Chevrolet Silverado v RAM 1500 2022 Comparison

The adoption of American full-size pick-up trucks continues apace in Australia, and now it’s time for the latest arrival, the 2022 RAM 1500 Laramie, to do battle with the 2022 Chevrolet Silverado LTZ Premium.

If you think we’ve been here you’re kinda right. Back in August 2021 we pitched the new DT-series RAM up against a Silverado. But then the RAM was the flagship Limited and the Chev was a 12-month-old LTZ we borrowed from a private owner because distributor GMSV declined to supply a test vehicle.

This time round it’s the RAM Laramie, which lines up almost head-to-head with the Silverado LTZ Premium. And this time round GMSV has come to the party with a fresh loaner for us to drive.

We’ll get to the details in a minute, but this really does shape up as a fascinating comparison between two dual-cab utes with massive engines, sophisticated all-wheel drive systems, bonkers braked towing capability and enough interior space to fit a footy team – or two…

Despite their pricing beyond $100,000, both utes are selling in record numbers as Aussies embrace their inner Yank.

Which son of Uncle Sam deserves your dough? Let’s find out.

The 2022 Chevrolet Silverado LTZ Premium will set you back $113,990 plus on-road costs, while the 2022 RAM Laramie 1500 starts at $119,900 plus ORCs.

In the changeover from the 2021 to 2022 model, the RAM has actually gone up almost $5000 in price from $114,950 plus ORCs. For that substantial bump, the key salve is the previous $1950 optional power side steps have become standard. The rest is attributed to increased charges out of the factory stateside.

So what are the absolute fundamentals you get for your money?

Underpinned by a ladder frame, the Chev comes with a 6.2-litre V8 petrol engine, a 10-speed auto, shift-on-the-fly 4x4 with dual-range gearing, a five-seat cabin and 4500kg braked towing capacity.

The Laramie also has a ladder frame, permanent 4x4 with low-range, five seats and 4500kg braked towing. Its V8 is a 5.7-litre HEMI boosted by mild hybridisation mated to an eight-speed auto.

One other thing they share is conversion from left- to right-hand drive at the Walkinshaw Auto Group facility in Melbourne. This added process helps explain why these two are so expensive (although no luxury tax helps ease the pain).

Anyway, that’s the basic picture. We’ll explore the techy stuff in more detail further down – and there is a bit to get into, that’s for sure.

For now, let’s talk about the comfort and luxury equipment, and on that score the 2022 RAM 1500 Laramie has a bit of an edge.

While it drops plenty of gear compared to the Limited, Laramie advantages over the top-spec Chevy include a huge portrait-style 12-inch touch-screen that dominates the centre stack, a 19-speaker Harman Kardon audio system, satellite navigation, a reconfigurable centre console box and rear seats that recline 10 degrees and have ventilation and heating outboard (Silverado also heats outboard rear seats).

The 2022 Chevrolet Silverado LTZ Premium has only an eight-inch touch-screen, seven-speaker audio and leather seat trim that looks distinctly vinyl compared to the Laramie.

Both have front seats with heating, ventilation and 10-way adjustment including driver memory.

Both also get Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connection, which is the only way to access satellite navigation in the Chevrolet, wireless phone charging, dual-zone climate control with controllable rear vents, USB-A and USB-C ports and a powered sliding rear window.

The Chevrolet is alone in having a sunroof.

Outside, the Silverado makes do with orthodox non-retractable side steps, both roll on 20-inch alloy wheels, and each has a full-size spare wheel (alloy) and tyre. A tow bar (without tongue and ball) is also standard for both vehicles.

Both have spray-in bedliners and power-assisted tailgates too. The Silverado has more tie-down hooks – 12 to four – and a cargo bed camera.

Our test RAM also came with optional ($4950) Rambox storage lockers either side of the tray, complete with lighting and 230V power. Neither gets a tonneau cover standard.

Both vehicles come with a three-year/100,000km warranty and 12-month/12,000km service intervals. The warranty is short for working vehicles of such high cost.

While both the 2022 Chevrolet Silverado LTZ Premium and the RAM 1500 Laramie come standard with autonomous emergency braking (AEB), six airbags and a reversing camera, the Silverado has a big advantage in terms of other standard driver assist systems.

For no extra cost it also comes with a 360-degree camera with up to 15 views, adaptive cruise control, a head-up display, a rear-view camera mirror that removes all obstructions such as head restraints and loads in the tray, lane change alert with side blind alert, lane keep assist, lane departure warning, rear cross traffic alert and front and rear park assist.

The Silverado also comes with comprehensive towing assistance including ‘hitch guidance’ with ‘hitch view’ via the reversing camera and a trailering app that includes a towing checklist, maintenance reminders, electrical diagnostics, remote light checking and even different trailer profiles.

Much of the driver assist tech that is standard with the flagship RAM 1500 Limited (from $142,950) turns into a $4950 ‘Driver Assistance Level 2 Pack’ for the Laramie (our test car was fitted with it).

Included are a 360-degree camera, blind spot monitoring, cross path detection, adaptive cruise control, pedestrian detection for AEB (standard for Silverado), lane keep assist, parallel and perpendicular park assistance and automatic high beam assist.

Sadly, even if you wanted to spend the extra money for this equipment – and really, you should – it’s not currently available because of the global semi-conductor crisis.

Both vehicles get LED headlights, tyre pressure monitoring, electronic stability and traction control, anti-lock brakes, trailer sway control and hill start assist.

Neither has an ANCAP or Euro NCAP crash test rating for crash protection, but they both do well under the US IIHS and NHTSA systems, with the RAM edging marginally ahead.

The 2022 Chevrolet Silverado LTZ Premium and RAM 1500 Laramie are relatively simple vehicles when it comes to the technology. They employ a tried-and-true formula that’s been honed and refined for decades.

Take the Laramie as an example. For this generation it adds 48V mild-hybrid, stop-start and cylinder deactivation to its 291kW/565Nm 5.7-litre pushrod HEMI V8.

Along with active grille shutters to help the Laramie slip (barge?) through the air better, the goals are more performance and less thirst. Driving via an eight-speed torque-converter automatic, the RAM claims 12.2L/100km fuel consumption average on 91 RON unleaded fuel.

Our average on test was about 15L/100km – the best numbers we’ve seen yet from a new-gen DT RAM. Combined with a 98-litre tank the range comes out around 650km.

BorgWarner’s latest torque-on-demand transfer case with lock-up clutch sits at the heart of the drivetrain. The Laramie can run in rear-wheel drive, set-and-forget 4x4 auto where it adds drive to the front wheels on demand, 4x4 high-range and 4x4 low-range.

It also comes standard with a limited-slip rear differential.

Unlike the flagship Limited, the Laramie has orthodox suspension rather than air springs. But it’s still a five-link set-up with coils, rather than the usual leaf set-up (as used by the Silverado).

The LTZ Premium’s all-aluminium 313kW/624Nm 6.2-litre pushrod V8 has cylinder deactivation, automatic engine idle-stop and a claimed 12.3L/100km fuel consumption rate. We averaged 14.7L/100km. The 91-litre tank means a theoretical range pretty close to the RAM.

But on that front, neither Chev nor RAM can get anywhere near diesel utes when it comes to range.

The Silverado’s torque-converter automatic transmission has 10 speeds and the 4x4 system offers the same set-and-forget capabilities as the RAM via GM’s T1 transfer case. But it also adds hill descent control and the rear diff is a locker.

Both vehicles employ disc brakes all-round.

The Chevrolet alone has a drive mode selector that adjusts the transmission, throttle and steering settings through Normal, Sport, Tow/Haul, Off-road, Terrain and Snow/Ice settings.

The RAM changes gear via push-buttons while the Chevrolet uses a column shifter. Neither have a proper manual mode, instead using buttons that are primarily there to assist with towing.

So to the rather extraordinary dimensions and weights. The Silverado is longer overall, wider and has the longer wheelbase. But the RAM is taller and heavier, weighing in at a hefty 2617kg (Ramboxes add an extra 54kg) versus 2540kg. And both are simply huge at almost six metres long.

What is less impressive considering the sheer size of these things is payload; just 760kg for the Chev and 833kg for the RAM (779kg with Ramboxes). A Toyota HiLux or Ford Ranger comfortably betters them.

At least the trays are big enough to fit an Aussie pallet.

Of course, the huge 4500kg tow rating is a compelling reason for buying either of these two. But do your GCM calculations (7713kg for the Limited and 7160kg for the Silverado) before hitching up.

You might then opt to go for a 3500kg caravan, especially if are driving the Silverado (or go for a GVM upgrade).

Compared to our first hit-out in these big trucks a few months ago, we got a bit more adventurous with this shoot-out between the 2022 Chevrolet Silverado LTZ Premium and RAM 1500 Laramie.

We took them off-road. Well, we tried to do.

A modest articulation and ground clearance test stumped both of them. A shield in front of the front wheels stopped the RAM’s progress almost straight away, while the Chevrolet managed to get further over the hump only to ground on its side steps.

Any further and it would have crumpled them up.

Sadly, we did manage to damage the Chevrolet. Driving along a rough gravel track the front-end dropped into a pothole, smacking the front bumper, which cracked high up behind the number plate.

The message here is if you want to go off-road to any sort of challenging degree then a suspension lift kit is in order. Or, in the case of the RAM, you could buy the Limited with its adjustable-height air suspension.

On gravel roads these are predictable and comfy vehicles in which to travel. Stick them in 4Auto and let the transfer case do the work when it comes to grip, while the long wheelbase and soft-ish suspension deal with the lumps and bumps.

Size is the issue, just making sure there’s room on those back roads to go where you want to – a logging truck might be coming the other way… Could be a long reverse!

Of course, sheer size is just as significant a challenge in town. Negotiating these things around a car park – even with their generous amounts of power steering assistance – is a nervy exercise. Both have turning circles beyond 14m, so you need space.

The Chev has a plethora of camera views and that does help.

The place where these two really feel at home is when the spaces become wide and open.

Then the RAM quickly establishes itself as the nicer drive. It’s quieter with the help of active noise cancellation, has better body control and simply feels more solid.

By comparison, the Chev tends to roll around more, is looser in its leaf spring rear and also has a noticeable steering rack rattle. It also required a harder hit on the brake pedal to produce substantive response.

But considering their size and weight both vehicles are darned impressive drives; it’s just the RAM is that little more refined.

Despite the numbers indicating otherwise, it’s the RAM that feels like it has the stronger drivetrain. Maybe the cool exhaust note plays a role. But neither is lacking in oomph.

It’s all delivered without fuss or issue. We just wish there was a real manual shifting option.

Both offer acres of interior space. In fact, it really is quite extraordinary how spacious they are.

The stitched leather coverings of the RAM feel and look more upmarket, it has better seats, better storage including a huge and multi-layered centre console box, and the better infotainment interface thanks to that huge touch-screen.

The Chevrolet is entirely acceptable; it just feels older, plainer and not as smart – for instance, its centre rear seat is not as comfortable as the one in the RAM.

One upside of being old-fashioned is still using real buttons for air-con control rather than stabbing at the touch-screen. Sometimes tried-and-true is also best.

Other aspects of the RAM package drew mixed responses. The Ramboxes were dismissed by one experienced traveller, who declared his preference for installing his own security boxes if he wanted to go that way.

And the power side steps managed to whack a couple of people in the shins, which didn’t impress them!

There’s no doubt the 2022 Chevrolet Silverado LTZ Premium and RAM 1500 Laramie are impressive beasts.

Riding high up there behind the wheel, cruising comfortably with oodles of power on tap, what’s not to love?

Well… they’re expensive, they don’t have big payloads and in standard form their ability to head off-road is truncated.

But if their capabilities, such as effortless open-road touring and massive braked towing capacity, are relevant to you, then go for it.

Which one to buy? Well, if money is no object then go for the RAM. It’s the better vehicle to travel in and drive.

But if you want to keep $5000-$10,000 in your pocket, the Silverado is an entirely justifiable choice.

It doesn’t drive quite as well as the RAM and it’s not as premium inside, but it’s significantly better equipped in safety terms at a lower price.

How much does the 2022 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 LTZ Premium cost?
Price: $113,990 (plus on-road costs)
Available: Now
Engine: 6.2-litre V8 petrol
Output: 313W/624Nm
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Fuel: 12.3L/100km (ADR Combined)
CO2: 286g/km (ADR Combined)
Safety rating: Not tested

How much does the 2022 RAM 1500 Laramie cost?
Price: $119,900 (plus on-road costs)
Available: Now
Engine: 5.7-litre V8 petrol
Output: 291kW/565Nm
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
Fuel: 12.2L/100km (ADR Combined)
CO2: 283g/km (ADR Combined)
Safety rating: Not tested