Pros: Stellar exterior design; easy-to-use and modern tech; epic ZR2 off-road variant
Cons: Interior feels low cost on lower trims; low-output engine is a bummer
The 2024 Chevrolet Colorado stands tall as our favourite midsize pickup truck this yr for a number of reasons. For one, it drives exceedingly well with a stout engine, solid ride and superb off-road variants for whatever use case. The inside is jam-packed with tech that each looks great and works even higher. And sure, the lower trims feel a bit low cost, but a base Colorado Work Truck may be had at a respectably low price should you’re just in search of what the name implies: a piece truck.
It’s hard to not hype up the ZR2 straight off the highest, too, because that is hands-down our favourite version of the Colorado for having fun and arriving in maximum style. Consider it as a mini F-150 Raptor with a more reasonable powertrain – the chassis and suspension is that good for off-road ventures. And while the Z71 trim does luxury halfway decently, GM has one other answer for individuals who desire a ritzier midsize pickup: the GMC Canyon that we review here. It’s mainly the Colorado’s better-dressed twin.
In comparison with other midsize trucks, the Colorado stacks up well in a specs comparison. It has the qualities you would like with excellent power, great towing (maxes out at 7,700 kilos) and all the inside goodies. The brand new Toyota Tacoma with its hybrid powertrain has it beat for efficiency, and a Honda Ridgeline will still take the crown for best ride, but we just like the Colorado as probably the greatest overall values and easily the perfect all-around midsize truck in the sport for 2024.
Interior & Technology  |  Passenger & Cargo Space  |  Performance & Fuel Economy
What it’s wish to drive  |  Pricing & Trim Levels  |  Crash Rankings & Safety Features
What’s recent for 2024?
Identical to the GMC Canyon, the Chevrolet Colorado adds an AEV-upgraded off-road trim to the combination with the ZR2 Bison model – you possibly can read all about it here. The 2024 Colorado also ditches the smaller 8-inch digital cluster to make the 11-inch version standard on all trims, and the mid-level turbocharged four-cylinder engine is discontinued. Various package shuffling takes place, but there aren’t many changes just because the Colorado was all-new for 2023.
What are the Colorado’s interior and in-car technology like?
The Chevrolet Colorado’s interior ranges from cheap-feeling with a lot of hard plastic within the Work Truck to surprisingly nice within the upper trims. Regardless of the trim, though, it’s a large improvement in quality and appearance versus the previous generation. The very first thing you’ll notice whenever you step up into the cabin is the screens right in your face. Every version of the Colorado gets an 11.3-inch infotainment touchscreen that features wireless Apple CarPlay and wireless Android Auto. Every trim also gets the identical the identical 11-inch digital instrument panel. All of the screens feature easy-to-use controls, quick responses to inputs and run Google Built-in software. Which means you have got Google Maps as your native navigation system and the flexibility to download additional apps from the Google Play Store.
The cabin isn’t all screens, though, as Chevy sticks with hard buttons/knobs for vital items like climate controls, drive modes and volume control (weirdly, the headlights are found hidden within the touchscreen, which isn’t great). A hefty, traditional PRNDL shifter is slotted in the middle console; there may be loads of space in each the cupholders and door pockets in your beverage necessities.
Unlike the GMC Canyon with its various interior upholstery colours, the Colorado is actually only available in various shades of black (the ZR2 goes wild with a gray option). The Z71 trim is a bit of more exciting with red stitching and red accents throughout the cabin, but this lack of vibrancy is one method to tell the trucks apart. One other is the air vent design and general plushness of the surfaces – the LT and Z71 get padded surfaces, while the Work Truck and Trail Boss are stuck with hard plastic.
How big is the Colorado?
The Colorado falls within the midsize class of pickups, and it’s on the larger side of the segment in overall footprint. It only is available in one body style: a crew cab with what would often be considered a brief bed, measuring 5 feet, 1 inch.
Inside, the front row of the Colorado feels mighty spacious and affords a commanding view of the road ahead as you sit high off the bottom. The rear seat, as they have an inclination to be within the midsize pickup segment, is a bit of cramped but still totally workable and comfy for a mean adult at 34.7 inches of rear legroom. Child seats are possible, especially when forward facing, however the rear latch anchor is difficult to make use of, and we highly recommend searching for skilled help to securely fasten a seat in place.
The bed itself might appear like an everyday pickup’s bed at first glance, but its tailgate is hiding a neat storage trick. A shallow bin of sorts on the inside it will possibly be flipped up and small items stowed in there. We could see it being helpful for belongings you at all times want available but don’t want flying across the bed, and possibly even convenient for tailgate parties as a further place to place things. Less convenient is the ZR2 Bison’s bed-mounted spare tire. Sure, it looks rad, however it takes up a ton of space and nearly eliminates rear visibility.
What are the Colorado’s fuel economy and performance specs?
All Colorados are powered by a 2.7-liter turbocharged four-cylinder, but there are two engine outputs available. Each the Work Truck and LT trims are fitted with the lower output version that produces 237 horsepower and 260 pound-feet of torque. These trims can be found with either rear-wheel drive or four-wheel drive optionally, and each Colorado is fitted with an eight-speed automatic. Fuel economy for the rear-drive trucks is listed at 19 mpg city, 24 mpg highway and 21 mpg combined. These drop to 18/23/20 with 4WD.
The high-output version of the four-cylinder (standard on the Trail Boss and Z71) produces 310 horsepower and 391 pound-feet of torque. The ZR2 trim gets much more torque, though, at 430 pound-feet. These trucks come standard with four-wheel drive, and fuel economy drops to 17/21/19 mpg for the Trail Boss and Z71. That figure drops even further for the off-road-focused ZR2 at 16/16/16, the penalty for giant all-terrain tires and its other off-road advantages.
What is the Colorado wish to drive?
Starting with the bottom engine, the Colorado feels on the gutless side and suffers from extreme throttle delay accompanied by an awfully mushy pedal. Possibly it was just our particular test truck, but we predict this version of the engine may have some tweaking. Upgrade to the upper trims and their more powerful engine, and the Colorado is on the short and gutsy side of things. Its eight-speed automatic transmission shifts significantly better with added power, though we found it still upshifted a bit of too quickly now and again. For individuals who tow, the high-output version here includes a tow/haul mode not found on the lower-output version that ought to make the transmission much smarter when the added torque is required. And as long as you just like the sound of diesels, you’re going to just like the sound of this engine, since it’s very whistly and gravelly.
This body-on-frame pickup on its base/ street-oriented trims with rear leaf springs comports itself well by way of each ride and handling. It’s reasonably composed, comfortable and civilized. A Trail Boss with the optional mud terrain tires didn’t add as much extra noise as we were expecting, but you do notice the firmer reactions to pavement imperfections that in turn send more vibrations through the truck’s frame. Meanwhile, the ZR2 with its giant tires and Multimatic DSSV spool-valve dampers completely changes the sport by way of ride quality. It’s going to be the perfect performer each on and off the road. And should you truly want the perfect off-road performance, there’s the ZR2 Bison that takes things even further.
What other Chevrolet Colorado reviews can I read?
2023 Chevy Colorado First Drive Review: Little truck gets a giant overhaul
Our first shot at the brand new Colorado where we dissect the engineering and check out out multiple versions of the truck.
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2024 Chevy Colorado ZR2 Bison First Drive Review: Crawls on rocks, jumps gorges
We test out probably the most extreme ZR2 Bison and are available away wildly impressed at its capabilities.
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2023 Chevy Colorado Trail Boss Road Test: On a regular basis adventures
Here we deal with the middling Trail Boss trim so see what a modest Colorado has to supply.
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What’s the 2024 Colorado’s price?
The 2024 Chevrolet starts at an affordable $32,145 for the Work Truck trim. It comes with a reasonably low level of normal equipment with some highlights being 17-inch steel wheels, halogen headlights, power-adjustable mirrors, cloth seats, manual tilt steering column (no telescope), single-zone climate control, 11.3-inch infotainment with wireless Apple CarPlay/Android Auto, manual front seats and a 6-speaker audio system.
The LT adds more equipment to the party, however the Trail Boss is a giant step up with big changes like a 2-inch lift, 3-inch wider track, 18-inch wheels wrapping 32-inch all-terrain tires, the higher-output engine and a complete host of appearance items each inside and outdoors the truck. The Z71 is essentially a more luxurious Trail Boss.
The ZR2 is the highest trim with the entire unique off-road goodies – number certainly one of those being the Multimatic DSSV dampers. The list of parts that makes the ZR2 special is a protracted one, but go try our full review of the ZR2 Bison to learn more about this awesome off-road Colorado variant.
All the prices and their corresponding trims are listed below, including the $1,495 destination charge.
- WT: $32,145
- LT: $33,495
- Trail Boss: $38,895
- Z71: $41,795
- ZR2: $48,395
- ZR2 Bison: $60,540
What are the Colorado’s safety rankings and driver assistance features?
The Colorado comes with a big suite of driver assistance systems as standard equipment including forward collision warning and automatic emergency braking with pedestrian and bicyclist detection, auto high-beams, lane departure warning, and lane-keeping assist. Optionally, you possibly can add blind-spot and rear cross-traffic warning systems with steering assist, rear pedestrian alert, adaptive cruise control and a 360-degree camera.
The 2024 Colorado had not been crash-tested by a 3rd party on the time of this writing.
This Article First Appeared At www.autoblog.com
