- The Trail Boss is the first off-road trim for the Chevy Silverado EV.
- It’s built to offer more livability and capability off the pavement.
- It still offers plenty of range, but it also isn’t cheap.
The first true off-road version of the Chevy Silverado EV arrives this summer. Chevy today confirmed details of the Silverado EV Trail Boss, which should be the most capable Silverado EV yet.
The Chevy Silverado EV Trail Boss trim includes a 2.0-inch lift from the factory and 35-inch tires. That should give you a lot more room to maneuver the 233-inch-long truck off-road.
But since it comes with standard four-wheel steering, even the Trail Boss on 35s can do a full rotation in 42.2 feet. That’s not exactly tight, but it’s a lot tighter than most full-size trucks. You can also enable “Sidewinder” mode to turn all four wheels in parallel, allowing you to move diagonally if the situation demands it.
Of course, with a long wheelbase and a wide body, no full-size truck is the ideal trail rig. But the Trail Boss tries to improve its approach angle, which is the angle of the steepest obstacle it can climb without scraping. That new fascia also includes red tow hooks to be recovered off-road, though you’ll need a big truck to pull the Silverado EV out of the ditch. Trucks with the Max Range battery option weigh just shy of 9,000 lbs, which means you may still struggle if you hit deep mud.
The good news is that despite its chunky off-road tires and range-reducing ride height, the Silverado EV Trail Boss still looks to be a competent and competitive on-road truck. It can go up to 478 miles on a charge if you opt for the Max Range pack, which also gives it 725 horsepower and 775 pound-feet of torque. Go for the smaller pack and you get up to 410 miles of range. Its lower weight also unlocks more towing and hauling capacity: 12,500 lbs and 2,100 lbs, respectively, with the smaller pack.
The new suspension features hydraulic rebound control, which allows the vehicle to better handle the constant thudding of off-road driving. The washboarding of dirt and gravel roads can make them exhausting to drive on, and a suspension tuned to take that is a welcome addition.
As someone who does a lot of dirt-road driving for fun and very little technical off-roading, it strikes me as a sweet spot. In theory, the retuned suspension could be softer over everyday potholes as well, but the 35-inch tires will likely make the ride a bit busier at speed.
The 2026 Chevrolet Silverado EV Trail Boss
Photo by: Chevrolet
All of this capability comes at a cost. The version with the Extended Range battery and 410 miles of range starts at $72,095 with the destination charge. I think that’s the one to get. The version with the Max Range pack starts at $88,695. That’s 16 grand for more power and range, and the “base” version already has plenty of each.
Remember, folks, we’ve proven we can make electric trucks work. The next step is driving down prices and increasing efficiency.
For now, however, the Silverado EV Trail Boss strikes me as a flawed but important product. The F-150 Lightning proved that the electric truck could offer a better daily driving experience. The Rivian R1T proved that an EV could match or beat an internal-combustion truck on the trail. Now, Chevy is proving that you can make one that’s capable of doing everything a gas Silverado offers.
Contact the author: Mack.Hogan@insideevs.com.