The 2020 Chevrolet Silverado Turbo-Diesel Posts Stellar Fuel Economy Numbers

Chevrolet is scoring huge points in the battle for pickup truck supremacy with its latest fuel economy numbers. The 2020 Chevrolet Silverado 1500, equipped with the new 3.0L Duramax, will get a whopping 33 MPG highway. The rear-wheel- drive version will get 23 MPG in the city. The numbers for the four-wheel-drive model are not far off that mark. The four-wheel-drive 2020 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 turbo-diesel will get 29 MPG highway and also 23 MPG in the city.

The new 2020 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 turbo-diesel is no wimp either. It comes with 277 horsepower and 460 lb.-ft. of torque. The four-wheel-drive Silverado with the 3.0L Duramax will tow up to 9,300 pounds. It has a maximum payload of 1,870 pounds.

When you are talking about trucks, those are the numbers that matter. Everyone wants to know about towing, payload and fuel economy.

“We designed the all-new Silverado and the all-new 3.0L Duramax turbo-diesel to deliver both performance and efficiency,” said Tim Herrick, Silverado executive chief engineer. “The engine utilizes state-of-the-art technologies to optimize every drop of fuel, and takes advantage of architectural changes to make Silverado larger, lighter and more aerodynamic than before. The resulting combination offers all of the performance, refinement and capability customers want in a full-size truck, with highway fuel efficiency you would expect from a family sedan.”

Bringing Back a Light-Duty Diesel Truck

Chevy is offering a light-duty truck with a diesel for the first time since 1997. All of the big automakers are experimenting with ways to improve fuel economy, using new, more efficient engines and using lighter weight materials to build the vehicles. It doesn’t matter that President Donald Trump has frozen corporate average fuel economy standards for now, the automakers are all in a tight race to improve fuel economy dramatically.

“We set out to offer light duty truck customers the best of diesel – outstanding fuel economy, great horsepower and responsive torque – plus unexpected levels of refinement,” said Nicola Menarini, director for diesel truck engine program execution. “We leveraged our global diesel expertise to make sure the all-new 3.0L Duramax turbo-diesel engine offers the impressive performance and durability our truck customers demand.”

Chevrolet says the 2020 Silverado 1500 turbo-diesel uses innovative technologies to deliver the impressive fuel economy while also offering a refined customer experience.

The truck will have a new exhaust brake, which will provide additional driver confidence when towing, especially when going downhill.

The truck will have stop/start technology to help improve the fuel economy by shutting off the engine at stoplights and certain other stop-and-go situations. The engine automatically restarts when the driver takes his or her foot off the brake.

The new 3.0L Duramax is paired with a 10-speed automatic transmission, featuring smaller gear steps and an overall larger ratio spread to enable peak efficiency.

The Duramax 3.0L turbo-diesel will be Chevrolet’s fourth diesel truck in the overall lineup. It joins the Colorado, Silverado HD and Silverado Medium Duty. Chevrolet also offers the Silverado HD with the Duramax 6.6L Turbo-Diesel V8 and Colorado with the Duramax 2.8L Turbo-Diesel.

The new diesel option completes means that the all-new 2020 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 offers eight different trims paired with six different engine and transmission combinations.

Wide-Ranging 2020 Chevrolet Silverado Lineup

According to Chevrolet, the 2020 Silverado 1500 engine lineup includes:

• The 3.0 Duramax turbo-diesel.
• Updated versions of Chevrolet’s proven 5.3L and 6.2L V-8 engines. The engines come equipped with Dynamic Fuel Management featuring 17 different modes of cylinder deactivation. The available 6.2L RST achieves class-leading light duty towing capability of 13,400 pounds.
• An all-new, advanced 2.7L Turbo engine that replaces the 4.3L V-6 as the standard engine on the most popular Silverado LT and new Silverado RST.
• Proven 4.3L V-6 and 5.3L V-8 engines deliver full-size truck capability and performance for the most affordable trucks in the Silverado lineup.

The first customer deliveries of the 2020 Silverado 1500 with the available 3.0L Duramax turbo-diesel are expected to begin in the fall.

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