I Wanted To Like The 2026 Chevy Silverado EV Trail Boss. Here

I wanted to like this. I was primed. I dream of going hundreds of miles into the open desert, with my friends and bikes and gear in tow, and doing so in perfect silence.

The 2026 Chevy Silverado EV Trail Boss was built for that dream. With up to 478 miles of range and chunky 35-inch all-terrain tires, it seemed like the perfect mix of endurance, capability and technology. I even said so when Chevy revealed the thing.

But when I drove the Silverado Trail Boss last week, it didn’t feel like that. Overburdened by its weight and compromised off-road, the Silverado EV Trail Boss just didn’t live up to its name.

I wanted to like it, but I left unsure why it even exists.

(Full Disclosure: Chevy provided a hotel room, meals and a variety of Silverado EVs to sample during a launch event for the Silverado EV Trail Boss.)

Chevy Silverado EV Trail Boss: What It Is And Who It’s For

If you aren’t well-versed in the dizzying array of Chevy truck trims, you might get the wrong impression from the “Trail Boss” moniker. This has never been Chevy’s answer to a Ford F-150 Raptor or Ram 1500 TRX. Chevy’s top-dog off-road truck wears a ZR2 badge, and its Z71 moniker denotes a more everyday-oriented off-road trim.

Chevy is clear: The Trail Boss is something different. This is not a toy for fooling around on rock-crawling trails or desert jumps. This is the workhorse you use to haul your other toys out into the wilderness, even if that means negotiating water crossings and ruts.

To meet the mission, the Silverado EV Trail Boss gets a two-inch lift, a more aggressive off-road body kit, 35-inch tires, four-wheel steering and some new driving modes. One of these is a trail-focused Terrain Mode and another is Chevy’s equivalent to the Hummer EV’s “crab walk” function, dubbed “Sidewinder” here. But there are no skid plates, no locking differentials, no trick Fox Racing or Multimatic spool-valve shocks. These are normal coil springs with a hydraulic rebound control system to mitigate big off-road impacts.

Otherwise, you get the same formula as other Silverado EVs. Dual-motor all-wheel drive is standard, but power output varies based on what battery you choose. Opt for the smaller Extended Range pack and you get 625 horsepower with 410 miles of range. That’ll cost you $72,095. Spring for the $88,695 Max Pack version and you get 725 hp with 478 miles of range. Call it the overkill edition.

All Silverado EVs can charge at up to 350 kilowatts, and Chevy has also addressed an earlier issue where that speed was only possible with the air conditioning off. So the Silverado EV is a range and charging monster with 35-inch tires. What’s not to love?

There’s Actually A Lot To Not Love

Chevy Silverado EV Trail Boss: First Drive Review

Photo by: Mack Hogan/InsideEVs

I’ll start where all electric truck conversations start, and where most end: price. At $72,095 to start, the Silverado EV Trail Boss is nearly $20,000 more expensive than a gas Silverado 1500 Custom Trail Boss, and around $12,000 pricier than an LT Trail Boss. For that, I’m not sure you’re getting as capable a rig.

On a light off-road trail outside of San Diego, California, the Silverado EV Trail Boss showcased its biggest flaw. The main reason that body-on-frame vehicles are better off-road is that they can flex and “articulate” better than unibody trucks and SUVs. That means when your front right wheel goes deep into a rut, your rear left doesn’t lift, because the body flexes in between.

But GM’s electric trucks are quasi-unibody vehicles, and with such a gigantic battery in it—over 200 kilowatt hours in the Max Pack Version—the Silverado EV Trail Boss can’t twist much. The truck constantly lifted its wheels in the air on a relatively tame trail.

I’ve done the same road in pure body-on-frame trucks and I hardly even noticed any obstacles; in the Silverado EV, I was clenching my butt as its wheels lifted 2-5 feet off the ground. 

Photo by: Mack Hogan/InsideEVs

Photo by: Mack Hogan/InsideEVs

A truck marketed as a “Trail Boss” should not be lifting wheels this often, or this high. 

Photo by: Mack Hogan/InsideEVs

Photos by: Mack Hogan/InsideEVs

Then they came back down. KA-thunk. Eighty-five hundred pounds of American steel, aluminum and lithium crash to Earth, and you’re stuck inside. It is not a pleasant or comfortable experience, and I certainly would not want to tow a trailer behind a vehicle that cannot keep all four of its tires on the ground.

It’s also not something I’ve experienced while off-roading the Rivian R1T or any comparable gas truck, suggesting that the Silverado EV Trail Boss has less articulation than most comparable products marketed towards going off-pavement. 

There’s also a larger concern here: When you’re tipping down hard, repeatedly, you want to know that the truck’s underside can take a hit. While the Silverado’s underbody is mostly a protective cover for that battery, when I asked if it could support the weight of the truck coming down on a rock, a spokesperson for GM deflected: “Chevrolet does not advertise the Silverado EV Trail Boss as having skid plates.” In other words, don’t come crying to us with a warranty claim if you bust through this plate. 

35-inch all-terrain tires provide a lot of capability. But if you’re doing anything serious, I recommend bringing a spare in the bed. 

Photo by: Mack Hogan/InsideEVs

Its tires represent the other major problem with the Trail Boss. While Silverado EV Work Trucks offer a full-size spare tire, the trail-oriented trim doesn’t. So if your 8,500-lb vehicle that is marketed as a “Trail Boss” suffers the most predictable tire failure in history, you’re stuck until you can hitch a ride back to the nearest town.

(A spokesperson for Chevy confirmed that the included OnStar Roadside Assistance will cover tows off of “clearly marked” roads even if they are dirt, and that the truck comes with an inflator kit and tire sealant for small punctures.)

For light dirt trails and forest roads, this setup is enough. That’s all the off-roading most buyers are going to do. But I’d argue that a Silverado EV Work Truck or LT could do it, too. The point of the Trail Boss is to do it well and do it comfortably, and I don’t think it hits that mark. 

Yet you still pay a small penalty on the road. The Trail Boss is less settled than its Work Truck or LT counterparts. It soaks up bumps well, but even on the highway there is a constant head-bobbing motion. This is common on trucks with off-road suspension, as the soft shocks tend to get chattery at high speed. Combined with the tippy feeling of sitting three feet above a two-ton battery pack, I got carsick sitting in the Trail Boss on twisty roads. Driving helped, but boy, do the extra two inches of ride height really highlight how huge and heavy this thing is. 

Photo by: Mack Hogan/InsideEVs

A Proof Of Concept

I wouldn’t recommend the Trail Boss to almost anyone, but I do think General Motors has done something important with its truck lineup. While Ford, Rivian and Tesla have built electric trucks to satisfy one or two use cases each, GM has attempted to cover the gamut.

There’s the ultra-capable GMC Hummer EV for hardcore off-roaders and showboats. There’s a Sierra EV Denali for those who want the ultimate daily driver truck. Then there’s a Silverado Work Truck for those who want range, capability and the cheapest possible price.  

If you want a GM electric truck that’s actually built for off-roading, you’ll have to spend up for a Hummer EV. Or just get a Rivian R1T. 

It’s a clear message: EV trucks can do anything a gas truck can do. The problem, though, is epitomized by the Trail Boss. Just because an EV can do a job, that does not make them the ideal tool for it. The fact is, the Trail Boss is neither the most affordable nor the most pleasant way to accomplish its mission. But it’s still pretty good.

While it may have a busy ride compared to other electric trucks, it’s generally smoother and far quieter than a gas truck. General Motors’ Google Built-In infotainment still works well, with solid route-planning and available video streaming apps. There’s a well-calibrated one-pedal driving mode, and Tesla Supercharger support. You can also export 7.2 kW of power from 120- and 240-volt bed outlets, and take advantage of a massive frunk.  

If there’s one thing truck buyers love, it’s extra storage space. That’s why I do think electric trucks with frunks and clever mid-gates will succeed eventually, they just need to get cheaper.

Photo by: Mack Hogan/InsideEVs

All of these things individually are the result of a company that has invested serious money into the EV experience and sees the long-term opportunity here. You absolutely can build an electric truck that’s better to own, nicer to drive and more capable than a gas one. But to do it, we’re going to need more energy-dense batteries and cheaper entrance prices.

Ready For What’s Next

GM is barreling towards that future. The company has invested heavily in lithium manganese-rich (LMR) battery technology, a chemistry that the company claims will be 33% denser than today’s lithium iron phosphate (LFP) cells at roughly the same cost.

Since LFP cells are cheaper than the nickel-manganese-cobalt (NMC) cells in the Silverado, that could mean great battery density at a price far lower than today’s trucks. That alone could be the breakthrough that allows electric trucks to supplant their gas counterparts. 

Before I drove the Silverado EV Trail Boss, I wondered why there’s no Lightning “FX4” or “Tremor,” which is Ford’s equivalent off-road brand. Now I know why. 

Photo by: Ford

But that day hasn’t come. Electric trucks remain alternative options for the most enthusiastic and monied buyers. In some cases, they make sense. A luxury truck buyer may be best served by a Sierra EV Denali or Rivian R1T. A municipal fleet would likely benefit from a few F-150 Lightnings or Silverado EV Work Trucks. True off-road enthusiasts can pick between a Hummer and a Rivian.

For most, though, the price premium just isn’t worth it. I hate to admit that, because I love trucks, and I love EVs, and I want them to fit together. But today’s trucks are a result of 120 years of constant improvement.

Electric trucks have only existed for about half a decade, if that, and they’re already starting to catch up. So while I still wouldn’t recommend one to most buyers, I’m more excited than ever about what’s coming next.

Contact the author: Mack.Hogan@insideevs.com. 

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