2019 CHEVROLET COLORADO WT: WHY I’D BUY IT — KELLY LIN

I learned to drive in an old 1995 Ford Ranger. It was dependable, and it lasted forever, but this was the era when pickups really felt like trucks. The ride was firmer, handling was more distant, and I’m convinced it wasn’t meant for someone 5’2″ because I couldn’t see out the front windshield without sitting on a phone book or cushion. Fortunately, smaller pickups have become much more livable since then, to the point that they can make solid active-lifestyle vehicles for those who don’t want an SUV.

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The list of competitors in the space keeps growing, with the most recent newcomer being the Jeep Gladiator, which is a bit expensive for my budget at $35,040 and above. Other strong rivals include the Toyota Tacoma, Honda Ridgeline, and recently revived Chevrolet Colorado and Ford Ranger. If I were in the market, I would choose the Colorado, in part because it has one of the most compliant rides of its competitors. The Ridgeline also excels in this category, but to be honest, I don’t love the look of the unibody Honda. And I’m not tempted by the Colorado’s more upmarket twin, the GMC Canyon.

The Colorado also benefits from sharp handling. It feels smaller than it really is, and it’s easy to maneuver into small parking spaces. When you need to haul, the 5-foot bed swallows up your gear better than many rivals with the same bed size, as we learned in our recent midsize pickup comparison test, which the Colorado won with flying colors. It maintains a solid ride when loaded, and a handy bed step makes it easy to unload at the end of the day. While I wouldn’t be filling the bed with bales of hay, I would make use of the bed for sports gear.

Since I prefer a car-like feel to the trucks I drive, acceleration is important. When equipped with a V-6 gas engine, the Colorado is quicker and more powerful than competitors. Packing 308 hp, a Colorado Z71 we tested reached 60 mph in 6.4 seconds, making it much peppier than gas and diesel four-cylinder Colorados we’ve run in the eight- and nine-second range. The V-6 is the engine I would pick, as the extra quickness comes with a relatively small sacrifice in fuel economy—18/25/20 mpg city/highway/combined compared to 20/26/22 mpg with the four-cylinder gas engine. There aren’t too many diesel pumps in my area, so I wouldn’t consider the fuel-sipping Duramax version.

Managing my needs for passenger and cargo space, I would opt for the crew cab and short box. When paired with the sprightly V-6 engine, the base Work Truck model has everything I need. That includes a 7-inch touchscreen, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, four-way power driver seat, dual USB ports, and rearview camera. Prices for this version start at a reasonable $29,280.

Words: Kelly Lin

Photos: Manufacturer

Photos: Motor Trend Staff

July 09, 2019

And the winner is the Chevy Colorado!

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Posted by Ron Westphal Chevy on Wednesday, May 15, 2019

To be completely honest, I had the Ranger as my winner when I started this comparison. I drove the Ford more recently than the Colorado and I was extremely impressed. I also tend to think that Ford knows trucks and knows them well, so I give the Blue Oval the benefit of the doubt.

VIEW CHEVY COLORADO INVENTORY HERE

However, with three separate Colorado trims in my backstory – and yet another one coming soon, the ZR2 Bison – I’ve simply spent too much quality seat time in the Chevy. The ZR2, in fact, is one of the best pickups I’ve ever tested, period.

That said, this contest was TIGHT. In the end, I think I favored the ZR2/Z71 V6 engine and the Chevy infotainment system over the Ranger’s four-banger and SYNC 3. But I didn’t favor them by much. In truth, the consumer is officially spoiled for choice in the once-forlorn midsize pickup market, with excellent offerings not just from Ford and Chevy, but also stalwart Toyota with the robust Tacoma, nichey-y Honda and the Ridgeline, Chevy sibling GMC and the Canyon, and even Nissan and the aging Frontier.

When it comes down to Colorado vs. Ranger, you can’t lose. And I’m assuming that Ford is going to offer a more performance-oriented Ranger Raptor to US buyers, as it does in other global markets. So Ranger will match up better with the Colorado line, which has been on sale in the US longer.

If you’re an offroader, the ZR2 is worth a close look. But what about the Z71 package? It does add thousands to the price tag, and when all is said and done, the $42,000 Z71 that I sampled isn’t much cheaper than the top-of-the-line, $43,500 ZR2. If you have plans for your Colorado that might be more on the brash side, and if you don’t mind the menacing appearance, the Z71 trim is at least worth a gander.

The Lariat SuperCrew Ranger I tested was a few thousands bucks more expensive that even the ZR2, but I’d say it was ever-so-slightly better appointed and thus worth the extra cost. The Ranger has also been on sale outside the US for a while, so it’s not as if this is an unproven truck.

There has to be a winner in these comparisons (well, most of the time – I could have declared it a tie). For me, and for now, that’s the Colorado. But the Ranger is already close to being neck-and-neck, so in addition to a good, old-fashioned pickup truck war between Detroit rivals Ford and Chevy in the full-size segment, we now have a compelling undercard bout with midsize pickups.

I think that’s great – and if you’re a buyer, so should you.

Thanks for reading about the Chevy Colorado.

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