2023 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 vs 2023 GMC Canyon

There was once a time when we expected less out of specialized vehicles. Cars were for families, trucks were for the work sites, and SUVs were for hunting lodges. That concept left decades ago. Today, we expect our vehicles to do it all. There’s no better example of this than in the full-size truck market. These are incredibly capable, powerful vehicles that are also expected to be reliable, comfortable commuting vehicles that have the latest in-car and infotainment technology.

The 2023 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 is in a tough spot. The big pickup has the work-truck credentials covered, but it has some stiff competition in the refinement department. A critical update to address these issues arrived for the 2022 model year. While the exterior updates were subtle, the big changes came inside the cabin. For 2023, the Chevy Silverado 1500 receives power upgrades for the optional Duramax diesel engine. A new Silverado ZR2 Bison off-road configuration is available as well. But the real work to keep the Silverado relevant came in 2022 with those interior updates. Read on to learn if those changes are enough to keep the Silverado 1500 competitive in the perpetually evolving full-size pickup truck market.

2023 marks the third generation of GMC's midsize pickup truck. The first-generation Canyon arrived for the 2004 model year as a replacement for the compact GMC Sonoma, and after a short hiatus a second-generation Canyon was introduced as a 2015 model. Throughout, the Canyon has been a twin of the Chevrolet Colorado, with only a few differences to distinguish the ostensibly upscale GMC from its working-class sibling. That changes for 2023.

The new Canyon is once again based on the Colorado, sharing the Chevy's body-on-frame platform, powertrain, and tech features. This time around, though, the Canyon is further distinguished from the Colorado by skipping some of the Chevy's entry-level features. That will raise the out-the-door price of a 2023 Canyon, but it's in keeping with the truck's positioning above the Colorado.

The Canyon is once again available in the base Elevation, luxury Denali, and off-road-oriented AT4 grades familiar to owners of the outgoing model. For 2023, GMC also adds a Canyon AT4X model that dials up the off-road capability. We drove it, as well as the Elevation and AT4 models, to see if this redesign is really an improvement.