RAM 1500 v Chevrolet Silverado 2021 Comparison

For decades, America’s auto manufacturers have fought for supremacy in the lucrative full-size pick-up truck market, and now the battle has been joined in Australia between the Chevrolet Silverado 1500 and the latest DT-generation RAM 1500.

The Chevrolet Silverado reset the standard locally when it launched 12 months ago, as we found in our head-to-head comparison. Now the new DT RAM has arrived to challenge for the throne.

In this case we’ve got the flagship 2021 RAM 1500 Limited on test, taking on the Chevrolet Silverado 1500 LTZ Premium.

There’s a bit of price and equipment discrepancy between these two, but the fundamental tech and capabilities are very much comparable.

They both have a dual-cab body sitting on a ladder-frame chassis, and a petrol-fuelled pushrod V8 engine that mates with an automatic transmission and 4x4 two-speed transfer case.

They’re almost six metres long, weigh-in north of 2600kg and have a huge 4500kg braked towing capacity.

So, let’s get into it!

Apart from anything else the 2021 RAM 1500 and Chevrolet Silverado do or don’t have in common, they are both converted from left- to right-hand drive by the Walkinshaw Automotive Group at its Clayton facility in Melbourne.

Both vehicles are fully homologated, which means they can be sold in unlimited numbers by their distributors. That’s RAM Trucks Australia in the case of RAM – which is an independent company owned by auto entrepreneur Neville Crichton – and General Motors Specialty Vehicles (GMSV), which is a subsidiary of GM and essentially the replacement for Holden in Australia.

And an explainer here. Our Silverado is a privately-owned example from the brief period last year before GMSV was up and running when Walkinshaw Automotive was not only converting the Silverado but selling it under the HSV brand.

We had to borrow a vehicle because GMSV couldn’t provide us with a test Silverado for this comparo. Hopefully, next time.

Anyway, our test Silverado is only 12 months old, has 17,000km on the clock and is in great nick. It does have a couple of options fitted; a bellowing HSV exhaust and optional 20-inch HSV dark alloys, replacing the standard chromed wheels.

But we’ll compare these two as per current equipment and pricing for the Silverado.

Speaking of dollars, the flagship DT-series RAM 1500 Limited docks in Australia at a hefty $139,950 plus on-road costs compared to the Chevrolet Silverado 1500 LTZ Premium that’s now set at $114,990 plus ORCs.

This latter pricing kicked in last November for MY21 when GMSV officially took over from HSV. It’s $1000 more expensive than before, but incorporates the previously optional Tech Pack that includes HD Surround Vision (with provision for two trailer view cameras), a bed view camera, rear camera mirror, 15-inch colour head-up display and 8.0-inch digital instrument cluster.

The high prices are a reminder that shipping complete left-hand drive vehicles to Australia, stripping them down and rebuilding them in right-hand drive adds substantial cost.

The new RAM 1500 Limited does have some impressive luxury gear to go with its intimidating price. There are swathes of premium stitched leather, a standard-setting Tesla-like 12.0-inch touch-screen in the centre stack, an ingeniously complex storage box in the centre console, a pounding 19-speaker Harman Kardon audio system, rear seats that slide and recline, practical powered pop-out side steps, a huge panoramic sunroof and 22-inch alloy wheels shod with road-oriented rubber.

Both vehicles have powered, heated and ventilated front seats with 10-way adjustment as well as memory for the driver’s position, outboard rear seat heating (the RAM adds ventilation), Android Auto and Apple CarPlay connection, wireless phone charging, dual-zone climate control with controllable rear vents, USB and USB-C ports and a powered sliding rear window.

Out back both cargo trays have the preferred spray-in bedliners, powered tailgates and lighting. The Silverado has more tie-down hooks – 12 to four – and a cargo bed camera, while the RAM gets a soft tonneau and dual 210-litre lockable boxes that are a helpful storage feature.

The Silverado’s leather trim is not to the quality of the RAM’s, its side steps don’t fold away, its sunroof is half the size, the touch-screen is smaller, the Bose audio system is limited to seven speakers and the infotainment system misses out on embedded satellite navigation.

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

Neither the 2021 RAM 1500 nor the Chevrolet Silverado 1500 come with local ANCAP safety ratings, but they have been giving the forensic treatment in the US, albeit in left-hand drive form.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) named the RAM as a 2021 top safety pick. It earned a ‘good’ rating in all crashworthiness tests. The Silverado didn’t rank quite as well, getting only a ‘marginal’ rating in the small overlap front (passenger side) test.

Meanwhile, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), which isn’t directly comparable to ANCAP or Euro NCAP ratings, has awarded the RAM 1500 the maximum five stars across its criteria, while the latest Chevrolet Silverado 1500 scored four stars.

That said, the overall message is these are two pretty strong and safe vehicles.

Safety gear across both vehicles includes autonomous emergency braking (AEB) with pedestrian detection, allied with adaptive cruise control, six airbags, stability and traction control, blind spot monitoring, lane departure warning and rear cross traffic alert.

The RAM also actively steers in an attempt to keep you in your lane. You tend to pinball down the lane. Other helpful features include parking sensors and assistance, LED headlights, hill start assist and reversing and 360-degree cameras.

The Chevrolet also comes with a head-up display on the windscreen and 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.

These trucks aren’t at the front of the queue when it comes to technology breakthroughs. But just because they are ladder-frame V8s doesn’t mean they lack sophistication.

That especially applies to the 2021 RAM 1500 Limited, which adds 48V mild-hybrid, stop-start and cylinder deactivation to its 291kW/565Nm 5.7-litre HEMI V8.

The goals are better performance and fuel economy, and driving via an eight-speed automatic the RAM claims 12.2L/100km fuel consumption average on 91 RON unleaded fuel. We never got near that on test, hovering around the 16L/100km mark. Combined with a 98-litre tank the range comes out around 600km.

Connecting the powertrain to the wheels is BorgWarner’s new torque-on-demand transfer case with lock-up clutch. The RAM 1500 Limited can run in rear-wheel drive, 4x4 auto where it adds drive to the front wheels on demand, 4x4 high range and 4x4 low range.

The flagship of the new DT series also comes standard with a limited-slip rear differential, but our early-arrival test vehicle only had an open rear diff.

Uniquely for a pick-up, the Limited’s suspension includes air springs, so ground clearance can be adjusted upward for off-roading and downward for loading.

The Chevrolet Silverado 1500 LTZ Premium has its own tech to brag about. Its all-aluminium 313kW/624Nm 6.2-litre V8 has cylinder deactivation, automatic engine idle-stop and a claimed 12.3L/100km fuel consumption rate. We averaged 15L/100km. The 91-litre tank means a similar range to the RAM.

The torque-converter automatic transmission has 10 speeds and the 4x4 system offers the same capabilities as the RAM 1500 Limited, but adds hill descent control and the rear diff is a locker. Suspension is orthodox, including leaf springs at the rear.

Only the Chevrolet comes with 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 1500 Limited changes gear via push buttons and the Silverado LTZ via a column shifter. Both have manual gear selector buttons primarily designed to assist with towing.

So to the key measurements. The Limited is longer, higher and heavier. The Silverado is wider and has a longer and wider tray. But there’s not a lot in it and both are simply huge.

What does seem underwhelming by comparison is payload; just 760kg for the Chev and a piddling 701kg for the RAM. A Toyota HiLux or Ford Ranger easily betters them. At least the trays are big enough to fit an Aussie pallet.

Of course, the huge 4500kg tow rating (with a 70mm tow ball) 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.

Considering we borrowed our Chevrolet Silverado from a generous, albeit slightly nervous, private owner, we limited ourselves to a basic driving test. So no towing, heavy loads or off-roading – all that is yet to come.

And it’s fair to say that after this experience we are really looking forward to driving them again.

What quickly becomes obvious is that both the new DT-series 2021 RAM 1500 Limited and the Chevrolet Silverado 1500 LTZ Premium are both impressively refined and capable vehicles.

The local conversion work is to a very high standard in both of them. Only oddly angled external mirrors obviously give the game away.

The RAM rides beautifully on its air suspension, has a more supportive driver’s seat, is impressively quiet inside the cabin with the help of active noise cancelling tech and offers genuinely comfortable space for five adult passengers.

The Silverado is almost as good. It lacks the tech sophistication of the Limited’s huge screen, can’t offer the same centre console storage functionality (it simply has a big lidded hole), isn’t as comfy or quite as spacious in the rear seat – especially the middle position – and doesn’t ride with the same absorbency or vertical control.

It’s not as quiet either. But that’s not necessarily a bad thing as the HSV exhaust makes a very cool noise.

Sport mode also makes the Silverado’s forward progress that bit more urgent. Both engines are impressively refined and flexible, generating strong acceleration despite the weight they have to haul.

But the Silverado’s bigger and more powerful unit feels to have a slight edge in a straight line. Stick either in a 1500kg sports car and they’d be rockets!

Considering their size and weight, both vehicles are well-behaved handlers. Okay, it’s more ocean liner than speed boat, but they track pretty accurately and steer somewhere near where you point them. The Silverado’s wheel is lighter to twirl but also has some steering rack rattle on bumps.

Both vehicles were tested in rear-wheel drive, or in auto when conditions were greasier. Impressively, neither was inclined to obvious skittishness from the rear-end.

Both also pull up well considering their size. The RAM offers better feel than the Chev, which requires a harder initial brake pedal effort.

You couldn’t call either of them fun to drive, but they are certainly imperious. Only an 18-wheeler will give you a more commanding view of the road.

A trip to Alice Springs? Certainly. But a trip to the shops? Um, no thanks, they are just too big for the day-to-day urban chore. You have to plan way too far ahead every time you go somewhere built-up.

Both the 2021 RAM 1500 Limited and Chevrolet Silverado 1500 LTZ Premium are darned impressive. They are the result of decades and generations of evolution and that helps explain why they are so good at what they do.

But they are very specific in their attributes. Don’t mistakenly buy one when a Toyota HiLux, Ford Ranger or Mitsubishi Triton – to name just three – would do. That’s not their point.

But if you need space, pace and grace and a huge towing capacity then these two are where it’s at.

In the end, the new DT-series RAM 1500 wins this comparison despite its price disadvantage. It has enough extras, enough driving advantages and enough tech sophistication to just overcome the older Chevrolet and claim the throne.

But like we’ve already said, this is just the start. There’s a lot more testing of these two to be done.

Hmmm, Melbourne to Darwin the long way with a caravan in tow? Sounds good!

How much does the 2021 Chevrolet 1500 LTZ Premium cost?
Price: $114,990 (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: Four-star (NHTSA 2021)

How much does the 2021 RAM 1500 Limited cost?
Price: $139,950 (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: Five-star (NHTSA 2021)

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