The Most Practical And Balanced Electric Pickup Truck For 2025

The amount of electric vehicles (EVs) being sold globally continues to increase. Previously untapped segments like the three-row SUV segment are now brimming with EV choices, and the same goes for the pickup segment. Brands like Ford and Chevrolet have taken a gamble at releasing an EV pickup, but while there have been ups and downs, including varying levels of profitability, these brands have found relative success with their electric pickups.

Furthermore, as the number of electric pickup models continues to grow, which among them is the best value? Now, we aren’t necessarily comparing them just on price, but the amount of kit, performance, and capability they offer relative to their prices. Also, this is going to be a subjective matter as well. Without further ado, here’s the electric pickup that we think is a value-packed winner.

In order to give you the most up-to-date and accurate information possible, the data used to compile this article was sourced from various manufacturer websites and other authoritative sources.

Consider The Chevrolet Silverado EV LT

The contenders for the best value electric pickup are the Chevrolet Silverado EV in LT trim or the Rivian R1T in Dual trim. The two vehicles are also similarly priced without adding any optional extras. The Silverado EV LT sells for $73,100, while the R1T Dual starts at $76,900. Based on the reasons stated below, however, here’s why we selected the Silverado EV LT over the R1T Dual.

Good-Enough Standard Features

The Rivian R1T may have a slightly higher price tag than the Silverado EV LT, but that’s because it has more standard features. For instance, 22-inch wheels, and stuff like the Rivian Autonomy Platform are standard for the R1T. On the other hand, in order for the Silverado EV LT to match what the R1T Dual offers, you’ll have to add the LT Premium Package for an additional $6,800, bringing its total price to $79,900 before any incentives and destination charges. That’s also the only time that features like adaptive cruise control (or the Super Cruise hands-free highway driving), blind spot warning, and rear cross-traffic alert are added.

As is, however, the Silverado EV LT is already well-equipped even if it doesn’t match the R1T’s standard features. A 17.7-inch main infotainment screen and 11-inch digital gauge cluster is standard, but it’s running the new in-house operating system that’s architecturally based on the Google Android Automotive operating system. General Motors (GM) has such strong faith in the capabilities of its in-house software that it completely ditched Apple CarPlay and Android Auto altogether for this operating system’s implementation in its EVs.

With Much Better Capabilities

However, while the Silverado EV LT may not have the most features, it has something up its sleeve that matters more to truck buyers–capability. The Silverado EV LT has a gigantic 205 kWh lithium-ion nickel-manganese-cobalt (NMC) battery pack as standard, which is good enough for an EPA-estimated range of 408 miles. In the Rivian R1T, though it has more features, you’ll have to shell out an additional $7,000 for the Max battery, which increases its range from 329 miles with the Large battery to 420 miles.

Where the Silverado EV LT pulls ahead of the R1T Dual is when it comes to hauling and towing. With the Silverado EV LT, it can tow up to a massive 12,500 pounds and haul up to 1,800 pounds. In the R1T Dual, you’re limited to just 7,700 pounds with the Large battery, but with the Max battery, this rises to 11,000 pounds–still short of what the Silverado EV LT is capable of. Even in terms of hauling, the R1T with the Large or Max battery tops out at 1,764 pounds–still slightly less than what the Silverado EV LT offers. All-in-all, even with the LT Premium Package taken into account in the Silverado EV LT, and the Max Battery taken into account with the R1T Dual, the Silverado EV LT still ends up being more affordable yet more capable.

What A Silverado EV Is Like To Live With

Chevrolet has just brought the Silverado EV into market this year in range-topping RST trim. However, most of what we’ve experienced from our short driving stint earlier this year with the Silverado EV RST will also be mostly applicable to the LT that’s now heading to dealers as we speak. Spoiler alert, the Silverado EV LT does big but great things in order for this pickup to be a viable replacement for the gas-powered Silverado.

It was, however, truly enjoyable to feel the instant horsepower and torque generated by two AC electric motors as I gunned the accelerator pedal during towing. Due to its available 754 combined horsepower and 785 pound-feet of torque from a gigantic 205 kWh lithium-ion battery, the SIlverado EV immediately jolts forward, whether something is attached to its hitch or not.

– William Clavey, TopSpeed Journalist

Big And Mighty

If you check out the spec sheet comparison between the R1T Dual and Silverado EV LT, you’ll notice one area where the Silverado EV literally dwarfs the Rivian–its battery size. How the Silverado EV achieves this excellent range of more than 400 miles is due to its ginormous 170 kWh lithium-ion NMC battery. A big battery means it’s unsurprisingly heavy at 8,532 pounds and 9,119 pounds for the RST with the Max Range 205 kWh battery we tested. Both figures are heavy, even by full-size truck standards. For reference, a range-topping Silverado High Country has a starting gross weight of just 4,860 pounds, which will vary depending on your engine choice and other optional extras.

It’s also big in the other aspects, too. The interior is cavernous and modern, and since it’s unrelated in any shape or form to the gas-powered Silverado, it’s free from the packaging constraints of the gas-powered Silverado. One of its novelties is its Multi-Flex Midgate that’s part of the LT Premium Package, which is basically the rear wall of the passenger cab that can open up to extend the bed length even further. Combined with the Multi-Flex Tailgate, the Silverado EV has unparalleled bed functionality that even the R1T can’t match.

Yet Fast And Powerful

However, to get around its massive weight, the Silverado EV is powerful in terms of performance and charging capabilities. The Silverado EV LT’s two-motor setup produces 645 horsepower and 765 pound-feet of torque. Though Chevrolet hasn’t revealed its 0-60 MPH times, the range-topping and more powerful RST does the job in less than 4.5 seconds, so we’re estimating that the Silverado EV LT will do the same job in the mid-5 second range.

And indeed, that’s what you feel on the road with the Silverado EV. This pickup hauls in an effortless and quick manner, too. The RST and LT’s torque figures are closely matched, with only a 20-pound-feet advantage for the RST, so you can also expect the LT to be quick on its feet as well. It’s also far more buttoned down in terms of ride and handling, as well as far more smooth compared to the F-150 Lightning. That’s thanks to the Silverado EV having its own bespoke EV architecture as opposed to the F-150 Lightning, which shares the same body-on-frame chassis as the gas version.

What The Silverado EV Gets Right

So it seems that with the electric truck wars in full swing, the Silverado EV currently leads the segment. That’s because General Motors has made a costly investment in its EV models and supply chain, which also puts them at risk if their sales don’t live up to their expectations.

Bespoke EV Architecture

As mentioned, unlike the F-150 Lightning, the Silverado EV has its own bespoke EV platform that’s also shared with the GMC Hummer EV and GMC Sierra EV. By offering it in a wider range of models, the development cost can be spread out, and though this is a large pickup, its Ultium battery and electric drivetrain components are derivatives of what’s found in more affordable EVs like the Chevrolet Blazer EV and Cadillac Lyriq, among other GM electric models.

This EV architecture is also what enables the Silverado EV to be free from any of the constraints of using a platform for a gas-powered truck, and then simply working around its packaging constraints. There’s far more flexibility and space in the Silverado EV, as well as better aerodynamics of 0.33 Cd versus the F-150 Lightning’s 0.463, and better packaging. That packaging advantage is also why it’s able to fit that large 205 kWh battery somewhere in its chassis.

The Challenges It Needs To Face

However, while the Silverado EV is a great pickup with class-leading tech, flexibility, and capability, it has challenges to face. For one, due to its massive EV investment into a completely new platform, battery, and also supply chain, GM’s success will be heavily sensitive to fluctuating EV sales. For now, the company is focusing on “variable profits”, which means that the revenue GM earns from selling an EV exceeds the direct cost of producing it. This doesn’t take into account other cost sources, such as marketing and advertising, but with that in mind, GM is still on the right track to achieving full profitability with its EVs in the years to come.

And, then there are a few build quality challenges that the Silverado EV is also experiencing based on our first impressions drive. While our tester was highly inconsistent. Our team noted orange peeling on the pain of their black RST units, while plastic parts inside the cabin felt solid and well-trimmed in our tester, but were assembled badly in others. Finally, despite the RST costing nearly six digits, its interior has far too many hard plastics, which also means that the LT will most likely have a similar interior finish.