Quadrawhat? Sounded Spanish to me the first time I heard it. In-fact, I didn’t think XM radio was a big deal either the first time I heard about it also, but boy was I wrong. Quadrasteer isn’t Spanish and XM is a big deal. Both were the main features of the 2003 Silverado that I had the pleasure of driving around for over 2 weeks. Both also have also helped close the car/truck gap. Add the numerous improvements and changes for 2003 and you have quite possibly what is the closest living specimen of the “ultimate truck” that we’ve driven. Yea, we’re serious.

Ok, so now that I’ve made a fool of myself talking about the Spanish and Quadrasteer in the same sentence, let’s get down to business. Quadrasteer is the new four wheel steering system designed by Delphi for General Motors. Available only in the Sierra Denali for MY2002, 2003 brings its availability into a slew of GM vehicles. From the Silverado, to the Sierra and even models of the Suburban and Yukon XL, Quadrasteer is an option on all 1500 Ext Cab and Crew Cab trucks, as well as 2500 series sport utilities. Vehicles such as the Avalanche and Escalade that have the 5-link rear suspension and all HD models are so far excluded due to respective packaging and towing limitations. When engaged (which can be all the time if you please), the Quadrasteer system turns the rear wheels in either the same or opposite direction up to 12 degrees depending on the speed of the vehicle. Under 20mph the rear wheels turn in the opposite direction, making parking, turning, and other slow speed maneuvers surprisingly easy. In fact, the turning radius shrinks to only about 20 feet, or the same as a Saturn S-Series. From about 20mph-40mph the rear wheels stay approximately strait. Over about 40 mph the wheels start turning in the same direction as the front wheels. Making lane changing at highway speeds very smooth, and emergency maneuvers quick and uneventful with very little body roll. Towing on the highway becomes much easier and smoother as the trailer and truck change lanes simultaneously, instead of the truck pulling the trailer across. It doesn’t become apparent just how much the system does until you get out and try driving in a vehicle that doesn’t have Quadrasteer. It’s a huge difference.

In fact, driving with the system is a wholly more natural feeling. For some reason rotating around an imaginary point to the side is much easier than pivoting around an imaginary point to your rear, if you get what I’m trying to say. But, having this great feature does come with a hefty $5k premium. It was an option that skyrocketed the price of our tester to just over 41 big ones. Not exactly an affordable truck, but as the saying goes “premium features for a premium price”. Although I think 4 wheel steering will most likely make its way into 95% of GM’s trucks and cars by the end of the decade, GM will have to bring the price point down to under two-thousand to make it a highly selected option. On the other hand, if you can afford it, and tow quite a bit, I would without hesitation recommend the system. As I said above, you don’t know how much its doing until you go back.