What real-world highway MPGs does the 2015 Chevy Silverado 1500 with the 6.2L V8 and the 8-speed automatic transmission get? TFLtruck wanted to find out what the big V8 can do with the help of the new 8-speed transmission when running empty, and hooked up to a trailer. This truck is also equipped with cylinder deactivation, allowing it to run on four cylinders (V4 mode).
The first part of the test is the truck running at 75 MPH on the highway with only two people in the cab and no other load.
TFLtruck listened to the feedback that you provided us after previous tests, and we changed the route to 98 miles (from 43.6 miles). We also increased the speed from 65 to 75 MPH. This speed is legal on the I-76 interstate in Colorado. It’s also the speed limit in many other states. The longer route should help decrease the margin of error during fill-ups. This run consists of a loop from Hudson, CO to Fort Morgan, CO and back. We are running in both directions in an attempt to eliminate the affects of the wind.
We get on the highway, set the cruise control at 75 MPH and let it run. We do use the automatic A/C system with the interior temperature set at 71F. The ambient temperature was 70F with a fairly strong wind from the north.
We are using a “double-click” method to filling up. Let the pump click, wait 30 seconds, and let the pump click again. This allows the fuel to settle down before it’s topped off.
When the calculations were complete, this 2015 Silverado Double Cab 4×4 returned a highway MPG of 19.01 MPG.
Stay tuned for Part 2 of this test, where we hook up a 9,500 lbs horse trailer to the back of the truck and repeat the same run. We wanted to find out how a large and heavy trailer affect fuel economy when running at the same highway speed.
Check out the TFLtruck mpg test video for all the details of the test.
