General Motors made a big deal about a new 2.7L turbo-four that would be available on the 2019 Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra 1500. This engine promises more power, better towing, and improved fuel economy when compared to the 4.3L V6 engine. But when the official fuel economy figures came out, the engine became somewhat less impressive.
The EPA rates the 2.7L turbo-four at 20 City/23 Highway/21 Combined for the 2WD variant and 19/22/20 for the 4WD variant. That isn't a huge improvement on the V6s found in the Ford F-150 and Ram 1500.
- F-150 with 3.3L V6: 19/25/22 (2WD), 18/23/20 (4WD)
- F-150 with 2.7L EcoBoost V6: 20/26/22 (2WD), 19/24/21 (4WD)
- Ram 1500 with 3.6L V6: 20/25/22 (2WD), 19/24/21 (4WD)
"If you're delivering on everything, and you're getting the same fuel economy, the question is, 'Why?' " explained Stephanie Brinley, principal automotive analyst at IHS Markit.
Officials at GM say the EPA ratings don't tell the whole story on the new engine. Like a diesel engine, " fuel economy will be better in the real world than its predecessor and will at least match comparable V-6 models from competitors," they said.
"I don't think we're done with the fuel economy piece yet," said Tim Herrick, executive chief engineer of GM's full-size trucks to Automotive News.
"Don't look at the label. We're as good or better than them in every step."
Source: Automotive News (Subscription Required)
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