Compared: 2022 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 vs. 2022 Ram 1500
Chevy and Ram's full-size pickups offer a wide range of choices for truck shoppers. We compare available engines, towing capacity, and price for these two popular pickups.
Chevrolet/Ram
Article QuickTakes
The Chevrolet Silverado 1500 and Ram 1500 are two of the most popular choices in the ultra competitive full-size pickup segment, with models aimed at task-focused customers as well as buyers seeking a comfortable daily driver. Here's how these two half-ton trucks stack up in the engine, towing, and pricing departments.
Chevrolet
Chevrolet Silverado vs Ram 1500: Engines
At the entry level, the Silverado features a turbocharged 2.7-liter four-cylinder engine that develops 310 horsepower and 430 pound-feet of torque. Rounding out its gas options are a 355-hp 5.3-liter V-8 and a 420-hp 6.2-liter V-8. Alternatively, buyers can spec a 3.0-liter turbo-diesel inline-six that's good for 277 horses and 460 pound-feet of torque.
Ram
The Ram 1500 features a traditional V-6 as its base powerplant, which makes a modest 305 ponies and 269 pound-feet of torque. Like the Silverado, this truck offers a pair of V-8s, but Ram’s engines really bring the muscle: The 5.7-liter generates 395 horsepower, while the 6.2-liter in the off-road TRX model is supercharged for a radical 702 horses and 650 pound-feet of torque. The Ram 1500's 260-hp 3.0-liter turbo-diesel V-6 produces slightly less power than the Silverado’s oil-burner but beats its torque rating, with 480 pound-feet.
Chevrolet
Chevrolet Silverado vs Ram 1500: Towing
The most gifted tow machine in the Silverado 1500 lineup is a four-wheel-drive double cab equipped with the 6.2-liter V-8 and the max towing package: That brute can tug 13,300 pounds’ worth of trailer. The base model—equipped with the turbocharged four-cylinder—can tow up to 9,500 pounds in two-wheel-drive, regular-cab, long-box configuration.
Ram
The Ram can't match the Chevy in terms of max towing. Its capacity tops out at 12,750 pounds; that’s for a two-wheel-drive quad cab with the 5.7-liter. Base to base, the Silverado also outshines the 1500. With no two-door body style on the menu, the entry-level Ram comes in quad-cab form and offers 7,690 pounds of towing capacity.
Chevrolet
Chevrolet Silverado vs Ram 1500: Price
Bargain hunters seeking a barebones pickup can purchase the rear-drive, two-door Silverado 1500 LTD in WT (Work Truck) trim for $32,095.
On the Ram lot, the least expensive 1500 is the two-wheel-drive Tradesman, which is a quad-cab. It's considerably more expensive than the base Chevrolet, with an entry price of $36,995, but you do get double the seating, not to mention an extra set of doors.
Ram
The price difference is even more stark at the top end. A four-wheel-drive, crew-cab, standard-bed Silverado 1500 High Country equipped with the lineup’s mightiest V-8 starts at $62,590. This is significantly less than the $77,475 base price that Ram charges for the hardcore 1500 TRX, but that money buys a lot more performance.
*Note on pricing: currently Chevrolet can't build trucks with park assist or automatic start-stop due to the chip shortage, so there's a $50 discount for each feature when pricing the Silverado High Country.
