One of the selling points of midsize trucks is fuel efficiency, and we had the chance to run two different versions of GMs midsize trucks back-to-back to see just how much fuel they consume.
At the end of our time with the Chevy Colorado ZR2 that we ran through the mud (that video is below), we had to trek about 100km (62 miles) across the city to pickup a GMC Canyon, so we used the opportunity to do a fuel economy comparison.
The Colorado ZR2 with the 3.6-liter gasoline V6 comes with a fuel economy rating of 16 mpg in the city and 18 on the highway, coming together for 17 mpg combined. In Canada, the ZR2 clocks in at 15L/100km in the city and 13L/100km on the highway.
ALSO SEE: Almost Stuck! Watch the 2018 Chevy Colorado ZR2 Tackle a Mud Bog
The gas engine makes 308 horsepower and 275 lb-ft of torque, sent through a 3.42 rear end and eight-speed automatic transmission.
Originally, we were supposed to test a gas-powered Canyon against the gas-powered ZR2, but we ended up taking a diesel Canyon (some bookings got mixed up).
The 2.8-liter Duramax diesel when equipped with four-wheel drive like it was in our Canyon Denali tester is rated at 20 mpg in the city (12.1L/100km city), 28 on the highway (8.3L/100km highway) for a combined 23 mpg (10.4L/100km combined).
Our test consisted of crossing the city in rush hour traffic in both directions, with small amounts of city driving on either end. It wasn’t the exact same route, so the results are certainly not anywhere near scientific, but still represent a real-world number that we think is interesting.
The ZR2 managed to beat its fuel economy rating with little coaxing needed from the driver. Of course, you would expect the diesel engine in the Canyon to do the same, but did it?
We don’t want to spoil the surprise here, so watch the video above to find out!
