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First drive: 2020 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 Duramax [Video review]<br> First drive: 2020 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 Duramax [Video review]<br>

First drive: 2020 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 Duramax [Video review]

Chevy takes on Ram and Ford with a light-duty diesel of its own.

It's no secret that Chevy's redesigned Silverado 1500 isn't exactly selling like hotcakes. While sales of the Ford F-150 and Ram 1500 continue to grow, sales of the new Silverado are down. Like, really down (-15.7 percent during the first quarter).

But help is arriving for the 2020 model year in the form of the new diesel-powered Silverado 1500 Duramax. Curious to see if the Silverado diesel has what it takes to lure shoppers back to showrooms, we hopped a plane to Bend, Oregon to put the new 1500 Duramax through its paces.

Better late than never

Chevrolet is the last of the Big Three -- the other two being Ram and Ford -- to offer a diesel engine in its light-duty pickup truck. But finally, for the 2020 model year -- five-years after the first Ram 1500 EcoDiesel went on sale -- the Silverado 1500 diesel is here.

The formula for the Silverado 1500 Duramax is similar to that of its rivals -- like Ram and Ford's light-duty diesel models, the Chevrolet Silverado uses a 3.0L six-cylinder turbodiesel engine. However, unlike its closest competitors, the Silverado uses an inline- rather than a V-design for its diesel engine, making the straight-six Duramax under the hood of the Silverado extremely smooth.

Power ratings are good for the segment. The 3.0L straight-six in the Silverado Duramax is good for 277 horsepower, which is best in segment. The Silverado Duramax also trumps the Ford in torque, but its 460 lb-ft are no match for the Ram's 480 lb-ft.

Despite being mid-pack for torque, the Silverado Duramax is dead last when it comes to towing. Chevy says the Silverado Duramax can tow up to 9,300 pounds, which is significantly lagging the rest of the category. For comparison, the less-powerful F-150 Powerstroke can tow up to 11,400 pounds and the new Ram EcoDiesel is rated to tow up to 12,560 pounds.

Bolted to the back of the Silverado's 3.0L Duramax is a new 10-speed automatic transmission. The diesel engine is available on LT and above grades and can be paired with either two- or four-wheel drive.

A key diesel advantage is fuel economy, but we don't yet know how efficient the Silverado Duramax actually is. Chevy doesn't have any official figures to provide us with yet, but expect a highway rating of 30mpg, or possibly a little over.

The diesel experience

The Silverado Duramax is based on the gas-power Silverado, so there aren't really any differences when it comes to ride and handling. However, the diesel does make for a different driving experience.

As you'd expect, the Silverado Duramax, with its 460 lb-ft of torque, feels peppy off the line. It's not V8 strong, but the diesel has more oomph than you'd get from a tradition six-cylinder gas engine.

Unfortunately, the Duramax loses puff as the revs continue to climb. The Silverado Duramax feels pokier than its 277 horsepower would indicate, meaning you really have to plan out your passes on two-lane roads. An official 0-60 time was never given, but we wouldn't be surprised to hear it's in the 9-second range.

Although the Duramax diesel isn't quite the performer we were hoping for, the 10-speed auto makes good use of what power is there. Even though the automatic has 10 forward gears to pick from, we never experienced it prematurely upshifting or refusing a request for a downshift. And the smoothness of the 10-speed is a perfect match for the Duramax's inline-six engine.

Leftlane's bottom line

The 2020 Silverado Duramax could be another swing-and-a-miss for Chevrolet. Diesel trucks are supposed to promise tons of hauling power to go along with their excellent fuel efficiency, and the Silverado Duramax simply doesn't. In fact, it offers significantly less towing power than the less-powerful Ford F-150 Powerstroke.

Fuel economy could be the Silverado Duramax's saving grace, but we won't learn about that until a later date.

If you're a die-hard Chevy fan and want the boost in fuel economy that comes with a light-duty diesel truck, the 2020 Silverado is the truck for you. If you're open to options, there are better trucks out there.

Photos courtesy of Chevrolet.

First drive: 2020 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 Duramax [Video review]<br> First drive: 2020 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 Duramax [Video review]<br> First drive: 2020 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 Duramax [Video review]<br> First drive: 2020 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 Duramax [Video review]<br> First drive: 2020 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 Duramax [Video review]<br> First drive: 2020 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 Duramax [Video review]<br> First drive: 2020 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 Duramax [Video review]<br> First drive: 2020 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 Duramax [Video review]<br>