The Chevrolet Tahoe PPV gets a squadmate with the new Silverado PPV.
This isn’t the first Silverado police truck on the scene, but it is the first to which Chevy ascribes the “pursuit-rated” moniker. Built in a 25-year history of the Tahoe PPV, this 2023 Silverado Police Pursuit Vehicle gets many of the same underpinnings, with more rugged capability. “Our 25 years of engineering Tahoe police pursuit vehicles coupled with Chevrolet’s 100 years of truck success, puts us in a great position to deliver a truly capable Silverado PPV for our customers,” said US vice president of GM Fleet Ed Peper.
To that end, this Silverado starts off with a 355 horsepower 5.3-liter V8 engine under the hood, like the SSV truck. That’s coupled to a standard 10-speed automatic transmission, but from there GM made some tweaks to adapt this truck to high-speed demands. It has a heavy-duty engine air filter, six-piston Brembo front brake calipers and 16-inch rotors. Like the Tahoe PPV, the Silverado PPV gets 20-inch black steel wheels and Goodyear all-terrain tires.
Tuning the PPV for off-road duties
Where the 2023 Silverado PPV shines, as you’d expect, is off the pavement. The truck comes with Rancho shocks included with Chevy’s Z71 off-road package, as well as a G80 locking rear differential and underbody skid plate. The company offers an available 2-inch lift to forces who request it, and that gives the Silverado a best-in-class 11.35 inches of ground clearance (to the Tahoe PPV’s 8.5 inches). Its approach angle is a respectable 25.9 degrees, as well.
In addition to a standard 9,300-pound towing capacity, the 2023 Silverado PPV brings in speciality equipment options to adapt the truck for law enforcement needs. That includes a 220-amp alternator as well as two 120-volt outlets for electronic devices, as well as an optional upfitter switch bank with three 30-amp and two 20-amp circuits for emergency equipment. Law enforcement agences can also select to delete the front center seat to customize the cockpit to fit their specific gear, if needed. The truck comes fitted with standard head and taillamp flashers.
To suit the Silverado PPV to police work, there are power cloth seats as well as hard vinyl flooring and rear seats. “Surveillance Mode” allows a third party to upfit the truck with greater control over the exterior and interior lighting for “discretion while on patrol”. Finally, you get LED or halogen spot lamps.
The Silverado PPV gets a 5-foot 8-inch bed, hard tri-fold tonneau cover, twelve standard welded tie-downs and a corner step rear bumper. Chevy’s multi-flex tailgate is an option. Like the Tahoe PPV, this truck also has “protected idle”, which locks out the transmission from being engaged while it’s idling to prevent theft.
Like the civilian Silverado, the PPV gets available safety features including adaptive cruise control, rear park assist, rear cross traffic braking and lane change alert.
