So you’re considering a new pickup? There is no shortage of fantastic trucks on the market today. More than ever before, you can’t go wrong with some of the top trucks out there. There’s a reason why the Ford F-150 and the Chevy Silverado are the top-selling vehicles in the United States. Customers come back year after year thanks to the dependability of the pickup and the sheer performance it offers. But what kind of truck is right for you? If you’re interested in a full-size pickup that delivers on both performance and comfort, the Silverado and F-150 are two of the best. But which one reigns over the other? The best way to determine this is to compare the 2020 Chevy Silverado 1500 vs 2020 Ford F-150 directly.
Comparing the Costs
Naturally, the logical starting place for your pickup comparison is the price point. How much truck are you going to get for your buying buck? The best way to do this is to look at the manufacturer’s suggested retail price. Delivery fees and other costs might be present where you buy your truck, and there are always sales going on, which makes the MSRP the easiest price point to compare.
For the 2020 Chevy Silverado, the base trim is a 2WD 140″ Work Truck has an initial MSRP for $28,300. This is for the regular, two-door, one-row design (referred to as a Reg Cab by Chevy). For the Ford F-150, the entry trim is also a Reg Cab 2WD design (6.5′ Box) with an initial MSRP of $28,495. This puts the two at just about an identical price point so, if you’re looking to go with the base model, you’ll want to compare the features to determine which of the two is right for you.
For the Chevy Silverado, the High Country is the top-tier trim, with the 4WD Crew Cab tipping the scales as the top of the top from Chevy. This has an initial MSRP of $58,095. On the other hand, the official top-tier trim for Ford is the Limited 4WD SuperCrew, although some will tell you it’s the Ford Raptor F-150. While the Raptor does offer some off-roading features not found on the Limited, in terms of coming fully-loaded, the Limited is the cream of the crop from Ford. For this particular model, the MSRP starts at $67,485. This is a sizeable difference between the High Country Silverado 1500 and the Limited F-150. The Ford will need to deliver overwhelmingly better specs if it wants to justify the price point of nearly $14,000 more.
Packing a Powerful Punch
There are a number of engine options available. The Ford does have a few more offerings, including a diesel, which you can pay extra for. However, in terms of base engines, there are some solid features found on both the Silverado and the Ford.
On the base Chevy, the pickup comes with a 4.3L V6 that produces 285 horsepower and 305 lb-ft of torque. If you were to look over at the base Ford F-150, the pickup comes with a smaller 3.3L V6 that produces 290 horsepower and 265 lb-ft of torque. So the base Ford engine is slightly undersized compared to what you receive with the Chevy (and remember, these two have just about the same price tag).
You are always able to upgrade to a different engine, but the 2.7L I4 engine comes standard in with some trims on the Chevy. The Turbo 2.7L I4 produces 310 horsepower and 348 lb-ft of torque. For the Ford F-150, it also offers a 2.7L engine, but instead as a twin-turbo V6 instead of an I4. This particular engine can get up to 325 horsepower and 400 lb-ft of torque.
But what about the top-tier trims? For the 2020 Chevy Silverado, this is the High Country, which uses a 5.3L V8. This engine puts out 355 horsepower and 383 lb-ft of torque. On the other hand, the Ford F-150 Limited (as well as the Raptor) uses a smaller 3.5L twin-turbo V6. Despite the smaller size, it does produce 450 horsepower and 510 lb-ft of torque. The Chevy also offers an available 3.0L Turbo-Diesel and 6.2L V8, both of which offer 460 lb-ft of torque. The Ford F-150 does not have a 6.2L V8, but it does offer a 3.0L Turbo-Diesel (that produces 440 lb-ft of torque. So the Ford F-150 does have a more powerful engine, but does it put the improved numbers to work? The best way to determine this is to look at towing.
Towing Everything You Need
If you were to go with the standard base trim package of the Chevy Silverado, you’d land a pickup that can instantly tow 10,000 pounds. Not bad for a base pickup at all. The base Ford? Just around 5,000 pounds. So despite paying about the same as the Chevy, the base Silverado has more torque and drastically more towing potential.
But what about the twin-turbo V6 against the Chevy’s larger V8? Without any add-on packages, the Chevy High Country is able to tow 11,900 pounds. The Ford? Just 7,000 pounds. Now, you can spring for additional towing packages for both the Chevy and Ford, which brings the towing on the Chevy to 13,400 pounds and 13,200 pounds with the Ford. So when maxing out the towing numbers, both are pretty similar, but the problem with this is you’re already paying more for the Ford.
So while the engine numbers are nice with the Ford F-150, if you want a truck that can tow and don’t want to spend tens of thousands of dollars more to get it, go with the Chevy Silverado.
Keeping You and Your Passengers Safe
Whether driving for fun, for work, or with your family, safety features are important. On the base Chevy, it comes with a driver, front head, front side, passenger, and rear head airbags (when a back seat is present). It also has 4-wheel ABS and disc brakes, electronic stability control, traction control, and daytime running lights as standard. Some optional features on the base model include front tow hooks, integrated turn signal mirrors, cross-traffic alert, and blind-spot monitoring. The Ford comes with the same airbag and brake features, plus brake assist, daytime running lights, electronic stability control, and traction control. The only optional feature is integrated turn signal mirrors.
As for the top-tier trims, the Silverado High Country comes with the same airbags, brakes, and standard safety features, plus cross-traffic alert, front tow hooks, and blind-spot monitoring. You can add on integrated turn signal mirrors, lane-keeping assist, and lane departure warning. The Ford Limited comes standard with basically everything. The same brakes and airbags, plus child safety locks, adjustable pedals, lane departure warning, cross-traffic alert, lane-keeping assist, blind-spot monitoring, front tow hooks, and integrated turn signal mirrors.
Choosing the Best Pickup Around
There’s so much to love about modern pickups. From continually improving fuel economy to stronger and more reliable engines, every model year brings with it something new and exciting. But what gets your truck motor revving when it comes to pickups? Is it all about the engine specs? Are you fine with the smaller Ford engines that might come with better horsepower but just don’t have that V8 sound? And are you a fan of the tech upgrades found on the interior, or are you someone who enjoys the bare bones design of a base truck? Every truck owner is a bit different, and we’d love to hear from you! Drop us a comment below and tell us what you’re looking for in a truck.
