2017 Chevrolet Express and GMC Savana
General Motors announced that it
would fit the 2017 Chevrolet Express and GMC Savana fullsize vans with a
version of the 2.8L Duramax I-4 currently found in the Colorado and Canyon
midsize pickups. Starting in the first quarter of 2017, customers will have the
opportunity to fit their vans with the diesel, which will be mated to an
eight-speed automatic transmission.
The small-displacement diesel will be
offered on both passenger and cargo variants of the van, with either the short
or long wheelbase. A General Motors representative told us the 6.6L Duramax V-8
turbodiesel currently available in the Savana and Express would be eighty-sixed,
leaving the 2.8 as the vans’ only oil-burner. It’s also the only
small-displacement diesel available in a fullsize body-on-frame van.
That move confuses us a little bit, as
we’re skeptical the 2.8 will have the necessary chops to move around the fullsize
vans, particularly once they’re loaded down with cargo. After all, in the
Colorado, the engine produces 181 hp and 369 lb-ft, down significantly from the
6.6’s 260 hp and 525 lb-ft.
However, in its favor, the 2.8-ified
cargo van will benefit from an additional two gears in its automatic
transmission, as the 6.6L diesel had to make do with a six-speed. That,
combined with the 2.8’s lighter weight, could bode well for economy-conscious
fleet buyers, giving them an efficient option without sacrificing too much
performance.
As long as
product planners can keep its cost in check, we expect the small diesel to be
an efficient, torquey hit in the Chevrolet Express and GMC Savana.
