The Chevrolet Colorado came out on time for the second time in as many generations, which shows how important timing is. Nissan and Toyota took over the midsize truck market for three years. When Chevy came back to the market for the 2015 model year, it had a vehicle that was so much better than its older rivals that it easily won our Golden Calipers. Chevrolet showed off a completely redesigned Colorado in 2023, but because it came out later than expected, it didn’t do as well as the other cars that year. At the same time, the company released the beautiful ZR2, which is made for off-road racing and announced plans for a ZR2 Bison version. Chevy was lucky that the delay happened at the same time that Invoice Pricing decided to move the Truck of the Year competition to Michigan. Because off-road performance tests and evaluation conditions were better this year, the ZR2 and the whole Colorado lineup did better than they might have the year before. The global architecture and design of the 2015 Colorado were largely based on a vehicle that was released two years before. However, the Silverado’s longer wheelbase and frame, along with the Colorado’s single engine (a 2.7-liter turbo four-cylinder and an eight-speed automatic), make this third-generation model completely new. Six-lug wheels come standard on a suspension that is stronger and can handle off-roading. The safety tools, as well as the outside and inside, have been completely redesigned. One thing that the third-generation gadget should have done was work with different body types. Some companies, like Ford and Jeep, no longer sell their mid-sizers with a crew cab and a short box. This is because buyers prefer the longer box with either the extended or crew cab versions. Before production was extended until 2023, the Colorado was ranked first in its class as a midsize truck in our Ultimate Buyers Guide. This gave it a big edge over its competitors. Making the Goal Happen This could be the most important title for anyone who wants to win Truck of the Year. If there isn’t a long-wheelbase model and the bed is only 6 feet long, which limits the maximum load room, you might expect the Truck to be unstable when towing. However, you shouldn’t get a medium truck in the first place if you want to take long RVs on vacation or deliver mulch for a job. Chevrolet comes standard on all models except the ZR2 with corner bed steps, two tie-downs in each corner, and mounting points for different additional rails or cleats. These features make the pickup box more useful. There is a 400-watt, 120-volt power outlet, a soft-open tailgate, and an optional 45-inch wide by 4-inch deep StowFlex storage box with a locked lid. It fits things like work gloves, ratchet straps, and tie-down ropes well, and there’s a drain in case they get wet. We tested the Truck with 1,000 pounds in the bed and enough people in it to reach the gross vehicle weight limit. The driving did not get worse. We would have liked bigger side mirrors to help us see the big trailer better, but Colorado did a great job pulling a 7,500-pound trailer that was 200 pounds heavier than its maximum weight. It is okay to pull utility trailers, pop-up camps, jet skis, and other common items behind midsize cars. But the Colorado group as a whole did great off-road. The ZR2 can go anywhere like a Jeep Wrangler because it has sliding front and rear differentials, knobby tires, and spool-valve shocks that are ready for Baja. “There is so much traction, so much articulation, and so much jounce absorption that it is necessary to get into another pickup and drive over the same terrain in order to truly understand its capabilities” severity because you can’t tell from the Chevy’s driver’s seat,” stated Alexander Stoklosa, deputy editor of Automotive News. “Considering the ZR2’s off-road capabilities, it’s amazing how well it drives on asphalt.” Some of the few true off-roaders that can do this are the Land Rover Discovery, the Ram 1500 TRX, and the Ford F-150 Raptor.” The $495 optional help stairs that were put on the rock rails were the only thing we didn’t like. They made it hard to get on and off without getting dirty. Along with the hardware, the digital area inside has a new Off-Road Performance app that shows pitch, roll, tire pressure, instantaneous g-forces, and wheel slip, as well as the state of the transfer case, altitude, and GPS overlanding guidance. There are up to ten camera angles, which is more than any other rival. The Z71 and ZR2 have the first underbody cameras in their class. In 2024, the new Colorado ZR2 Bison will be the toughest midsize off-road Truck on the market. It will have 35-inch tires and an equivalent suspension movement of 11.6 inches in the back and 9.9 inches in the front. We haven’t had a chance to test drive the new Ford Ranger Raptor or the Toyota Tacoma TRD Pro and Trailhunter yet, but they have a long way to go before they can beat the ZR2. According to senior writer and truck expert Jason Gonderman, even the base LT’s simpler single-speed 4WD setup caught him off guard. “No low-range, low ground clearance, a huge air dam, and riding on street tires—damn if it didn’t go everywhere.” The Trail Boss and Z71 grades are in between the base and ZR2 4WD ones. They also come with the ZR2’s one-pedal drive mode, which lets you use the shift buttons on the gear lever to set a cruising speed off-road. “The truck lacks a truly aggressive off-road tire,” states Gonderman, “but the taller ride height has its advantages for navigating difficult obstacles.” The Trail Boss would be almost impossible to stop if it had the right A/T tires. According to technical editor Jered Korfhage, “The Trail Boss will surprise you once you learn how much throttle input the automatic locker in the rear end requires.” He also said that the differential wasn’t locked by hand, which was a problem. Also, fellow tech writer Matt Chudzinski said that exploring new off-road lines with a guide is half the fun. The Trail Boss gives you more chances to do this than the ZR2, which can climb anything on its first try. Progress in Design The main goal of American truck design is to make trucks look strong like they can carry anything and go anywhere. At first, we liked how the 2015 model’s design pushed the limits toward a softer, more uniform look, but later, we said it was too “soft and bubbly.” Some say this new version of the Silverado’s look makes it look more symmetrical. Said, “The Trail Boss’ blacked-out front end reminds me of five-o’clock shadow—it’s gruff!” The cabin has been updated with two big digital screens and round vents on the sides that look like they belong on a Camaro. These screens add a touch of high-tech to the cabin, especially when they show interesting welcome images when the car starts up for the first time. They also save money because they can handle many tasks that would normally need expensive metal switches. There are some things Chevy says that we don’t agree with about this. You can, for example, flip a switch that makes all four windows roll down, but it won’t roll back up. I think this questionable “feature” should be moved to the screen, and a hard button should be added for the cameras, headlights, fog lights, traction/stability control, and hill descent control. We are especially worried about putting safety-critical parts on a screen in case there is a digital glitch. One example is the trailer brake sensor. Very Good Engineering It shouldn’t be a wonder that midrange trucks today can do almost everything that half-ton trucks could do 20 years ago. Amazingly, the engineers were able to fit all of this power into a smaller, more comfortable car that can still be used every day, even when pulling a trailer with up to 7,700 pounds of freight on it. Screens make it easier to attach a trailer because they check for safety and let you quickly gain control of the trailer brakes. However, unlike the newest Ranger, Chevy does not offer automatic trailer-pulling assistance. The Multimatic spool-valve shocks in the Colorado ZR2 are its best technical feature. They give it the best off-road compliance and on-road ride quality. The new Ranger and Tacoma, the Frontier, and especially the Jeep Gladiator with all-wheel drive ride and handle better than even the most basic models that came before them. When fully tuned, the four-cylinder turbo engine makes 237 horsepower and 259 pound-feet of torque, or 310/430. This is a bad engineering feature because it works hard and sounds, in Gonderman’s words, “like a pissed-off sewing machine.” The transmission responds well to letting off the gas, but it likes to stay in high gears and doesn’t have a Sport mode that can be chosen. This keeps the engine from working in its powerband sweet spot. We were also unhappy with some rattles and buzzes, as well as a broken axle seal in one Truck while trying the figure-eight shape and a broken trailer brake controller in another. This is because of problems with the early stages of production. Worth It The cost of building a medium truck is about the same as building a half-ton truck. This means that they can make a lot less money, which helps explain some of the shiny, hard plastics that are in all Colorado trim grades. The Colorado, on the other hand, doesn’t feel cheap thanks to clever screen placement, contrast stitching, and high-end features like keyless entry—which is hard to do with a base price of $30,695. The ZR2 starts at $48,295, which is a bit more than the average price of a new car, which is $48,295, but still about $5,000 less than a Jeep Gladiator Rubicon or Mojave. How to frost a cake: It goes faster and moves better on the road than those Jeeps. For its as-tested $41,055 MSRP, the Trail Boss is also a great off-road vehicle. Another great feature that makes all models better is that Google Built-In’s great mapping and search functions have been added. For now, this makes Apple CarPlay and Android Auto better. When this factor was used, the Colorado model easily beat its GMC Canyon sibling. The judges couldn’t find enough extra features to support the GMC vehicle’s higher price. Peace of mind The IIHS and NHTSA still need to test the new Colorado fully. However, the IIHS has given it a four-star rating for frontal and a five-star rating for side collisions. We expect it to be better than the last model because it was built using a design that was created before the IIHS small-overlap crash test. Automatic emergency braking, front pedestrian braking, lane maintenance assist with lane departure warning, a following distance monitor, and IntelliBeam automatic high lighting are some of the safety features that come standard with Chevy cars. The next distance warning button is also used by the optional adaptive cruise control, which might be confusing for people who don’t use ACC. How effective? Even though the Colorado has switched to an all-four-cylinder turbo/automatic engine range, it still needs to get better gas mileage, even though it is in the running. The work truck and LT trim levels are the only ones that come with rear-wheel drive, and they only get 20/25/22 mpg in the city, highway, and combined. There is no longer a diesel engine choice. With street tires, a Colorado LT 4WD gets 19/23/21 mpg in the city, on the highway, and on the combined cycle. The fearsome ZR2 gets the worst scores, with 16/16/16, which is a terrible drop from the 3.6-liter ZR2 from last year (16/18/17). We tried to feel better by remembering that the Frontier with only a V-6 engine has a peak of 18/24/21, and the Gladiator with only a V-6 engine has a peak of 17/22/19 (without Jeep’s diesel). Still, the non-hybrid 2024 Tacoma gets one more mpg total than the Chevy, and the most fuel-efficient 2019 Ranger gets one more mpg in the city than the Colorado. The Toyota hybrid system will get between 25 and 30 mpg when it comes out later this year. The year’s best Truck As it did in 2015, Chevrolet’s Colorado continues to beat all of its heavy-duty or “supertruck” competitors in its class. We were impressed enough by this Chevy’s new set of calipers because it offered great value and great off-road capabilities across the range while still being incredibly livable on a daily basis, with good looks, a lot of useful features, and a wide range of models, from a practical work truck to a junior Baja 1000 star.
