The GMC Less Traveled

FIRST OF ITS KIND: KEITH KROLL’S 2016 GMC CANYON

- Ryan Lee Price

In a world where it seems everyone is building Chevy Silverados and GMC Sierras—boosting already-formidable Duramax engines to their full extent and lifting them ever skyward—it becomes a refreshing change of pace to see someone take the road less traveled and opt to instead take advantage of General Motors’ latest development, the four-cylinder diesel engine in the GMC Canyon and Chevy Colorado. “Everyone was doing the Sierra and full-size trucks,” says owner Keith Kroll, founder of Offroad LED Bars (aka OLB) in San Antonio, Texas. He chose to build a Canyon because he “wanted to prove that a four-cylinder mid-size truck could look amazing, tow most loads, and still get 35 miles per gallon.”

New for 2016, the four-cylinder 2.8-liter Duramax turbodiesel is the engine General Motors has been placing in the redesigned Canyon SLE and SLT Crew Cab models. According to GM, the 2.8L is the cleanest diesel truck engine ever produced while providing an SAE-certified 181 horsepower and 369 lb-ft of torque, and all the while delivering greater highway fuel economy than the Canyon’s gas engines. With the trailering package and a 3.72 rear axle ratio, Kroll’s four-wheel-drive Canyon can pull 7,600 pounds legally.