2019 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 Delivers Plenty of Powertrain Choices

As noted in our quick spin reports on the 2019 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 equipped with the 2.7-liter turbocharged inline four-cylinder and the technology-packed , the new half ton will offer several powertrain choices, including two all-new engines, two updated engines and two carryover engines.

It wasn't that long ago that the half-ton pickup truck class was dominated by V-8 engines, but this is a new world — thanks in large part to Ford's success with the EcoBoost V-6 lineup — that greatly rewards empty-truck fuel efficiency, overall weight savings, and respectable horsepower and torque numbers. The new 2.7-liter I-4, slated to be the volume engine option for the 2019 Chevrolet Silverado 1500, hits all three of those marks.

As we noted earlier, Chevrolet is taking a different approach to its trim level and powertrain availability, breaking down an eight-trim lineup into three main categories: high value, made up of the Work Truck (aka WT), Custom and Custom Trail Boss trims; high volume, comprising the heart-of-the-market LT, RST and LT Trail Boss models; and high feature, made up of the premium LTZ and High Country trims.

And as you might expect, each of these Silverado 1500 categories will offer different base and optional engines and transmissions. Here's how that breaks down.

• WT, Custom and Custom Trail Boss pickups will offer the carryover 4.3-liter V-6 standard with active fuel management; the updated 5.3-liter V-8 with active fuel management will be an option. Both will be offered with the carryover six-speed 6L80 transmission.
• LT and RST pickups will offer the all-new 2.7-liter turbo I-4 standard, with either the upgraded 5.3-liter V-8 with Dynamic Fuel Management or the all-new 3.0-liter turbo-diesel inline six-cylinder as options. Both the 2.7-liter and 5.3-liter will be paired to the eight-speed 8L90 transmission, while the diesel expected early in 2019 will have the all-new 10-speed 10L80 transmission.
• LT Trail Boss, LTZ and High Country pickups will offer the 5.3-liter V-8 with DFM standard, with either the 6.2-liter V-8 with DFM or 3.0-liter I-6 diesel as options. The 5.3-liter V-8 DFM will have the eight-speed transmission, while the big V-8 and diesel will have the 10-speed transmission.

As Chevy rolls out the models — crew-cab V-8s are due to dealers by the third quarter of 2018, followed by regular and double cabs with the I-4 and V-6 engines in the fourth quarter — we'll share more details about the new transmissions and engines. We have learned that the information display screens will not tell drivers which gear the pickup is using at any given moment unless the column shifter is set to manual mode. And even then, as in current GM transmissions, the truck will only downshift from that manually selected gear.

We think Chevy missed an opportunity to help drivers see what gear they're in; it's something we find helpful with the proliferation of eight- and 10-speed boxes. Of course, it's possible that an upgraded towing package could include additional software to allow those who tow or haul bigger bed and tailgate loads to see exactly what gear they're using as they drive. We'll have to wait and see if this changes as we get closer to the reveal of actual production pickups. More to come.

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