The Chevrolet Colorado
The Chevrolet Colorado the battle for midsize pickup trucks is about to get a lot more intense is Chevrolet ‘s all-new Colorado ready for the fight what’s up folks I’m Dave vunder coffler editor-in-chief of autolist.
com a sister company to CarGurus the mid-sized truck Market is heating up like never before thanks to all new generations of the Toyota Tacoma and the Ford Ranger but Chevrolet is out first with this new generation of the Colorado it’s been completely redesigned inside and out and offers a broad range of models to suit the needs of any mid-sized buyer but is that going to be enough to fend off the Toyota and the Ford let’s go find out all right we’re going to start with the exterior .
Exterior Styling as I mentioned Chevrolet gave this Colorado a complete redesign and I really like what they did this is a very handsome bold truck it’s not too futuristic but it definitely will age well over the coming years we’re testing a Z71 package and it’s got a few options too so overall everything you see here is about forty seven thousand dollars including destination it’s getting a little pricey but I’ll explain some of those features a little bit later looking at a few of the details we’ve got LED daytime running lamps up top here you also have led fog lamps down below really nice fascia here you’ve got some black on the grill and then some dark gray really nice complementing this color this color is called Nitro yellow I know it may look a little green in the shade we’ll show you .
A little bit later in the sun it does sort of Pop I don’t know about the color overall if I would choose it kind of looks like the truck needs to drink more water but it is what it is and then again because it’s a Z71 package we have red recovery hooks down below moving to the side again our Z71 package gets us 18 inch alloy wheels those are really nice looking Wheels I like that you’ve got body colored door handles black mirror caps there overall the entire Colorado is roughly about the same length as it used to be the wheelbase has been stretched a little bit and it’s now quite a bit wider than the previous model and then finally at the rear of the Colorado that handsome styling Tailgate and Bed that you see Elsewhere on the truck continues back here it’s really nice I like that you’ve ,
2023 Chevrolet Colorado
Vehicle Type: front-engine, rear- or rear/4-wheel-drive, 5-passenger, 4-door pickup
PRICE
Base: WT 4×2, $30,695; LT 4×2, $33,095; WT 4×4, $33,995; LT 4×4, $36,395; Trail Boss, $38,495; Z71, $41,395
ENGINES
turbocharged and intercooled DOHC 16-valve 2.7-liter inline-4, 237 or 310 hp, 259 or 390 lb-ft
TRANSMISSION
8-speed automatic
DIMENSIONS
Wheelbase: 131.4 in
Length: 212.7-213.2 in
Width: 74.9-76.3 in
Height: 70.7-71.9 in
Passenger Volume, F/R: 58/43 ft3
Curb Weight (C/D est): 4300-4700 lb
PERFORMANCE (C/D EST)
60 mph: 6.0-7.2 sec
1/4-Mile: 14.7-15.9 sec
Top Speed: 100 mph
EPA FUEL ECONOMY (C/D EST)
Combined/City/Highway: 20-23/17-20/24-26 mpg
2023 Chevrolet Colorado ZR2
Vehicle Type: front-engine, rear/4-wheel-drive, 5-passenger, 4-door pickup
PRICE
Base ZR2, $48,295; Desert Boss Special Edition, $58,285
ENGINE
turbocharged and intercooled DOHC 16-valve inline-4, aluminum block and head, direct fuel injection
Displacement: 166 in3, 2727 cm3
Power: 310 hp @ 5600 rpm
Torque: 430 lb-ft @ 3000 rpm
TRANSMISSION
8-speed automatic
DIMENSIONS
Wheelbase: 131.4 in
Length: 212.7 in
Width: 76.3 in
Height: 81.8 in
Passenger Volume, F/R: 58/43 ft3
Curb Weight (C/D est): 5000 lb
PERFORMANCE (C/D EST)
60 mph: 6.5 sec
1/4-Mile: 14.0 sec
Top Speed: 100 mph
EPA FUEL ECONOMY
Combined/City/Highway: 18/17/19 mp
got steps integrated into the bumpers there you’ve got Chevrolet stamped on the tailgate speaking of the tailgate because we have the Z71 package we get an easy lift tailgate basically it means it comes down nice and slow it also makes it easier to fold up and then built into this tailgate is a locking compartment keeps things out of the way that’s just sort of a nice little trick to have the bed itself is five feet two inches long that’s the only bed size.
you can get on this new generation of Colorado and speaking of cabs there’s only one option there as well it’s a four-door crew cab setup a couple other options that our tester has this spray and bed liner is about 475 dollars and then you’ve got a generator here and it’s certainly useful but it’s not nearly as powerful as something you’re going to find on an EV or even a full-size pickup truck all right
Under the Hood now let’s look under the hood and again this is another area where Chevrolet has simplified there’s only one engine available now on this new Colorado it’s a 2. 7 liter turbocharged inline four-cylinder engine the power output depends on which trim you get base trims will get 237 horsepower.
whereas the rest of the lineup and what most people are going to end up buying gets this 310 horsepower setup that we’ve got on the Z71 trim torque also depends on which trim you get here we’ve got 391 pound feet that’s pretty healthy for a four cylinder and then all of that is routed through an 8-speed automatic transmission and either rear wheel drive or four-wheel drive but what
do you guys think is a turbocharged four-cylinder enough or do you wish the Chevrolet had kept its V6 or offered a hybrid option be sure to let us know in the comments below turning to the interior this Interior and Infotainment is another area .
where Chevrolet completely redesigned the Colorado and I like a lot of what they’ve done here the main thing you see here is this 11. 3 inch infotainment screen it’s a touch screen really bright and crisp I like that I also like this is standard on all models of Colorado the new Tacoma does have a larger screen but that’s only on some of the higher trims so here everyone who gets to Colorado gets this screen I do like that and then on top of that we have an eight inch digital
instrument panel right here turning back to the screen it’s got Wireless Apple carplay wireless Android auto connectivity and it has Google built in which means you get Google Maps as the default navigation system you also have Google assistant and Google’s Play Store .
screen
the screen itself is really nice it’s bright it’s crisp it’s really responsive to your touch very modern screen another thing that I really like is that while you have apple carplay connected you still have this menu right down here you don’t always see that in some cars and then down below the screen you’ve got your climate control functions I like that these are physical buttons and knobs rather than something built into the touch screen you also have a physical knob for the volume control we’re testing a pretty loaded Z71 so there’s some features on this truck that aren’t going to come
in all models that includes heated and ventilated front seats and then down below that you’ve got another series of buttons including one I think is pretty cool it’s a one touch roll all the windows down button it’s certainly handy to have but what it doesn’t do is roll all the windows back up you’ve got to use the buttons on the door for that again .
All testing
we’re testing a pretty loaded model so this one has some goodies you’re not going to see on every trim that includes a heated leather wrapped steering wheel you’ve got Wireless smartphone charging down below and then a sunroof up top overall I really do like the interior it’s really nicely set up everything’s easy to find everything makes sense where Chevrolet has placed it when it comes to build quality and materials Chevrolet also did a nice job there this feels like a very Stout refined interior the one exception to that is
some of the cheap Plastics that they use on the top of the dashboard the top of the door here I don’t love those I don’t think they’re going to age very well but the rest of the materials are nice again leather on the steering wheel you’ve got this nice material across the front of the dashboard some of the stitching we’ve got leather seats in our tester .
then the seat Comfort itself pretty good I felt better but overall no complaints here this is going to be comfortable for a pretty long road trip finally one minor nitpick about this interior that’s been driving me crazy while he’s been testing the Colorado is that for some reason Chevrolet decided to do away with the headlight buttons they’ve put it into the screen so for the headlights themselves it’s not too hard to find there’s a dedicated button up there you have off you have auto mode
where I think Chevroletthinks most people are going to keep it you can also turn it your daytime running lights on or your headlights on but if you want to use those fog lights the LED fog lights that come on this Z71 you’ve got to go do a couple menus you hit that and then there’s a button down here that doesn’t seem that intuitive especially if it is foggy and you’re trying to drive and look for the buttons or the lights it would be so much nicer if they were just over here or on the stock where everybody else is putting their light control so again it’s minor not a deal breaker at all but it has been kind of inconvenient all right turning to the rear seats before I get in I want to show Rear Seats you some nice features that I like that Chevrolet has built in for one these seat cushions fold up
storage space
there’s a little bit of storage space down there there’s a jack stand right now but you could take that out and put some other things down there for extra storage those fold down pretty easily the headrests also fold out of the way giving you more visibility when no one is sitting back here there is a sliding rear window but unfortunately it’s not powered that’s kind of frustrating this is a forty seven thousand dollar truck you think that that feature would be powered but anyway and then finally you’ve got a nice armrest in the center with a pair of cup holders now when it comes to space this is where I have a few gripes overall relative to its competitors the Nissan Frontier the Ford Ranger and the Toyota Tacoma the space of the Colorado is on par with those Rivals so this isn’t necessarily a mark against the Colorado but space is pretty tight I’m six foot one I’ve got
the front seat to where I would have it if I were sitting up there so certainly I’ve got room back here my head doesn’t hit that’s nice my knees are just barely touching the seat back here I do have some room for my feet but it is kind of tight and cozy and what’s frustrating about that is that if you’ve been in a full-size truck there’s tons of room back here almost too much because then you’re driving around this really big truck if you’re looking for something smaller like a mid-sized truck you would hope that you would still have more space back here this is pretty tight compared to a lot of crossovers or SUVs even mid-sizer compact crossovers are going to have more room back here so that’s been kind of frustrating in the week that I’ve been testing it I’ve also had car seats back here it gets really tight when you’ve got car seats and you’re trying to put
any other kind of cargo back here so overall yes it’s a quiet comfortable interior here but it is definitely on the small side finally when it comes to amenities back here you do have a pair of USB charge ports you’ve got USB a and then USBC and then down below really nice trick you’ve got a 120 volt Outlet to plug in all of your extra devices all right driving Impressions now as ,
I mentioned Driving Impressions we’ve got 310 horsepower 391 pound-feet of torque on the model that we’re testing and on paper that sounds like a lot of power that sounds really hearty The Real World Experience though isn’t quite that great there’s a bit of Turbo lag at low speeds and then at high speeds when you’re going to pass somebody on the freeway the transmission needs a couple of downshifts to find meaningful
passing power and all of that adds up to an experience where you’re just sort of missing a naturally aspirated V6 certainly this turbo 4 has the same amount of power or maybe even more than a V6 but it doesn’t have the same experience so that’s been a little frustrating that being said the engine itself is pretty smooth even when you push it pretty hard it sounds ,
pretty refined there is a bit of Turbo line you probably can’t hear it right now but when you have the windows down it’s a surprisingly loud turbo only when the windows are down as far as the transmission it’s generally pretty good yes it has to do those downshifts that I was talking about but in everyday driving it is pretty smooth it stays out of the way it kind of Blends into the background and that’s what you want an automatic transmission to be doing one thing I really like about driving
this Colorado is how smooth it is yes at all times it feels like a mid-sized truck but for what it is it’s comfortable it’s quiet you could drive this every day and really not feel like you’re paying a penalty for having a truck this Colorado does have several different Drive modes there’s a towing mode there’s a Terrain mode and then there’s also an off-road mode in addition to the normal mode that it defaults to what’s missing from all those modes is a sport mode
I really wish it had that you’ve got this great turbocharged engine it’d be nice if they dialed up maybe the throttle response or the shift timing to give the truck a little more of a Performance Edge when you wanted it so that is a little bit of Miss in my book when it comes to visibility it’s good but not great out the front you’ve got plenty of visibility but it’s at the rear where things get a little tight
yes you can fold down the rear headrests as I showed you guys earlier but still that rear window is kind of small and then actually the tailgate sits up a little high cutting into your rearward visibility when it comes to fuel economy this Z71 with four wheel drive is rated by the EPA at 17 miles per gallon in the city 21 on the freeway and 19
overall but actually in real world testing it’s a lot worse we’ve been testing this truck over 215 miles of driving and we’re seeing about 16 miles per gallon and a lot of that has been on the freeway so unfortunately we’re really not seeing the benefits of a turbocharged four-cylinder over the V6 that it replaces in terms of competition it’s pretty straightforward you’ve got the Toyota Tacoma the Ford Ranger and then the Nissan Frontier some people might also Loop in the Honda Ridgeline that’s kind of a different Beast
altogether I would imagine most buyers or most people who are interested in this Chevrolet aren’t going to cross shop the Ridgeline but against the rest those Piers there’s a lot of parity in this segment they’re all very competitive so a lot more of it is going to come down to personal preference and I do say there’s quite a bit to like in this Colorado so if you’re on the fence definitely test drive one
because I really think you’re gonna like it all right folks there you have it our Final Thoughts review of the all-new Chevrolet Colorado Pros well it’s got a handsome exterior and a really well executed interior we also like the tech that this Chevrolet Colorado packs as standard plus it has a comfortable ride for a truck and confident handling cons well as we mentioned the real world ,
fuel economy doesn’t nearly match what the EPA rates this truck at we also don’t love how small the interior is inside and the fact that there’s only one cab and bed configuration available but overall we really do like this Colorado we think Chevrolet has done a great job updating it and making it super competitive in that mid-size truck Market which is a good thing because
it’s going to face some stiff competition from that Toyota Tacoma and Ford Ranger but what do you guys think is this new Colorado the best there is for midsize trucks or is the Toyota or Ford gonna beat it be sure to let us know in the comments below so for reviews or listings of this Colorado or anything else you’re shopping for new or used be sure to check out cargurus.