Two Fewer Cylinders Spells a Price Drop for Volume 2019 Chevrolet Silverado Trim

Steph Willems
by Steph Willems

Full-size truck buyers looking for the latest thing are spoiled for choice this year. Besides an all-new Ram 1500 (currently unavailable with a V6) and the usual offerings from Ford, there’s a next-generation Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra arriving this fall.

Unlike those other models, the GM twins went somewhere full-size truck builders fear to tread: the land of four-cylinders. Looking at GM’s newly released price list for the 2019 Silverado, it’s clear the new 2.7-liter turbocharged inline-four stands to save buyers money in more ways than one.

You’ll find the 2.7-liter (which GM does everything in its power to avoid calling a four-cylinder) in the high-volume LT trim, as well as the new RST. For 2019, the LT, formerly powered by a standard 4.3-liter V6, drops in price by up to $700. Crew cab models see the maximum drop.

All told, the after-destination price of the LT crew cab is $40, 795. A double cab LT will set you back $38,395 after destination.

With an active fuel management system leaving two of the four cylinders out of the mix under light loads, an eight-speed automatic transmission, grille shutters, and a stop/start system, the 2.7L Silverado stands to leapfrog the previous truck’s fuel economy rating. Of course, we don’t know by just how much. The EPA’s mum on this engine’s thirst, as it is with the upcoming 3.0-liter inline-six diesel.

Power specs for the 2.7L stand at 310 horsepower and 348 lb-ft of torque.

If bare bones hauling is in your future, the base Work Truck drops $400 in price, bringing the after-destination MSRP to $29,795 for the regular cab, long bed model. This model carries a 285-horse 4.3-liter also found in the Custom and Custom Trail Boss 4×4. A familiar 5.3-liter V8 with active fuel management and 355 horses remains an option. All three lesser trims carry a six-speed auto.

As content grows, it’s not surprising to see prices rise accordingly on high-end trims. The LTZ’s entry price grows $700 to $44,495 for a double cab model. A crew cab warrants a $46,895 after-destination sticker. Under the LTZ’s hood, you’ll find a 5.3-liter with Dynamic Fuel Management — a new cylinder deactivation system that offers 17 ways of dropping displacement — mated to an eight-speed auto. EPA estimates show a 1 mpg improvement in the city with this engine, for a rating of 17 mpg city, 23 highway, and 19 combined. These are rear-drive figures.

The same fuel management system appears on the 6.2-liter V8, which comes standard only in the top-tier High Country trim (it’s available for LTZ buyers, along with the 3.0L). For 2019, High Country buyers have to part with an extra $1,000 to get into the truck’s plush confines. Entry price for that trim, only available in crew cab guise, grows to $54,495 after the destination fee.

The 6.2L engine mates to a 10-speed automatic, returning an EPA-estimated 16 mpg city, 20 highway, and 17 combined. As with the LTZ, diesel power remains an option for High Country customers.

[Images: General Motors]

Steph Willems
Steph Willems

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  • HotPotato HotPotato on Jul 01, 2018

    Ugh, the GM pickups have been hit with Ford's butt-ugly tall-sided Tonka-truck stick. Vomitous.

  • Carroll Prescott Carroll Prescott on Jul 02, 2018

    It was not a smart move to make the Silverdodo into a Toyoduh near clone. This thing looks weak. The Ram looks fine and the Ford is the leader for a reason; I fail to see how this third rate truck will sell better than the old third rate truck it replaces. And if that 4 cylinder actually has sizeable sales, Ford is right there with theirs ready to go that already has worked with the 10 speed transmission or a 6 speed manual.

  • TheMrFreeze That new Ferrari looks nice but other than that, nothing.And VW having to put an air-cooled Beetle in its display to try and make the ID.Buzz look cool makes this classic VW owner sad 😢
  • Wolfwagen Is it me or have auto shows just turned to meh? To me, there isn't much excitement anymore. it's like we have hit a second malaise era. Every new vehicle is some cookie-cutter CUV. No cutting-edge designs. No talk of any great powertrains, or technological achievements. It's sort of expected with the push to EVs but there is no news on that front either. No new battery tech, no new charging tech. Nothing.
  • CanadaCraig You can just imagine how quickly the tires are going to wear out on a 5,800 lbs AWD 2024 Dodge Charger.
  • Luke42 I tried FSD for a month in December 2022 on my Model Y and wasn’t impressed.The building-blocks were amazing but sum of the all of those amazing parts was about as useful as Honda Sensing in terms of reducing the driver’s workload.I have a list of fixes I need to see in Autopilot before I blow another $200 renting FSD. But I will try it for free for a month.I would love it if FSD v12 lived up to the hype and my mind were changed. But I have no reason to believe I might be wrong at this point, based on the reviews I’ve read so far. [shrug]. I’m sure I’ll have more to say about it once I get to test it.
  • FormerFF We bought three new and one used car last year, so we won't be visiting any showrooms this year unless a meteor hits one of them. Sorry to hear that Mini has terminated the manual transmission, a Mini could be a fun car to drive with a stick.It appears that 2025 is going to see a significant decrease in the number of models that can be had with a stick. The used car we bought is a Mk 7 GTI with a six speed manual, and my younger daughter and I are enjoying it quite a lot. We'll be hanging on to it for many years.
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