The Chevrolet Colorado

It seems like there's a lot of love, here and elsewhere, for Ford's latest offerings to the trucklette party- the Ranger, and Maverick.  Anyone have any experience with the General's entry into this segment, the Colorado/ Canyon?  From what I can tell, it's a fairly mature platform, with all of the attendant benefits and drawbacks that that entails.  It seems like the powerplants are pretty ordinary, non-turbo 4 and V6, and the rest of the vehicle is typical GM- somewhat low-rent interior, a modicum of tech, and overall a vehicle that will squeak and rattle down the road longer than most vehicles will be around, period. 

I ask, because Mrs. VCH has been making complimentary noises about them, as a potential replacement for her Suburban.  A crew cab 'Rado WT with the 6' bed, 4x4, would get about double the fuel economy of her Suburban, and be roughly the same size.  The bed would likely get a topper of some sort, that would likely remain on/ up most of the time.  That combo would be <$40 out the door, after taxes, fees, etc.  And there are some in stock nearby.  Obviously, she wants to test drive it first. 

Any major Achilles heels on them, or big warning flags? 

I don't have much to add, but a friend has a high-zoot 2019 ZR2 model with the diesel and she loves it.  Bought it in the early days of Covid.  She has nothing but good things to say about it.

I don't know a lot about the current generation, but the two 2005's I had/have were both outstanding. The one I still have is at 260k. Beyond routine maintenance, it's had a transmission rebuilt, one coil replaced, and one thermostat replaced. My youngest is currently driving it to college. The one I sold went to an employee. He drives it to work every day. It's got to be over 300k at this point. To my knowledge, it's still on the original everything. I put routine maintenance into it and not much else.

In the comparison tests I've read on mid size pickups the Colorado has been rated number one each time. The Ranger was last in every one. I don't know any more than that.

They suck to work on, I can tell you that. Oil cooler lines rot out very quickly, often within two years, and are a nightmare to change because of the routing. You just cannot physically access the connections on the engine. The starter is ensconced in the driver's side motor mount and takes several hours to remove. They have the 8-speed automatic that is quite prone to torque converter shudder. Sometimes a fluid flush fixes it (they use that hyper-expensive Mobile 1 HP ATF), other times you have to have the torque converter replaced.

I'm currently looking at a 2022 Tacoma but others here have also mentioned the Colorado and Frontier. From my research any of the mid-size 4-door V-6 pickups can be decently optioned for around $40k. I just looked at a basic 2022 V-6 4-door Tacoma for $35k at the local dealership. Since I would plan on keeping it for 10 years, I think the Toyota would retain its value better than the others based on past experiences. 

In reply to lotusseven7 (Forum Supporter) :

Thing is, the Toyo Taco can only be optioned with a 5' bed and the crew cab.  MRs. VCH wants the longer bed and needs crew cab. 

2023 is supposed to be a new Colorado with the 2.7 turbo 4 as the only engine. The 10 speed auto may there as well, I'm not sure right now.

Yes, it is a mature platform and beat both the new Ranger and Gladiator in tests despite it's age. Simply a better driving truck. Skip the 4cly and get the V6 if you're shopping current models.

Take a moment to look at the GMC Canyon. Same mechanical bits, but the options get moved around and may be a better deal depending on what you want. Also the styling is a little better but everyone likes different stuff.

Having no actual experience with them but having looked into this market segment some, on paper I'm not exactly sure why you'd pick the colorado (in the trim you described at least) over a ranger, other than brand loyalty. Same price, same size, same capability but 10-20% better fuel mileage because it has engine technology from this century. But on that note I'm not really sure why anyone makes medium size (or really even full size) trucks with big displacement n/a engines anymore.

In reply to volvoclearinghouse :

The 4-door can be had with either the 5' or 6' bed.

In reply to dps214 :

Probably for the crew cab and the 74" bed. Looks like the crew cab ranger only has a 60" bed. 

I know a guy that bought a 3.6V6 used and towed his GLTC car with it. Towing an open trailer EF he averaged 17pg. 22pg on his daily commute. They're pretty decent IMO. 

Those bed options are regionally based. Toyota is weird about that. 

Do note the Colorado facility is closed for the next 3 weeks for production. So if you are looking for anything soon they will not have anything built. I almost ordered one but they are short on multiple components right now. Like It wouldn't have heated seats for instance. 

The only negative that I saw with the Colorado is Off-Road ability VS Fuel economy. I take my trucks off road and with the Z71 they put an aggressive air dam to get the 24 MPG highway figures. It would get torn up off road. If you look at the ZR2, It's only 18 MPG highway because all of the aero is gone. So I decided to go for the middle of the road with a D21 Pro-4X Frontier (Not the brand new gen) That was not titled yet. Same engine/trans as the D22 which just came out so you get the 23 MPH Highway with it. So it has the off-road chops, decent mileage, and still has the 6250 LB towing.  (the ZR2 is lowered to 5K with the fancy shocks) 

In reply to dps214 :

Because a low-stressed N/A plant > a high winding turbo mill.  At least in my experience and engineering opinion.  Small cube turbo mills exist for one reason, to meet CAFE.

Come on over to Coloradofans.com forum for the good, the bad and the ugly.

You know the forum routine of any brand and model, issues here and there does not mean the sky is falling.

I've owned a diesel Canyon and currently a '22 Colorado ZR2 gasser. Too early to comment on the gasser at 200 miles but I loved my Duramax.

I don't have any experience with the Colorado but when I was mid-size truck shopping I narrowed it down to the Tacoma and Frontier. I ended up with a 2015 Frontier Desert Runner crew cab because I could get more for my money in a Nissan vs Toyota on the used market. So far I love it after about 9 months of owning it, my only complaint is that I didn't hold out longer for a 6' bed crew cab and ended up with the 5'. 

Interesting about the regional differences in options.  I thought I had seen some Tacomas running around with longish beds.  I may have misread the online configurator, too.  Thanks. 

Sucks about the Colorado plant.  Would explain the dearth of stuff available now- maybe half a dozen units in the config she wants within 100 miles of us.  Mrs. VCH just wants a base-bones WT trim, and isn't picky about color (she wants whatever doesn't show scratches).  As low-tech as possible, preferably with rubber floor mats.  All she really said she wanted was power windows.  She won't be seriously offroading it, either, mostly just doing stuff around our homestead and camping trips and stuff.  Her and I have discussed, it kindof sucks because the 4x4 gets used less than 1% of the time, but when ya need it, ya NEED it.  Our lifestyle would beat the piss out of a minivan. 

Will definitely try to get a deal done before the '23s come, I want no part of a first-year model of anything.  Plus they'll probably hit it with the ugly stick, if the full size trucks are any indication. 

EDIT: Just found this website, listing the status of GM plants.  Looks like Colorados should be back on line end of January

https://gmauthority.com/blog/gm/gm-facilities/gm-production-status/

NickD said:

Oil cooler lines rot out very quickly, often within two years, and are a nightmare to change because of the routing. They have the 8-speed automatic that is quite prone to torque converter shudder. 

Sounds like my 2016 Silverado.  

Oil cooler lines? Check

Tranny issues? Check

Deep down I like those Colorados.  I like the big off road ones but the price tag is too much for me.  
 

dps214 said:

Having no actual experience with them but having looked into this market segment some, on paper I'm not exactly sure why you'd pick the colorado (in the trim you described at least) over a ranger, other than brand loyalty. Same price, same size, same capability but 10-20% better fuel mileage because it has engine technology from this century. But on that note I'm not really sure why anyone makes medium size (or really even full size) trucks with big displacement n/a engines anymore.

Likewise I have no personal experience with either, but everything I've read has said the Colorado is a better truck in every way, and none of the tests spoke positively about the Ranger. The Colorado's 3.6 was first used in 2016 (2017 in Colorado), whereas the 2.3 Ecoboost was first used a year earlier in 2015.

I test drove a Colorado and loved everything about it, except the closeness of the cabin, but that's a fault of the truck size, not an issue specific to the Colorado. I wound up deciding to keep my 4Runner instead.

 

I have a 2019 GMC Canyon crew cab, long bed and it's a pretty nice place to be. I've only put 16K on it so far and I've done nothing but oil changes. I can get 22-24 MPG on the freeway and it uses 87 octane, so it costs the same per mile as my MINI !! Second row seating won't match a full size truck, but my adult sons have both ridden 200 miles in the back with no big complaints. I've towed my open trailer with a Miata aboard a couple of times and it was fine.

I have owned a 2018 Canyon Crew All-Terrain v6 w/5.5ft bed for a bit over a year and 25k miles. 

Bought CPO with 22k on the clock, overall really happy with it. Rides nice and tight, I do about 80 highway miles daily, and average 22-24mpg depending on how I drive. 

I saved a good chuck of change when I bought it going used, the market has since changed but GM's CPO warranty is pretty good. Vroom offered me $4K more last week than i paid for it 1 year and 25K miles ago.

Before buying I drove a loaded 2020 Ranger, was not impressed, 10spd hunted for gears everywhere, interior felt cheaper than the GMC and had very littler perceivable torque unless you were driving like an asshat. Father has had a v6 Frontier for the past several years and at the time (last gen) the interior felt like a truck in production since 2006 (cause it was!) Also the fuel economy was abysmal. Didn't bother looking at Tacoma's, just didn't feel like paying the premium for the features. 

Quirks: trans can be clunky, 1st 1-2 shift in the morning makes you feel like its going to implode, the internet says this is okay, I've come to accept it. My trans does not shudder, but does occasionally hunt for a downshift, will likely have the fluid done soon. Recently a serp. pulley  has start squeaking, will have that replaced under warranty. Carplay is great, sometimes it decided it has a mind of its own, again, I don't get bent out of shape over stuff like that, but understand some do. 

I have done about 1000 towing miles with it, typically a rental trailer and my brz (around 4900#'s combined) and it does it without a problem, gets about 17-18mpg towing said load as well! 

If i were to do it again, I might be convinced into a full size just for more towing capacity and bed space, but the Canyon does just fine! 

-Nick

volvoclearinghouse said:

Her and I have discussed, it kindof sucks because the 4x4 gets used less than 1% of the time, but when ya need it, ya NEED it. 

 

No real experience or knowledge to add on the Colorado but I wanted to wholeheartedly agree with this statement.  When I moved south to the land of no snow I bought a beater suburban to make the move.  It was a 4wd and I thought what a waste.  Then one day we had huge storms and the power poles on the main road to my house fell down.  Road was close and expected to be so for hours.   There's a back road that brings you around to the back of my property but no driveway there and a heavily swamped field from the storm.  Only time I needed the 4wd in that truck but dang it was good to have it then.