Tested: New Chevrolet Silverado EV Trail Boss Bosses the Road, Not the Trail

We’ve had a year to get used to the massive range and quick charging of Chevy’s electric pickup, the Silverado EV. So, when Chevrolet announced the 2026 lineup in which a new Trail Boss model replaces the RST as the top-of-the-line model, we were focused primarily on its off-road abilities (or, as it turned out, lack thereof). As for the parameters we usually measure in our instrumented testing—acceleration, braking, range and charging time—we expected great things from the Silverado EV, and in those respects, it did not disappoint.

We had extra high hopes for the Trail Boss model. We’ve been impressed by the Trail Boss treatment on other trucks, and the Colorado Trail Boss, light on luxe features but heavy on off-road hardware, played a significant role in the Colorado’s 2024 Truck of the Year win. The Silverado EV is a different type of Trail Boss, replacing the RST as the top-of-the-line model. Functional improvements include a 2-inch suspension lift, 35-inch tires, a front fascia reshaped for a better approach angle and to incorporate tow hooks. It also adds a Terrain driving mode that increases the angle of the four-wheel-steering system.

See All 25 Photos25

Changes such as these can affect on-road performance, but our instrumented testing shows the changes are minimal. The Trail Boss gets the most powerful version of the Silverado EV’s dual-motor powertrain, with 725 hp and 775 lb-ft of torque, and our test truck was equipped with the huge 205-kWh “Max” battery pack which GM is confident would earn a whopping 478-mile rating were the it not heavy enough to be exempted from EPA testing.

That’s better than the 420 miles of the RST we tested last year, although the Trail Boss did slightly worse on our Road Trip Range Test: 395 miles versus 401 for the street-tire-shod RST. Note that towing generally cuts range roughly in half, so that means the Trail Boss should be able to drag a heavy trailer 200-ish miles between charges.

See All 25 Photos25

Charging times were equally impressive. The Max battery can charge at 350 kW on a suitable charger, and with the battery near depletion, we were able to add 133 miles of range in 15 minutes and 220 miles in 30 minutes. That’s comparable to the charging performance we saw on the RST, and an excellent showing compared to other EVs.

We did see a fall-off in straight-line performance. The 2026 Trail Boss zipped to 60 in 4.4 seconds, and while that’s impressive for a pickup truck, it trails the 2024 RST by 0.4 sec. The Trail Boss made up some, but not all, of the deficit in the quarter mile, crossing the line in 12.9 seconds at 108.8 mph, 0.3 sec and 2.0 mph behind the RST. Braking was just about equal, with the Trail Boss stopping from 60 in 134 feet, 2 feet longer than the RST. Not bad for a truck with all-terrain tires, and really not bad considering that this behemoth weighs nearly 4.5 tons. Despite the all-terrain shoes, the Trail Boss equaled the RST’s 0.73 g of grip on the skidpad, and actually circled our Figure-eight handling course one-third of a second faster with a 27.5 second lap time.

We were surprised that the Silverado EV Trail Boss was nearly as good as the RST on-road. Unfortunately, it was nearly as bad as the RST off-road. Like the RST, the Trail Boss would lose traction and give up, and not even that new Terrain mode would help it achieve forward motion. The all-terrain tires helped the Trail Boss make slightly better progress over some of the obstacles that hung up the RST, but it still scraped its battery pack on rocks and it failed to complete climbs that other trucks with plain old street tires were able to make.

We were disappointed; this is the first Trail Boss model we’ve driven that failed to boss the trails, and it’s bound to be a stain on what is rapidly becoming a respected subbrand. Not only is it a mediocre off-roader, but with a base price of more than $72,000 and an as-tested price closing in on $95K, it offers nowhere near the value-for-money of other Trail Boss models. We could be a bit more forgiving if Chevrolet had given this truck a different name—Z71, perhaps?—but as a Trail Boss, this truck is a fail, boss.