I chase the MINT 400 off-road race in a new 2025 Chevy Silverado EV LT pickup truck. This one has a Premium package that includes a very useful passthrough midgate, panoramic sunroof, 22-inch wheels, hands-free driving SuperCruise, and more. I want to see how this new street version of the Silverado EV performs on the highways and the gravel/dirt roads near Las Vegas, Nevada. How efficient is the new truck and can I keep up with Chad Hall who is piloting the Silverado EV ZR2 off-road concept race truck? Let’s dig in!
I am not driving the street truck on the grueling off-road racing routes in the desert. We are taking highways and short cuts between desert pit areas in order to spectate and follow the action.
The electric ZR2 off-road race truck was actually born as Silverado EV WT test mule. It has been since converted for off-road racing duty. The most noteworthy element of the race is not that it’s the first electric ZR2 pickup truck. It’s the new ASV (Adaptive Spool Valve) dampers by Multimatic. We know the DSSV dampers by Multimatic very well. GM has been using these on there midsize, full-size, and heavy-duty ZR2 and AT4X pickup trucks. The ASV adds continuously adjustable spool valve technology into the mix. The truck’s computer controls the valving in each damper in real time to best cope with the driving conditions and the terrain.
This concept is not new. Ford has been using the FOX Live Valve dampers in their Raptor vehicles for several years. Ram has been using the Bilstein Blackhawk e2 dampers on their TRX and RHO trucks. GM is not testing the Multimatic spool valve version of suspension in this off-road racing series. Chevrolet did not confirm this, but I expect this type of ASV suspension to come to Chevy and GMC production off-road trucks within the next year or two. It would be a premium setup, so I don’t expect ASV dampers to be available on all ZR2 or AT4X trucks. However, GM can still surprise all of us.
Back to the Silverado EV LT street truck. The LT expands Chevrolet’s electric Silverado lineup. It offers up to 408 miles of driving range. I was able to get 1.7 mi/kWh under these odd driving conditions (driving around 75 mph on the highway and driving 20-35 mph on rough dirt roads. This is still a heavy vehicle with dual-motor AWD. However, I would have preferred to see an efficiency that is closer to 2.0 mi/kWh after daily driving it.
The Silverado EV LT is more of a main stream trim, but it still carries a hefty starting price of $75,195. The LT Premium package adds $6,800 to the price. For comparison, a 2025 Chevy Silverado 1500 LT crew cab 4×4 pickup truck with a 5.3L V8 and a maximum tow package starts at $60,395. The electric version of the truck is nearly $15,000 more.
Please join me in the video below. You can see some of the MINT 400 race and hear from Chad Hall directly about his first electric ZR2 off-road race.
