bit cheaper and be the big volume seller.
In the end, as so often happens in politics, a popularity contest was used to determine the result. With all precincts reporting, the better-known, higher-selling Chevy Silverado gets the nod as Motor Trend's Truck of the Year for 2007.