I wonder all the time whether diesel engines have run their course in 1/2-ton trucks like the Ford F-150, Chevy Silverado, and Ram 1500. With modern turbocharging and hybrid tech, gas-powered engines can, on paper, deliver the same (or better) torque and fuel economy as their diesel counterparts. And with diesel currently averaging $5.63 a gallon, it’s hard not to question why anyone would opt for a diesel engine in their 1500-sized truck.
For the majority of the trucks I mentioned above, manufacturers have made that decision for you. Ford dropped the Power Stroke diesel from the F-150’s lineup in 2021, and Ram followed suit shortly after, eliminating the EcoDiesel V6 from the 1500’s option list in 2023.
General Motors is taking a different approach. Out of the big three American legacy manufacturers, it’s the only one to currently offer a diesel engine option in its 1/2-ton trucks, the Chevrolet Silverado and the GMC Sierra. Instead of leaning into complex, heavy hybridization to offer improved fuel economy, like Ford with the F-150 or Toyota with the i-Force Max-equipped Tundra, GM relies on its 3.0-liter Duramax inline-six to offer up to 25 mpg combined on 2WD models, making it the most efficient truck in its class, according to EPA estimates.
Factoring in the extra cost of diesel fuel compared to regular gasoline, the savings you might see in fuel economy are probably close to a wash, depending on how much you drive and the fluctuating prices at the pump. So the question remains: Why choose a diesel over something like a hybrid V6 or a gas-powered V8, which might deliver worse economy but run on cheaper fuel?
Well, after putting over 400 miles on a GMC Sierra Denali Ultimate equipped with the Duramax over the weekend, road-tripping and doing real truck stuff like hauling furniture, it’s fully won me over. The fuel economy and sheer distance you get out of a tank were nice touches, but it was really how the engine felt, with its near-instant torque delivery and grumbly noises, that convinced me diesel is still the answer for when you want a 1/2-ton truck that does real truck stuff.
The Basics
Engine: 3.0-liter turbodiesel inline-six
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Drive: four-wheel drive
Output: 305 horsepower, 495 lb-ft of torque
Fuel Economy: 26 mpg hwy, 22 mpg city,24 mpg combined
Base Price: $84,400
Price As-Tested: $86,790 (including $2,795 destination charge)
Why Does This Car Exist?
To ask why the Sierra exists prompts a much larger question: Why does GMC exist at all? Many of its vehicles are reskinned Chevrolets, using the same powertrains and similar interiors. The answer isn’t incredibly difficult to grasp: Because people buy them. Whether it’s because they don’t want to be seen in a Chevy but still like the vehicles, prefer the design of the GMC, or just want to one-up everyone at the construction site, there are plenty of reasons why someone would want a GMC over the equivalent Chevy.
The Sierra is simply an extension of the Silverado, which is GM’s best-selling and most important vehicle. The Sierra is, by far, the highest-volume product GMC offers. Nearly 37% of all GMCs sold last year were Sierra 1500s. If you count HD and EV models, that number jumps to 57%. Americans sure do love their trucks.
The real question, then, is why does the diesel Sierra exist? Well, like I mentioned above, it’s the most efficient of the four powertrain options available—outstretching even the base 2.7-liter inline-four. Because of that, it also unlocks the largest range in the lineup (600 miles between fill-ups, according to the EPA). And with 495 pound-feet of torque on tap, it also offers the most torque in the Sierra 1500 lineup (30 more lb-ft than the 6.2-liter V8).
The diesel, then, is the ideal choice for users who tow, especially over long distances. What they care about most is overall range and tow capacity, and the Duramax is the best at both of those things. In a double-cab, 2WD configuration, the Sierra can pull a trailer weighing 13,200 pounds—the most of any trim. It’s worth mentioning that the payload with the diesel is only 1,880 pounds at most—if you want the maximum hauling capacity, you’ll have to go with the 2WD truck with the regular cab and standard-sized bed.
How Does It Look?
In years past, I’ve found the Sierra often struggled to set itself apart in the looks department compared to its Chevy-badged Silverado sibling. But in recent years, that’s not been the case. GMC has developed a corporate design scheme all its own, with C-shaped lighting for the fascia that I think looks pretty good.
Being a top-of-the-line Denali Ultimate model, there’s lots of chrome trim everywhere, including the grille, the lower front valance, the window surround, the side mirror caps, and, of course, those gigantic 22-inch wheels. Even the tow hooks up front are chromed out. I don’t very much mind the chrome grille, as flashy and large as it is, but the 22s are a bit much. If I could, I’d option some smaller wheels to get a bit more sidewall on the tires for a better ride (so long as it doesn’t hurt fuel economy).
The rest of the Sierra is a very standard three-box pickup truck, with a bed measuring 79.4 inches front to back and a couple of pretty useful corner steps. The tailgate has GMC’s MultiPro tailgate system, which is essentially just an extra step that folds out from the panel, making it way easier to get up into the bed. I deployed it pretty much every time I opened the tailgate, and found it incredibly useful. If I owned this truck for long enough, I’d be pretty mad if my next truck didn’t have a feature like this.
The only thing that really bothered me about the exterior of this truck was the blacked-out badges. For Ultimate models, the “GMC” badges go from red to black, making them look a bit too aftermarket to me. The red, meanwhile, normally contrasts nicely with the chrome grille and the Glacier white paint (a $1,095 option on this truck), so I’m sad it’s not here.
What’s The Interior Like?
If I’m spending over $86,000 on a pickup truck, it better be packed to the gills with quality materials, a smart layout, and useful features. Thankfully, the Sierra Denali Ultimate delivers on all three with what is probably the nicest pickup truck interior I’ve ever spent time in.
The full-grain leather seats are plush and didn’t make my back ache, even after a three-hour stint behind the wheel. The heating, cooling, and massaging functions probably helped a bit, too. The steering wheel felt excellent in my hands, and the electronic gear selector—as little as I trust electronic shifters—was pleasant and straightforward to use.
The driver’s seat—hell, every seat in the house—had acres of head, leg, elbow, and shoulder room, with the captain’s chair up front allowing for enough adjustability that it feels like anyone, from a seven-foot-tall basketball player to my four-foot-nothing grandmother, could find a seating position they liked. I also appreciated the center stack of real buttons for the climate control (in piano black, boo!), as well as the physical controls for volume, parking sensors, and auto stop-start. I can’t believe I have to praise a manufacturer for having something as simple as a real volume knob, but here we are.
Like on most pickups, you can fold up the seat bottoms of the second row in the Sierra for more cargo space. But this truck had a couple of hidden doors built into the left and right seatbacks that were pretty neat, if not a bit tiny. What you’d store in here, I’m not entirely sure. But I’m glad they were available, in case I needed to stash something in the cabin and didn’t want it to be seen from the outside.
How Does It Drive?
Like most modern body-on-frame pickups, the Sierra Denali has an air of solidity to it that I greatly appreciate. It feels like you can do just about anything and go just about anywhere in this truck. While the adaptive air-ride suspension isn’t as smooth or effortless as something like my Audi A8L, it does a great job of mitigating imperfections in the road through the chassis without shocking the cabin—high praise considering the horrendous conditions of New York City roads right now, where I spent a lot of my time with this thing.
Out on the open roadway, the Sierra 1500 is a lovely machine. It can emulate the presence of a luxury SUV more so than any pickup truck could have done as recently as a decade ago. Sure, you might get the odd body-on-frame jitter into the cabin from time to time, but otherwise, the ride is perfectly comfortable, and the steering is quick enough that you’re not going hand-over-hand through every turn. For the most part, it just felt like a normal car, but longer and taller.
While I didn’t get the chance to test out the Sierra’s towing capabilities, I’ve towed a race car with this engine before, with a Chevy Suburban, and it made the entire experience incredibly pleasant. The low-end torque and 10-speed auto meant I didn’t really have to change my driving habits much, plus the stability provided by the adaptive air suspension meant no weird bounciness coming from the rear, which is something I’ve experienced when towing cars with traditional passive suspension setups.
Instead, I used this Sierra to haul. A lot. My girlfriend is moving in with me next week, so we took this weekend to move a bunch of her stuff, including a lot of furniture, from her place to mine. We made two trips and snagged tables, chairs, desks, and a good deal of other items. Then, the next day, we took it on a road trip to upstate New York to shop at a handful of vintage stores to find more furniture for the apartment. We ended up with a nice dresser that fit perfectly in the bed.
During that trip, I managed to achieve over 25 mpg, according to the truck’s onboard computer. That’s just one mpg less than the car’s official highway rating, done with what was probably a few hundred pounds worth of cargo onboard (we got some other stuff, too). More importantly, for the entire 430-mile weekend, which included roughly 100 miles of low-speed, stop-and-go city traffic, I didn’t have to stop at a gas station once, and had about 100 miles in the tank left to spare by the end of my loan.
How Is All The Tech?
The nice thing about the current Sierra is that it doesn’t yet run GM’s newest operating system, which means you can still pull up Apple CarPlay and Android Auto for things like music playback and navigation, which I did almost the entire time I had the car. The infotainment system is otherwise fairly straightforward—there’s a 13.4-inch touchscreen that dominates the experience, controlling a bunch of the truck’s settings.
Let me give you an example. There are front and rear cameras, which helped greatly for parallel-parking in the city for loading and unloading my girlfriend’s stuff. But unlike some cars, there was no physical button to quickly bring up the cameras, forcing you to dig into the touchscreen to locate your desired view. A minor annoyance, yes, but seeing as how there was still one blank button in the center stack, I feel like this could easily be solved.
One thing that GM does right is Super Cruise. The assisted driving tech has been available in select Chevy, GMC, and Cadillac products for years, and as far as Level 2 systems go, I think it’s the best out there right now. Not only will it accelerate, decelerate, and steer on its own, but it’ll also switch lanes for you without being prompted, and even go around slower traffic sitting in the left lane. It’s not perfect, of course. You still have to watch it at all times, and there are some sharper turns it can’t quite negotiate without some intervention, but it’s still really good.
It’s not just a gimmick, either. I used Super Cruise for roughly half of my drive upstate, or around 150 miles. Would I pay $25 to $40 a month for it? Maybe if I were doing these types of drives all the time, sure. But if my driving wasn’t solely highway miles, I probably wouldn’t. Super Cruise relies on pre-mapped roads to function, so you can’t just flip it on wherever and expect it to work (though it did work on a lot more roads, including two-lane roads, than I expected).
Does It Fulfill Its Purpose?
The GMC Sierra and its sibling, the Chevy Silverado, are essentially in a segment of one when it comes to diesel 1/2-ton pickups. But while they don’t have to outclass vehicles from other automakers, they still have to make sense to buyers.
After putting a bunch of miles on this Duramax straight-six, it’s easy to see why GM keeps it around. It unlocks a ton of range between fillups, while delivering damn good fuel economy for a pickup of this size. More than that, it makes the whole experience of modern trucking feel nice and effortless, at the same time appealing to my inner enthusiast with its diesely rumble and audible turbo spin-up—something those hybrid V6s struggle to replicate.
Would I go for the Denali Ultimate? Probably not. I could do without the high-class leather and massaging seats if it means saving some coin. If you do without all the fancy stuff, you can get a Duramax-powered Sierra 1500 for around $57,000, which feels a bit more reasonable. Sure, filling up this gas tank at the end of my loan may have cost me $117, but the long range between fillups and huge towing capacity are, for my use cases, anyway, worth the tradeoff.
Maybe you feel differently. If you were buying a new truck, would you want a diesel engine? Or would you settle for a V8, or even the base turbocharged inline-four? Let me know in the comments.
Top graphic images: Brian Silvestro
$86+K and you still have to subscribe at $25-40/month to keep Super Cruise? Does it at least have plain cruise control if you don’t keep paying? And why is it a range of prices instead of a set price?
I am old enough to remember when pickup trucks were cheaper than run-of-the-mill sedans. This thing is much too nice for me to do some dirty work on the farm or wherever and not change clothes before getting in.
+1 to ridiculing subscriptions in cars. I can admit that there is a case for a subscription model for something like Super Cruise that requires constant updates and maintenance, but it’s still frustrating.
My frustration isn’t so much the cost, but necessitating that you rely on GM to maintain support for a feature that carries both an upfront cost and a subscription fee. Do you really expect GM to maintain long term support for Super Cruise? What happens in 10 years when the sensors on today’s cars are outdated and unable to run Super Super Cruise? The second Super Cruise stops making sense as an investment for GM, I would bet they stop supporting the ‘legacy’ systems and features.
This has happened time and time in the video game industry – games that rely on a large community of constantly spending users are quickly shuttered when that community dwindles or when the developer moves on to a sequel.
stopping support? like with the old ‘on star?.’
I looked really really hard at these when I picked out my last truck in 2021 but they just didn’t make sense for my use case, which is hauling feed and loose materials and hauling trailers between 5k and 10k regularly.
For the hauling, the wheelbase is still short enough and the 1/2 tons light enough to have the larger trailers wag the dog, they also get right up to the edge of cargo capacity quickly. Both act as a hard limitation.
Financially, I was looking at $54k before tax and tags in CA.
I wound up doing a used gas 3/4 ton for $25k less that didn’t have the limitations of the 1/2 ton. The driving experience is a great fit for the truck stuff I do, and at that price difference the 1/2 ton would never out-bargain the 3/4 over the lifespan (which is drive it until it’s plain worn out for me) of either.
Will someone please explain “I can’t be seen in a Chevy” to me? Is this a heartland thing? Who cares about this?
I have buddies who swear by this engine & they love their Trucks.
I know it’s not even close to the most expensive full-size truck available, but still: $85K for it before tax/title/reg is sobering. It’s practically a six-figure purchase.
Where did we go wrong? In terms of being in the wrong timeline I mean?
My 3.0 Hurricane makes 115hp more than this, and only 30Ft Lbs less. And that’s the standard output version.
I’m sure it’s nice to drive, but with the fuel $2.00 more per gallon (in my area) and the more expensive maint, I just don’t see the case for this unless you tow regularly, meaning like every weekend.
Mine has the 33-gallon tank, I filled up the other day and I’ve gone over 100 miles since, and I’m currently still showing 535 miles of range left. Current mpg for this tank is sitting at 20.5 so far.
Bought my ’20 Silverado brand new January 2020 with the 3.0. $54k out the door (I did a comp on a ’26 model and the price rose to $64k) z71 model, RST trim, leather (they claim), 4wd w a 2 speed transfer case, heated seats &steer wheel and sunroof. Stock 18″ rims because I’m old (enough) and like the cushion.
I’ve had two warranty repairs early on, but since then nothing other than 2 recalls and (mostly) regular maintenance until this past December when after I got talked into a “fluid exchange” at a Valvoline instead of the actual maintenance where they over pressurized and blew the pan seal. But even then the transmission was due for a new filter and pan, so really it was user error on my part, was getting ready for trip to socal & didn’t take time for proper service.
I’ve had ZERO repairs needed at 87k miles. It’s been xcountry (PDX to Boston) x4. Oregon to NM the long way (6k RT) x2. PDX to Santa Clarita (6 flags).
My overall mpg since 0 miles is 21.4 actual measured, not indicated. My trips consistently avg 26.5mpg MEASURED, not indicated, [except for the Santa Clarita, but I’m blaming the above user error fluid exchange]. My best tank went 743 MILES flying through Wyoming and some Nebraska at well above the speed limit getting 32.6 mpg. In July. With the ac cranked to 69 just because, and the sunroof open for about 300 miles, again, just because.
This is with a vehicle that weighs 6,250 lbs with just me and the cap according to our Metro waste dump scales. Most of the trips included a total of 3-4 people and that short bed filled with at least 300lbs of camping gear and any other item we think we might maybe want or need but never actually use.
DEF is all over the road, to be fair. Sometimes need to refill with as little as 400 miles, other times I get 1,200 miles. Doesn’t matter if I’m road tripping or school bussing. I buy bulk DEF, and the last full up was 3.49/gallon.
I bought a case of dexos d oil from the dealer in 2021, and I still have 3.5 quarts, so the oil burn is pretty minimal.
For grins I rented a ’23 Silverado December ’23 in Rochester, NY with the 2.7 4 cyl gas. It was the year Southwest airlines imploded over Xmas break and ended up driving the spouse to Reagan Washington DC to fly home separately for his work, then myself and kids a week later drove it to Cleveland from ROC to get the closest available flight home for school. With that I got 21.4 mpg on the trips and 18 mpg driving around ROC. I completely agree with the feeling like it’s always screaming on the hills statement. It was as quick, but it definitely ran out of oomph.
So this is just one actual owner’s experience. I cannot speak to all the commenting about maintenance, reliability and emissions nightmares that folks say they’ve “heard about”. Just my real, actual, measured observations living with this same truck for six years and three months and 87k miles
Although it’s a completely different truck, I’ve had a similar experience with my ’22 Colorado w/ the 2.8 diesel. It’s a ZR2 so the mileage suffers from the off-road bits, but I’ll still average 23-25mpg during the daily commute. I’m just about to hit 82k miles, only trip to the dealer was at 16k miles for a bum NOx sensor. It’s been a great little truck.
DEF usage is pretty minimal for me, if I fill the tank up it’ll go 4-5000 miles. I normally just put one 2.5gal jug in, I just got a 300 mile range warning and I think the last jug I put in was back in mid February.
Picked up a CPO ’23 AT4 with the mini-max last year for well under $60k
Unladen mileage is phenomenal – 22mpg commuting around town with a 10% climb to get back home (my 2015 Ram w/a hemi got 14); 25-28 on road trips down to Vegas depending on how fast I’m going (Ram did 16-17).
It tows my 4000# camper like it isn’t even there. I struggled to get 9 mpg towing it with the Ram; average around 15, and it is markedly better both climbing and descending mountain passes with the trailer.
Note that I live/travel at elevation; a turbo setup (whether diesel or gasoline) will generally be an advantage over a NA engine in this setting, and will allow you to maintain torque/power at a given RPM.
I’ve had to do DEF fills a few times, but it’s minimally burdensome. Overall, the increase in mileage + DEF expense still has me in the positive compared to the running mid-grade in my Ram, even accounting for the delta in fuel prices.
The AT4 has most of the interior creature comforts of the Denali (save the massaging seats). It also does without the adjustable suspension, which I willfully avoided after sinking several grand into the Ram’s air suspension in the two years before I traded it. It also runs 18″ wheels with AT tires instead of the Denali’s 22s with road biased rubber…noisier than the Denali, but more supple and way more capable when I’m going boondocking.
Car play is there (per the review it has NOT been phased out in the Sierra yet). It’s not always totally intuitive to switch from SXM to Car Play, but once you’re there it’s great. You can modify the on-screen quick links on the left side of the menu for one-touch access to the parking cameras (it’s a drag and drop, like adjusting tiles on your iphone)…This should be the standard setup, and is absolutely a recommended update for anyone who owns one of these.
The massive grill/sky-high hood is a pain. Quick access to the cameras mitigates it, but it’s still stupid.
Completely agree.
I legit laughed out loud when I read $86,000. For yalls sake, I hope you keep getting press loaners. Seems like the best perk in the business. But damn wtf is a truck anymore yet another luxo-barge.
Tax write off for business.
I always cringe when I see people respond with this. Like somehow spending more money on something somehow ends up saving you money because it’s a tax write off? That’s not at all how that works.
If you buy an $86k truck and use it for business, you don’t get $86k back.
You only reduce your taxable income.
You just spent $86k to save $25k.
You’re still down ~$61k.
Buying something just because it’s a write-off is financially dumb.
A $43k truck would still be a tax write off and would leave you with $43k left over to buy another asset, which could also be a write off. Spending an absurd amount of money on something does not magically make financial sense because you can write it off on your taxes. You’re still better off buying the cheaper asset if it does the job just as well because you can use the money you saved to buy another helpful business asset (Which could also be written off)
Think of it as an upper middle management office.
Thank you thank you thank you. I don’t know when “write-off” became a lousy, inaccurate synonym for “you magically get money back or have more money somehow idk WRITE OFF” but it drives me crazy.
Be *THEY * know…and they’re the ones writing it off!
But still, you are getting an $86,000 truck for the price of a $61,000 truck. I’d sure as hell take the optional engine and nice trim package over the more basic model, wouldn’t you?
Right, or like I pointed out you could buy two $43k trucks (Or a truck and another asset) for the same $61k net spend. It being more expensive doesn’t somehow make it a better financial deal because it’s a tax write off.
If I was going to be towing cross country with it 90% of the time I could maybe see the justification, but honestly if I’m doing that I’m probably stepping up to the 2500. Study after study has shown the 1500 model trucks of the past decade do not last very long because of how cheaply they are built. At this price point you could get the gas 2500 model and be able to tow and haul significantly more and do it more comfortably. These 1500 trucks *can* tow 13k lbs but not comfortably. So if that’s my use case I don’t really see the justification for spending more on the diesel.
If the use case is what the author of this article is doing then I see zero benefit to spending extra on the diesel. The DPF is going to need constant regen if the truck is driven mostly stop/go traffic and light load conditions which will lead to earlier failures in the emissions system. Any diesel with a DPF needs to be driven hard for extended periods of time to keep the DPF clean.
Or you could just buy some $3,000 shitbox from Facebook and live in a single wide trailer. Those are cheaper too, yeah?
There are very few cases where it makes financial, logical sense to buy any brand-new car. But cars are emotional purchase.
Why are you lobbing grenades at my hooptie and doublewide? Trailerpark boyz be coming for ya. Write that off.
Its best to lease a vehicle like this if you are a business. You can write off 100% of the payment (less any personal use). Also, maintenance, insurance and Fuel. Just as if you were leasing any other piece of office equipment. If you purchase it, you have to amortize the cost over typically 5 years and there’s a maximum, around 25k. This press vehicle can be leased for around $900 a month (ask me how i know).
That math is still why it these HIGH price models exist.. A business owner can buy this truck instead of the $60k model or an alternative vehicle for $60k.
These days I see a lot of business owners that in previous times would probably drive a Mercedes or BMW, driving a Denali.
As Jeff Goldblum once said, “Never underestimate the power of a good rationality.
so, we are partially paying for it.
That’s society for you.
I almost threw up in my mouth a little at $90 large for a half ton.
“over $86,000” ROTFL and why does the hood need to be 7 feet tall which then requires a camera? Also, no CarPlay = no consideration.
Proper proportion for the tall grille that needs to be that size to cool the engine under extreme towing.
I don’t believe that.
Feel free to check it out with Tim Esterdahl over at Pickup Truck + SUV Talk
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If that were true, how is it that sports cars and race cars have very low profiles? There is no Ferrari, Porsche, Lambo, etc. (or F1 car!!) requiring a 6′ tall grill.
Waste heat is proportional to horsepower output (heat being the by-product of power generation.) So, a race car putting out 3, 4 or 500HP or more, at almost 100% duty cycle, for the duration of a race is generating far, far more heat than this truck at 300HP. (F1 cars are over 1000HP for a 90minute race)
I’m pretty sure that when towing, one is not at peak power output, near redline, for a long long duration. Maybe if at full towing capacity for during a long uphill grade then it might be near 100% for a while?
So, if a race car can be at steady cooling equilibrium, with a very low profile, by managing radiator size, placement, and airflow, then it seems that a huge front-end grill is not actually required.
I see you gave some links below, and I’d love to see more data to support your perspective, but I can’t rummage through an entire forum to find it. Any more direct links?
Because sports cars and race cars are lighter. Waste heat from an engine is not related to the power an engine is making, it is related to the amount of work that engine is doing (Work=Force*Distance). More weight means more force, means more work.
All that being said though I do agree that truck grilles are a bit ridiculous these days and I think they could be designed differently and still meet the cooling requirements. I’m sure it’s partly cost and partly because people (“typical truck buyers”) like the big grilles.
“Waste heat from an engine is not related to the power an engine is making, it is related to the amount of work that engine is doing”
Waste heat is 100% directly related to the power an engine is making. Which is also 100% related to the amount of work that engine is doing. These are the same thing: Power is the rate at which work is done. You don’t make power unless you’re doing work. That power has to go somewhere. If you put the truck in neutral and floor it, the engine will scream but it’s not making any meaningful power (Just enough to overcome the internal friction of the engine parts rotating)
Work and Power are essentially the same thing, as you can also say:
Power=Force*Distance
Like literally the definition of Horsepower is:
HP = (Torque [Force] x RPM [distance]) / 5252
I guess my logic for the work argument was a bit off. My thinking was: The difference between work and power is that power takes into consideration time (Power=Work/Time). A light car using 400hp to climb a hill would generate as much heat as a heavy truck using 400hp to climb the same hill while they are climbing the hill, but the light car would do it faster and the truck would generate heat for longer since it is using that 400 hp for longer. I was thinking of a more similar comparison not necessarily a race car compared to a truck. So my example was not really a good one, long story short.
“A light car using 400hp to climb a hill would generate as much heat as a heavy truck using 400hp to climb the same hill while they are climbing the hill, but the light car would do it faster and the truck would generate heat for longer since it is using that 400 hp for longer.”
I understand what you’re saying and that would be a valid comparison if the comparison just just climbing a short hill once and being done with it.
But race cars are running at near max power for hours at a time. (Especially on large oval tracks like Nascar. F1 not so much)They don’t just make one lap and call it done. So they have to be able to handle just as much heat. One key advantage they have is higher speed = more airflow. Obviously towing max GCWR up a steep hill at 40 MPH airflow is going to be a problem, and that’s one way that larger radiators help. (But you could just install a more powerful fan on a smaller radiator too, or add electric pusher fans, etc). IE: There’s other ways of solving the airflow problem aside from just making the grill taller.
“Maybe if at full towing capacity for during a long uphill grade then it might be near 100% for a while?”
You’re almost there. In order to claim a certain towing capacity truck manufacturers have to pass a series of SAE tests, including the Davis Dam test which requires the vehicle to climb the grade on Route 68 between Bullhead City and Golden Valley, Arizona, a climb of 3,500 ft (1,100 m) in 11 miles (18 km), starting at 100 °F (38 °C), with the air-conditioning on full. (From Wikipedia) And it has to do this while loaded at max GCVW.
It’s because of this test needing to be done at 100 °F combined with manufacturers obsession with absurd towing capacity numbers that have resulted in these obscenely tall (and unsafe) grills.
My 2007 Duramax was built before this SAE test existed and has a very normal height front grill, and I have never had any kind of overheating problems even towing RVs through the mountains with a 550 HP tune. There is absolutely no reason why this little 3.0 L duramax with only 300HP needs a grill taller than the one on my 2500HD Duramax which is pushing 550HP.
It does tend to run hot especially the transmission, which with 10 speeds is shifting a lot. You need to hook it up to an obd to see just how much as the shifts don’t intrude otherwise
Higher speeds equals more air flow.
Low speed climbing puts more stress on the engine and requires a larger radiator to cool it.
and at 175mpg, drag will put more load on the cooling system than a loaded pick up. your point is very valid.
I own a ’20 Silverado 3.0 z71 since new. The actual radiator (the part that cools) does not take up the entire grille area top to bottom. Plus, the width of the grille is such that the radiator and the tran cooler don’t fill width to width. Not even close. The hood (and thus the grille) could easily be 6″to 8″ lower and there’d still be room and zero sacrifice of ground clearance. But Americans want big and tall-at least that’s what the automakers say, and I bought it so…
Is yours the 1500? I wonder what the size difference is for the 2500 and 3500 then with the larger engines.
Me too.
“If I’m spending over $86,000 on a pickup truck, it better be packed to the gills with quality materials, a smart layout, and useful features.”
Counterpoint: Maybe one might buy a truck that’s actually setup to do real work, be practically comfortable, without stitched leather, etc, and then expect to pay less than $86k?!
I know it’s the luxo trim, and some people want that, I just thought the wording of Brian’s statement was funny, as if one decides to spend $86k first, without knowing the reason for doing so, and they only later learn if it has features to justify the price.
I do all this stuff and more with my gas truck. I don’t know what diesel would have gotten me except higher fuel prices and even higher maintenance costs. Changing the fuel filters sucks.
I can haul a (literal) ton of whatever. I can fit 8′ whatevers in the long bed. Diesel has nothing to do with using your truck as a truck.
Depends on what you haul/tow. YMMV.
I agree. Gas is fine and will do it all. Diesel is an unneeded extra cost, a flex, as the kids say.
How do I know?
Worked in the trades, plumbing and pipefitting, later fertilizer delivery.
We ignored all weight ratings at every shop I worked. Trucks loaded to the gills all the time. Ferd, Chebby, Jimmy, half to one ton, mostly duallys, flat beds, custom utility beds with racks and pipe threaders and generators that weighed 6k alone. Almost always we picked gas.
Our gassers would give 2 to 3 mpg. You read that right. That’s how overloaded they were. 10k on the truck, helper springs or air, and then a dual axle trailer with a couple of bobcats, buckets, concrete storm drain, extra junk.
Foot on the floor nonstop to get them to move.
One old Chebby would overheat on the Grapevine pulling 20+k. (you were max 35mph) We installed a 75 gallon water tank and spray nozzles on the trans, diff, and oil pan. That did the ticket.
But the diesels would give 4 or 5 mpg. Well that’s better you’d think.
But diesel maintenance was much higher. Fuel sensitive. Emissions problems, endless problems. The added upfront cost didn’t pencil out over time given the use case.
Ford’s Godzilla will do the job. Great engine. Nothing else needed. Diesel pickups are for posers.
GMC exists because Grabowsky Motor Company is about as old as General Motors itself. And moreso because Buick dealers need some pickups to sell too.
You need a diesel pikcup to haul around a few odds-and-ends that could be towed by Mercedes with a Smart with a utility trailer?
I’m missing something here; towing things with a smart car is “trucking”.
When my wife and I bought a house, I threw a hitch on my ’85 Caprice and made it the tow bitch. I had a bit more than a table, chairs, and trash can on it, too!
If that was the Caprice wagon rather than sedan, you could have comfortably put all of that inside the car.
asking why GMC exists is really the same question as why Kia exists in the Hyundai company. Basically to offer the same truck with slightly upgraded styling and trim packages.
I was very much sold on the Baby Duramax a decade ago when it was being talked about, but since then the EGR issues with Diesel regen systems and then the idiotic oil pump drive BELT bathed in oil and impossible to change without removing the motor has made me wonder what the General was thinking?
“The diesel, then, is the ideal choice for users who tow, especially over long distances”
It should be noted that anyone who does NOT drive longer distances should NOT buy a modern diesel. And that’s because driving short distances in modern diesels leads to clogged diesel particulate filters. You have to run these engines for at least an hour on a regular basis or you will run into problems.
For most people, the Silverado EV would likely be the better choice.
eh, the EV is still problematic for finding charging options and of course the price of admission. and range loss when towing. though they are better off then the now defunct Ford Lightning. Commuting in any truck for short distances is really not that great unless you have no choice and cannot afford a cheap daily beater.
“and range loss when towing”
Which most owners of those large trucks DON’T do based on my first hand observation.
” Commuting in any truck for short distances is really not that great”
Which is how I see the majority of them being used… at least the ones with the 4 door/short bed body style… at lease in my area.
Given that they are paying the gas bill and more taxes for infrastructure because of the fuel mileage of said truck, I’m ok with that.
“the EV is still problematic for finding charging options”
I still have my 2007 Duramax but I am actively looking at replacing it with the EV. For our “family hauler” we’ve been driving EVs now for 11 years. We’ve done numerous multi-thousand mile road trips from Texas to Orlando, San Diego, Los Angeles, Utah/Nevada/Arizona (Arches, Canyonlands, Bryce Canyon, Zion, Grand Canyon, etc).
And many of these trips were 5+ years ago, through states like Colorado, Utah, Nevada, Arizona and New Mexico when charging infrastructure was much less mature, and we still never had any issues finding charging when we needed it. I’m curious what first hand experience you’ve had with charging that has lead you to this conclusion?
“and range loss when towing.”
This is another one that baffles me. My 3/4 ton diesel Duramax can go 180-200 miles on a tank of diesel when towing my 10,000 lb camper. The Silverado EV has been shown in multiple tests to achieve 200-ish miles when towing the same type of trailer. It literally gets better range than my diesel does.
“and of course the price of admission.”
You can buy the EV for significantly less than the price of the 3.0 Duramax featured in this article.
Pull through is the only problem when charging while towing. I plan my stops and look the site over on street view to make sure I can fit. I found it to be no more troublesome than when I towed with gas and finding room for the whole rig.
Agreed. That was historically my main hesitation in replacing my Duramax, but now that the major truck stops are getting into the EV charging business, I’ve noticed most of the EV chargers at the truck stop stations are all pull through and/or trailer friendly, so it seems like it’s getting much better.
I would only buy a diesel at this point if I were a hot-shot driver. I use my truck only a few times a month and I would never recoup the extra $9,000 or whatever for the diesel engine. Maybe if I was using it exclusively for extra big towing those few times a month, it would be worth it, but to just throw some stuff in the bed? Nah.
When I bought my’20 Silverado the 3.0 was a $1,500 option WITH a $1,000 credit for the different transmission, so net $500 more than the 2.7 four. Driven both in town and long (700 miles a day) trips. The 3.0 gets 28 mpg actual with a cap and about 980 lbs of gear/people while the 2.7 got 21 mpg with 450 lbs gear/people and no cap And it kept running out of oomph on the Appalachian hills in pa.
Fair! I was basing on my experience with the bigger diesel engines in the 1-tons, which is only tangentially related to this article, so your experience is more relevant.
Replace EV for Gasoline and you’re onto something.
I experienced this with my Sportwagen TDI. I lived in town and many of my trips were only a mile or two at a time. I started noticing more frequent regen cycles and my fuel economy seemed to take a dip after a few years of this.
We moved out into a more rural area, now all my errands require a 10-15 mile drive each way at 55-60mph most of the time. Fewer DPF regen cycles and I’m now averaging around 41mpg per tank. Theoretically that would give me about 600 miles of range if I pushed it.
So u says u’s got a diesel n lik’n ‘er just fine, but them diesel prices bring’n ya down. Well swing on by Frugal Fred’s finest filtered fryer fat fuel. ‘couse u’ll need a pre-heater ta keep them fats a flow’n. Ain’t got no 7Fs neer u, we deliver in our 72. May take a bit, sure could use a Duramax upgrade.
I shudder to think how the modern diesel injector and Emissions systems would handle that set up.
Aint ya herd? Now legal to yeet that guff, n u’r sniff’n sweet potato fries!
No thanks. My Silverado Custom with it’s 2.7 tows perfectly fine. I pulled a 6000lb cargo trailer 400 miles a few weeks ago through mountains and hilly terrain. It did great, but the fuel economy suffered, only getting 15mpg compared to 24 for regular driving.
I think if you regularly need to tow north of 7000lbs you should be in a 3/4 ton.
I imagine the little 4 pot was screaming. And that was the authors point about how it felt in use.
With a name like clutchAbuse and a photo of him dirtbiking, you sure as shit he was screaming that 4 pot like a true american. FREEDOM.
Not really. That motor was happy to sit in the 2-3.5 range on grades. The 2.7 makes its full torque at 3k.
7,000lbs is Ranger territory nowdays.
7000 lbs was always Ranger territory. You just load them trucks up and send them.
FFR Territory.
I wish! You have no idea how many arguments I had with Home Depot and Sunbelt Rental to tow some equipment for work.
Slap some excursion badges on there and call it good right? Unless they ask for a VIN
Third option for me, Silverado EV. Torque from zero, efficient, best towing vehicle I’ve owned. No diesel problems, can be tough to charge when towing but you have the same problems getting in with a trailer with gas. And you have 110 and 220 with you at the track, worksite, or home for backup power.
Depending on where you live and what season you are in.
Yeah, your mileage may vary. Central IL, 10% loss of range on the coldest days this winter. The heat pump is fantastic, cabin was comfortable even below zero F. Does better than my TDI in the cold. Electric is just another fuel type – they all have tradeoffs.
Enjoy it! 🙂
I’ve owned both and I’ll never go back to diesel.
My truck was $10K less up front for gas (it’s like a $12K difference now), which would never be made up at normal fuel prices, and has repair costs a fraction of the diesel’s. It tows 8-10,000 lb with ease (I’ll never need to pull more), and I’m not scared of a few revs when towing or hauling.
Resale is lower, sure, but I’m not planning to sell.
Diesel is for hotshotters, farmers, and people who enjoy the sound and power. It’s not a rational decision anymore, and hasn’t been for a while.
This….is accurate. I had a few Brodozer types try to suggest a diesel or nothing in a 3/4 ton, but in the end it made very little fiscal sense, especially now that the longevity of a diesel is capped by the EGR/Def systems.
(I’ll never need to pull more)
That’s the main point of your argument and it’s well thought out.
I honestly don’t know where the point is that I’d switch. My 6.2 is rated for something like 15,000 lb, and the newer 7.3 and GM 6.6 gasser are stronger yet. I don’t think I’d buy diesel for an occasional 15k tow but if I was doing that regularly I’d need to consider it.
Yes. To me it’s about the amount of time you are towing vs the amount you are towing.
I’m fitting all that crap, and that dresser in the back of my van simultaneously, just saying. And it’s all staying dry too.
Obviously something like this only makes sense if you’re doing a good amount of towing.
I’ve fit more in our Outback.
I am good with the gas engines. Waiting to see how the EREV trucks are after there are a few of them out there.
$87K for a truck still seems wild as I remember trucks being cheaper than cars.
That will be interesting, the F150 Hybrids are definitely not the best setup for truck stuff. MPG goes less than a regular gasser when loaded.
I love everything about the Babymax. Mercedes did an awesome article on the evolution of GM’s Duramax diesels and how we arrived at the current straight six that’s worth your time if you haven’t read it yet. Anyway, this is a little overachiever of an engine and another feather in the cap of inline 6s in general. It’s a great engine layout.
That being said it’s almost certainly going to be more trouble than it’s worth unless you’re going to use it exactly as intended. Diesels, especially modern ones with all of the emissions stuff, are finicky, complex, and need to be used to their fullest to be happy. Add in the additional cost of diesel right now, DEF, and the additional mechanical complexity and it really becomes a labor of love to run one of these.
But like the article suggests, if you’re going to do actual truck stuff with your behemoth and put a lot of miles on it then the benefits are probably worth the trouble. You really do have to beat the snot out of the Babymax or any modern diesel keep it happy, though. Anyway I wish GM put it in something smaller than half tons because I’d love to own one but I would not love to own a full sized truck….
That price is crazy for a 1500 I hey everything is expensive nowadays and this is a Denali but hell for that price I would rather have a 2500/3500
Wait, SuperCruise doesn’t handle CURVES???? Tell me again why it’s so good? That’s terrifying.
It can actually handle pretty much all highway curves just fine—it’s the backroad curves where it had trouble once or twice. I really liked using it, it was on for the vast majority of the highway driving I did, and made the whole drive about 10% more chill (still had to fully monitor the situation of course)
Thanks for replying, but what do you mean “handle”? If you’re not watching it careens off the road? Thats not handling a corner that’s no better than me doing it. Am I misunderstanding?
Diesel is north of $5 a gallon here in Mass, almost $2 more than gas. I know people who pay $100,000 for a truck probably don’t care, but that’s gonna add up at 24mpg lol.
Not to mention the repair costs on a modern diesel.
There have been some comments posted by fleet managers on here and they almost unanimously agree that diesel only makes sense if you use it to tow >90% of the time.