

It was a last-minute opportunity to appreciate its 4X4 handling on wet highways and some muddy dirt trails. Tuesday morning’s rain and light snow was a cool calling for me into the driver’s seat of the 2020 Chevrolet Silverado Trail Boss just an hour before it was picked up by Automotive Media Solutions representatives. Jimmy Dinsmore is a freelance automotive journalist.The 2020 Chevy Silverado Trail Boss on rainy morning. Having had some seat time, I now understand why it has a growing fan base.

The Silverado Trail Boss has a very specific place in the Chevy truck lineup. With the 6.2-liter engine added at a cost of $2,400 and a couple of other packages and features, my tester had a final price tag of $45,310, which is significantly less than other Silverado trims and certainly less the Ford Raptor. The starting price of this truck is $39,500. But certainly, it would’ve been nice to have an easier way to get in and out of this truck. Since it’s intended to be used off-road, it could be an engineering issue – running boards would’ve likely affected ground clearance. This might make it more challenging to get in and out of this lifted truck. Overall, the 7-inch color touchscreen is responsive, but feels a little on the small side, considering the size of the truck.Īnother negative is the lack of running boards. The infotainment system is adequate and does its job. That jumper seat even comes with a restraining device for added safety. It is kind of a throwback to the old days of bench seats in pickups. More of the minimalist approach is used in the Trail Boss, including cloth seats and rubberized vinyl floor mats (which are needed if you’re getting muddy).Ī unique feature is the 40/20/40 front seat, where the big center console can be lifted up and become the back of a third seat in the front. For a truck named Trail Boss that’s intended to get muddy and go off the road, you likely wouldn’t need or expect luxurious touchpoints. The Silverado Trail Boss is intended to keep the price down but sacrifices some of those higher quality touchpoints. Of course, those appointments come with an ever-skyrocketing MSRP, too. Usually big trucks like the Silverado, Ram and F-150 are lavishly appointed with high-quality touchpoints throughout. Speaking of being different, the interior of the Trail Boss is not necessarily what the trend is for the full-size truck segment. It’s supposed to be different, and it accomplishes that. If you like your truck on the more comfortable and smooth side, then this might not be the right option as the Trail Boss drives big and feels a little more like a monster truck than a regular Silverado.īut I also think that’s the point and intent of this truck. The overall performance may not appeal to every truck buyer, but as the numbers attest (nearly 20 percent), it has broad enough appeal. All of this translates to a Silverado unlike any other I’ve driven. There is also an automatic locking rear differential and two-speed transfer case. The Z71 off-road package includes the aforementioned two-inch lift along with monotube shocks, hill descent control and heavy duty air filter. As such, it cranks out 420 horsepower and 460 lbs.-ft. Chevy gives the Trail Boss its biggest gasoline engine as it’s mated with a 6.2-liter V8 and 10-speed automatic transmission.


Although I did not take this truck off-road, it certainly was ready and prepared to do so. Performance-wise, this truck lives up to its name as it is a boss on and off the road.
