2020 Chevrolet Silverado HD High Country: Okay, Now We're Getting Somewhere

Unless you took the past couple of days off to ruminate about our collective existence in a Scandinavian steam hut, you probably noticed there’s a new heavy duty General Motors pickup on the way. We’ve thus far seen only the Silverado LT with the butch Z71 package.

“Polarizing” best describes the vehicle’s looks, but Z71s are traditionally meant to be the most visually striking versions of Chevy’s full-sizers, if only by the smallest of degrees. Well, what happens when the new Silverado HD dresses up for the country club? You have this — a Silverado HD that tones things down and might change a few minds.

GM is parsing out details about its HD lineup over several days, meaning you’ll be sick of seeing this thing before long, if you aren’t already.

What you see here is the Silverado HD in high-zoot High Country trim, positioned atop a content ladder that includes Work Truck, Custom, LT, and LTZ offerings. While the High Country doesn’t vastly diverge from the truck GM flaunted two days ago, there are certain tweaks that take the edge off a much talked-about face.

First off, the Chevy bowtie returns to the center of the grille (well, the crossbar, anyway), replacing the obnoxious lettering seen on the Z71. Chevy says each trim comes with a unique grille treatment; the crossbar here is a mix of two metallic trims, others will see theirs finished in black, chrome, or body color. Helping reduce the apparent height of the towering face is horizontal chrome slats that fill the grille space. A body-color bumper with metallic lower lip in the center cutout helps the overall effect, while lower driving lights, clearly LEDs, now total three per side.

With those lower lights no longer surrounded by body-color fascia, the impression is that of a traditional front end. Here, body-color fascia underscores the entire grille area instead, just above the bumper. (See Z71 version at bottom of page for comparison).

Elsewhere, the truck is the same 1500-inspired vehicle you saw the other day, minus the chrome bumper and with different wheels. It’s interesting to see how small changes can alter one’s perception of an otherwise unchanged product.

If GMC’s new Sierra pickup tells us anything, it’s that the HD version should adopt somewhat more traditional styling cues than its Chevy sibling once GM sees fit to debut the model. Alas, there’s no new word on that upcoming gas engine GM teased Tuesday.

[Images: General Motors]