Unless you have been asleep for the last decade, you have seen a veritable explosion on the roads of America with more and more people buying full-size trucks. Folks have woken up to the fact that these vehicles are not only rugged, dependable, and versatile, but these days they are also packed with creature comforts that were once only meant for luxury coupes and sedans. The interior cabins of today’s large trucks are roomy, plush, and comfortable, featuring advanced infotainment systems. Two of the best and most popular trucks of this kind are the 2020 Chevy Silverado 1500 and the 2020 Toyota Tundra. Interestingly enough, Kelley Blue Book named the Silverado best resale value for 2020, while Edmunds awarded Tundra with the best-retained value for 2019. Both trucks offer durable, well-built trucks with handsome exteriors, roomy interiors, and plenty of space in the payload for your cargo. They also come with advanced infotainment systems and plenty of safety features for you and your passengers. Drivers of the two trucks can choose between rear-wheel driver and all-wheel drive when purchasing their vehicles. However, a number of differences become evident between the two trucks as we explore the battle between the 2020 Chevy Silverado vs 2020 Toyota Tundra.
MSRP and Trim Levels
The base model of the 2020 Chevy Silverado 1500 is the Work Truck, which starts at an MSRP of $28,300. There are an additional seven trim levels available for the Silverado, including the Custom, Custom Trail Boss, LT, RST, LT Trail Boss, LTZ, and top-of-the-line High Country. In addition, there is a Z71 package available for off-road enthusiasts, which seems almost to provide an additional trim level to the Silverado.
The entry-level model of the 2020 Toyota Tundra is the SR, which has an MSRP of $33,575. There are five other models available, starting with the SR5, Limited, Platinum, 1794 Edition, and fully loaded TRD Pro.
As can be seen, the Silverado has more trim levels and a lower starting price point than the Tundra. There is one other crucial difference here as well. While both Chevy and Toyota offer crew cabs with a full rear seat (called CrewMax by Toyota) and Double Cab configurations, only Chevy offers its truck with a two-door, single row regular cab. Therefore, if you want more payload and don’t need the extra row of seats, then your only choice is the Chevy Silverado. Moreover, the Double Cab on the Silverado features four doors, while the Tundra only offers two, which can be an inconvenience to rear-seat passengers who have to climb through the front in the Toyota.
Engines and Performance
The 2020 Toyota Tundra is only offered with one engine option: a 5.7-liter aluminum i-Force V8 gas engine with DOHC 32-valve cylinder heads with Acoustic Control Induction System, Dual Independent Variable Valve Timing with intelligence and 4-2-1 tubular stainless steel exhaust manifold. This engine can produce up to 381 horsepower and 401 pounds to feet of torque. The Toyota engine is paired with a 6-speed automatic transmission. While this is a strong engine, it would certainly be nice to have some other options.
In contrast, Chevy offers five different engine options on the 2020 Silverado. The standard engine is a 4.3-liter EcoTec3 V6 engine. This can produce 285 horsepower and 305 pounds to feet of torque. It is paired with a 6-speed automatic transmission. There is also a 2.7-liter Turbo gas engine that produces 310 horsepower and 348 pounds to feet of torque. It comes with an 8-speed automatic transmission. The third engine is a 5.3-liter EcoTec3 V8 that also comes with a 6-speed automatic transmission. This engine can produce up to 355 horsepower and 383 pounds to feet of torque. The 5.3-liter V8 also comes with dynamic fuel management (DFM) and is paired with an 8-speed automatic transmission on rear-wheel-drive Silverado trucks and a 10-speed automatic transmission on all-wheel-drive trucks. Finally, Chevy offers a 3.0-liter Duramax TurboDiesel I6, paired with a 10-speed automatic transmission that can produce up to 277 horsepower and 460 pounds-to-feet of torque.
Chevrolet gives you the option of choosing your engine. Plus, there is a diesel option for the Silverado that is not available on the Toyota. Finally, Chevy offers different automatic transmission speeds on the 2020 Silverado while Toyota goes with a standard 6-speed automatic for all models of the Tundra. This will cut into your truck’s performance. Sure, it is nice that Toyota is offering a powerful engine on its base model 2020 Toyota Tundra SR, but this does not make up for the lack of additional options across the model line.
Fuel Efficiency
The Toyota Tundra has been rated to produce 13 MPG in the city, 18 MPG on the highway, and 15 MPG overall. Each of the five different engine options on the Chevy Silverado easily surpasses these figures. For example, according to the EPA, the 5.3-liter engine will give drivers 17 MPG in city driving, 24 MPG in highway driving, and 20 MPG overall. The standard 4.3-liter engine provides 16 MPG in the city, 21 MPG on the highway, and 17 MPG overall. The TurboDiesel really stands out from the crowd, with 23 MPG in city driving, 33 MPG in highway driving, and 27 MPG overall. If you want to stick with a gas engine, the 2.7-liter provides outstanding fuel economy of 20 MPG in the city, 23 MPG on the highway, and 21 MPG overall. Clearly, unless you want to spend an excessive amount of time at the gas station, you need to go for the Chevy Silverado 1500.
Towing and Payload
Let’s face it; one of the biggest reasons you are buying a pickup truck is to haul stuff. Both of these trucks do this job well, but there is a clear winner in this competition. The 2020 Chevy Silverado has been rated to tow up to 13,400 pounds. This means that the Silverado is ready to tow your most massive loads. In contrast, the 2020 Toyota Tundra has a maximum towing rating of between 9,400 pounds and 10,200 pounds. While this figure is impressive, it just doesn’t match the capability of the 2020 Chevy Silverado 1500.
The same goes for cargo loads. The maximum cargo load for the 2020 Chevy Silverado 1500 is 2,250 pounds. The 2020 Toyota Tundra is rated to be able to haul between 1,500 pounds and 1,730 pounds in its cargo bed. All of these numbers mean that if you choose to buy a 2020 Chevy Silverado 1500, you can tow up to an additional 3,200 pounds and carry up to 520 pounds more of cargo than the Tundra.
The Outcome
No matter what is important to you in a truck, it is evident in this comparison that the 2020 Chevy Silverado offers it all. With lower prices, more trims, tons of powertrain options, high fuel efficiency, and substantial towing capacity, the Silverado completely wipes the competition. When looking from the outside, both the 2020 Chevy Silverado and the 2020 Toyota Tundra seem to be suitable truck options. However, after delving deeper into the attributes of each, the 2020 Chevy Silverado is very obviously superior.
