This 2020 Chevy Silverado 1500 Trail Boss is our latest long-term project truck. It’s powered by a 5.3-liter V8 that is mated to a 10-speed automatic transmission. We recently purchased the truck with a goal to test this new powertrain combination. The 5.3-liter V8 has been around before, but it mainly has been combined with a 6-speed or an 8-speed automatics. Can the 10-speed automatic make a difference with overall efficiency?
2020 Chevy Silverado Trail Boss
The truck you see here is a crew cab 4×4 LT Trail Boss with nearly every option. The sticker truck for this truck was close to $55,000. We purchased it with a significant discount ($11,000 off all together).
The Trail Boss is an off-road package that includes a two-inch suspension lift from the factory, 32-inch Goodyear Wrangler Duratrac all-terrain tires, and more. All of the off-road modifications work against good fuel efficiency.
Spoiler Alert: our 2020 Chevy Silverado Trail Boss registered 20.7 MPG on our 66-mile highway MPG loop that we run at a steady 70 MPH. Please note that our project truck had just under 1,000 miles on the odometer when we did this test. The efficiency may improve once the engine is more broken in.
How does it compare against other GM power trains and other trucks? Last year, we tested highway fuel efficiency for a 2019 Ford Raptor, 2019 Trail Boss with a 5.3-liter V8 and 8-speed automatic, and a 2019 Ram Rebel with a 5.7-liter V8 and eTorque mild-hybrid. Below is that video from last year.
Spoiler Alert: the 2019 Trail Boss with the same engine but an 8-speed automatic transmission returned 19.2 MPG on a longer highway road trip.
