Chevy Colorado Review

BudmanHemi · 09-06-2004, 07:28 PM

To those who dont know my Hemi was hit, and i had a loaded LS Colorado for the last 3weeks.

Specs
3.5 5cylinder 4x4 quadcab loaded.

Coming into this truck i will be totally honest. I hated chevy so much that i asked enterprise if they had anything else for me to drive. Thats the truth. I despise chevy because of a problem i had with them many years back. Anyways i took the truck and i think it changed me alittle bit. It really is a nice truck for the right person. Anyways i give it:

ENGINE:
Forget about Maintenance. Your lucky if you find the filter, and you wont find the plugs. Very nice smooth shifting. Very little passing gear. I didnt pull with it, but i dont think it holds the ratings chevy gives it. I wouldn't be pulling large boats, or loading it with a ton of topsoil, but it is great for the trip to IKEA or you local yardsale. Great commuter, and unbelievable MPG. I cant say enough about the mileage. I am in love with the mileage!! LOL

INTERIOR:
Nice, and very roomy length wise. I was unhappy with the width of the truck. The cupholder was set back to far, and not adjustable, and the console is garbage. Its small, setback to far, and when top is lifted it actually falls back cause its so small. I did search there site, and they do have other options for this, so i may have had the bad one. Did i mention fuel mileage?

EXTERIOR:
Now this is totally biased so lets keep it short. Bed's useless, and way to small. I like the look of the LS except for the front end. I wish GM would redesign the chevy frontend more like the older ones.

WHO'S THIS TRUCK FOR:
Soccor moms who dont want to pay SUV prices.
Younger people will love this truck.
Long commuters that still need a light duty truck on weekends.
Again did i mention fuel mileage?

WHO DONT WANT THIS TRUCK:
Do you tow?
Do you Haul heavy loads?
Do you need bed space?

PRICE:
I think its alittle steep considering its the same price i payed for a fullsize. The site says starting at 18, but after building the one i have in my driveway it came to 28k. Thats alittle steep for a midsized truck. Other then the price its a nice truck.

OVERALL:
I wish i could have came here and totally flamed this truck, but i cant. Its really nice for the right person. Its not for me, but i would buy it for my son if he just turned 18. Its a really safe vehicle to drive. Visibility is good over the hood. Braking is strong compared to the size of the truck, and its not enough power to get you killed, but it will get you to college and back. I am impressed with it other then a few small things. If i had over 100miles a day to drive i would probably have to go get one.

rawze · 09-06-2004, 09:12 PM

i can't decide if i like them or not. i have seen quite a few on the road.

BudmanHemi · 09-06-2004, 09:35 PM

rawze, LOL i know exactly how your thinking, before i got this one i was also thinking "whats this good for". Why would anyone want that thing? Trust me it has its values to some people, and i can now understand why they sell them. although its not for me, and i find it expensive for what they get. I can see the focus GM is using to get buyers.

PHOEBISIS · 09-07-2004, 08:11 AM

Budmanhemi,you're right;I test drove one of them,it was pretty nice.It was a lot noisier(mainly engine noise) than the full sized Chevy(nice truck),and noisier then the Titan.The MSRP is absurd of course-$24000 for a lightly optioned Quadcab-my Titan MSRPed for that.They are coming down on price-maybe $5000,still not enough.Charlie

Bayou Titan · 09-07-2004, 08:58 AM

The Colorado is built in my city and the last I heard was that the number sold monthly was less than than the S10 it replaced. I see more Titans on the road around here even though the Colorado is built here. This has to be bad news for GM since they spent $750,000,000 to add on to the plant to build them. Now GM is rumored to build the H3 in the same plant.

I also question why one would pay nearly as much as a full size truck to get one of these. I think the 5 cyl. engine was way over hyped. Folks were saying that the engine would get close to V8 power.

ski_freak · 09-07-2004, 08:59 AM

I agree that there seems to be a market for so many type of driver needs and the Colorado will probably sell okay, but I also agree with PHOEBISIS using the word "absurd" on the price.

To me the truck should be $18 decked out and less if it is stripped.

jd1973 · 09-07-2004, 11:16 AM

Ever price a loaded Frontier or Tacoma? Unbelievable

Still thinkin · 09-07-2004, 01:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jd1973

Ever price a loaded Frontier or Tacoma? Unbelievable

Amen to that!

TitanIam · 09-07-2004, 02:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BudmanHemi

...I would buy it for my son if he just turned 18...

...and I'd buy the Frontier if my son just turned 18.

BudmanHemi · 09-08-2004, 11:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PHOEBISIS

Budmanhemi,you're right;I test drove one of them,it was pretty nice.It was a lot noisier(mainly engine noise) than the full sized Chevy(nice truck),and noisier then the Titan.The MSRP is absurd of course-$24000 for a lightly optioned Quadcab-my Titan MSRPed for that.They are coming down on price-maybe $5000,still not enough.Charlie

Yes, i totally forgot about the noise the engine makes in my review. I intended to put that in there also. It has a high wine especially under hard acceleration. The thing shifts over 6k when floored so that may be why its like that. It almost sounds like its going to self destruct just before it shifts. You also hear it when your just cruising under light acceleration, but not real bad. I think thats just the nature of a smaller engine though. It has to rev like that to get power as with the bigger blocks we get power at low rpms.

BudmanHemi · 09-08-2004, 12:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bayou Titan

The Colorado is built in my city and the last I heard was that the number sold monthly was less than than the S10 it replaced. I see more Titans on the road around here even though the Colorado is built here. This has to be bad news for GM since they spent $750,000,000 to add on to the plant to build them. Now GM is rumored to build the H3 in the same plant.

I also question why one would pay nearly as much as a full size truck to get one of these. I think the 5 cyl. engine was way over hyped. Folks were saying that the engine would get close to V8 power.

I agree the engine was way over hyped! There's no way that engine has V8 power, and if it does, i would like to see the V8 there comparing it to. There's a guy in my DTW chapter that was telling me how fast it is, and it will run 15.8's all day long stock. I told him noway, but he kept telling me i would be suprised. I couldn't stop laughing after i got off the phone with him. I offer 1,000 bucks to anyone thats rents that 4x4 loaded quad, and runs under 16. Now reg cab stripped with the 3.5 may break 16 if they know what there doing, but my *** that truck breaks 16 in a quad. GM needs to market the mileage that thing gets. Its absolutely incredible! My 2.0 jetta dont hold a candle to that trucks mileage. I owned a 3cylinder geo that didnt get that darn good of mileage. I cant believe GM is not marketing there mileage to sell that truck. Especially with the prices of fuel now.

PHOEBISIS · 09-08-2004, 01:48 PM

Budmanhemi,what would guess you got mpg wise.City HY??My ext cab Tacoma 4cyl would get 20 city,and 23-24 hy with the auto.It was-is-a lot smaller and lighter(only 2800 lbs) than a 4x4 QC Colorado,and the "back seat" was a joke,not even fit for 5 yo kids.When Isis(one of the Greyhounds) and I drove to AZ,from New Orleans,I had to plywood over the back,and she still barely had enough room.
If the Colorado gets an honest 20 mpg city,Chevy should be Yelling to the world.Oh,the Colorado 5 cyl was a lot faster than my very slow Tacoma-sure as hell not 16 fast,maybe 17 or so,and 10 sec 0-60.Thanks,Charlie PS They should make it 5 inches longer and put the 275 hp straight six in it.I like straight sixes.

Bayou Titan · 09-08-2004, 03:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PHOEBISIS

Budmanhemi,what would guess you got mpg wise.City HY??My ext cab Tacoma 4cyl would get 20 city,and 23-24 hy with the auto.It was-is-a lot smaller and lighter(only 2800 lbs) than a 4x4 QC Colorado,and the "back seat" was a joke,not even fit for 5 yo kids.When Isis(one of the Greyhounds) and I drove to AZ,from New Orleans,I had to plywood over the back,and she still barely had enough room.
If the Colorado gets an honest 20 mpg city,Chevy should be Yelling to the world.Oh,the Colorado 5 cyl was a lot faster than my very slow Tacoma-sure as hell not 16 fast,maybe 17 or so,and 10 sec 0-60.Thanks,Charlie PS They should make it 5 inches longer and put the 275 hp straight six in it.I like straight sixes.

One major engineering faux pas for GM is that people are wanting in-line sixes and V8's in the Colorado and this can't be done without a total redesign.

ski_freak · 09-09-2004, 04:19 AM

Not to stray too far from topic I was wondering about GMC's hybrid for the 1500.
It seem by the link below that there is barely any gain by this proposed hybrid and 5.3 liter engine.

http://www.automobilemag.com/reviews...sierra_hybrid/

I suppose as fuel prices continue to increase and tree huggers continue to interfere with the collection of oil we who buy trucks for towing will be hoping for new technology that provides power & torque with improved gas mileage.