2020 Chevy Silverado 1500 Review

The 2020 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 full-size pickup gains three significant new options. The first two are certainly interesting — adaptive cruise control is now available, and the new Advanced Trailering System can display up to 15 camera views while towing. But the big news is that the 3.0-liter Duramax diesel engine that Chevy previously announced over a year ago will finally be available.

We were promised the diesel on the 2019 model, but Chevy had to delay its availability due to the certification process. (It did briefly appear on the Silverado's options sheet, though, with a $2,495 premium over the 5.3-liter V8-equipped model. That price remains the same for 2020.)

Chevy opted to make the Duramax a straight-six rather than a V6 like Ford and Ram use. Even though the straight-six layout takes up more space in the engine compartment, straight-six engines tend to run smoother and make more torque. Indeed the Duramax does well in this regard, with output ratings of 277 horsepower and 460 lb-ft of torque. It will come paired with a 10-speed automatic transmission, so this powertrain will likely have the right gear for any situation.

Diesel engines are sought-after options in the 2500 and 3500 heavy-duty end of the pickup market. Yet diesel offerings were absent from 1500 series half-ton trucks for years. The situation only began to change when Ram reintroduced one in 2014.

Diesel engines provide two things that truck buyers crave: more torque for smooth towing and better overall range and fuel economy. They are particularly good at doing both at once by providing respectable fuel economy and range while towing.

Officially rated at 27 mpg combined (23 city/33 highway), the two-wheel-drive Silverado 1500 Duramax represents a huge leap beyond the 5.3-liter gasoline V8's rating of 19 mpg combined (17 city/23 highway). The four-wheel-drive version of the 1500 diesel does almost as well at 25 mpg combined (23 city/29 highway) versus 18 mpg combined (16 city/22 highway) for a 5.3-liter V8 4x4.

Ford offers a 3.0-liter Power Stroke turbodiesel V6 engine that makes 250 horsepower and 440 lb-ft of torque. Fuel economy is rated at 25 mpg combined in two-wheel-drive fitments and 22 mpg combined in four-wheel-drive configurations. The upgrade costs $4,000 in an F-150 Lariat with a 2.7-liter EcoBoost V6 and $3,000 in a King Ranch with a 5.0-liter V8. Ford doesn't offer this diesel in any of the more popular or less expensive lower trim levels.

Ram introduced a 3.0-liter EcoDiesel in 2014, and it sold briskly for a couple of years until it ran into emissions certification problems. But an all-new diesel engine is scheduled to return in the 2020 Ram 1500 at about the same time this Chevrolet Duramax diesel arrives. The Ram will offer strong competition with 260 hp and a (currently) class-leading 480 lb-ft of torque. What's more, Ram is expanding the availability of this engine over past years to include the popular Rebel off-road model.

The 3.0-liter Duramax diesel feels spunkier than we expected, but maybe that should not have been a surprise. It delivers better initial response than the 2014 Ram EcoDiesel that Edmunds tested out for a year, and it also accelerates up to highway speed more eagerly. Both of these are an outgrowth of the extra power and torque it delivers along with the more closely spaced gears that come with having a 10-speed automatic instead of an eight-speed.

It is smooth and quiet, too. Engine vibration, even at idle, is minimal. And when cruising, it is often possible to forget you're driving a diesel. Sure, you'll hear it if you have the radio off and dial the interior fan down to zero. And it will indeed make itself known if you goose the throttle or are climbing a hill or pulling a load. Most of the time, however, the diesel's noise simply fades into the background and doesn't draw your attention. The use of a straight-six engine architecture seems to have paid off in this respect.

Chevrolet sought to strike a balance between maximum towing capacity and fuel economy, so it has geared the diesel to deliver a maximum tow rating of 9,300 pounds. That number reflects a 4x2 truck with a double-cab configuration, so 4x4 and crew-cab versions will inevitably tow a couple hundred pounds less because those versions of the truck weigh a couple of hundred pounds more.

This tow rating does trail behind the F-150 diesel's maximum of 11,400 pounds. Ram Trucks just announced certain details about its upcoming 2020 3.0-liter EcoDiesel, and that one is rated higher still at 12,560 pounds. Is this a huge problem for Chevy? In terms of bragging rights, absolutely. But the 2014 Ram 1500 EcoDiesel was good for no more than 9,200 pounds, and we never felt underserved. For its part, Chevy says that its 9,300-pound rating will cover the needs of 90% of buyers of half-ton trucks.

Chevrolet's stated reason for restraint here has to do with balancing the calibration of the powertrain to deliver superior everyday fuel economy. The official EPA numbers suggest it was well worth it. A two-wheel-drive Silverado 1500 Duramax is rated 2 mpg higher than the equivalent Ford, while the four-wheel-drive version is rated 3 mpg higher than its F-150 counterpart. That's a huge advantage for the type of driving you'll do each and every day.

The inside of the 2020 Chevrolet Silverado isn't significantly different from the 2019 Silverado. The addition of the diesel engine doesn't bring with it any new controls, and all of the buttons you use to sort through the Advanced Trailer System's numerous camera views are virtual buttons on the touchscreen. The presence of the optional adaptive cruise control does alter the layout of the buttons on the steering wheel somewhat, but it's all done in a predictable fashion that we've seen before.

As ever, the 2020 Silverado's crew cab is spacious and its seats are comfortable, but the interior design and materials that make up the dashboard feel dated and uninviting. There is a logic to how it all works, but some of the buttons and knobs (and their labels) are smaller than we'd like. The touchscreen is sometimes sluggish to react, and the screen itself looks small on a dashboard that appears to have abundant space for a larger one.

The Duramax diesel will be offered on four Silverado 1500 trim levels: LT, RST, LTZ and High Country. This strategy represents a broader breadth of availability than what Ford offers, but the diesel is not available to those who would buy a work truck or the Trail Boss off-road package.

We're big fans of the Advanced Trailering System's many views, and our favorite is the Transparent Trailer view that electronically stitches together multiple images to create the illusion that you can see through your trailer as if it were made of glass. The system does require the installation of a compatible second camera (that you buy separately from a third party) on the back of your trailer, but the Advanced Trailering System does include a pair of additional sockets on the rear bumper to plug in that camera. The second socket is meant for a second camera you may choose to install inside your trailer to monitor your cargo while on the move.