How far has the heavy duty pickup truck technology come in 14 years? This is what we wanted to find out by comparing a 2002 Chevy Silverado 2500 HD LT to a 2016 GMC Sierra 2500 HD Denali. Both of these trucks have 6.6L Duramax turbo-diesel V8s under the hood. However, power outputs, transmissions, and over weights are quiet different.
The 2002 Silverado has the first generation of the big Duramax V8 (codename: LB7). It was rated at 300 horsepower and 520 lb-ft of torque. It is backed up by a 5-speed Allison automatic transmission.
The 2016 Sierra has the fifth generation of the Duramax (codename: LML). It is rated at 397 horsepower and 765 lb-ft of torque. The 6-speed Allison transmission does the shifting here.
The LT was a high-end trim level on the 2002 Silverado. It does have heated leather seats with a center console and five-passenger configuration. However, it did not come with a factory integrated brake controller or an exhaust brake. The old truck weighs about 800 lbs less the brand-new Sierra HD Denali in this test.
We ran our standard “100 mile” highway mpg loop with each truck towing the other to get a real-world mpg numbers. We always run this loop at 70 mph, but we were fighting a strong wind during this test with both trucks. We also performed 0-60 mph testing to see which truck is the quicker.
The video will go public tomorrow, but you can get an early look at it in the TFLtruck Forum.
