ABG First Drive: 2009 Chevy Silverado Hybrid and Silverado XFE
Let's get something out of the way right now. Not every vehicle we write about here is going to be as efficient as a Prius or have a plug or require pedal power. There is a huge market place of vehicles out there. None of those vehicles are for everyone. Not everyone needs or wants a Prius or a Mitsubishi iMiEV or a Chevrolet Silverado. However, in spite of rapidly falling sales of big trucks there is still a very significant need out there for such vehicles. I am in no way advocating (nor have I ever done so, in fact for many years I have done the opposite) that people should buy a Silverado or other truck for personal transportation or commuting. Having said all that, these vehicles and others all need to become more fuel efficient, for economic and environmental reasons. In a market segment that will still amount to about 1.5 million vehicles in the U.S. this year, GM is scaling back production but they are still trying to make the vehicles they sell more efficient. To that end they are introducing the both XFE and two-mode hybrid variants of the GMC Sierra and Chevy Silverado for the 2009 model year. We had a chance to sample both versions on a brief drive this week and you can read about it after the jump.
Gallery: 2009 GM hybrid pickups
Photos Copyright ©2008 Sam Abuelsamid / Weblogs, Inc.
So what's the scoop on these updated pickup trucks? Frankly there are no huge surprises. The hybrids were announced long ago. GM declared they would build the Silverado hybrid last November at the LA Auto Show just as production was starting on the Tahoe and Yukon hybrids and the Sierra was first seen at the Chicago show in February. Since the big pickups and the big SUVs share the same GMT900 architecture and the same conventional powertrains, it should be no surprise that they share the same hybrid hardware.
Just as in the SUVs, there is a 6.0L V8 bolted up to a Two-Mode hybrid transmission and a 300V nickel metal hydride battery pack under the rear seat. The V8 is still equipped with active fuel management (AFM, which is GM-speak for cylinder deactivation). AFM is also present on non-hybrid trucks, but when electric motors are present, the engine management system tends to keep the internal combustion part operating on only four cylinders during light transient maneuvers where it would otherwise operate on all cylinders. The additional torque required to maintain speed up a grade or during a passing maneuver is instead provided by the motors.
During periods of velocity reduction, the motors are driven by the wheels to charge the lump under the second row seat and driver braking demand is monitored by the electronics. If regenerative braking is available, the hydraulic brake pressure is reduced in conjunction with the amount of regen being done, providing total braking in proportion to what the driver is requesting through the brake pedal. Just as on the Tahoe, Yukon and Escalade, the new brake system gives the hybrid pickups a much firmer pedal feel without any of the sponginess typical of past GM trucks.
One element that will be common to both the XFE and hybrid pickups is the aerodynamic and suspension changes. While GM isn't going as far as they did with the changes to the hybrid SUVS, the pickups get a deeper full width front air-dam and a standard tonneau cover on the bed. They also get a re-tuned suspension that lowers the ride height slightly and thus the frontal area. GM claims a best-in-class drag coefficient of 0.412 for these trucks. That number is not bad for this type of vehicle but certainly nothing to write home about.
The hybrid pickups will get the same EPA mileage ratings as their SUV-bodied counterparts. The rear drive models get 21 city/22 hwy while the 4X4s get 20/20 ratings. The regular 5.3L RWD pickups get just 14/20 mpg. The pickups get a trailer tow rating of 100 lbs less than the SUVs, 6,100 lbs for the rear driver and 5,900 lbs if all wheels are driven.
The XFE designation will be available on both the pickups and SUVs starting this fall and just like on the little Cobalt it means Xtra Fuel Economy. Besides the aero tweaks, the XFEs also get some weight reduction and powertrain changes. Aluminum for the main and spare wheels is joined by an aluminum block for the 5.3L V8. All of the aluminum adds up to a 150 lb mass reduction which drops the XFE into the next lower EPA test weight class. All the XFEs have the 5.3 paired up with a new 6-speed automatic transmission and a taller 3.08:1 final drive ratio. The regular 5.3L trucks get a 3.42:1 final drive. The 5.3 in the XFEs gets the AFM system and the ability to run on E85 if the driver can find some.
On the road the XFE felt more than powerful enough and still has plenty of towing capacity for most people's needs. While the hybrid trucks benefit from significant noise reduction efforts in order to minimize the difference between engine on and electric drive modes, the XFE engine has more aggressive growl to its exhaust note. All the changes GM made only yield 1 mpg extra on both the city and highway mileage numbers, now at 15 city/21 highway. The tow ratings for the XFE pickups actually goes up from 6,600 lbs to 7,000 lbs. That just goes to show the difficulty of getting significantly improved mileage out of these types of vehicles.
In the future, the mileage of vehicles like this will improve further. They'll probably never reach 40 mpg, at least not with the capabilities that these trucks have. As fuel prices keep rising, people will continue re-evaluating their real needs in vehicles. The full size truck segment peaked at over 2.5 million units in 2004 and 2005. GM VP for full-size trucks, Gary White, projects 2008 sales at about 1.5 million but wouldn't say how low the segment would ultimately go. Trucks will ultimately end up going back to the original market they had, primarily commercial and fleet sales. That's why GM, Ford, Chrysler, Toyota and Nissan are all closing or re-tooling truck factories. This segment won't disappear completely, but it will continue to evolve. These trucks are a step in that direction.
Gallery: 2009 GM hybrid pickups
Photos Copyright ©2008 Sam Abuelsamid / Weblogs, Inc.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Wildgoosechase 5:10PM (8/13/2008)
1 MPG may not seem much but over time it adds up. Consider if your state DOT replaced it's fleet with XFE's, that would save quite a bit of fuel.
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Gordio 6:00PM (8/13/2008)
They could do the hybrid or the XFE...ooor....they can make a small sized truck and get better mileage than either one.
Only 20% of truck owners use it to do stuff, but only a small fraction of that need anything larger than a small size truck.
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why not the LS2LS7? 6:49PM (8/13/2008)
Ultimately, what they make is determined by what people buy. GM already makes a smaller truck, if sales of their (and other companies') smaller trucks pick up, they'll start concentrating on those.
Mark Kiernan 6:49PM (8/13/2008)
What I don't understand is that companies like GM and Ford will continue to push trucks with get about 15 mpg when they could convert all of them to plug-ins for about the same price as the engines and have a completely new auto which would sell like hot cakes.
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Atul 6:59PM (8/13/2008)
Test using AOL
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Atul 7:01PM (8/13/2008)
Mark,
What makes you think that a plug-in would be the same price? There's still a lot of development work that needs to take place and at lower volumes, the costs for the parts would be much higher than a regular engine, especially the battery.
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Travis Rassat 7:19PM (8/13/2008)
Sam,
I don't know if you can answer this, but is there any possibility that we'll see the two-mode hybrid system paired up with any other engines in the Silverado, Yukon, etc.?
I'm curious as to why they chose to mate it up with the 6.0 and not other engines. I know sometimes the bigger engines are included in up-level packages which will have a better markup and thus help offset the costs of the hybrid system, but looking at Chevy's configuration tool, that doesn't seem to be the case - you can still get the 5.3 in the top-of-the-line LTZ trim package. That throws out my theory, unless I'm misinterpreting something.
Can you offer any insight on this?
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Sam Abuelsamid 8:15PM (8/13/2008)
The simple to your first question is yes. It's almost certain that we will see other engines paired up with the two-mode system. Earlier at this year at the Chicago auto show, the GMC Denali XT concept was a car-based pickup (derived from the Pontiac G8 platform that had a 4.9L V8 with the two mode. Developing a hybrid system requires a lot of calibration work and very accurate models of the engine and battery performance in order to ensure that the performance is smooth and consistent. Adding new combinations is not trivial but it will happen. Most likely we will start to see smaller engines with the 2nd gen Two-mode which is being worked on right now. That version will reduce cost and weight and should appear in a few years.
As for the current versions at the time that GM made the decision 3 years ago to build it, they decided that it was important to retain the functionality of a full-size truck while providing improve efficiency. A smaller engine would not allow for the 6,000lb towing capacity which was deemed necessary. Was that the right decision? It certainly seemed so at the time, but in hindsight knowing how quickly fuel prices have risen, it seems it may not have been.
DJL 7:44PM (8/13/2008)
21city/22hwy is impressive for a full size pickup.
This will be especially impressive for service vehicles that spend most/all of their time in the city.
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Paul Sallmen 8:45PM (8/13/2008)
Though I do agree that these trucks are a step in the right direction, the added technology and slightly improved fuel economy are hardly anything to write home about. The Hybrid is not bad, especially for such a large beast in the city, but that Hybrid drivetrain is expensive. Although I'm sure the price will come down and electric range of hybrids will improve. Still, a good diesel is probably the best way to go. In fact, the diesel should not only be put in the full-sized trucks, but also the smaller ones like the Ford Ranger. A 3.0 L V6 diesel Ranger would be powerful enough, very utilitarian and get great fuel consumption at the same time. A 2.0 L diesel 4-cylinder one could also be available for those who do lighter duties. A 4-cylinder diesel would probably only use about 5 to 6 L of diesel per 100 km. Even the diesel V6 would probably get around 8 or 9 - far better than any of these large trucks. Perhaps a smaller version of the Dodge's Cummins diesel or Ford's Powerstroke should be engineered. Does one really need 6 or 7 litre engines? Even if you do haul stuff often, couldn't a well engineered smaller engine do the same thing? Part of the problem has been advertising. If one looks at cars and car advertising over the last 20 years, a few things are clear: the focus has been on bigger, heavier vehicles with more powerful engines. Cheap gas has made it all possible, when fuel economy was an afterthought. Now it's time to pay the piper!
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H4MM3R 9:19PM (8/13/2008)
When will GM offer the 6sp in the Hybrid?
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ihero 9:53PM (8/13/2008)
For what your paying for 1 MPG stinks.
My buddies Hybrid Adapter attached to his Ford Explorer improved his mpg by 2 -- and the mod only cost $150 bucks.
http://peswiki.com/index.php/PowerPedia:Hybrid_Adapter
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Torrent 7:34AM (8/14/2008)
Like the VUE plug in hybrid, these should have nickel-metal hydride type battery packs in combined with the direct-injected 3.6L V-6.
Or instead of Nickel-metal hydride, what about Lithium Ion?
Think GM. I'm sure that 1 MPG may come in handy, but why settle for 1 MPG when if you actually try, you can get as much as 20 more MPG? (ok maybe 20MPG is a little far fetched, but still.
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Sam Abuelsamid 8:02AM (8/14/2008)
Actually the plug-in hybrid version of the Vue will use lithium ion batteries. Only the regular model will use NiMH. As for the 3.6L it may well appear at some point although it is a much more expensive engine to build than the V8.
As for 20 mpg, the hybrid trucks already exceed that threshold. Getting 20 mpg from a vehicle of this type without either a hybrid or sacrificing capability is exceedingly difficult and expensive. If its so easy why isn't Toyota building a 20mpg Tundra?
diffrunt 12:21PM (8/14/2008)
differences between std & hybrid------ 1 mpg , heavier, lower performance & MORE THAN $10K !!!!
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Sam Abuelsamid 9:19PM (8/14/2008)
diffrunt, did you actually read the article? The XFE is not a hybrid, it gets 1mpg extra. The hybrid gets a boost from 14/20 to 21/22. GM has also not announced pricing for the hybrid pickups so you have no idea what it will cost.
Skyview 3:22PM (8/15/2008)
I know I may be in the minority, but I own a 2006 Chevy Avalanche. I know many who own either 1st generation or 2nd generation (GMT900) Avalanches. I hear people saying the best they are getting with the 2nd generation vehicles is 14 -15mpg avg. I find it ironic that I have a 1st generation with the 5.3 (no Active Fuel Management but E-85 capable) and I typically get 18 city, 22 hwy. That's better hwy than the new hybrids or the upcoming XFE Silverado's that are most likely lighter than my vehicle. I have used Royal Purple synthetic in my last 3 vehicles, and in the current 2006 Avalanche, after it was switched over to it at around 8K miles, it increased my mileage by about 2 mpg. That may be one factor while driving habits probably account for part of it too. Don't get me wrong, I don't think anyone could call me a hypermiler or anything, but I do know how to start out from a stoplight and know how well the vehicle coasts so I do things like that to help improve my mileage. However, I also tend to have a heavy foot at times on the interstate as well, so that probably negates some of those savings.
I can appreciate GM's efforts in improving economy in their trucks and SUV's, but to me it's just not worth it and not a very good value (yet) to pay $$$ for a hybrid that gets no better mileage (hwy) than I do with my 2 year old 5.3. I have no plans to sell my current Avalanche since it gets good mileage, at least comparatively speaking, and I have no commute as I work as a consultant from a home office the majority of the time. I do think GM is doing a better job with mileage than their competitors, and have for some time, but to me the rationale is just not there for buying these vehicles given the price differential. Perhaps if these models survive beyond a fad phase for several years, they may be able to obtain some economies of scale and the cost will become more reasonable.
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Jon 10:56AM (8/15/2008)
The V8 Silverado already gets better fuel economy than any V6 pickup, even the Toyota Tundra. Way to raise the bar, Chevy!
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