Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Still waiting to see one in person and take it for a drive. I'm interested in the 4wd short bed crew cab with the V6 and tow package. My local dealer showed one in inventory but when I stopped by today it wasn't on the lot. (They were closed).
I go to see the Canyon in person today. This is a mid size truck? It is huge. In fact, it could be mistaken for a Silverado. Anything larger than a Dodge Dakota is not mid size anymore.
I've driven pickups for decades. In my mind, there are two reasons to buy a compact pickup. First would be fuel economy. Unfortunately, most of the today's V6 compact pickups get little better fuel economy than a full-size truck. So much for that reason, until GM puts the diesel in the Colorado. Maybe then it will compete; without it, nope. The second reason to buy a compact pickup for some people is physical size. In my usage, there are some places that a full-size 4WD pickup is just too big to go. For some, if that is a major consideration, they are willing to go with a compact pickup, even if fuel economy isn't that much different. For many of those buyers, though, the well-proven Toyota Tacoma would still be preferable over the Colorado. If Toyota would equip the Tacoma with a diesel option, they would swamp Colorado sales right off the bat. GM has never built a really good compact pickup for the US market. The new Colorado looks nice, but I still don't think it is up to Toyota quality and durability. GM has built fairly decent full-size trucks for a long time, but they just can't seem to figure out how to build good compact trucks.
Right. One thing I liked about my old '94 Ranger compared to my '03 F150 that replaced it was that I could front-end my Ranger into my covered parking whereas the F150 had to be backed in and only if nobody was parked across from me. Of course, my '08 SuperCrew has higher fenders, so that now seems like no sweat in comparison.
That aside, both my trucks get such similar MPGs to a v6 midsize/compact that it would be pointless for me to try one out and I am glad I did not. I did want to upgrade to another Ranger, but even those had junk auto transmissions and to do any pulling requires 3.73 or 4.10 gears and that really kills MPGs with either v6 engine they had several years back.
About the only way compacts/midsizers work now is if they pretty much offer four-cylinder gassers or diesels.
I'm not so hot on the idea of 7,000 lbs towing with a Colorado, though. That's going to make for some ghastly MPGs and you're hoping that kind of load doesn't tow your ~4,000 lb truck instead.
The size of the vehicle is also attractive since I previously owned a full size pickup and it barely fit in my garage making it nearly impossible to open the door to get out.
Did you read post #6 ?!?!? TrapperL's report on it....
Thank you. I forgot about that report. However, all the Colorados that are listed as incoming in my local dealer's inventory are z71 loaded crew cabs with 4wd and v6 engines. They are topped out around $36,000 and are being listed for around $34,000 with dealer incentives. I'm not sure what $48,000 to $50,000 models are.
I guess I should rephrase my question asking if anyone has purchased one? I'd really would like to know how they are working out for them. I've had a Ranger, a Toyota Hilux, and a Ram 1500 with a hemi. The Ranger got poor mileage, 14 mpg, and was too heavy in the front end wearing out the tires prematurely. My Toyota was my first vehicle, a 75 and I got it used and fairly well abused at 80,000 miles. It went about 120,000 before the engine blew. It really wasn't good for much more than a small load or putting some bikes and lawn mowers in the back. My Ram got about 11 mpg, was too big for the garage, and was impractical for daily use.
I'm looking for something similar in practicality to the Ranger but with better mpg for everyday use. I'm intrigued by the payload and towing capacity of the Colorado. The mileage is decent but it should be better IMHO given that mpg is similar among full-size pickups that are larger and more powerful. Perhaps the diesel will fit that bill.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
