I'm in charge of finding a new truck for my dads company. We are looking at the silverado work truck. Basically stripped but with a/c. Big concern is fuel milage because we will eventually buy 3-4 more of the same vehicles and we put on a LOT of miles. So what kind of mileage are you getting? How many miles to a tank? I have a 06 trailblazer and the mileage stinks. Wondering how the silverado will compare. I see the advertised claims but i dont always think they are accurate. i dont want to buy these things and go broke putting fuel in them. Right now we have Astro vans but they are falling apart. Also looked at the Colorado but would need the bigger engine in those so the milage may be a wash compared to the silverado and i would be sacrificing space.

Colorado is a synonym for Junk. Don't waste your money here. I would not get a Silverado with a V6 either. Underpowered. Get the 4.8 base V8. I've heard of people getting 22 highway MPG with the 4.8. Better than any small truck. I also know for the fact that the LS1 style engine used in the trucks will go 250,000 trouble-free miles if maintained. My current GMC has 173,000 and is going strong.

mr Birdwell is probably right about the statement about the v-6 silverado being underpowered. have a 07 first series (non judge dredd styled) silverado and have been pleased with it, but it needs to be downshifted to fourth, even while empty going up steep grades on the interstate to Albuquerque (canada alamoso and nogal canyon) it has no options, only way to get it any cheaper would have been to delete the radio.
would be also leery of the five cylinder engine in the colorado, why didn't they use the old reliable iron duke pontiac four and put the standard iron 4.3 in that as an option??

would be also leery of the five cylinder engine in the colorado, why didn't they use the old reliable iron duke pontiac four and put the standard iron 4.3 in that as an option??
they quit using the Iron Duke in the late 80's. something about emissions, i believe. that, and they sound like they are ready to fly apart at any moment, thanks to the main thing that made them so damn reliable- the gear drive.
but from a morep ractical standpoint, the Iron Duke would be awful in anything bigger than a stripped out S10 that never hauls any sort of cargo.

06 Trailblazer MPG stinks ??? wife gets 20mpg easy sometimes more, me driving 17-18 at cruise :clonk: guess I have a heavier foot than she does.

Underpowered compared to what? Like i said we're using Astro vans now and a PT cruiser. I think a v8 will be a killer on gas.The guys all have lead feet and a lot of in city,stop and go traffic.
I know the Trailblazer has a different six cylinder engine than the Silverado but i towed a 3500 lb car 1350 miles with my Trailblazer and at times i forgot i had the darn thing back there!
Just did a comparison. The 08 v6 has 195 hp :sad: compared to the Trailblazers i6 which has 285. Wow. Maybe i will check out the 4.8.

Also looked at the Colorado but would need the bigger engine in those so the milage may be a wash compared to the silverado and i would be sacrificing space.


Next year they are putting a v8 in the colorado.(extended cab and crew cab models I believe) I routinly drive my dad's Colorado 3.5 (5 clyinder), auto, standard cab, and the last time I checked the mileage I got 22 mpg mostly highway driving 80mph. I have never had problems with the truck, my only complaints are looks and the brakes are touchy on the model we have.

If I had to choose a truck for myself I would get Silverado with the smaller v8, lower it 4 inches, add a cowl hood, and put on some 20s.

I just sold my 01 4.3 V6 Silverado great truck and actually towed alot with it however city mileage was not great highway decent ......I now have a new one with 5.3 and city mileage better than 4.3 .good friend has 06 4.8 based on his mileage and my 5.3 and 4.3 experience for your needs I would go 4.8 as others here have said also the 06 and up silverado's have higher rear gear ratios 3.23 and than the earlier truck 3.42 so that helps mileage

I am driving a 05 regular cab long bed with a 4.3 v6. It replaced a 2001 ext cab with 5.3 v8. The 5.3 got better mileage, always got 17+ at whatever speed or load. The 4.3 hasn't ever gotten 17, even w/o ac running. The other trucks in our fleet are ext cabs w/ 4.8 and they do as well or better than the 5.3, especially on the hwy.

I'm stuck w/ the v6 truck for a while longer, but I can't wait to trade it. I can't pull our 20' covered trailers, only the lighter 16' open ones, it's hard to keep it at 70 mph on the little hills here in central texas (no cruise control), and the mileage in town is usually 15 or less.

The v8 trucks will give you better service life AND better mileage, plus they will hold more resale value. The initial price difference is well worth it, IMO.

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention the pinhole in the block that caused the engine to be replaced the first month I had it! Sure it was under warranty, but what a hassle.

Sorry this is so long, but I have strong feelings about this undersized engine in a full sized truck. The 4.3 is a good engine in a smaller vehicle.

Jeff

06 Trailblazer MPG stinks ??? wife gets 20mpg easy sometimes more, me driving 17-18 at cruise :clonk: guess I have a heavier foot than she does.

I agree, my wife has an 06 Trailblazer, which replaced here 02 Trailblazer with the same engine. She has always averaged 20mpg city/highway. When we drive it to the beach and put the cruise on at 70mph, it gets 22mpg everytime

Judge Dredd---hahahaha

I also say go with the 4.8. More torque and same base engine family as the 5.3 and 6.0. Can you go with the flex fuel? That might help economy too.

Judge Dredd---hahahaha

I also say go with the 4.8. More torque and same base engine family as the 5.3 and 6.0. Can you go with the flex fuel? That might help economy too.
a flex fuel truck won't get better mileage- in fact, if you run it on E85 full time, you will get worse mileage and the cost per mile would probably be about the same. to make it a "flex fuel" truck, they basically compromise both the gasoline and E85 performance, and charge you a couple grand extra for the priviledge of owning it.
now, if they'd come out with a dedicated E85 model with 13:1 compression and a cam profile, injector sizing, and ecm calibrations suited to that particular fuel, then they'd be on to something. it would probably get better mileage than a gas model does, make more power, and cost a lot less over time.

The problem with the 4.3 is, it's old school late '80's technology. I am surprised that they still have it. It must be that it passes the emissions standards. That is why the LS1 style engine came about. The venerable smallblock would not meet the emissions standards coming in the late '90's.
As with all vehicles, there's good ones and bad ones. All makes have their problems with transmissions and rear axles and engines, but I have to say, all in all, the LS1 is a very reliable trouble-free engine. I myself have put over 200000 miles on the ones that I have had in the last 8 years. I had a truck that I traded in that had 245,000 miles and it was going strong.

I have an 06 GMC Sierra extended cab 4x4 with the 4.8, its not to bad on mileage I am not sure of the exact mileage it gets but its no worse than the 01 S-10 ext cab 4x4 with the 4.3 I traded in for it. Plus the 4.8 at least has some power.

I will add that I went from a 2003 Silverado extended cab with the V6 to a new Silverado with the 4.8 V8...the mileage sucked on the V6...it had 3:73's just to get it going fast enough...and highway mileage suffered. I don't think it ever got any better than 13mpg. And forget about towing anything bigger than the jet skis I was towing...LOL

The new Silverado with the V8 is awesome. I am consistently getting ~20mpg...and I drive 100+ miles per day to work and back! There is no comparison...get the V8!

I'll throw my knowledge in on this one. I work for Enterprise in the Fleet Services Department. We have about 200,000 cars leased to companies for Fleet Vehicles. Stay away from the Colorados/Canyons. They have lots of issues with the valves and rear differentials. Front brake jobs on them are about $300 if the rotors are machinable, you have to pull the spindle to remove the rotor off of it. They don't get great gas mileage either. I would also stay away from the "Flex Fuel" trucks as well. The fuel pumps are more expensive, the flex fuel sensor is a common point of failure ($500 part) and the fuel filters are around $75-100 for the part. I would say to get a 4.8/5.3 Silverado if you have to have a truck. If the Trailblazers work for you, I would get them. We have lots of them with 200k plus and still going strong.

I've always been a firm believer in NOT having a 6 cylinder in any full size truck. The poor things just have to work harder to do the same job and there goes any gas savings you might have gained by having the 6. I have a 1998 Silverado with the 5.0L V8 (305ci) and get better (when loaded) mileage than my sisters Trailblazer. She loves the Trailblazer and the mileage is equal to mine UNTIL both are loaded down, there the V8 wins hands down. I would assume that same rule applies in your case. Smaller engines just have to work harder to accomplish the same task.

Decided on the Dakota 3.7. Seems to be the best compromise of size, power and fuel economy. Highest payload of the compact trucks too. Lifetime powertrain warranty is nice too considering most of our vehicles see 200k miles. Drove the Colorado yesterday.What a mess.:( Thanks for the input everyone.

Good luck with Chryslers warranty. You'll need it.

Hopefully not as much as i needed GM's warranty for my Trailblazer.

FWIW, my work van (04 Chevy) has the 4.3 v6, gets around 13 or so. The guys with the 5.3 get 16 or better. With you living up in the Pocanos, you'll NEED the V8 to go uphill.

Hopefully not as much as i needed GM's warranty for my Trailblazer.

Every manufacturer will have a certain number of cars that just have problems, period. I have a 2002 TBlazer that I built from a total. My I got it with 19000 miles and my wife just turned over 61000 miles. The only thing I've done other than change the oil, is I had to change the thermostat. If you do some looking, you'll find that there are a lot of unhappy Chrysler owners who get taken by Chrysler denying their claims for blown engines and transmissions, even when they have a paper trail of maintenence. Do a search for "2.7 warranty problems" and see what comes up. :yes:

Do a search for "2.7 warranty problems" and see what comes up. :yes:
Do a search for GM piston slap and see what comes up. Every car maker has its faults.

Do a search for GM piston slap and see what comes up. Every car maker has its faults.

I've got your piston slap right here. :o :sad: :D It doesn't affect the durability of the GM engine one bit. I can personally attest to a few vehicles with over 150,000 miles and they don't use one ounce of oil. Even at 250,000 miles and still no oil consumption. :yes:
Now the Northstar is another story. It has no slap, but rings that like to get carboned up. Can't drive them like grampa, gotta drive them like I do.
Give me a GM car or truck with a bit of piston slap any day, cause I know that I'm gonna get to where I'm going, VS that quiet (?) Mitsubishi POS.