Does the 2022 Chevy Colorado Get Better Fuel Economy Than the Chevy Silverado?
One of many reasons someone might want to buy a midsize truck is fuel economy. Although they aren’t typically going to rival smaller SUVs or sedans, they’ll likely be better than full-size truck alternatives. However, trucks come with many different engine choices, which makes things complicated. Does the 2022 Chevy Colorado get better fuel economy than the Chevy Silverado? The two Chevrolet trucks are much closer than you might think.
2022 Chevy Colorado fuel economy
According to fueleconomy.gov, the base model 2022 Chevy Colorado with a four-cylinder engine and two-wheel drive averages 19 city and 25 highway mpg. However, the Colorado’s fuel economy changes drastically with its different engines. The base engine is a 2.5-liter four-cylinder, but there are two optional upgrades. First is the 2.8-liter four-cylinder turbodiesel, and the other is a 3.6-liter V6 engine. In addition, two versus four-wheel drive changes the fuel economy.
Opting for a four-wheel drive model with the base engine reduces the fuel economy to 19 city and 24 highway mpg, which isn’t much different. Alternatively, the V6 gets 18/25 mpg in 2WD and 17/24 with 4WD. Finally, customers who choose the turbodiesel engine get the best fuel economy of them all. Moreover, a Chevy Colorado 2WD with this engine option averages 20/30 mpg, while the 4WD version gets 19/28 mpg.
2022 Chevy Silverado fuel economy
We can determine how much worse or better the 2022 Chevy Silverado performs using fueleconomy.gov. Does the full-size truck have far worse fuel economy than its smaller sibling? Silverados are available with four engines, a 2.7-liter four-cylinder turbo, a 3.0-liter V6 turbodiesel, a 5.3-liter V8, and a 6.2-liter V8. We think it’s safe to assume the two V8 engines won’t compete with the Colorado regarding fuel economy. For example, the 5.3-liter gets 18 city and 20 highway mpg.
However, the 2.7-liter Chevy Silverado averages 19 city and 22 highway mpg with 2WD. Alternatively, the 4WD model drops to 17/20 mpg. As the smallest engine, it’s no surprise it’s competitive with the Colorado’s fuel economy. As an owner, it would be difficult to tell the difference between the two base models, which average 19/24 and 19/22 mpg. However, the full-size truck’s turbodiesel is even better.
Fueleconomy.gov says the 2WD Silverado with a 3.0-liter V6 turbodiesel gets an average of 23 city and 31 highway mpg. For those keeping score, that’s slightly better than the most fuel-economic Colorado, the 2WD turbodiesel. Changing the Silverado to 4WD drops those numbers down to 22/26 mpg, which is very similar to a 2WD Colorado with the diesel engine, which gets 20/30 mpg.
Does the smaller Chevy truck get better gas mileage?
If you’re in the market for a new Chevy truck and want the best fuel economy, it might be more challenging than you’d expect. Unlike other automakers, Chevy’s midsize truck doesn’t always get better fuel economy than the full-size option. The 2022 Chevy Colorado’s fuel economy beats the Silverado every time by buying standard gasoline engines. However, opting for the diesel setup for the full-size 2022 Chevy Silverado gets you better gas mileage than any other full- or midsize truck from Chevrolet.
