It's Amazing What a Difference the Right Engine Can Make

From Road & Track

This is the truck I was looking for. This is the truck I want. Not one with a 2.5-liter four-cylinder and not one with a 3.6-liter V6. When it comes to GM's midsize trucks, the diesel is the sweet spot.

I recently spent a week with the GMC Canyon diesel, and rarely have I found a better example of a good vehicle that has been transformed into a great one solely by the choice of engine. With the newly available 2.8-liter Duramax turbo-diesel, the GMC is the midsize truck many of us have been hoping for.

Note that while I haven't had the chance to test drive the Canyon's Chevrolet twin, the Colorado, it shares the same mechanicals. So I'd expect the same happy result.

Engine choice has always been important, but these days there are few that outright suck. Many are just fine. Like so-so, meh-to-middling, I-can-live-with-it fine. But often there's another engine choice offered on the same vehicle that makes it fabulous. So it's a shame if you buy a car and get stuck with the former.

Notably, the more expensive option is not always the better choice. Cadillac's 2.0-liter turbo four-cylinder, for instance, is my pick over the aging, naturally aspirated 3.6-liter V6. Both are available on the new CT6. The turbo is less expensive and delivers more torque lower in the rev range, which gives a readier response in a significantly less nose-heavy package.

The best way to avoid the wrong powerplant? Test drive all of the options. I'm amazed how many people are loathe to actually test drive their prospective buys at a dealership. So if you're doing it anyhow, try out every engine. Go ahead and dedicate the extra 30 minutes per powerplant and annoy the salesperson. Because the difference in something like the oil-burning Canyon and its gasoline brothers is a big one-and may well impact how much you do or don't love your shiny new automobile.

Perhaps your truck needs are similar to mine. You don't tow stuff, but you do need to haul wood and rocks and garbage cans, and you're likely to use your truck every day to commute or run errands. You want to be able to fit the damn thing in your garage. So a midsize is the right size for you.

But your first thought probably wouldn't be diesel. "A lot of people probably never considered one before," says Anita Burke, the chief engineer of GM midsize trucks. "But since its release four months ago, the order rate for the diesel has been very strong. People get in and drive them and they love them. You don't feel the bumps and bumps of the old diesels. This is not the diesel of old."

Burke says the company opted to wait for the second year to release the diesel to give themselves ample time to make sure everything was right. The company says that the Duramax is the cleanest truck diesel that it has every released. Like many new diesels, it uses urea to scrub nitrogen oxide from the exhaust, and GM recommends refilling the tank when you change the oil.