Diesel for city driving

[dicecity]

Considering the diesel over the 5.3. Daily commute is in rush hour Atlanta traffic, less than 10 miles each way. Longer trips around town on the weekends. Have never owned a diesel, is it the wrong choice for that kind of driving?

 

[BrokerThis]

Diesel and city driving?

Hi All, Considering either the Yukon or Escalade with the 3.0L Duramax (have deposits on both :) ) This would be my first diesel, and I’ve heard mixed opinions on owning a diesel with intermittent driving habits. Essentially in our new Covid work from home life, 80% of the time we average only...

www.tahoeyukonforum.com

 

[Micahsd]

I was curious on fuel cost of the gas vs diesel and according to fueleconomy.gov if you customize the fuel costs based on the current cost of diesel which is more than gas where I live, the fuel cost is actually more in my scenario where I put on about 10k miles per year with 80% of those being city driving.

I’ve never owned a diesel either…but one advantage is you won’t have to deal with the dreaded lifter issue which others and myself have ran into (although that’s was mostly an issue with the ‘21 models).

 

[Stbentoak]

While I have had great sucess with the diesel format, I'll be the 1st to admit that ever surging diesel prices are at least making me take note at the moment. I still love it for all the right reasons, and it has been very dependable with no lifter issues to worry about.
But somebody needs to get these Diesel prices back in line. Putting in 80 bucks and being just under a half tank doesn't cut it.
In your case, it's about 50/50. They are hard to find/get and are still pretty rare. You could prob find/get a gas version a lot easier.
I short tripped mine a fair share of the winter with no issues, but we also take 300 mile trips regularly too. It's the only thing I would own for this big bus, but near term this diesel situation isn't going to get any better....

 

[swathdiver]

Considering the diesel over the 5.3. Daily commute is in rush hour Atlanta traffic, less than 10 miles each way. Longer trips around town on the weekends. Have never owned a diesel, is it the wrong choice for that kind of driving?

Nope, get it.

 

[Capsaicin]

according to fueleconomy.gov...

You need to play with the diesel prices and actual MPGs. Maybe not for city driving, but certainly for highway. If you look at posts here as well as some reports on Fuelly, you'll see the average MPGs is higher than EPA (especially highway driving).

Diesels are always underrated from the EPA. I remember older (late 90s early 2000s) VW TDIs getting well over 40mpg when the EPA had them rated in the 30s.

 

[R32driver]

Didn't I read on here somewhere that the babymax gets fuel mileage in the teens when driven regularly in the city? Obviously it shines on the highway but maybe not a big advantage if mostly used for stop and go city traffic

 

[swathdiver]

You need to play with the diesel prices and actual MPGs. Maybe not for city driving, but certainly for highway. If you look at posts here as well as some reports on Fuelly, you'll see the average MPGs is higher than EPA (especially highway driving).

Diesels are always underrated from the EPA. I remember older (late 90s early 2000s) VW TDIs getting well over 40mpg when the EPA had them rated in the 30s.

My father's 1982 Isuzu I-Mark diesel got over 52 mpg and when a drunk destroyed that car he replaced it with an '82 Olds Cutlass diesel that got 35 mpg on the highway.

 

[Stbentoak]

Didn't I read on here somewhere that the babymax gets fuel mileage in the teens when driven regularly in the city? Obviously it shines on the highway but maybe not a big advantage if mostly used for stop and go city traffic

When taking mostly less than 3 mile trips daily, I was still avg 22 mpg. Teens “could” be possible, but if you are driving that little, this engine isn’t for you anyways…

 

[djvinevibez]

I have a 21 RST diesel and it was my first ever Diesel engine. MPGs are not great for stop and go but highway speeds or constant speed driving like 40mph for miles at a time are great.

I have driven from the Bay Area to LA area in half a tank and to San Diego area with about 2/3 a tank or so. It’s crazy how many MPG you get when you travel as I compare it to my previous Tahoe which was a 2007.

 

[CTown Duramax]

I would not worry about using the diesel in the city a lot. I would think your ten mile commute in the Atlanta area will probably get you 20+mpg.

The LM2 has performed perfectly for me in very heavy city use. At 7,000 miles, 75% of engine hours have been in the city at rush hour, stop and go. No issues at all.

Our overall fuel milage from 0 miles is now 22 mpg in the DIC. In day after day cold winter rush hour bumper to bumper traffic, the diesel can dip to a 14mpg 50 mile average but I imagine the gasoline Duratec would be in single digits under such conditions. This is covering 1.5 miles in half an hour, autostop off. Suburban/cross town traffic gets 22 mpg. A real world milage of 28mpg was obtained in a 12 hour ride from Boston to DC (should be seven) with traffic from stop and go to 80+ mph. My fuel consumption in the 5,904lb curb weight 2021 4WD Tahoe diesel is identical to my 2015 3,800lb low slung V-6 Chevy Impala (Tahoe's highway milage prob 10+% better). Cruise control at 65 mph and I have seen 35.1 mpg on a highway trip.

There have been no issues at all. The only thing that has happened in six months and 7k miles has been an unwanted "key left in vehicle" message that went away on its own, nothing related to the diesel.

The combination of ten forward gears and diesel low end torque makes the Tahoe feel like it moves effortlessly. It may not be as fast as the gas engines, but it's plenty fast and its off the line performance would probably smoke all four wheels in 4WD with traction control off. Diesel horses are bigger horses. I can't say enough good about this engine. I like everything about it.

 

[fr8bil]

Be sure and let that Turbo on the little Diesel cool down and slow down before shutting it off if you go that route. https://www.dieselmanor.com/isspro-turbo-temp-monitor/ I'm seeing a $1.35/gal. price diff between 87 and Diesel currently.

 

[CTown Duramax]

The business of letting turbos spin down before shutting off is past. From what I can see opening the hood after I shut this diesel off, it looks like the system pumps lubrication into the turbo. I think half the automobiles in Europe are turbo diesels like the LM2 in regular day-to-day use. Aside from fuel and maintenance schedules, they are treated no differently from ordinary gasoline engines. Personally, I have friends with turbo diesels at 300k and 400k kilometers that have never been rebuilt. Maybe somebody has technical knowledge on this?

 

[Pertzbro]

I see no reason to get a diesel unless you tow heavy things all the time or have altitude to work against you. Otherwise, you'll never recoop costs because diesel is so much more expensive. It's over $1.2 a gallon more in Rural Iowa. Add in DEF and more oil for oil changes and issues with sub zero temps we get here - just not worth the hassel of fuel additives, plugging it in, etc.

 

[Stbentoak]

Add in DEF and more oil for oil changes and issues with sub zero temps we get here - just not worth the hassel of fuel additives, plugging it in, etc.

This is the typical response from someone who really doesn't know what they are talking about....

DEF cost...appx 20.00 per 10K miles. 30 max, Less than Starbucks for a few days....
Oil Change... Just changed mine for 73.00 all in, in 20 min. No significant difference than a gas engine..
Fuel Additives? Never used them, nor are they required.
Plugging them in? Not required. Mine have started at -15 with no issue after sitting in an airport out lot for over a week...
Issues with subzero temps? Yes they don't prefer them, but this vehicle warms up faster than any diesel I've ever had. Usually have heat w/in a few miles. I have ran them winter and summer for 10+ years with no seasonal issues...
They aren't for everyone, but they are about as user friendly as they have ever been and getting 25 mpg on a vehicle this big makes it worth owning....

 

[sschevelle4]

I get a little chuckle out of everyone pinching pennies on the operating cost of a $70k truck. I would say at this price point, get what you want. You want to embarrass the V6 Camaro next to you at a stop light? Get the 6.2L. You want to have a unique powertrain that’s super efficient and moderately powerful? Get the diesel. You want to be average and maybe save yourself $200 per year on fuel and oil? Get the 5.3. That’s my unsolicited opinion, I hope my diesel premier actually gets built some day. Ordered 1/14/22, was told September if I’m lucky.

 

[B520044]

Just read this; diesel shortage:

ZeroHedge

ZeroHedge - On a long enough timeline, the survival rate for everyone drops to zero

www.zerohedge.com

 

[Stbentoak]

I believe the issue on the east coast has more to do with Distribution/high usage levels. Ther is concentrated demand there and not enough tankers/pipelines to fulfill demand. I expect high prices, but no "Shortages" except in some acute high demand area of the country...

 

[ItIsWhatItIs]

My wife loves ours, and daily drove a Ram 1500 EcoDiesel prior to this. She averages about 20-25 miles a day taking the kids to and from school and we’ve never had any issues. We take about 1 moderate to long drive every two weeks which lets the regen activate. Oh, and driveability from the Ram to the Tahoe was night and day; the Tahoe drivetrain is perfect and the Ram would often get confused and either downshift when not needed or not downshift until you gave it way too much throttle. Hands down best drivetrain/vehicle combo I’ve owned to date, at least so far. And like others have said this thing is engineered for soccer moms who take short trips, I’m confident it will do better than the 5.3 or 6.2 over the life of the vehicle.

 

[yutuyu]

Just to maybe help you, that’s my fuel economy, in Montréal (albeit not in winter, cause I just got it) with 80% city, 20% highway.
A lot of traffic here in downtown.

I am still shocked!