2024 Chevy Silverado Gets Diesel ZR2, TurboMax 2.7-Liter

General Motors has confirmed that the 2024 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 will be receiving a number of updates, with the most interesting being the addition of an optional 3.0-liter Duramax turbo-diesel for the ZR2. The base-level 2.7-liter turbocharged inline-four has also been given a new name – TurboMax.

Chevrolet has said that the TurboMax powertrain, which is effectively unchanged from the previous year, will be available on the entire Silverado lineup. Despite the unit's 310 horsepower and 430 lb-ft of torque making a tad more sense in the smaller Colorado pickup, we imagine there are a few people looking at the full-size alternative and deciding they can make do with the feisty four-banger. 

Considering it can be optioned with the 9,500-pound Max Tow package, they may even be onto something. 

We assume there will also be a bevy of truck shoppers that are excited about the ZR2 getting the DuraMax diesel. As the alphanumeric combination that denotes the Silvardio variant most likely to go off-road, there was already a subset of buyers thinking that a diesel version would make for an idyllic survival truck. The inline-six 3.0-liter turbo diesel hasn’t been changed all that much, offering 305 hp and 495 lb-ft on the 2024 ZR2. But it does give General Motors an opportunity to dangle a diesel in front of the faces of consumers and presumably one that yields better gas mileage than the 6.2-liter V8 they’d otherwise be buying. 

Depending on what’s important to you, this could make the DuraMax (pictured) a desirable alternative to the V8 (which yields 420 horsepower and 460 lb-ft of torque). However, Chevy didn’t want to make the bigger motor less appealing and has given it a few bells and whistles to draw people in. For the 2024 model year, the 6.2-liter has been given a new active exhaust system with a Sport mode – meaning you can really cheese off the neighbors if you’d like to. 

Only the 5.3-liter V8 seems to have avoided being tweaked, renamed, or shifted around to different trims. Though that doesn’t mean the Silverado itself has avoided going under the knife for a nip here and a tuck there. Apple CarPlay and AndroidAuto have been added to the base 1500 WT, meaning the features are now standard regardless of trim. OnStar will also become available on all base model 1500s. The base model Work Truck will similarly be offered with front and rear parking sensors included as part of an optional safety package.

Additional Silverado lineup updates include two new exterior paint choices – Lakeshore Blue Metallic and Slate Gray Metallic — and the ubiquitous rear seat belt indicator.

The updated 2024 pricing has not yet been announced, nor has there been any formal news regarding sales dates. However, we would be surprised if you didn’t start seeing them on dealer lots by the fall.

[Images: General Motors]

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