2023 Chevrolet Colorado

Pros

• Gasoline V6 and diesel four-cylinder engines can pull more than other machines.
• A size that isn’t too big or too small, as well as careful driving and handling.
• A comfortable ride on most surfaces
• Controls in the cabin that are simple and easy to use

Cons

• More prominent people may feel cramped in the front seats.
• Competitors whose back seats fold down offer more storage space in the cabin
• The front air dam is low, which makes it hard to go off-road.
• There is little help with driving.

All Colorado’s now have a 2.7-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine with three power levels. The new engine is meant to replace the grunty torque of the optional diesel-powered four-cylinder and the high horsepower of the old Colorado’s V6 in its more powerful forms.

Chevy says that when they come out, they will be as efficient as a four-cylinder engine, which would be a good thing since they will be faster. All models of Colorado have an eight-speed automatic transmission with cylinder deactivation. This lets the engine run as a two-cylinder system when the load is light, which saves fuel.

Work Truck (or WT) and LT trims come with the base version, which is called the 2.7 Turbo and has 237 hp and 260 lb-ft of torque. The old four-cylinder engine had a significantly improved 200 horsepower and 191 lb-ft of torque. Colorado can haul 3,500 pounds with this engine.

For these two levels, an option called the 2.7 Turbo Plus is more powerful. It comes with both the Z71 and the Trail Boss. In this case, the 2.7-liter turbo engine makes 310 hp and 391 lb-ft of torque. This means that the V8 has two more horsepower than the V6 but has 116 lb-ft more torque. This powertrain can pull up to 7,700 pounds, 700 pounds more than the V6. The WT and LT come with two-wheel drive by default, but you can add four-wheel drive. On the other hand, the Z71 and Trail Boss have four-wheel drive by default.

Standard is the ZR2’s 2.7 Turbo High-Output engine, designed for off-road use. It has the same horsepower as the Turbo Plus and the same amount of torque, which is 430 lb-ft. Chevy claims you can still acquire this engine if you have the Turbo Plus trim level, even though it is no longer available in other trim levels. Just bringing it in for a software flash that costs $395 is all that is required of you at this point. If you decide after purchasing a Trail Boss that you want more torque for improved towing or off-road performance, you can easily add it for a low cost, and doing so will not void your warranty.

Colorado’s suspension is set up perfectly, but the ride is smooth, primarily for a midsize truck. The longer wheelbase of the newest generation helps make it more stable. Even with the Trail Boss’s 2-inch lift, Colorado doesn’t nosedive much when braking hard and stops confidently. After my first few times driving on the street, On a dirt road, I was concerned that the truck would be too rigid to go, but it does an excellent job of handling bumps and dips. Colorado is a great car because it is comfortable and stable in many conditions.

The LT and Z71 seats are more comfortable than the WT and Trail Boss seats because they have more support for the hips. Even though the old Colorado wasn’t the roomiest midsize truck on the market, its back seats could be used in a pinch. It looks like the new Colorado is the same. Even if the driver’s seat was changed for me, I could fit in the back seat (I am 5 feet 11 inches tall).

My knees were about an inch apart from the seatback, and the indents in the ceiling gave me plenty of room to move my head. But the back seat could be more comfortable, so adults should take shorter trips there instead of longer ones if possible. The Jeep Gladiator and Honda Ridgeline are good options if you want a bigger car. Their back seats are more comfortable and have more space.

Chevy worked hard to make Colorado’s interior look and feel better. Even though Colorado’s new interior came out after the full-size Silverado 1500, which got a lot of updates, Chevy designers say that, despite the similarities, Colorado’s new interior was in the works earlier. We were glad the center stack had essential climate and vehicle controls that were easy for the driver to reach. The digital instrument panel and touchscreen in the middle are the main features. Even though there are many rigid plastic panels inside, the higher trims have better patterns and textures that make them look more expensive.

Colorado is a lot better than the other cars in this category. Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are wirelessly connected on the 11.3-inch touchscreen variants. Because of this, the WT feels a lot more polished. Even though there aren’t many parts, the screens make it look expensive. Several base trims in this market have screens and functions that are about the same.

To get to your saved destinations and customized Google Maps, you must connect to the Colorado system’s Google interface. The truck also has a voice-activated Google Assistant that can control the temperature, turn on heated or cooled seats, and give directions. Some optional features are wireless charging, a sunroof, hitch cameras, and climate control for two zones. With the Z71, you can get an optional underbody camera with washers that can clean both sides. This camera can take pictures of the front and back of the car from underneath.

Colorado’s safety and driver-assistance features have also been improved. The Chevy Safety Assist package comes standard on every Colorado. It includes automatic high beam control, lane keeping aid, lane departure warning, and front collision warning with automatic braking. The base WT has adaptive cruise control, a blind-spot warning system, and a parking camera that shows everything around the car.

The Trail Boss gets a 2-inch lift and a 3-inch wider front track, but it still has the same standard all-terrain tires and automatic locking rear differential as the Z71. The Z71 now has up to 9.5 inches more ground clearance and more aggressive approach, break over, and departure angles than before (30.5 degrees and 21 degrees, respectively) (22.4 degrees).

The Colorado ZR2 is back in the lineup for people who want to go off-roading more seriously. The upgrades are about the same as those of the ZR2 from the last generation. It has skid plates, innovative Multimatic dampers, power-locking front and rear diffs, 33-inch mud-terrain tires, and a lift of three inches, giving it a ground clearance of ten and a half inches, among other improvements. The approach, break over, and departure angles (38.3, 24.6, and 25.1) have also improved. The new ZR2 Desert Boss kit goes even further, with wheels that can be locked into place, a front bumper with more clearance, an underbody camera, and a light bar on the roof. Now it’s your turn, rumors about the Ford Ranger Raptor.

The base engine, which sometimes runs rough, is less potent by nature than the other types. But, unlike the original naturally aspirated four-cylinder, it doesn’t need more power. Because the throttle might feel slow to respond sometimes, you should plan for mergers and passes.

The 2.7 Turbo Plus engine costs about $1,200 and should be added to the WT and the LT. Smooth power delivery across the rpm range gives Colorado enough power for driving in the city. Also, the response of the throttle was faster. Some turbo-fours tend to peak in power output, but using just the right amount of throttle in 4Hi or 4Lo made it easy to get around obstacles and fire routes with deep ruts. The only problem with this engine is that it makes a bad sound and fills the car with an annoying drone when you accelerate quickly. Still, the eighth gear is high enough that the engine can idle at around 1,800 rpm at highway speeds, keeping the cabin quiet.

The 2023 Chevrolet Colorado is the best pickup in its class because it has been updated in many ways. Can it replace the Ridgeline as our favorite midsize SUV? Come back in a few months for a complete look and report. We’re also interested in how it stacks against the improved 2024 Ford Ranger and 2024 Toyota Tacoma. The midsize truck market will become much more enjoyable, even if nothing else changes.