Chevy Trucks Built for Upstate NY Roads and Weather

The Best of the Chevy Pickup Truck Lineup for Upstate NY

When you're considering which of the Chevy trucks is best for driving in the winters near Albany, NY, you're spoiled for choice. The Chevy Colorado is a premium midsize pickup, perfect for navigating busy city streets while still offering plentiful towing capacity, a spacious bed, and a four-wheel-drive system that prioritizes your handling and traction. The Silverado 1500, 2500, and 3500 are larger and more capable than their midsize sibling, with full-size towing and payload ratings. Their wider stance allows an optional plowing kit that helps clear city streets and country roads. The Chevy EV also offers some capacity for handling snow, though not as much as its gas alternatives.

At McGee Chevrolet of Greenwich, we want to ensure your Upstate NY experience is as smooth as possible. We explore the Chevy pickup truck lineup in more detail below.

Chevrolet Colorado

The new Chevy Colorado midsize pickup is the smallest of our new Chevy trucks, which still gives it a towing capacity of 7,700 pounds.¹ It can achieve a ground clearance of 10.7 inches with the ZR2 trim level, which comes standard with four-wheel drive. You can get 22-inch wheels on models like the Trail Boss, increasing your traction through its additional maneuverability.

Starting on the Trail Boss, the Colorado gains a Driver Mode Selector. With this option, you can select modes like Off-Road Mode, which adjust your driving style to better handle loose terrain. It also has Hill Descent Control, which helps keep you anchored to the ground as you navigate slippery country roads. Light up winter nights with auxiliary off-road lights and keep your underbody safe with skid plates or rocker protectors, while an optional upgraded suspension system and lift components keep you – and your investment – secure.

Chevrolet Silverado 1500

Our Silverado 1500 inventory is geared toward drivers with a bit of extra work to do. Its frame is capable of lifting more than the Colorado, with a towing capacity of 13,300 pounds when properly equipped. That makes it a prime choice for the Snow Plow Prep Package. That gives you a power feed, a 220-amp alternator, a high-capacity air filter, an auxiliary transmission oil cooler, heavy-duty front springs, and underbody skid plates. This allows the Silverado 1500 to handle a plow with ease, pushing the heavy snows we get in Upstate NY to clear the path. As a result, our full-size 4WD Chevy trucks are perfect plowing vehicles.

You can also add varied off-roading features – even more diverse and comprehensive than for the Colorado – and thereby build a truly impressive vehicle for tackling winters, torrential downpours, or windy storms. You can achieve 11.2 inches of ground clearance with the ZR2, even more than our midsize truck. However, just like the Colorado, the Silverado offers improved suspension, lifts, Snow/Ice drive mode, and off-road lights that make driving on snow easier. As you can see when comparing the Silverado 1500 to its competitors, its ability to conquer roads off the beaten path is hard to match.

Chevrolet Silverado HD: 2500 & 3500

Our new Silverado HD trucks are work-ready pickups, designed for jobsites rather than commuting. If you want to take on the worst snowstorms without an issue, these two models are your best bet.

Take the new Silverado 2500 for sale. With this truck, you achieve a towing capacity upwards of 22,000 pounds,¹ thanks in no small part to a Duramax 6.6-liter turbo-diesel V-8 engine that delivers up to 975 pound-feet of torque. Like the Silverado 1500, both the 2500 and 3500 models can be equipped with a Snow Plow Prep package, adding more utility and safety features to get you ready to clear out the streets. You can also purchase the Alaskan Snow Plow Special Edition package, which adds roof marker lamps and rubberized vinyl flooring on the LT, along with plow-specific features. Finish your experience with 11.6 inches of available ground clearance, and you'll soon see that, among Chevy trucks with four-wheel drive, our heavy-duty inventory is among the most capable in Upstate weather.

Chevrolet Silverado EV

The Chevy Silverado EV is a key part of the truck lineup, and can handle winter driving well, just not as well as the other Chevy trucks. It boasts a confident approach angle and up to 775 pound-feet of torque. However, when driving an EV in extreme weather and cold, your range may be somewhat reduced, making the EV less reliable as snowstorms come in.

What Are the Best Chevy Trucks for Winter Driving?

• Best Truck for Snow and Ice: Chevy Silverado 1500. The Silverado 1500 has a similar grip and wheel size to the Silverado HD, while being slightly smaller and more maneuverable. If you live in a place that doesn't get its streets plowed too often, you can either climb over snowbanks with this model – or plow them yourself.
• Best Truck for City Driving: Chevy Colorado. The Colorado boasts driver modes for slippery streets, a small size for finding parking spots, and large tires that let you overcome moderate snow.
• Best Truck for Plowing: Chevy Silverado HD. If your goal is to plow streets, go big. The Chevy Silverado 2500 and 3500 are strong enough to handle massive plows, pushing aside the snowstorms that plague Upstate NY without issue.

Frequently Asked Questions About the Chevy Truck Lineup

What features help Chevy trucks drive well in snow or ice?

Like many trucks, a Chevy pickup can use a 4WD system and all-season tires to get the proper traction on snowy or icy terrain. Many Chevy models have high ground clearance and multiple drive modes to handle correctly on snow. The Silverado 1500 and heavy-duty pickups offer a snow plow package, so you can help your community clear out the snow.

Do Chevy Trucks drive well in snow?

Thanks to features like drive mode selection, a tall ground clearance, and a wide stance, Chevy trucks are universally good at handling snow. Features such as 4WD and specialized winter tires can help you navigate the cold season with ease. Additional off-road-centric amenities, such as skid plates, suspension lifts, DSSV dampers, and sharper approach angles, allow models like the ZR2 to conquer snowdrifts reliably.

Which Chevy truck is the most reliable?

While all Chevy trucks are reliable, Chevy Silverado HD pickups tend to be the most durable while offering the highest degree of safety features. These models have a gigantic chassis, the largest payload and towing, and the strongest suite of sensor technology of any Chevy truck. However, the Silverado 1500, Silverado EV, and Colorado are all excellent vehicles, perfect for winter driving – just like their larger siblings.

¹Before you buy a vehicle or use it for trailering, carefully review the Trailering section of the Owner's Manual. The weight of passengers, cargo and options or accessories may reduce the amount you can tow.