2023 Chevrolet Silverado Trail Boss with DuramaxHighway MPG Test: Better than a Crossover???

If you know anything about Texas it is probably that it’s a big state and we are the leader in pickup truck sales. Typically, when we get an off-road focused vehicle to test, we head east to test it out at Barnwell Mountain (which we did in a separate video) but in this video, we head west for Dallas to see just how this 2023 Chevrolet Silverado LT Trail Boss does on fuel economy with the 3.0L Duramax turbodiesel under the hood.

From the onset, I was slightly skeptical. We have tested the hybrid-only Toyota Tundra TRD Pro and saw numbers much lower than what was indicated on the window sticker. Who actually sees those EPA numbers in real-world driving anyway? So when work took me to downtown Dallas to check out the North Texas Auto Show, we took the opportunity to familiarize ourselves with the latest iteration of the Silverado along with its most powerful engine for the half-ton version of the truck.

Initial impressions from my in-town driving in East Texas were strong. While I was not seeing the numbers on the window sticker, I was seeing numbers north of anything else we have tested in the segment. The biggest standout to me was just how well the engine and 10-speed transmission worked together. Nary a shift was felt when puttering around in my daily driving, a trait that maintained throughout the length of our time testing this pickup. Power was always available and I never noticed the transmission hunting for the perfect ratio to deliver power when requested.

Outside of the badging on the hood and the slight clatter from under said hood, there really is not anything that would give this diesel away. For all intents and purposes, this looks just like a V8-powered Silverado. In fact, this is even intended to be driven just like its gas-drinking siblings without the need to idle it before shutting it down and its ability to do short trips without doing long-term damage to the engine. This even has a defeatable start/stop feature to save fuel when in traffic, so you know engineers have taken daily driving these into consideration.

I won’t spoil our final results from our 100-plus mile road trip in this video, but all of our coverage on this pickup over the entire week will mention the fuel economy numbers we have experienced from our time with this rig…we were impressed, to say the least. For now, enjoy my first take on how this pickup performs and see my feelings for the Duramax evolve over the course of the trip to Dallas.

2023 Chevrolet Silverado LT Trail Boss

LM2 3.0L Duramax® Turbo Diesel Inline-6
- 305 horsepower
- 495 lb-ft
Refined, second-generation Duramax 3.0L Turbo-Diesel engine delivers 10 percent more horsepower and 7.6 percent more torque. Updates include a new steel piston design, revised turbo compressor, new fuel injectors, and improved temperature control features
10-speed Automatic Transmission with Electronic Precision Shift
Autotrac® 2-speed Transfer Case and Automatic Locking Rear Differential
18-inch High Gloss Black-painted Wheels
33-inch Goodyear Wrangler DuraTrac® Mud Terrain Tires
2-inch suspension lift from the factory
10.9 inches of ground clearance
28.7-degree approach angle
27.2-degree departure angle
3.23 Rear-axel Ratio
10-way Power Front Bucket Seats
Heated Front Seats
Cloth Seating Surfaces
Dual-zone Automatic Climate Control
12.3-inch Color Driver Information Center
13.4-inch Chevrolet Infotainment 3 Premium with Google Built-in
Wireless Apple CarPlay® and Android AutoTM
120-volt Center Console Power Outlet
3-piece Folding Hard Tonneau Cover
High-Clearance Off-Road Steps
Chevytec Spray-on Bedliner
Multiplex Tailgate
120-volt Bed-mounted Power Outlet
EPE Estimated Fuel Economy: 21/23/22 (city/hwy/cmb)
Starting MSRP: $56,300 (LT Trail Boss)
Price as tested: $69,315