With vehicles getting more efficient every generation, many truck owners are wondering just what kind of mileage to expect from a new Chevy Silverado. That's because it is one of the most common vehicles in the U.S., as well as a vehicle that is often used for work purposes. These big trucks, as efficient as they have become, still use a lot of fuel, so to help you decide just how much you will be paying at the pump, we have compiled data from every model of 2019 Chevy Silverado. Let's dig in!
The best-case scenario when it comes to fuel economy means choosing a Silverado 1500 equipped with 2-wheel drive and the 2.7-liter 4-cylinder engine. This combination gets you an EPA rating of 20 city/23 highway. On the other hand, choosing a 5.3-liter V8 Silverado 1500 with 4-wheel drive, the 6-speed transmission and running on E85 (ethanol) drops your rating all the way down to 11 city and 15 highway.
When it comes to the heavy-duty Silverados (the Silverado 2500 and Silverado 3500), the ratings are more consistent. While the EPA does not give these models official ratings, owners report getting between 11.5 and 14.6 on average in their heavy-duty models.
You probably want to know the mileage of a specific model, though. So stay with us as we dive into the ratings for each model of Silverado, broken down by engine, transmission, and drive type.
2019 Chevy Silverado 1500 Fuel Economy
Official EPA figures are one great source of information when it comes to gas mileage. Because the EPA conducts their testing in such strict, and often not very realistic, circumstances, these ratings are often not what owners experience. Still, they are very useful as a way of comparing fuel economy between models.
Listed below are the official EPA figures for each model of Silverado 1500. Each specific drive type, engine, trim, and transmission configuration are shown with their corresponding fuel economy ratings. Some of the results might just surprise you.
2WD 2.7 Liter Turbo 4 Cylinder, 8-speed Automatic
20 city/23 highway
2WD 2.7 Liter Turbo 4 Cylinder, 8-speed Automatic
19 city/22 highway
4WD 2.7 Liter Turbo 4 Cylinder, 8-speed Automatic
19 city/22 highway
4WD 2.7 Liter Turbo 4 Cylinder, 8-speed Automatic
18 city/ 21 highway
2WD 5.3 Liter V8, 8-speed Automatic
17 city/24 highway
2WD 5.3 Liter V8, 8-speed Automatic
17 city/ 23 highway
4WD 5.3 Liter V8, 8-speed Automatic
16 city/ 22 highway
2WD 4.3 Liter V6, 6-speed Automatic
16 city/ 21 highway
4WD 6.2 Liter V8, 10-speed Automatic
16 city/20 highway
2WD 5.3 Liter V8, 6-speed Automatic
15 city/ 21 highway
2WD 5.3 Liter V8, 6-speed Automatic (Flex-Fuel)
15 city/ 20 highway (regular gas)
11 city/15 highway (E85)
4WD 4.3 Liter V6, 6-speed Automatic
15 city/20 highway
4WD Trailboss 5.3 Liter V8, 8-speed Automatic
15 city/20 highway
4WD 5.3 Liter V8, 6-speed Automatic (Flex-Fuel)
15 city/19 highway (regular gas)
11 city/14 highway (E85)
4WD Trailboss 5.3 Liter V8, 6-speed Automatic
14 city/18 highway
4WD Trailboss 4.3 Liter V6, 6-speed Automatic
14 city/18 highway
Whew. That's a lot of configurations to sort through. To get a more realistic figure that doesn't rely on the government's strict set of testing procedures, we can turn to fuelly.com, where owners report their real-world mileage.
With over 250,000 miles reported for the 2019 Silverado 1500 so far, we can get a pretty good idea of what the average Silverado owner can expect: 16.1 mpg. Keep in mind this figure most likely includes many miles of towing and hauling, while the EPA's tests use unloaded trucks.
2019 Chevy Silverado 2500HD Fuel Economy
Whereas we have a wealth of information when it comes to all of the types of Silverado 1500 models, there is no official mpg rating for the heavy-duty Silverados. That's because the EPA does not test or rate any heavy-duty truck. That makes it slightly harder to find out what kind of fuel economy to expect.
Here are the currently-available figures as reported by Silverado 2500 owners on Fuelly:
6.6-liter Duramax Diesel
14.6 mpg (116,784 miles reported)
6.0-liter V8 (regular gas)
12.5 mpg (28,201 miles reported)
6.0-liter V8 (flex-fuel)
12.2 mpg (71,668 miles reported)
As you can see, there is a clear mpg advantage when choosing the diesel engine over the gas V8. It might not seem like much to people used to talking about modern car fuel economy, but with figures this low, 2 mpg is a huge difference.
2019 Chevy Silverado 3500HD Fuel Economy
Silverado 3500HDs are rated to tow and haul even more than the 2500s, meaning they are built more stoutly. Because of this heavier construction and the greater chances that a 3500 will be carrying/towing more weight, the fuel economy figures are significantly lower. Here are the figures from Fuelly for the Duramax 3500s:
6.6-liter Duramax Diesel
13.6 mpg (56,906 miles reported)
Unfortunately, at this time there are no figures reported for the gas-powered 3500HDs on the site right now. Of course, we can expect the figures to be significantly lower than those owners are getting on the diesel trucks. Based on reports of owners on various GM forums, the roughly 2-mpg penalty from the 2500 trucks should hold true for the 3500s as well, meaning we can expect an average of somewhere around 11 to 11.5 mpg.
What gas does a 2019 Chevy Silverado take?
According to GM, all 2019 Silverado 1500 models can run on regular gas. For the high-performance 6.2-liter V8, however, it is recommended that owners use premium in order to get the best performance out of the engine.
Regular gas is also approved for use in the HD trucks' gas-powered Vortec V8 engines. Of course, diesel fuel is the only option for owners of the Duramax turbo-diesel engines.
What's the size of a Silverado's gas tank?
Okay, so using the above gas mileage figures, you are probably wondering just how far your Silverado can go on a single tank of gas. Obviously, we need to know the size of your tank to do that math. The answer, however, depends on a few factors.
For half-ton models, the cab configuration determines your gas tank size. According to the manufacturer, regular cab trucks use a 28.3-gallon fuel tank, while double- and crew-cab models each have just 24-gallon tanks. Compared to the optional 36-gallon tank that Ford offers on their F150, this is definitely a downside for some truck shoppers. After all, when you are towing heavy loads, those 24 gallons can sometimes be used up in a hurry!
Heading over to HD trucks, larger tanks are available. In fact, the tank sizes for these big trucks range from 28 to 36 gallons. Those extra gallons can really help increase your range.
Competitors
Wondering how these figures compare to some of the Silverado's competitors? Click here to check out our wonderful article discussing the gas mileage ratings for several competitors. Currently, the Ford F150 reigns as the half-ton gas mileage king, with an EPA rating of 22 city and 30 highway for the new 3-liter diesel on a 2-wheel drive, 10-speed model. Now that's some efficiency! Ram, meanwhile, can offer up to 27 mpg highway. So, it's clear that Chevy has some work to do when it comes to the half-ton fuel economy wars.
In the heavy-duty world, owners don't report a huge difference in fuel economy. Notably, the gas-powered Fords suffer an approximate 1-mpg deficit to the competitors, while the Cummins (diesel)-powered Rams average about 1 mpg higher than the others.
Go Easy on that Accelerator Pedal
It can be easy to get lost in the weeds when it comes to fuel economy. After all, we are talking about just how much of your hard-earned money you are going to spend at the fuel pump. But don't get too caught up in minor differences - these do not account for as much as your driving behavior. Accelerate slowly and coast to an easy stop whenever possible - don't waste any of that hard-earned forward momentum if you don't have to. So, try not to overstress about your purchase and drive safe and slow out there!
I get 17 mpg with my 6.6 turbo diesel city and 20 hwy.