You need, or, more realistically, want a truck to get around. You can’t, or more realistically, do not want to sell a kidney to pay for fuel. You can’t, or more realistically, do not want a smaller truck, or a “fake” unibody truck. You can’t, or more realistically, don’t want to adapt to an electric truck (and it seems like they’re going away anyway), so you are stuck literally lighting money on fire to get around. Fret not my fickle friend, you have options for your newfound fuel frugality, and you don’t even have to pony up for a hybrid either. This is the 2026 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 Duramax, and it’s the only game in town.

I’ll cut right to the punchline: this truck has just shy of 500 foot-pounds of torque, and gets around 10L/100km as an average fuel use, despite being lifted and rolling on mud tires. It’s nicely appointed, easy to live with, and costs $85,724. This is good truck. We like good truck.

Powertrain

Now that everyone else in the truck game has moved on to hybrids, this Silverado (and its GMC twin) has the distinction of being the only diesel powered half-ton truck available. This sensible-sized Duramax diesel is a 3.0-Litre, turbocharged straight-six, producing 305 horsepower and 495 foot-pounds of torque, with nearly 95% of that being available from just 1,500 rpm. It was updated in 2023 to improve power and reliability, and seems to be holding up well from the anecdotal info I can glean thus far.

More than just putting up decent numbers, it is refined and well mannered, with an overall demeanour and feel that’s very reminiscent of the last generation of Mercedes-Benz’s six cylinder diesels. It starts quickly, idles quietly, runs smoothly, builds power quickly and fairly linearly, never feels slow, and can hustle admirably. The 10-speed transmission it’s mated to disappears into the background - the best automatics are the ones you don’t notice.You’d be hard pressed to tell it’s a diesel at all under most normal conditions, with the only dead giveaway being the fuel use, or lack thereof. 

Seriously, I averaged 10.8L/100km, in mixed conditions, without trying to be conscientious at all, and making lots of wasteful short trips. That is unheard of in a half ton, let alone one wearing off-road battle garb. Only Ford’s PowerBoost hybrid can even begin to approach that, but it’s still not all the way there, and you’ll be a lot more dearly up front for it.

The 3.0L “Babymax” diesel is a $4,420 option over the base 2.7L turbo four-popper (which is an impressive engineering exercise, but not one I’d want to live with). It’s about four hundred bucks more than the 5.3L V8, and twenty-two hundred bucks less than the 6.2L V8 - you know, the one that’s been in the news lately. It’s a very reasonable ask for a very good engine.

Truck stuff

This particular tester is an LT Trail Boss, a toughened all-terrain model with a healthy smattering of quality-of-life niceties. The Trail Boss comes standard with Z71 performance suspension, which includes a 2-inch lift, Rancho monotube shocks, and Goodyear Wrangler Territory MT tires. It’s not an all-out mud-murderer, but a nice middle ground that’ll get you where you need to go, and looks the part, too.

Towing capacity on this rig, without the max trailering package, comes in at 9,000 pounds. It is worth noting that along with trailer hitch and surround view cameras to make life easier, this truck also has the unique benefit of an exhaust brake. Admittedly it’s a bit of a fringe benefit, you’ll never notice it unladen, but it’s very reassuring if you’re in a hilly area and tow on the regular, and helps it stand out further from its gasser counterparts.

Driving impressions and comfort

I might opt for this Trail Boss even if I never intended to leave the pavement; it rides very nicely. Outside of a faint, distant roar from the all-terrain shoes, it’s quiet, well insulated, comfortable, and free of chassis shudders.

All the controls are light, easy-breezy, and combine with the hushed, torquey engine to feel exceptionally effortless to pilot. While a 6.2 powered truck might feel a little more urgent in its power delivery, this diesel can get up and go easily and doesn’t feel like a slouch.

Between being an LT and having the Convenience Package on top of that, this rig is well equipped and honest; it’s not an opulent luxe-truck and it wears it well. The heated and powered leather seats are comfortable and feel durable, the 13.3-inch centre screen works well and is easy to make sense of, as is the digital gauge cluster.

Nearly all controls are physical with smartly arranged buttons and knobs, and the 7-speaker Bose sound system hits the right notes, albeit without any noteworthy pizazz, much like the rest of the cabin. It’s all very practical and nice enough to not feel like you’ve cheated yourself by cheaping out.

Wrap it up

What do most people want in a truck? Good power, easy to drive, usable tech backed by real controls, reasonable creature comforts, a little macho beefiness wouldn’t hurt, the ability to work hard, and somehow a modest appetite for fuel. This 2026 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 Duramax pulls all of that off handsomely, and in an era where everything is unbelievably expensive and six-figure trucks are the new norm, its eighty-some-odd thousand dollar is pretty palatable.