While typically more expensive than their gas-burning counterparts, diesel engines offer various benefits – gobs of low-end torque and long cruising range – that are particularly well-suited for pickup trucks, and Chevrolet is finally in on the action with the 2020 Silverado diesel. But how does the 2020 Silverado diesel price compare to the competition? To find out, we dove headfirst into the pricing sheets to lineup all the pertinent numbers.
| Configuration | Trim Level | Price |
|---|---|---|
| 2WD Double Cab, Standard Bed | LT | $45,200 |
| 2WD Double Cab, Standard Bed | RST | $46,730 |
| 2WD Double Cab, Standard Bed | LTZ | $47,090 |
| 4WD Double Cab, Standard Bed | LT | $48,500 |
| 4WD Double Cab, Standard Bed | RST | $50,030 |
| 4WD Double Cab, Standard Bed | LTZ | $50,390 |
| 2WD Crew Cab Short Bed | LT | $47,600 |
| 2WD Crew Cab Short Bed | RST | $49,335 |
| 2WD Crew Cab Short Bed | LTZ | $49,490 |
| 2WD Crew Cab Short Bed | High Country | $57,090 |
| 4WD Crew Cab, Short Bed | LT | $50,900 |
| 4WD Crew Cab, Short Bed | RST | $52,655 |
| 4WD Crew Cab, Short Bed | LTZ | $52,790 |
| 4WD Crew Cab, Short Bed | High Country | $60,590 |
| 2WD Crew Cab, Standard Bed | LT | $47,900 |
| 2WD Crew Cab, Standard Bed | RST | $49,655 |
| 2WD Crew Cab, Standard Bed | LTZ | $49,790 |
| 2WD Crew Cab, Standard Bed | High Country | $57,390 |
| 4WD Crew Cab, Standard Bed | LT | $51,200 |
| 4WD Crew Cab, Standard Bed | RST | $52,955 |
| 4WD Crew Cab, Standard Bed | LTZ | $53,090 |
| 4WD Crew Cab, Standard Bed | High Country | $60,890 |
The 2020 Silverado diesel starts at $45,200 for the LT trim level with 2WD and a Double Cab, Standard Bed configuration and ranges as high as $60,890 for High Country models with 4WD and a Crew Cab, Standard Bed configuration.
| Configuration | Trim Level | Price |
|---|---|---|
| 2020 2WD Quad Cab | Tradesman | $38,585 |
| 2019 2WD Crew Cab, Short Bed | Classic / Tradesman | $36,835 |
| 2019 4WD Crew Cab, Short Bed | Classic / Tradesman | $40,535 |
Meanwhile, FCA recently announced that the 2020 Ram 1500 EcoDiesel will start at $38,585 for 2WD Tradesman models. Meanwhile, 2019 Classic, the last-gen models, start at $36,835.
| Configuration | Trim Level | Price |
|---|---|---|
| 2WD SuperCab, Standard Bed | Lariat | $47,440 |
| 4WD SuperCarb, Standard Bed | Lariat | $50,865 |
| 2WD SuperCrew, Short Bed | Lariat | $50,300 |
| 4WD SuperCrew, Short Bed | Lariat | $53,725 |
| 2WD SuperCrew, Short Bed | King Ranch | $57,630 |
| 4WD SuperCrew, Short Bed | King Ranch | $61,055 |
| 2WD SuperCrew, Short Bed | Platinum | $60,160 |
| 4WD SuperCrew, Short Bed | Platinum | $63,585 |
| 2WD SuperCrew, Standard Bed | Lariat | $50,600 |
| 4WD SuperCrew, Standard Bed | Lariat | $53,975 |
| 2WD SuperCrew, Standard Bed | King Ranch | $57,930 |
| 4WD SuperCrew, Standard Bed | King Ranch | $61,355 |
| 2WD SuperCrew, Standard Bed | Platinum | $60,460 |
| 4WD SuperCrew, Standard Bed | Platinum | $63,885 |
The Ford F-150 Diesel starts at $47,440 for Lariat models with 2WD and a SuperCab, Standard Bed configuration and range as high as $63,885 for Platinum models with 4WD and a SuperCrew, Standard Bed configuration.
Looking over the numbers, a few things become apparent. The price of the 2020 Ram 1500 diesel undercuts that of the competition by a significant margin. Its $38,585 starting price on the Ram 1500 Tradesman is $6,615 less than the $45,200 starting price for 2WD Double Cab, Standard Bed Silverado LT and $8,855 less than the $47,440 charged for 2WD SuperCab, Standard Bed configurations for the Lariat trim level for the Ford F-150 diesel.
This price difference is due to the trim level availability of the diesel in the Ram: the Tradesman is the base model of the Ram 1500. Meanwhile, neither Chevrolet nor Ford offer diesel powerplants in their base half-ton trucks (WT for the Chevrolet Silverado and XL for the Ford F-150). Assuming equal trim levels, that price discrepancy will likely go away. For instance, pricing for Ram 1500 diesel models at the mid-range Laramie trim level should be roughly equivalent to that of the $45,200 range of the 2020 Silverado diesel in the LT trim level.
As we examined last week, the 2020 Chevrolet Silverado diesel is equipped with the turbo-diesel 3.0L LM2 inline six-cylinder Duramax engine that’s rated at 277 horsepower and 460 pound-feet of torque, boasting the highest peak horsepower and second-highest peak torque of the three models examined here. Output is routed through the GM 10-speed automatic transmission.
We’ll have more diesel comparisons posted soon, so subscribe to GM Authority for additional Chevrolet Silverado news, Chevrolet news and around-the-clock GM news coverage.
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View Comments
It's too bad the GM trusts aren't tuneable.. yet.
That 3.0L is very enticing, and diesel in Ontario is usually around 5% cheaper than regular 87
The heart wants what the heart wants and if you're a loyal Chevy fan, you overlook the difference in price and get the Chevy; but if you have no loyalties to brands then you get the Ram.
The title is misleading and you correct yourself in the article by mentioning that the trim level makes the difference.
The title is not misleading, but rather fully accurate: a cheapest diesel-powered Ram 1500 is, in fact, priced significantly lower than the cheapest Silverado 1500.
Is there more to the story? Absolutely.
But is the title misleading? Absolutely not.
The title is actually 100 percent accurate.
It's all in the way one comprehends the title but thank you for keeping the site active. I enjoy coming here.
The take rate for Ram diesel is at 2%. Well below 15% back in 2015. Ram diesel is dead and the only way to pump some life into it is to offer it across the lineup. FCA killed it with cheating scandal.
Chevy starts with a clean slate. They can react to customers needs as they go. They have options. Fiat doesn't.
Somewhat true. Yes FCA paid a fine to the EPA. Not to the degree as VW, but still a fine for what I understand is not engineering beyond the letter of the law, to what they were capable of, but rather just to the letter of the law. As for response from Chevy to customer needs...they still have to forecast and buy in advance, and lead time on a large take rate increase would cost them Millions and most likely over a year to respond. In the mean time RAM knows they can hit 15%. I was at RAM when they were hitting these numbers and worked on the business case to go from 10-11% to 15%, which wasn't fully accurate as production increases were happening simultaneous and suppressed it back down again as a percentage. But overall volume rose.
If GM would just offer the engines as an option across the entire lineup I don't think Ram would have much to brag about. IN fact, If GM (Chevy in particular) would offer certain options across the entire lineup I don't think Ram would be in the second slot right now.
GM does have a clean slate with this new diesel. I hope the lawsuit about fuel compatibility any issues there in the big Duramax does not trickle down to this engine. This engine along with the news a better interior (and hopefully front end refresh) is coming for'21 should help this next gen truck a lot.
You failed to mention Ford has introduced it's 3.0 diesel in it's XLT trim level lowering the First entry level pricing.
The truth of the matter is, the take rate for Diesel increases as the trim level increases regardless of who sells it. Almost all of these Trucks are at capacity so if they want to offer the Diesel at a lower trim they would have to cover any margin degradation from displacing the margin made on the gas engine that is typically chosen. V8's are chosen often on Work Trucks (WT and XL in particular). That said they make, i'd take an educated guess, MORE on a gas engine in terms of absolute dollars as and as a percentage than they do on the Diesel engine. If they make $2,000 gross margin on a $3,000 V8 engine, and this Diesel is nearly $4,000, i'm guessing they aren't making more than $2,000 on that Diesel option instead. Without incremental production available at the plant they can't claim it's incremental business to the plan, since the plan is sold out. Does that make sense? No matter how you cut it, if they all didn't sell a Diesel they'd sell a gas engine anyways. So they are losing on every Diesel sold, but it's a solid marketing piece for MPG, which is far more important on LD than HD trucks. This is why RAM chose the 3.0L over the 5.0L Cummins in the LD. The Cummins towed less due to total weight of the truck, but it also go less MPG.
But the ram is also missing a key market... on 4x4 is available, I an seriously considering one of these half ton diesels but I'm not going to look at anything that's not 4x4 for me that's half the point of a truck. And mine will see rocks, sand, and towing 6500+ pounds on a regular basis
The Ram will be at the bottom of sales for this half ton diesel segment due to the lack of options. On top of that there battling the bad reputation left by there last half ton diesel. But maybe people have already forgotten about that and the cheap price will pull them in forgetting you get what you pay for
I love the pic with the silver 2019 Ram and the ancient but still standing double span train bridge in the background. One of the spans looks to be a camel back truss which was rare in train bridge use. As for the diesel its GM so of course they will price it higher.