Why I’d Order a 2027 Silverado Custom Trail Boss With a V8 and a Bench Seat

Cory Fourniquet   |  

Sep 29, 2026

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If I were ordering a 2027 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 for my own driveway, I would skip the fancy trims and build a Silverado Custom Trail Boss with the 5.7-liter V8 and a cloth front bench seat. In fact, I have been digging through the 2027 Silverado 1500 order guide all week, and this is the combination I keep coming back to.

Here at GT: Garage Talk®, I spend most weeks in loaded press trucks with every screen and camera GM offers. So why would a guy who loves technology pick one of the simplest trucks on the menu? In short, it comes down to three things: a naturally aspirated V8, seating for six, and a price that stays sane. But I will be honest about what I give up, because the “full” Trail Boss has a couple of features I really want, starting with that new 34-gallon fuel tank.

Why the 5.7L V8 Is the Move

The Custom Trail Boss comes standard with the 2.7-liter TurboMax four-cylinder, rated at 350 horsepower and 455 lb-ft of torque. That is a strong engine on paper. Still, the order guide lists the 5.7-liter V8 as an option on this trim, and that is the box I would check. For the full breakdown, see which engine every 2027 Silverado trim gets.

Here is why I like it:

• Sound and feel. A V8 in a half-ton truck still feels right to me. The 5.7-liter makes its power the old-school way, and it pairs with dual exhaust and quad tips on this trim.
• More power at the top. You get 52 more horsepower than the TurboMax, even though peak torque is a little lower and arrives higher in the rev range.
• Better hardware comes with it. The V8 brings a 250-amp alternator and a 3.23 rear axle in place of the TurboMax’s 3.42.
• Long-term confidence. For a truck I plan to keep a long time, I like a proven, naturally aspirated V8 with no turbos to worry about.

Off-Road Hardware Comes Standard

On top of that, the Custom Trail Boss gives you the off-road basics as standard: a 2-inch factory lift with the Off-Road Lifted Suspension, a two-speed transfer case with 4Hi and 4Lo, an auto-locking rear differential, skid plates, Hill Descent Control, and the Off-Road Performance Display. In other words, that covers nearly everything I would ever do off pavement.

The Cloth Bench Seat: Six Seats and Zero Regrets

The Custom Trail Boss comes with a 40/20/40 split front bench, and that is something the full Trail Boss cannot give you. On the Trail Boss, however, front bucket seats with the MultiFlex center console are standard, and the bench is not offered at all.

For a family, that middle seat matters. For example, with a Crew Cab, a bench turns the Silverado into a six-passenger truck. That is one more seat for a kid’s friend on the way to practice, or for Holli and me to cuddle on a Sunday drive. Plus, the bench has a covered armrest with storage and lockable under-seat storage, so you still have a place for the stuff that lives in the cab.

Cloth is an easy call for me. GM dropped leather from every 2027 Silverado anyway, as I reported after the State Fair of Texas, and in Texas I would rather have cloth. Cloth does not get scorching hot in August, and it holds up well to muddy boots and spilled drinks. Meanwhile, the driver gets a 10-way power seat with lumbar, while the passenger side is a 4-way manual.

In addition, the Custom Trail Boss cabin includes the 16.3-inch touchscreen with Google built-in, wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, a 12.2-inch digital gauge cluster, remote start, a power sliding rear window with defogger, and rear air vents. For a trim this close to the bottom of the lineup, that is a lot of standard features.

What I Give Up by Skipping the Full Trail Boss

The biggest thing I miss is the new 34-gallon fuel tank. However, the order guide lists it as available on the Trail Boss with the V8 or diesel, but not on the Custom Trail Boss at all. Today’s Silverado carries a 24-gallon tank, so that is roughly 10 more gallons of range, and it puts GM ahead of Ram (33 gallons) and Toyota (32.2 gallons), as we covered here. As a result, road trips and towing both take a real hit.

The Tech I Would Miss

The second thing is technology, and as a tech guy, this list hurts:

The good news is the Custom Trail Boss is not a dead end for tech. For instance, it can still get the Assisted Driving Package, which adds HD Surround Vision, an interior camera, Traffic Sign Recognition, a heated steering wheel, and a wrapped steering wheel. Likewise, adaptive cruise control and a full suite of automatic emergency braking features come with Silverado Active Safety on every trim.

Even so, what stings most is the combination. I cannot have the bench seat and the 34-gallon tank in the same Trail Boss. I have to pick one.

My Verdict: The V8 Bench-Seat Silverado Custom Trail Boss

The Custom Trail Boss starts at $57,195, including destination, while the Trail Boss starts at $63,995 after mandatory destination fees. That is a $6,800 gap before either truck gets the V8, and the Trail Boss gap only grows once you add the Premium Package and tech options I would want. Our trim-by-trim 2027 Silverado pricing story has the rest of the lineup.

For my money, the Custom Trail Boss with the 5.7-liter V8 and the cloth bench is the sweet spot. You get the lift, the 4WD hardware, the V8 sound, and room for six, all for thousands less than a comparably equipped Trail Boss. Of course, I would miss heated seats and the big tank most. If GM ever lets the 34-gallon tank onto the Custom Trail Boss, this becomes the easiest truck recommendation I could make.

Which would you build: the simple Custom Trail Boss or the loaded Trail Boss? Let us know in the comments.