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Why Would You Put a Turbo 4 Cylinder Engine in That Big Chevy Silverado

Today a Houston based car mechanic and a Youtube star Scotty Kilmer was asked what he thinks about the 2019 Chevrolet Silverado pickup truck and he had some harsh criticism saying "Chevy screws up again."

"I think it's another damn GM idea," said Killmer in today's video referring to the 2019 Chevy Silverado 4-cylinder truck.

"Let's face it. The 4 cylinder engines: they have been proven to be garbage over the last decade and a half. Why would you put a turbo 4-cylinder engine in that big Silverado full size pick up?

Then he explains that people drive full size pickup trucks for one main reason. They want a fast pickup truck. They want to holler a lot of stuff the bag, or they want to tow.

"I even tell people if you are really serious about towing, forget any gasoline engine and get a diesel engine. So, why on earth, anybody will buy a 4-cylinder gasoline engine in a big American pickup truck," Kilmer asked in his video.

"I forecast you can watch Scotty's forecast in a while, you can laugh at me or will say he was a genius. See, two or three years from now, I'll have a 4-cylinder engines sold in a Silverado, I bet you it's a complete failrue," Scotty concluded.

Watch Scotty's Discussion the 2019 4-Cylinder Chevy Silverado and Subscribe to Torque News Youtube Channel for Daily Analysis on Cars.

What do you think? Do you think the 2019 4-cylinder turbocharged engine Silverado is a complete failure or a good decision by GM engineers? Let us know your thoughs in the comment's section please, for discussion.

In the meantime, as Torque News' Mary Convay reports "Chevrolet is releasing more information about the all-new Duramax Turbo Diesel that will be featured in the 2020 Silverado. Chevy is promising a game changer with segment-leading torque and horsepower."

see you in the next story where I am going to discuss nice things about a Toyota Prius and a warning about a used Prius from Scotty Kilmer.

Armen Hareyan is the editor of Torque News and you can follow him on Twitter, Facebook and Youtube.

Comments

Patrick (not verified)    June 15, 2019 - 11:02AM

Chevrolet just proves how it is out of touch with their base. For one we want a badass truck v8 hp turbo supercharger or pro charger not a pussy ass 4 cylinder. It's a fucking truck for God's sake. We jack them up or slam them. Chevrolet has completely went the opposite direction of its base from the look of the truck to what's being put under the hood! We want a Corvette in a truck its that simple yet Chevrolet want give it to us

Keith (not verified)    June 16, 2019 - 6:24PM

Maybe they are not going after their base with this truck. They are keeping big v8's and diesels, they are not going away. They are probably trying to sway the soccer mom crew out of their Volvo wagons by saying you can seat 6 and still have enough room to haul all of their equipment. This could be a genius idea if they market it correctly.

Timothy Gladney (not verified)    June 16, 2019 - 8:04PM

I think we are overeacting. The inline 4 engine will be available on the "Custom" trim level. Not all the trim levels. GM is not stupid.

Paul Cahill (not verified)    June 17, 2019 - 11:43AM

1) "They want to holler a lot of stuff the bag, " <--uhh...what??? Did you use speech to text on your phone to write this? Was that supposed to say "They want to haul a lot of stuff in the bed" ??

2) This is obviously Chevy's way of supplementing their CAFE requirements. Duh. This article is garbage.

DeanMcManis (not verified)    June 17, 2019 - 9:27PM

It was about 10 years ago or so when I had predicted that the Mustang and Camaro would offer a turbo 4 cylinder, and I got tons of flack about the idea of a 4 cylinder Pony car, but they are here today and many buyers want the combination of lighter weight and decent fuel economy with good performance. The comparison that needs to be made for the Silverado is how does the turbo 4 compare to the outgoing N/A V6 in terms of drivability and economy? First off, 310HP, and 348TQ is a good amount of power that compares well to N/A V6s, and even base model V8s of the past, which could never muster that power AND 21-25MPG. So as a base engine, the turbo 4 looks like a good balance between, clean operation, good power, and decent fuel economy for a full sized truck. For me, the biggest argument against the turbo 4 in the Silverado is the upcoming turbo 3.0L inline 6 cylinder engine option. Which offers decent HP, far more torque, and potentially 32+ MPG in the same truck. As long as there isn't too much of a price premium for the turbo 6, and it can pass today's tight smog requirements, then it sounds like the best option for someone who wants an affordable full sized truck with good fuel economy. I'm not a big fan of the '20 Silverado's styling, especially the HD model's nose, but they do appear to offer some strong competition to the current line up of F150 and Ram pickup trucks out there.

Marc Stern    June 18, 2019 - 10:42PM

I agree with Mr. McManis. I have been watching the car industry for better than 50 years -- that's right, I'm an old car guy -- but it doesn't stop me from seeing sense when it presents itself.

Look at Ford's embrace of the Ecoboost technology for many of its trucks. Ecoboost is a fancy way of saying six-cylinder engines with turbos bolted on. There's nothing wrong with it and the pickups perform well; trailer decently, and tow reasonably. They may not have the capability of big diesels for towing, etc, but, nonetheless, within their limits they are fine.

Now, over the last 5 decades I have seen pundits, soothsayers, fakirs, and others run down turbos and four-cylinder or six-cylinder engines only to find that a few years later, the technology that they were riding was center market and was not considered "garbage."

Whether the vehicles are pickups -- the market's most popular pickup, the F150 -- which offer turbo technology, or sporty vehicles that have lopped the number of cylinders down by two or four and upped the game with turbos, or any other combination of markets, turbo technology is fairly misunderstood by many power motorheads who think 8 cylinders is the only way to move a pickup. The market should be left on its own to prove or disprove various predictions. I think, though, the future is in smaller engines and turbocharging (some prefer supercharging, to me it's a coin toss) and even EV tech (Ford is promising an F150 hybrid. I've seen the spy shots and it looks very real, to me.

Paul Cahill (not verified)    June 19, 2019 - 9:20AM

DeanMcManis - there was a turbo 4 cyl mustang in the 80s. It did nto do too well.

Marc Stern - The turbo F150 is a V6, not a four cyl. Basically the same engine as the Taurus SHO.

Jesse (not verified)    June 26, 2019 - 9:41PM

So the Camaro is/isn't being discontinued and now this. And the Corvette is going mid-engine. Danger, danger Will Robinson

Nick Batistic (not verified)    February 3, 2021 - 11:49PM

I’m in late on this, but here’s my two bits worth. I bought a new 2008 Sierra 4.8L. It did not produce much torque, and yielded poor fuel economy. It barely managed to tow our 19 foot trailer. In 2019 I replaced it with a new 2018 Silverado 5.3L. What a difference in towing, and roughly 25% better fuel economy. On our first 600 mile run (bare, no trailer attached) it gave 30 MPG. Two drivers, one with a lead foot. Genuine, real life, 30MPG.

I once had a Ford salesman who listened to my needs advise me to buy the 5L V8 over the turbo 6. Less torque, but cheaper and more trouble free. Just his opinion. But it seems clear. Buy what you need. The guy who said the soccer moms might be the target market for the 4 cylinder turbos has probably got it right.

Even if you could prove the turbo 4 could pull with the V8’s, it’ll be using more gas to do it. And you can bet, will be much more expensive to own long term.