Ran across this interesting review of the 2.7L GM is going to be putting in these trucks. If you have 25 minutes, it is well worth your time to watch.
If I bought the 3rd gen colorado I'd wait to make sure trifecta had a tune to turn off AFM. But like you I'm turned off with the MPG's on this. Its no better then full size. And these do have issues as has been reported for carbon build up on the silverados. If I lived in an area that did not require emission testing I would definitely pick up a used baby max with the six speed and turn off the DEF etc. That is a special type of setup. The 2.8 is not a big HP motor but its a work horse with lots of low end grunt. Unfortunately with the emissions its just not reliable enough for my tastes. Thinking of maybe a silverado with the new 3.0 inline six. The emissions works pretty good on that one and the latest LZO version has more power and much better MPG's.I think this is some very good info. And I agree with pretty much everything he said.
You are correct, in that emissions drives a lot of the engine technology. But do I care about that? No, not really. Do YOU care about that? Most guys don't, as evidenced by how many engines are "deleted". The changes are miniscule.
What is important to me is power and mileage. I like the power this engine produces. But with the small fuel tank the range is <400 miles! I imagine with a travel trailer, range is going to be about 250-300 miles. On a trail, I imagine you'll be lucky to get 250 miles. That blows. My diesel with a 36 gallon tank has a range of almost 1,000 miles in back roads driving.
We all know direct injection engines have their problems.
Contrary to what is said above, this engine does use lifters. GM Genuine Parts Engine Valve Lifter | Product Search Results (chevrolet.com)
The technology is pretty intense. The more complicated something is, the more it's likely to fail. Fixing it without a very expensive computer might be difficult. And parts will be very expensive.
I tend to drive my vehicles between 100-120K miles. After that, repairs and maintenance can get pretty expensive and time consuming. A serious break down miles into the outback on a trail can be a real problem. And he brings up some very good points on this issue.
AFM is not new technology. And that has also been problematic over the years. Many people do figure out a way to turn that off to avoid those problems. Not conjecture or opinion, just fact. Just do a search on this board alone. And that was when it was purely electronic. Now a sliding camshaft? Not sure about that.
Remember, this is not a brand new engine. It's been available in the SIlverado for a couple of years.
This engine certainly doesn't fit me. I don't see me buying one in the near future.