General Motors and Chevrolet haven’t disclosed details on the upcoming 2019 Silverado 1500 Diesel, but rival Ford gave our sister publication Ford Authority some wheel time with its own half-ton diesel pickup.
What did we learn from our time with the 2018 Ford F-150 Diesel? A lot, and we decided to call the pickup a modern-day successor to the F-250 of yore. The 3.0-liter Power Stroke V6 diesel engine produces 250 horsepower and 440 lb-ft of torque—more power and 10 units of twist fewer than the 1998 F-250’s 7.3-liter Power Stroke V8 engine.
We found the truck to operate quietly and the rig provided a comfy place to handle whatever work was thrown at us. That included towing a 5,500-pound horse trailer.
On the fuel economy front, we averaged 13 mpg, which painted a very different picture from our hypermiling achievements. The loop included 23 miles of varied road stretches with the 5,500 pounds sitting behind the F-150 Diesel.
With those figures in front of us, it will be Chevrolet’s turn to perhaps crank things up a bit. The 2019 Silverado 1500 Diesel will arrive with a 3.0-liter inline-six Duramax diesel engine. We don’t have power or torque figures, but GM product chief, Mark Reuss, previously said he’s confident the Silverado will one-up its rivals.
Right now, the F-150 Diesel is a good pickup. We’ll have to wait and see if Chevrolet can best it.
Comments
13 mpg, that’s terrible. I used to get 17 around town and 20 on the highway with my old 3/4 ton Ram with 5.9 Cummins even having 4.10 gears.
Pulling a 5500 lbs trailer? Any truck diesel or gas is going to have significantly decreased fuel mileage when towing that much weight, especially if it’s a travel trailer or enclosed cargo trailer. I remember TFL did a test with the Canyon duramax pulling 5000 lbs and I believe they got around 13 mpg on an all highway loop.
My bro-in-laws 2006 sierra duramax 2500 crew cab gets 13 when we go to canada pulling an enclosed 18ft cargo trailer loaded with ATV’s and all our gear. Roads are not too hilly but lots of curves so certainly not what you would call highway miles.
Go to pickup trucks and read what they found out about the F 150 3.0 diesel when towing a little heaver trailer , remember it is suppose to pull up to 11500 Lb . It got 9 mpg .
Nothing is free and no difference than aircraft designers and pilots have always know, at least for 100 years, more weight, more fuel. No way around it.
last I read the power stroke was so bad ford and international were suing one another