Chicago 2014: Deep Dive With the 2015 Chevrolet Colorado

Jo Borras
by Jo Borras

A few short hours ago, I was in McCormick Place with a handful of auto journalists and GM’s 2015 Chevy Colorado team. It was a lucky break- a last-minute invitation to meet with some GM brass before the hectic onslaught of the 2014 Chicago Auto Show’s press days and ask them the questions that my fellow alt-fuel/cleantech gear heads wanted answers to.

So, here it is: the 2015 Chevy Colorado, in the 72 dpi digitized flesh and packed with some seriously trick goodies. Will this ( and its GMC Canyon twin) be enough to reclaim the compact truck throne, however? You’d better believe it- the Colorado is that good!

2015 Chevy Colorado: the Look

Make no mistake, this is one seriously good-looking trucklet. Chevy’s 2015 Colorado is a true mid-sizer, but the look is more F-150-fighter than Nissan Frontier. Size-wise, more than one of my fellow deep-divers commented that “it’s the perfect size”, and I think it’s just short enough to make a reasonable case for having one in Chicago.

As you take a look at the photos of the Z71 off-roader version of the Colorado, look at the soft, velvety look of the black plastics and the crisp inner workings of the headlight. This is a far cry from the old S-10 EXtreme and its “generic level 2” plastics.

2015 Chevy Colorado: the Cockpit

Inside, the truck’s 2015 MyLink infotainment system is decidedly more Chevy Sonic than Chevy Cruze, and that is a very good thing. All the buttons were logically labeled, there didn’t seem to be any of the convoluted “touch screen + button + more screen-touching” command sequences that made me loathe the Cruze’s MyLink. It had another neat trick, as well: a fully-functional Pandora app.

Is that game-changer? I’m much more excited about my Pandora stations than I am about XM/Sirius, so- yes? Just pretend you can already hear my blasting Shakira and Ke$ha as loud as the Chevy Colorado’s speakers will let me.

2015 Chevy Colorado: Seating

The biggest complaint anyone ever had about a compact pickup (think old Chevy S-10, 90s-00s Ford Ranger, etc.) wasn’t that they weren’t capable enough, it’s that getting in and out of the things was always a pain. It was a pain when I was 23, and it would be a bigger pain today, more than a decade later. I’d never climb over a front seat to get into a side-facing jumper again, and- in a truck that’s the size of the new 2015 Chevy Colorado, I won’t have to.

Ingress and egress seems straight-forward enough. You just open the solidly-mounted, triple-sealed doors, climb into the quality-feeling vinyl/cloth seats, and shut the door with a satisfying, Mercedes C-Class level “whooomp”. Actually, open the door and slam it shut a few more times. It is a hugely satisfying feeling that was totally absent in my 1991 GMC Jimmy, even with the rose-colored lenses of nostalgia firmly in place.

The 2015 Chevy Colorado has a cleverly adjustable seatbelt that adjusts at the shoulder AND at the hip. More comfortable belts are more likely to be worn, so this is a huge step towards 100% adoption of belts- especially out in rural ‘Murica where the Big Gulp comes in more than one size of early-onset diabetes.

2015 Chevy Colorado: the Tough Questions

I hate to tell you this, guys- but I didn’t get the scoop on the 2015 Chevy Colorado’s EPA fuel economy. I can’t tell you what the EPA numbers on the 2016 diesel will be, either. I also couldn’t tell you if the truck is E15 or E20 compatible, because the GM engineer on hand (a lovely, polite woman who I mistook for another journalist, despite the Riot Grrl leanings of my youth) didn’t know. I also couldn’t tell you if GM plans to include the Colorado in its CNG fleet plans, but I was told, wink-wink, nudge-nudge style, to expect a bi-fuel announcement from GM soon.

A few things I did find out? The upcoming V6 version of the 2015 Chevy Colorado- which uses the same 3.6 liter VVT V6 engine used in Cadillacs and Buicks …

… and that, in truck duty, the V6 is expected to be able to haul up to 6700 lbs (!?). That’s more than enough to safely haul any number of RVs, fishing boats, and (dare I say it?) race cars- and the Colorados will be available with fully integrated receiver hitches and easy-to-access wiring for 4 and 7 pin connectors.

So, that’s something- no? What do you guys think? Am I right in thinking Chevy’s hit a home run with this new 2015 Colorado, or do you think Nissan and Dodge will out-Darwin it with their 28 MPG full-size diesel half-tons? Let us know what you think in the comments, below. Enjoy!

Originally posted to Jo’s other site, Gas 2.

Jo Borras
Jo Borras

I've been in and around the auto industry since 1997, and have written for a number of well-known outlets like Cleantechnica, the Truth About Cars, Popular Mechanics, and more. You can also find me talking EVs with Matt Teske and Chris DeMorro on the Electrify Expo Podcast, writing about Swedish cars on my Volvo fan site, or chasing my kids around Oak Park.

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  • DenverMike DenverMike on Feb 13, 2014

    @Vulpine, "...much of that market wants even smaller than the Canyon/Colorado." If your research and anecdotal were right and Americans really wanted even smaller mid-size trucks, why do the trucks keep on getting bigger and bigger? Go figure... But we do know for sure, base small trucks are as entry level as you can get and still own a truck. And the smallest truck you can get if what you say is true. But being the starting point for truck is going to attract the cheapskates, fleet and bottom feeders like no other. They all zero in and converge on the smallest and cheapest. And move in for the kill... Unfortunately, they're the backbone of the small truck market. "..yet again you try to divert the discussion by stating that only “cheapskates” buy smaller trucks..." I didn't say "only", but a majority including budget minded private consumers, governments, municipalities, utilities, and 10s of 1000s of stripper buying small business that don't even qualify as "fleet". "The more you insist the Colorado/Canyon will be a failure, the more I hope they blow away the RoadWhales™. While I don’t expect it...I do expect them to do a lot better than you simply want to believe. Both you and PCH insist there’s simply no market for a smaller truck and I know for a fact that there is..." That really depends on what you mean by "failure". A success in plain sales figures, sure but thin on profits, if at all. "The more you insist the Colorado/Canyon will be a failure, the more I hope they blow away the RoadWhales™..." See I don't know where this became personal for you. It's just business for the rest of us. If small truck OEMs can succeed and thrive, awesome. If not not. For GM, this may be personal too. But businesses that can't separate the personal from the financial, often fail. But we'll see what happens when the GM twins hit the market. And if there's new life in the segment. Or small truck buyers just moving from one brand to the other, chasing the cheapest. But hey that's what we do.

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    • Vulpine Vulpine on Feb 16, 2014

      @wstarvingteacher I rest my case. You've just proven to everyone that you don't pay attention to posts you don't think I'd comment in. It's there, all you have to do is look for it. In fact, I think you'll find that I posted the announcement on two different threads. And while I'll agree with your numerical assessment of overall growth, that doesn't explain why some are seeing far more Tundras than others. Pennsylvania, by the way, is not an "isolated pocket".

  • DenverMike DenverMike on Feb 16, 2014

    @Vulpine - Yes OEMs need to move their full-size truck design studios to the heart of Pennsylvania farm country... Got it! But who's gonna keep an eye out for when you announce your username changes? When do you schedule your new username coming out parties? I missed the last 5 or 6. Got links to your past ones?

  • Varezhka Of all the countries to complain about WTO rules violation, especially that related to battery business…
  • Carson D At 1:24 AM, the voyage data recorder (VDR) stopped recording the vessel’s system data, but it was able to continue taping audio. At 1:26 AM, the VDR resumed recording vessel system data. Three minutes later, the Dali collided with the bridge. Nothing suspicious at all. Let's go get some booster shots!
  • Darren Mertz Where's the heater control? Where's the Radio control? Where the bloody speedometer?? In a menu I suppose. How safe is that??? Volvo....
  • Lorenzo Are they calling it a K4? That's a mountain in the Himalayas! Stick with names!
  • MaintenanceCosts It's going to have to go downmarket a bit not to step on the Land Cruiser's toes.
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