Advice on 2021 Tahoe, 5.3 V8 vs. Duramax 3.0

[Haninoy]

I little backstory. I ordered a 2021 Tahoe RST 5.3 V8 back on November 4th. I took delivery on January 8th. We only had the vehicle for a little over a month and put around 1200 miles on it. Mid February my wife was in a bad car accident in it and was t-***** by someone in an intersection. The Tahoe protected her from serious injuries, but as a result there was firewall and frame damage. The insurance claimed it a total loss, so now I'm back to square one on ordering another one.

I was curious about the Duramax 3.0, but was not yet available to order when I ordered mine. I wanted to know some people's thoughts on the forum, if you were to do it over again, would you opt for the turbo diesel over the 5.3 v8 and why.

Thanks in advanced!

 

[Stbentoak]

Sadly, we can hardly get a peep from any Duramax owners on here about their driving and ownership experiences... Maybe there really aren't that many, or they are happy and don't visit, but some real world input would certainly be nice for those of us that are on the fence about getting a Dmax....

 

[OR VietVet]

Welcome to the forum from Oregon.

I have no experience with the new Duramax in the new 2021 Tahoe but do have a history of the older V8 in a truck. Without a doubt, the best diesel engine I ever drove and when I was off roading I hauled an oversized trailer with a full size 73 Blazer that had 1 ton everything on it and I hauled lots of spare parts and tires/wheels because I was rough on my off road rig. I was with guys with smaller trailers and Jeeps and I could blow their doors off pulling up the passes around here. I also had the Allison transmission with it.

The diesel will cost more and if you want to tow on a regular basis, get the diesel. If you plan to keep the rig till it rusts off the frame, get the diesel. You need to keep it long enough and use it enough to get your money back on the price difference. Post pics when you get it as well.

 

[Tyler M]

I ordered one in October. Still waiting for it since it’s delayed due to options I chose. It’s the only engine I would choose.

 

[Toasty]

The consensus on the silverado/sierra forums is that the 3.0 has been great thus far. I really considered the 3.0 vs the 6.2 in the Denali, but we don't NEED the diesel, and for the cost difference per year, decided that I'd rather have the 6.2.

 

[BrokerThis]

What do you figure as the cost difference per year between 6.2 and diesel ? Seeing as the 6.2 runs premium that is right about the same cost as deisel, in a majority of regions atleast.

 

[Z71orAT4]

I just got my ordered Yukon Denali with the 3.0L Duramax Turbo Diesel a few weeks ago and have just under 1000 miles on it so far and it's perhaps the best vehicle I've ever owned!

 

[Haninoy]

What do you figure as the cost difference per year between 6.2 and diesel ? Seeing as the 6.2 runs premium that is right about the same cost as deisel, in a majority of regions atleast.

I'm looking at only the RST model, and the 6.2 isn't available for the RST. Our diesel price in California is roughly priced around the 89 octane level fuel and around $.10 more than 87. So far people are liking the duramax. I've only had a month of driving on the 5.3 v8 and to me it was perfectly fine. If the duramax feels the same as the 5.3 then I may just pay the extra for the duramax and get better fuel economy.

 

[OR VietVet]

People that are buying diesel rigs need to be aware of maybe upcoming bills by idiot governments that want to do something like this:

https://cdllife.com/2021/oregon-law...leum-diesel-at-gas-stations-starting-in-2025/

 

[Stbentoak]

What do you figure as the cost difference per year between 6.2 and diesel ? Seeing as the 6.2 runs premium that is right about the same cost as deisel, in a majority of regions atleast.

Don't know where you live but in most of my travels, Diesel is about 10-15 cents higher than RUL if that, and about 40-50 cents less than Premium... Where I am now in FL, RUL 2.86 Diesel 2.85 PUL 3.46

You can go appx 40% further on a gallon of diesel and premium is required for optimum performance of the 6.2.
I'm saying real world avg mpg for the V8 around town and some hwy miles per tank....17 MPG That might be generous unless your miles are mostly hwy instead of city...

I'm guessing real world mileage on the 3.0 for the Denali... 23 MPG per tank on average, as diesels usually surpass EPA estimates unlike gas estimates.

1000 miles on Diesel 47.5 gallons at 2.85 =135.37$
1000 miles on PUL 58 gallons at 3.46 =200.68$

At 15k mile per year avg that's about 980.00 a year in fuel. Most owners road trip and drive even more... Would certainly pay for your Auto insurance, and maybe your plates too...

Let's say gas get back up to 3.50 4.00 a gal for RUL ( is already there in some parts of the east coast and most all of CA...) Certainly conceivable as pandemic lays down and demand spikes for all fuels including jet fuel which had been basically dead...The spread widens and diesel desirability goes up further.

Bonus points also, for not having to fill up every week or every 6 hrs or so on a hwy trip. The Duramax is to me the #1 desirability factor in wanting this large SUV. Without it, would probably buy a GLS...