The 2015 Chevrolet Silverado 2500HD High Country unveils in Denver

The Denver Auto Show saw the unveiling of the beautiful new Chevrolet High Country pickup truck. We gave the truck the once-over on its Rocky Mountain stage.

Summing up the new Chevrolet Silverado High Country is simple: it's capable and comfortable. That was the aim with the truck and this is what most of the "Cowboy Cadillac" high-end pickups from the various makes aim for, in general. From Chevrolet, we were on-site to see the unveil of the new Silverado High Country at the Denver Auto Show and got our hands on the truck for a once-over.

The truck on display at the Denver show is the 2015 Chevrolet Silverado 3500HD High Country, the heaviest-duty and largest of the lineup of new trucks in the High Country package. The package will be offered on every Silverado model, including the 1500, 2500HD, and 3500HD. This package is aimed largely at those who tow trailers, the segment's biggest buying group, with extras aimed towards making their lives more comfortable and easier to utilize.

Exterior upgrades
On the exterior, the High Country package includes a horizontally-barred chrome grille, front and rear bumpers in body color (including the CornerStep rear bumper), and six-inch tubular chrome assist steps for getting in and out. Badging on the doors, tailgate and door sill plate mark the truck as a High Country. Those badges are the Rocky Mountains in chrome with the High Country name stamped beneath. The 2500HD and 3500HD High Country packages also include unique chrome wheels with the dual-wheel package offering a polished aluminum wheel set at the rear.

Interior upgrades
Inside, many of the Silverado High Country features are built for driver comfort. This includes a saddle brown interior with various shades of brown and tan coming together in premium leather. High Country logos are embossed into the headrests and the package includes all of Chevrolet's best technology upgrades via MyLink and Bose, including front and rear park assist features. The front buckets are heated and cooled as well. Several options are also available to upgrade the package with rear-seat entertainment, heated steering, power adjustable pedals and more.

Mirror upgrades
Finally, the feature most talked about is the unveiling of the latest up-level trailer tow mirrors from Chevrolet. These chrome-capped mirrors are capable of extending and retracting to meet the needs of the driver for the trailer being towed. They also, of course, fold in for parking, car washes, and such. These are packaged with auxiliary clearance and backing lamps for easier trailer backing.

Our take on all this
Seeing the truck in person, it's a great, all-together package. The underpinnings are the tried-and-proven Silverado chassis and powertrains, from the largest V8 to the heaviest-duty Duramax diesel. One may argue whether or not those are the best in the business, but whatever you're view, they are well-respected as a framework for a new truck.

The High Country packaging is very slick. The exterior additions are phenomenal in terms of usability. Sure, the truck looks great, but at the end of the day, it's about how it works. I grabbed the tailgate and tried climbing in using the bumper step, bounced on the bed a bit, opened and close the tailgate as a workman would, and otherwise kicked the tires as best I could. The grille is great-looking, the 3500HD's suspension is thick and ready for cargo, and the small touches like the tailgate's soft drop, and the steps to get inside are more useful than some might admit.

Inside, the truck is very pretty, of course, but it's all about work. The leather is not as pretty to look at versus some of the competition, like the beautiful Laramie package from Ram and the excellent 1794 package from Toyota. It is, however, more functional in terms of everyday use because the leather's look and feel is "tougher" and the lower number of stitch points and contrasts means it won't be as prone to ripping or discoloring with use. This is the impression it gives and is probably the High Country interior's greatest strength on first impression.

Storage and ergonomics are well-done. The center storage bin between the front seats is large and accommodating enough for a standard notebook computer (we tried it), and the back seat in the full crew cab is large enough that three large men (over six feet each) were able to get in without squeezing. Even with the front seats all the way back, the rear had room that my knees were still two or more inches away from the seat back (I stand at 6'3").

One take away from the interior, however, is that the dashboard is very bulky-looking. It retains Chevrolet's square, blocky appearance, which some may find dated. It definitely removes from the otherwise spacious-feeling interior. Also noted was that the triple seals on the doors were thickly constructed, promising a very quiet ride.

In sum total, the 2015 Chevrolet Silverado High Country is a very nicely-done package of comfort and usability for the trailer towing driver. It's probably the least good-looking, inside, of the four high-end pickup truck packages on the road, comparing less favorably to the King Ranch, Laramie, and 1794. It may, however, be the most functional. Until we have it on the road, of course, we can't know that for sure.

Here is video I took of the cover coming off at the official unveil for the truck. The speaker is Kyle Koop from General Motors (pictured above), who is spearheading the High Country package launch.