Smooth Operator

Chevy's Silverado 1500 Duramax brings refinement and big-rig credibility to GM's half-ton pickup

- Josh Jacquot

CONSIDERING THE EPA’S FULL-FRONTAL assault on dieselpowered anything and the scrutiny the agency has applied to such engines in the wake of Volkswagen’s diesel scandal, it’s a wonder the oil-burning 2020 Chevy Silverado 1500 exists at all. Even more remarkable is that each of the Big Three will have a lightduty diesel when the Chevy arrives at dealerships later this year.

With the Duramax, Chevy now offers five different engines for its half-ton cash cow. And this is one of the good ones. Turbocharged and intercooled, the 3.0-liter inline-six twists out 460 pound-feet of torque at 1500 rpm and makes an easy 277 horsepower. The aluminum powerplant uses a variable-geometry turbo, air-to-liquid intercooling, and a new low-pressure exhaustgas recirculation system to boost efficiency. And this engine is smooth, thanks to the inherent balance of its inline-six configuration and because it’s mated to GM’s 10-speed automatic transmission, the torque converter in which features a mass damper.