Amid the ongoing competition over the number two spot for the best-selling truck in America, Chevrolet and Ram continue to exchange words with each other.
Tim Herrick, executive chief engineer of the new 2020 Chevy Silverado, told reporters that its new dual-rear-wheel Silverado 3500 HD has faster acceleration than its competitor Ram 3500. The brand also suggests that the Ram 3500’s 1,000 lb-ft torque may be limited in some situations.
Ram, however, fired back, saying it is “not worried about” zero-to-60-mph times and is rather concerned about a vehicle’s overall capability and capacity to maintain speed on a grade.
Both the Silverado 3500 and Ram 3500 are crew-cab four-by-four models, with the latter equipped with an optional high-output 1,000 lb-ft Cummins inline-six for an additional $2,695.
Herrick’s claims, however, are not unfounded.
The Silverado indeed offers an additional 45 horsepower compared to the Ram. It also has a 2.6-second advantage to 60 mph when the truck is towing an 18,000-pound trailer. This is according to published unladen acceleration reports where the Silverado outruns the Ram by about two seconds.
Also part of Herrick’s recent claims is that, compared to Ram, Chevrolet does not limit torque in its vehicles in any circumstances. This means that the Silverado’s rear-wheel-drive version makes 14,129 lb-ft of torque to the rear wheels in first gear.
It should be noted, though, that the Silverado’s new Allison 10-speed transmission and all-wheel-drive transfer case is equipped with an Auto mode function that allows the truck to feed some of its torque to the front axle.
And while both trucks have towing capacities powerful enough to uproot a house, Chevy’s Silverado has the advantage over the Ram with its 35,500 vs the latter’s 35,100.
At this point, there’s no saying which is the better truck between the Silverado 3500 and the Ram 3500. Sales and performance reviews will have to do the talking for both brands while Ford remains unbothered on top.
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