We received the following question from Rick H.:
I am planning to get a Silverado 1500. The main concerns are mileage and long term reliability (not towing). I plan to put at least 200K miles on it. Should I go with 5.3 or 6.2 and are they getting rid of one or the other any time soon?
Thanks to Rick for sending in the question. We encourage everybody to send your questions to ask@tfltruck.com and we will do our best to answer all of them.
Most of the truck loans we get are seven days long, so we cannot perform any meaningful long-term reliability testing. However, we have tested the 5.3L and 6.2L V8 trucks from GM in multitude of environments. The reliability question should be expanded to transmissions and other major components. Which engine and transmission combination is most reliable and efficient?
(Note: please leave a comment if you have long-term experience with the latest Chevy or GMC 1500 pickup trucks.)
The question about best efficiency is easier to nail down. GM released the EcoTec3 family of engines for the 2014 model year trucks. These engines feature direct injection, continuously variable valve timing, and cylinder deactivation. The 5.3L V8 is no exception. Both V8s delivered good real-world efficiency in our testing, but the 5.3L V8 will be a more efficient choice.
The 2016 model year allows customers to pair the smaller V8 with the 8-speed automatic transmission. I would recommend the 5.3L V8 with the 8-speed transmission configuration. This combo is only available with the 3.42 rear axle ratio.
There is no indication that either engine will be discontinued in the near future.
Here is a first drive review of the 2016 Chevy Silverado for more details.
