2021 Chevrolet Colorado

History/Overview

The Chevrolet Colorado is one of two GM offerings in the compact pickup segment, the other being the GMC Canyon sibling. While these are compacts, they're a far cry from the compact S-10 that came before. These pickups have plenty of room for real passengers in the back seats and they'll tow what a full-sizer used to. Chevrolet offers business-ready entry pickups, choices with more luxury than you'd expect, and an off-road special ZR2 that's ready to crawl rocks or jump dunes from the factory.

What's New

The current Colorado has been on the market since 2012, and now Chevrolet is updating it with a set of new noses that better identify each of the trims. Aside from that the differences are some colour changes.

Available Trims

Chevrolet offers the Colorado in multiple box lengths, cab sizes, and trims, but you can't get every trim in every size. The main trim levels are WT, LT, Z71, and ZR2, with all available in extended cab long and crew cab long or short bed. Where it gets complicated is in the 2WD vs 4x4 and 2.5L gas four, V6, and Duramax diesel, where which are 4x4, which are 4x2, and which engine comes with which cab is complicated enough to require the online configurator or a trip to the dealer.

Standard Features

WT, or Work Truck, comes with 16-inch steel wheels, black outside door handles and body trim, cargo area lighting, a chrome rear bumper with corner steps, four-way driver seat adjustments, manual front passenger seat, 3.5-inch driver information display, a six-speaker stereo, 7.0-inch infotainment touchscreen, tilt (but not telescopic) steering, power door locks and windows and vinyl upholstery.

LT trims adds an 8.0-inch infotainment screen, 17-inch aluminum wheels, power-adjustable side mirrors, chrome exterior trim, a 4.2-inch driver information display, six-way power driver's seat, USB smartphone charging ports, cruise control, leather-trimmed steering wheel, tilt-and-telescopic steering column, keyless entry, cloth upholstery and satellite radio.

The Z71 package is a truck that's ready to head down a dirt road or trail, but still at home on the highway. It offers an automatic locking rear differential, recovery hooks, hill descent control, off-road suspension, all-terrain tires, heated side mirrors, fog lights, sliding rear window, four-way power front passenger seat, automatic climate control, heated front seats and steering wheel, auto-dimming rearview mirror, front-seat lumbar adjustment, rear park assist, rear window defogger, remote engine start and wireless smartphone charging.

Finally, the ZR2 is an off-road-ready rock crawler or dune-jumper that gets a different rear axle ratio, driver-selectable locking front and rear differentials, standard trailering package, off-road bumpers, and special Multimatic DSSV shocks with Goodyear chunky all-terrain tires.

Key Options

WT Convenience adds a remote-locking tailgate, keyless entry, and cruise control. LT can have a Redline edition with black wheels, bedliner, and off-road steps or a Luxury package with power lumbar, auto climate control, and heated front seats. There's also a safety package with park assist, lane departure alert, and forward collision alert and a convenience pack with remote start, rear defogger, and heater mirrors. Z71 offers the safety package.

ZR2 offers the Bison edition that adds appearance and off-road bits including wider fender flares and winch recovery points as well as improved skid plates from AEC

Fuel Economy

2.5L four-cylinder 2WD Colorados are estimated to get 12.1 L/100 km city, 9.2 highway, 12.6/9.7 with 4x4. V6-powered trucks are rated for 13.4/9.6 and 14.0/9.9, and if you get the 2.8L diesel you can expect 11.8/7.9 and 12.8/8.5.

Get the ZR2 gas and the rating is 15 city, 13 highway or 13.3/10.6 for the diesel.

Competition

While there are many trucks in this segment, including the Nissan Frontier, ever-ready Toyota Tacoma, and the slightly fresher Ford Ranger, only the Colorado (and Canyon) offer quite the same level of choice and they're the only two with a fuel-sipping diesel engine.