The SilverSilverado you see in almost every Ubi Libertas Blog post joined our fleet a year ago last week. It’s a 2015 and came to us with 91,000 miles on the clock, along with corresponding wear and the expected nicks and dings. We judged it to be a good choice for our new American Life, replacing a pair of 2019 Toyota Tacomas.
Today, 53 weeks later, seems to be a good time to look back and see if we were right.
I did an early on-paper comparo of the Toyota and the Chevy last June, and I have to say that the Silverado’s objective advantages are reflected in real-world use. Though the Tacomas did everything we asked of them, the full-size truck better suits our Ozarkansas mission.
Fuel economy has been of particular interest, naturally, since we went from the 3.5-liter Toyota V6 to GM’s venerable 5.3-liter V8. We’ve refueled the Chevy now 55 times, pumping 811 gallons at an average price of $3.38 per gallon. (The high price owes to our return from Ohio last July and the wedding trip in October. Gas on the other side of the Mississippi is more expensive.) A total of 14,744 miles of driving has cost us $2,740 in 87 octane.
Overall gas mileage, as of yesterday’s fillup, sits at 18.2mpg. The best tank was 23.8mpg (a long Interstate run), the worst 16.2mpg (with remote-start warmups last winter). We’re fine with those numbers, considering what the truck returns to us in utility.
It’d be useful, I think, to look at a couple of snapshots. The route we travel most, of course, is US 62, and between Bellefonte and Yellville I often see 22mpg to 24mpg. And mileage for yesterday’s tank, 19 gallons at $3.099, was 18.7mpg.
The SilverSilverado has had one oil change while in our care and is due for another. We’ve made a few upgrades (like window tint and auxiliary lighting) and a few repairs (chipped windshield), and we’ve added several redneck wrinkles of our own that don’t affect the truck’s function.
Beyond the practical and the empirical is the subjective. I can’t deny that this eight-year-old truck just plain works for me — it rides, handles and performs the way I want a vehicle to ride, handle and perform.
It crawls over rough and rutted terrain with ease, but when I push it through US 62’s sweepers at 65mph it stays planted. The suspension soaks up bumps, potholes and washboards and isn’t easily upset.
Having that small-block V8 underfoot is a joy.
When I shared my initial impressions in September, I gave the Chevy an optimistic thumbs-up after less than four months with it. The time and miles since then have only reinforced my opinion.
I love this truck.
Take care of yourselves, Patriots. Stay calm. Stay sharp. Stay free.
#WiseUp #LibertyOrDeath
#LetsGoBrandon #FJB