Diesel or Gas?

[afreeland90]

I’m considering a 25’ Tahoe but on the fence between gas or diesel. We live in between families so do quite a bit of interstate travel (300-350 mile trip every 6-8 weeks) and overall burn about 20K miles a year. Other than the long distance trips we just drive around locally in town. No towing. Obviously the better gas mileage on the diesel is appealing but curious if we drive enough to make the diesel worth it? And would the higher maintenance cost on the diesel deplete the savings on the better gas mileage?

 

[Big Mama]

Whoa! This will be a doozy of a thread. The other thing to consider is engine life. Personally I went down this road while looking for a truck. I tow periodically but not to the degree I needed more than the 10k pound limit of my truck.

Another consideration is the price of diesel fuel. In my area it’s about 60 cents higher than gas. For me that was the deciding factor. I’m keeping it until it dies and I just couldn’t convince myself that I needed a diesel on a day to day basis.

There are lots of guys on here that have diesels and love them.

 

[martinajm]

My '22 Yukon XL with the 3.0 is my first diesel to own as a daily driver. I will continue to buy this configuration as long as it is available. I have driven Yukon / XLs for the past 20 years and the 3.0 makes it much better vs the 5.3 in the previous versions.

I drive between 25-30K miles per year. I do occasional (heavy) towing and it does fine for that, but the unloaded driving is great. Usually diesel is a bit (~10%) higher than lowest grade gasoline, but the mpg difference more than makes up for that. If you are considering the 6.2, the diesel will likely be less per gallon than the premium grade.

DEF, higher maintenance costs, etc. are all way overblown in my opinion. DEF is required every couple of months, Oil Changes can be found competitively if you look for the right offer from the dealer, I do my own fuel filter in may garage (with the care flat on the ground - no special tool required) in about 10 minutes. All of that is well worth the tradeoff for a 700 mile range.

 

[PPK_]

I have had diesels.. they get better miles per gallon.. but you have to watch your fuel.. and change oil fuel filter maybe each year.. money.. you must fool around with DEF.. time and money.. and you have to have a great battery most of the time.. oil change is more money too.

nobody ever tells you why a diesel is a problem.. maintenance. I had one VW that i needed to change out glow plugs.. needed two.. i did them all.. the last one had a big deposit on it.. had to pull the head. A $50 job that was a big headache.

Now i have not had an AL block diesel. That idea does not excite me either.

 

[martinajm]

I have had diesels.. they get better miles per gallon.. but you have to watch your fuel.. and change oil fuel filter maybe each year.. money.. you must fool around with DEF.. time and money.. and you have to have a great battery most of the time.. oil change is more money too.

nobody ever tells you why a diesel is a problem.. maintenance. I had one VW that i needed to change out glow plugs.. needed two.. i did them all.. the last one had a big deposit on it.. had to pull the head. A $50 job that was a big headache.

Now i have not had an AL block diesel. That idea does not excite me either.

We are all entitled to our opinions.

"you have to watch your fuel" - might vary by what part of the country you are in, but any reasonably busy station will turn its diesel tanks regularly.

"change oil fuel filter maybe each year" - I do mine every 20k miles - twice as often as recommended. Genuine GM fuel filter is $38 on Amazon.

"you must fool around with DEF" - I coincidently filled up with DEF this morning. Straight from the pump at a Local QT. Added about 2 minutes onto my stop, which was offset by using the high flow diesel pump. I add DEF about once every 2 months. (NOV 11 and SEP 5 were my last 2 fill ups - and I usually don't let it get less than 1/3 tank or so. At that pace, DEF costs me about one tank of fuel per year.

"oil change is more money too" - True - it calls for an extra couple of quarts of oil every 5-7K miles.

I haven't had any battery issues or glow plug issues, so I can't speak to that.

Your experience is your own, but I think that these "reasons" not to own a modern small diesel are way overblown

 

[JayceeP]

With that amount of driving, I’d say diesel. Even with the premium of diesel over gasoline (currently almost $1/gallon Canadian) it’s still cheaper than gas.

My 2024 Yukon XL SLT diesel (LM2 engine) just refuses to burn worse than 20 mpg and unless doing a bunch of short trips it doesn’t take much to get 25 mpg+.

Good luck averaging much better than 15mpg with the V8’s and good luck getting anywhere near 20mpg+ on the highway unless you’re on flat highway and only drive 60 mph lol.


Only thing I don’t like about my diesel is I find the highway passing pull is a tad sluggish but the torque is insane. Going up and down hills on the highway… it rarely ever downshifts. It just doesn’t have a ton of passing power like my 400hp 3.5 eco boost in my F150 Lariat.

Having said that, the 2025’s are getting the new LZ0 diesel that has a bit more horsepower. That should improve the get up and go on the highway.

Otherwise, I have zero regrets about the diesel.

 

[PPK_]

We are all entitled to our opinions.

"you have to watch your fuel" - might vary by what part of the country you are in, but any reasonably busy station will turn its diesel tanks regularly.

"change oil fuel filter maybe each year" - I do mine every 20k miles - twice as often as recommended. Genuine GM fuel filter is $38 on Amazon.

"you must fool around with DEF" - I coincidently filled up with DEF this morning. Straight from the pump at a Local QT. Added about 2 minutes onto my stop, which was offset by using the high flow diesel pump. I add DEF about once every 2 months. (NOV 11 and SEP 5 were my last 2 fill ups - and I usually don't let it get less than 1/3 tank or so. At that pace, DEF costs me about one tank of fuel per year.

"oil change is more money too" - True - it calls for an extra couple of quarts of oil every 5-7K miles.

I haven't had any battery issues or glow plug issues, so I can't speak to that.

Your experience is your own, but I think that these "reasons" not to own a modern small diesel are way overblown

Another diesel i had lost a turbo. And they can last from the end of the warranty one hundred k to way later on a diesel. Its a big job if you do it yourself. I was lucky on that turbo crash as it did not into the intake… I would much rather have a 5.3 and move on.

 

[homesick]

What about the diesel stink? I never see that addressed in these threads.

joe

 

[JayceeP]

What about the diesel stink? I never see that addressed in these threads.

joe

There is no diesel stink. Not that I’ve had. I think I’ve smelled the odd regen after parking the truck and exiting but not even anything I would note in my experience.

 

[B-train]

What about the diesel stink? I never see that addressed in these threads.

joe

There really isn't any on the new ones. The only diesel stink I can relate to is the Ford 6.7L after it idles for awhile........then it regens in idle and will burn your eyes and the smell is awful on the lungs. But, if you're not an extended idle person, they smell like nothing for the most part.

 

[petethepug]

Considering the current diesel is now all aluminum, doesn’t sound or smell like a diesel, has the legs to cross several States without a refuel and aftermarket options for larger fuel tanks, a diesel is a very desirable long term option.

 

[JayceeP]

Considering the current diesel is now all aluminum, doesn’t sound or smell like a diesel, has the legs to cross several States without a refuel and aftermarket options for larger fuel tanks, a diesel is a very desirable long term option.

That’s definitely an added benefit. The 25 gallon tank isn’t all that big if you’re getting 15-18mpg but if you’re getting 25mpg with a diesel… you’ll need to stop long before your truck will. Nice not having to think about fuel on road trips. Is the same with my F150 which has a 36 gallon tank. You can go 600 miles+ each tank if you want to lol

 

[afreeland90]

Thanks for all the replies! Sounds like if I’d rather spend more time/money at the gas pump go with gas and maintenance go with diesel. Several people have told me since we don’t do towing it’d be pointless to opt for the diesel. We REALLY like the mocha interior on the high country’s but obviously would either need to go with the 6.2 or diesel since 5.3 isn’t available on that trim.

 

[Stbentoak]

That’s definitely an added benefit. The 25 gallon tank isn’t all that big if you’re getting 15-18mpg but if you’re getting 25mpg with a diesel… you’ll need to stop long before your truck will. Nice not having to think about fuel on road trips. Is the same with my F150 which has a 36 gallon tank. You can go 600 miles+ each tank if you want to lol

I've done over 700 on a tank...Indianapolis to Valdosta GA. It's a good feeling to know that even if you are stuck in traffic with a 1/4 tank.... you have no worries about running out of fuel. The only real option for this big land barge. People are amazed when they hear it gets better mileage than their KIA.....

 

[afreeland90]

What’s going to be different with the new diesel? And how is the diesel driving around town not on interstate?

 

[Big Mama]

Thanks for all the replies! Sounds like if I’d rather spend more time/money at the gas pump go with gas and maintenance go with diesel. Several people have told me since we don’t do towing it’d be pointless to opt for the diesel. We REALLY like the mocha interior on the high country’s but obviously would either need to go with the 6.2 or diesel since 5.3 isn’t available on that trim.

Have you checked the price of a Denali vs a High Country? I think you can get the 5.3 that way but I may be wrong. My Sierra Denali has a 2 tone brown interior and a 5.3 but it was hard to find.

The old only buy a diesel for towing is out dated. Tuners can take stock motors and do amazing things. I’d say the majority of people I see with diesel rigs don’t tow based on how clean their hitch receiver is.

 

[afreeland90]

If I go the gas route, anyone recommend the 6.2 engine?

 

[Stbentoak]

If I go the gas route, anyone recommend the 6.2 engine?

MSN

What do you think?

 

[afreeland90]

MSN

What do you think?

Yea either diesel or 5.3! Keep reading about all the issues with the 6.2

 

[afreeland90]

Yea either diesel or 5.3! Keep reading about all the issues with the 6.2

Well either do the Premiere with the 5.3 or High Country with Diesel