2019 Ford F-150 vs 2019 Chevrolet Silverado
By Jakob Hansen, 7/16/2020
The two best selling trucks battle it out to see which comes out on top. What truck do you choose?
The trucks of today are not the harsh workhorses they once were. They can still tow the moon out of orbit, but now they are loaded with tech, comfort, and safety equivalent to that of high-end luxury cars. The multifaceted nature of trucks of today is attributed to the extremely varied customer base. Customers range from farmers and construction workers to soccer moms and suburban dads. We are deep in the truck revolution and pick-ups are quickly becoming the most important vehicle in a manufactures line-up.
The Ford F-150 and Chevrolet Silverado are the two biggest drivers of this truck revolution. The automotive market is slowly progressing further and further into the tech age and these two manufacturers have done a fantastic job of keeping current. Let's dive into these two trucks and see what they have to offer.
Towing
Towing is clearly a huge part of a pick-up truck’s repertoire, and the towing capabilities of trucks today are far beyond where there once were. The capabilities of these pick-ups are comparable to where heavy-duty pickups used to be. Technology has played a large roll in the towing capabilities of the current pickups as well.
The Ford F-150 towing capacity is currently up to 13,200 lbs. To put that number into perspective, a 2005 Ford F-250 with a 6.0l V8 diesel was only capable of towing 12,500 lbs. We have come a long way folks. That being said, the towing capabilities are not the only impressive towing features of the F-150. Also included are a host of towing features that are there to not only make your life easier but also safer. Pro Trailer Backup Assist makes reversing with a trailer a simple task. Using a small dial on the side dash, the vehicle can essentially steer itself and guide you into the right location. An amazing innovation for towing. Especially for guys like me that only tow once or twice a year and still need a little work on the whole “turn right to go left” thing. Dynamic Hitch Assist is a line-of-sight guide to hooking up your trailer, ensuring you get the trailer right at the ball every time. BLIS® (Blind Spot Information System) with trailer coverage is also there to ensure your safety while driving. The blind stop monitor system actually knows the length of your trailer and can include it in the coverage of the BLIS system.
The Chevy Silverado is no slouch either. Silverado towing capacity is 12,200 lbs, a nearly equally impressive number to the Ford. Chevy's towing technologies add to their abilities as well. An integrated trailer brake controller that also includes antilock braking and Stabilitrak, treats the trailers brakes as an extension of the trucks. The trailering Camera Package is another fascinating feature that essentially makes the trailer invisible in the rear-view camera, eliminating the massive blind spots when reversing with a trailer. Chevy also has a similar hitch guidance camera for the rear-view camera, helping guide the tongue to the hitch. On Chevy’s, however, you can zoom into the hitch, making it even easier. A simple but very useful feature is also a vin-specific trailering label. The label specifies the exact towing capacity, GVWR, GCWR, and GAWR for the rear axle, as well as maximum payload, maximum tongue weight, and curb weight for the truck. This useful simple sticker takes the guessing out of loading your truck and is something we can get behind since we had a similar idea for when searching for vehicles with our vin-specific towing section of the available inventory!
Both of these trucks have some amazing towing capabilities and the tech to back it up. Ford does overall have a higher towing capacity which can give them a distinct advantage.
Tech
As I said before, trucks can’t just be workhorses like they once were. The tech of a truck is just as important as the towing abilities. Once you start looking into these trucks, however, you see that they are more tech-heavy than many of their sedan counterparts.
The Ford F-150 has some amazing features that truly demonstrate the capabilities of vehicles today. First and foremost, the available FordPass Connect, powered by AT&T, creates an in-vehicle Wi-Fi hotspot. The hotspot is capable of supporting up to ten devices at once and can be accessed from up to 50 feet away from the vehicle. That’s better than my Wi-Fi at my house! The 360-degree camera is another feature that is typically seen on high-end luxury cars. The full surround camera provides a birds-eye view of the truck and all its surroundings. FordPass Mobility App is a phone-based app connects you with your truck wherever you are. The app allows you to check on your vehicle, lock, unlock, and start it, find and pay for parking, and so much more. Even more unbelievable, is that the F-150 is paired with Alexa to being all of the capabilities of Alexa right into your truck. We truly are in a brave new world.
The Chevy Silverado tech is nothing to bat an eye at either. The head-up display (HUD) is capable of showing all the essential vehicle information like speed and navigation so you can keep your eyes on the road. The connectivity is similar to Ford as well, the 4G LTE Wi-Fi hotspot can support devices both in and out of the truck, and the myChevrolet app allows the owner to check fluid levels, start the vehicle and control the climate controls, even schedule service at the local dealer. The drive mode selector is another nice feature that ads control of the truck. The selector has six modes to choose from to adjust the truck to fit any situation you may find yourself in.
Safety
Many of the tech features that are included in the new trucks are not just for your convenience, but also for safety. This two-for-one special means that not only is your safety is enhanced, but your comfort and convenience are enhanced as well. None of the technological advancements in the automotive industry have been more important than some of the features that both of these trucks exhibit.
The Ford F-150 includes a full array of both active and passive safety features. Ford Co-Pilot 360 Technology is a feature that takes the latest in safety tech and combines it into one safety suite. The feature includes Pre-collision assist, Pre-Collision Assist with Automatic Emergency Braking, Lane-Keep Assist, and Adaptive Cruise control. All of these features combined exhibit the latest in life-saving technologies.
The Chevy Silverado has a similar combination of safety features and technologies. Front Pedestrian Breaking and Forward Automatic Breaking are there to help stop you in the unforeseen circumstance that you are unable to do so yourself. The adaptive cruise control is both convenient, and safe and will help to keep you matched to the traffic around you. One feature that Ford does not have quite yet is the Rear Camera Mirror. A rear-view mirror that makes use of a camera rather than the mirror itself. Eliminating all blindspots from the pillars. The Lane Keep Assist with Lane Departure Warning is also there to keep you within your lane when you start to stray outside of the lines.
The safety of these trucks is absolutely amazing and truthfully it makes me feel better being on the road just knowing that so many of these trucks are being sold with these advanced safety technologies.
Closing
So what exactly have we learned here today? We know that trucks right now are some of the best vehicles on the market today and can outshine many of the higher-end vehicles. The tech that is packed into these modern workhorses makes them the best all-around vehicles available today. Deciphering between the Chevrolet Silverado and the Ford F-150 is a difficult one to call. They both are loaded with tech and safety and are extremely capable vehicles in all other categories. When choosing between them, it will ultimately, it will come down to what vehicle works best for you and your needs and which strikes your cords the right way.
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