Colorado’s pickup is better than predecessor
After years of neglect, there’s finally some movement in the compact truck segment.
For 2004, General Motors Corp. has rolled out the Chevrolet Colorado and its twin, the GMC Canyon, as all-new replacements for the aged S-10 and Sonoma, respectively.
At the recent Chicago Auto Show, DaimlerChrysler showed the redesigned 2005 Dodge Dakota pickup, and South Korean manufacturer Kia Motors Corp. displayed a concept pickup that it might build. Earlier, at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit in January, Nissan Motor Co. unveiled its new 2005 Frontier pickup, due later this year.
Of all these, the Colorado may be the biggest news in the segment, because the vehicle it replaces, the S-10, has long been one of the top-selling small trucks. The Colorado is a little larger than its predecessor, and its styling maintains a nice sense of family with its bigger brother, the full-size Chevrolet Silverado.
The Colorado comes in a full range of models, from regular cab to extended cab (which has smaller rear doors leading to a rear seat) to crew cab (which has four full doors and, with a front bench seat instead of buckets, can seat six people).
Chevy offers two engine choices: a 2.8-liter, 175-horsepower four-cylinder and a 3.5-liter, 220-horsepower five-cylinder. The first Colorados to hit the market are the fives.
There have been other recent five-cylinder engines, but they remain rare enough to be considered unusual. This five-banger, with its sophisticated double overhead camshafts and electronic engine-management system, has a 30-horsepower advantage over the 4.3-liter V-6 it replaces. The 2.2-liter four-cylinder used in the S-10 had 55 fewer horses than the Colorado’s four-cylinder engine.
You can get a five-speed manual or a four-speed automatic transmission and four-wheel drive or rear-wheel drive.
Our test Colorado was a fancy crew cab LS, loaded with options including XM satellite radio, a premium stereo and leather upholstery. The base price of $24,720 swelled to $28,195 with shipping and the extra equipment.
If that seems expensive for a rear-wheel-drive pickup, it is. GM seems optimistic about its pricing of the Colorado and the Canyon. In some models, it’s possible to get a comparably equipped full-sized Silverado at a similar price, or even cheaper, in part because there is currently a $2,500 rebate on a Silverado (exceeding the $1,000 rebate Chevy is offering on a Colorado).
I suppose there are some circumstances in which I would want to pay as much for a small truck as a large truck, but I can’t think of any.
That said, the Colorado is a nice pickup, solid and well- mannered on the highway and sure-footed on winding back roads. The ride was very good on this particular pickup, though I’ve driven some four-wheel-drive Colorados and Canyons, and some rear-drive models with the off-road appearance package, that have a downright punishing ride. Before you buy a Colorado, take a long test drive and include some bumpy pavement.
I haven’t driven a four-cylinder model enough to comment, but the five-cylinder is smooth and powerful -- if not particularly blessed with low-end pulling power. The most you can tow with a properly equipped Colorado is 4,000 pounds, whereas the S-10 -- still sold in crew-cab configuration -- can tow 5,200 pounds. That old 4.3-liter V-6 may be long in the tooth, but it’s a proven power plant.
Inside, the Colorado had excellent bucket seats, a great stereo and a logical instrument and control layout. The rear seat is big enough for three adults, though it would be a tight fit. For kids, it’s fine.
The Colorado is an improvement over the S-10, but given the latter’s age, not a leaps-and-bounds improvement.
It’s true with this Chevy, just as it is with the Ford Ranger and Dodge Dakota, that I’d be considerably happier with the full-sized pickups those manufacturers make than the smaller ones. You might not be. But if you use a truck like a truck, more room, more power and more towing capacity are always good things.
