Family car review: 2024 Chevrolet Silverado 1500

How big is the tray of the 2024 Chevrolet Silverado 1500?

The 2024 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 LTZ Premium tray has enormous storage space for families. It is perfect for family camping trips and for storing all your family's bikes in the back.

The tray is so big; in fact, I could fit all of the Thule prams in it at the same time!

The 2024 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 LTZ Premium we are testing has an electric tailgate and tray cover, which I found really useful when I went to and from the vehicle carrying my daughter and her things. You can open and close them automatically by pressing their relevant buttons on the key fob. This is a great feature for families not only is it easy to use but the retractable roller blind keeps the contents of the tray dry if you have your pram etc in there.

The tray floor is corrugated with a grippy paint surface which is quite scratchy on prams. You could fit any size dog in the tray of the 2024 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 LTZ Premium.

When empty, the 2024 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 LTZ Premium's tray holds thirty-seven shopping bags, comparable to the 2024 Ford F-150's tray which holds thirty-five.

The Thule Sleek, future-proof, multi-configuration pram with a single seat…

…will fit in the tray of the Silverado 1500 LTZ Premium with 29 shopping bags.

The Thule Sleek, future-proof, multi-configuration pram with two sibling seats…

…will fit in the tray of the 2024 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 LTZ Premium with 29 shopping bags beside it.

The Thule Sleek, future-proof, multi-configuration pram with a single seat and bassinet beside it…

…will fit in the tray of the 2024 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 LTZ Premium with 24 shopping bags.

The Thule Urban Glide 3 single is the ultimate all-terrain stroller…

… with the back wheels on, fits in the tray of the Chevrolet Silverado 1500 LTZ Premium with 25 shopping bags.

The Thule Urban Glide 3 double is Thule's beloved ultimate all-terrain stroller…

…with the back wheels on, it will fit in the tray of the 2024 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 LTZ Premium with 25 shopping bags.

The Thule Spring, lightweight and one-handed folding stroller…

…fits in the tray of the 2024 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 LTZ Premium with 30 shopping bags.

How good is storage in the 2024 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 LTZ Premium?

In the front of the Chevrolet Silverado 1500 LTZ Premium, the central console has great storage with two good-sized cup holders and a large phone tray. On the side of the central console is a little shelf that is good for the passenger's phone or wallet.

Underneath the central console storage box lid is a phone charging pad, there are also USB and USB-C sockets inside. The storage box has a good amount of storage and a tray inside it that is good for storing your glasses.

The Silverado's double glove box is practical for families and fits your wallet and iPad with the manual.

There is no glasses case in the ceiling but there are lit vanity mirrors in the front visors.

The door bins in the front are even bigger than the back, with room for two drink bottles, an iPad and a wallet.

Rear passengers in the 2024 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 are well looked after with storage. There are two cup holders in the back of the central console box and a phone holder, with USB and USB-C charging sockets too.

There are map pockets on the back of both front seats that will hold an iPad.

There is a fold-down armrest in the central seat back with three cup holders, a reusable or disposable coffee cup that fits well, and a kid's drink cup.

The rear door bins are large, they will hold a refillable water bottle and an iPad and wallet fit in them too.

In the back, I found some very good hidden storage underneath the rear seats. The seat bases lift up and there are enormous plastic storage tubs underneath them.

Also the rear seat backs have little doors in them you can open to store things in the space behind them!

How noisy is the 2024 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 LTZ Premium, and how easy is the media screen to use?

The Silverado is a large vehicle with a lot of “padding” so it does seem cocooned from a lot of the exterior noise while driving.

The 2024 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 LTZ Premium's media system is lovely and modern and easy to navigate and use on the large landscape screen. You can scroll through the menu along the left of the screen.

There is a towing screen, and you can go into the driver assistance settings and customise them.

You can go into the settings and customise many things about the vehicle, including the sounds, which is useful for families with noise-sensitive kids.

The cameras are excellent in the Silverado, with multiple views…

… including one over the tow ball,  which is really useful when hitching up.

I also think the camera over the tray is helpful so you can see everything is okay in the tray while driving along.

The Silverado has Apple CarPlay and Android Auto so you can easily connect to your phone and access your navigation, music, podcast and messaging apps while driving.

Below the media screen are buttons to turn the parking sensors and auto engine cut out on and off easily. There is also a button on the end that puts all four windows down quickly. This is a fantastic feature for when you first get into the vehicle and it's hot. Weirdly you have to then close each window individually.

The climate controls are on the dash below these buttons so you can easily access them at any time when driving.

The Silverado's indicator sound is not too loud, so it did not disturb my kids while sleeping in the back.

The windows and doors in the Silverado are not too loud or noisy to open and close, considering how big they are it's quite surprising!

Becoming a parent I soon realised there are some noises and sounds I feel are unnecessary and I could happily live without if it meant my baby stayed asleep!!

That often the distraction of my screaming, distressed baby is more dangerous when driving than not having a lane departure warning for example.

If it is the lane departure warning beeping that creates distress with my baby then which is safest?

It’s where I think we need to be able to strike a balance and choose when we can mute the warnings or swap them to a vibration in the steering wheel or flashing light perhaps?

A lot of these noises come with the increase in technology and especially linked to safety features and alerts. For me these all have their place.

Another thing I have realised is I spend my time in a lot more places where small children roam, parks, beaches, play gyms, swimming lessons, daycare centre etc. I have become more aware that when I’m reversing or manouvering in the car parks I have to tripple check for small children running around behind me or being in my blind spot when reversing. For this I LOVE reversing cameras, I just don’t like their beeping sounds!!

I have become so much more aware of safety and potential accidents or hazards since having a child and so I love the peace of mind that I get from the cameras and sensors combined with my own vision from windows and mirrors as I don’t trust cameras alone.

How many child/baby seats can you fit in the 2024 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 LTZ Premium?

When it comes to installing child seats in the 2024 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 LTZ Premium, there is so much space! It makes things far easier than the cramped dual-cabs Australians usually deal with.

When it comes to installing child seats, the 2024 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 LTZ Premium has so much space compared to the cramped situation in regular dual-cab utes.

There are ISOFix points in both outer second-row seats of the 2024 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 LTZ Premium.

They are not within plastic guides but they are clearly labelled. Because they're elevated between the base and back of the seat fabric, they are nice and easy to connect to.

All three second-row seats have top tether anchorages behind the headrests, which are woven loops on metal anchorages. For the outer seats, you pass the top tether strap through the woven loop behind the headrest and then across to clip onto the metal anchorage behind the central seat's headrest.

To install a child seat in the central seat, you pass the top tether strap through the woven loop, across to either of the outer metal anchorages, and connect it to there.

The rear seats are very spacious and wide in the 2024 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 LTZ Premium and three child seats fit really comfortably across the second row seats. It's a really spacious back seat and interior so different combinations of forward-facing and rear-facing child seats fit well. Most dual-cabs no longer have a central top tether anchor so another win for the Silverado!

I could very comfortably fit in the central seat between two child seats.

With a rear-facing child seat in the second row of the 2024 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 LTZ Premium, we could fit a 190cm driver in front of it comfortably. Or, with a forward-facing child seat in the second row, we could fit a 190cm+ driver in front.

The floor is flat in the rear footwell giving plenty of kick room for rear passengers. The rear doors open nice and wide so there is easy access for passengers getting in and out too.

There is room to insert Bub into their child seat from outside the car and from inside, and there is room to feed Bub in the back if you have one or two child seats installed.

Australia being a country of weather extremes- blazing sun and torrential rain, mean you may find it easier to put Bub into their seat from inside the car sometimes. If it’s hot you can get the air-con going, cool the car down and not stand out in the sun while you fasten them in or shelter from the rain and not get soaked yourself whilst you’re doing it. So it is important to test whether Bub can be easily installed from either direction!

How comfortable is the 2024 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 LTZ Premium?

The 2024 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 LTZ Premium keeps rear passengers comfortable with air vents in the back of the central console box and USB and USB-C sockets for charging devices while travelling.

The climate controls are on the dash underneath the media screen, and they are easily accessible while driving.

The rear seats are comfortable for passengers, not in child seats, and have fantastic legroom. The rear footwell is flat, so you have great rear kick room. The upholstery is simple grey panels so they don't trap crumbs and spills easily. I found the seats comfortable and practical for families.

There are four large air-conditioning vents across the front of the dashboard, one on either side of the media screen and one at each end of the dashboard.

Visibility is good out of the front and sides in the Silverado. With three child seats installed in the back, I couldn't see over the top of them but there are excellent cameras in the Silverado which makes parking etc easy.

The rear windows are enormous, so rear passengers who are forward-facing and rear-facing have great visibility.

The 2024 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 LTZ Premium is a great pick-up, and I enjoyed driving it with my kids onboard! The electric tray cover and tailgate made using the tray like a car boot and suited our family life.

With a braked towing capacity from 4200kg to 4500kg depending on the variant you can tow a large family caravan very comfortably.

The interior storage meant everything had its place, and there were no water bottles rolling around in footwells or “pass me my drink”; everyone had exactly what they needed.

When it came to parking the Chevrolet Silverado 1500 LTZ Premium, I love driving big vehicles, and this is a big vehicle! It does well fill a parking space and I found the cameras really useful when parking and manoeuvring.

One thing I have noticed since being a mum is I hate it when I reach a destination or get home from being out and Bub has either done really well in the car or she is screaming her head off and I have done really well to keep it together for the entire journey (usually the latter!!) and it takes 10 minutes to park the car! It can be really stressful. Usually, I dread parking in our tight apartment block carpark, the Chevrolet Silverado 1500 LTZ Premium is fun to reverse park!

How safe is the 2024 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 LTZ Premium?

The Chevrolet Silverado 1500 LTZ Premium has not been through ANCAP crash testing because it is too heavy for the ANCAP testing.

It has six airbags as standard:

Dual front airbags, front side airbags, and head-curtain airbags for front and rear outer seating positions

The Chevrolet Silverado 1500 LTZ Premium includes a number of safety features and driver assists technology as standard, although not as much as most modern vehicles, which was surprising. It comes with autonomous emergency braking (AEB), adaptive cruise control (ACC), blind spot alert (BSA), rear cross-traffic alert (RCTA), lane keep assist (LKA), lane-departure warning (LDW), lane-change alert, front and rear sensors, 360-degree camera with trailer integration, tyre pressure monitoring (TPMS).

Some of these safety features are also features that drive me crazy as a mum! Like the lane departure and forward collision alert or the parking sensor beeping sound. I want all the safety technology AND to be able to mute the sound when Bub’s asleep!