Is The 2015 Chevy Colorado In Danger Of Becoming A Failed Experiment?

Love my '14 Tacoma. Bought it to replace my old Canyon. Not interested in the new Canyon or Colorado. However, I decided not to trade-in the "junk" Canyon - so I still own it, it has become my "general duty" truck. With nearly 180,000 miles on the odometer, I can say I have received my dollars worth on that GM product.

 

This just depends on what someone's looking for. It's still a midsized truck that has upgraded interiors and a different drivetrain. It may very well drive a hell of a lot better than the current tacomas.

The only thing I would say I'm a little worried about is the new engine. Whether it will feel like a downgrade in power when it comes to towing and hauling.

In all honesty, I was relieved it wasn't completely and totally different. The size is right, and with a few mods it will look pretty good.

Given Toyotas past, it will probably hold onto reliability and dependability. Which we can't say for a certain brand.

 

It is typical conservative Toyota, which is a good thing, just making minor tweaks. Honestly nothing Toyota has ever produced is very exciting...they do tend to build boring but reliable vehicles. Which is what I want...something to haul my crap around and not break down too much.

 

This is true, sometimes I honestly wonder how they sell so many vehicles. When you compare what they offer to other brands, Toyota's stuff is so generic, nothing head turning, my grandma got a 2013 Camry and its nice but nothing special about it at all.

 

Well, I had a 2008 Colorado. I felt no remorse trading it in for a Tacoma. When the new 2015 Colorado first hit the scene, GM either lied or made a typo regarding the specs of the truck. I got a better truck than I had. How can a car company that's has more recalls than vehicals last in this world. Oh yeah, my tax dollars.

 

Majority of car buyers a vehicle is simply an appliance for them.

I am kinda in the middle, want something that is a pleasure to drive, yet be an uber reliable appliance.

Always liked Toyotas sub-dued looks, the latest crop of design is getting to be a little too much for me, perhaps it is because a boring company is trying to add "excitement" to the line? It is like taking a girl that has natural beauty...then whoring her up with a bunch of make up, and gawdy attire. Please stop Toyota...please stop... Don't try and be like the "other guys" ...keep on being boring Toyota.

I have liked the current HiLux styling over the Tacoma...very subdued. I was hoping they would of gone this direction. (More boringerer, than gawd awful rhinoplasty )

 

Right on target!

 

Main reason being, people are going after reliability over anything else. If Toyota built unreliable boring vehicles they wouldn't sell any.

 

I agree that they are starting to follow other manufacturers in styling. Look at the big grills. Something that has kept them from being unreliable failures is that they followed no one else, and took their own path.

Honda/Acura seem to be the only ones sticking with a slightly smaller grill.

 

Yeah, wish they would not try and appeal to the masses, and keep on doing their own thing. Oh well, it is still a Toyota underneath.

Big grills aren't anything new...it is 50's all over again...whoever has the biggest grill wins!!! No different than horsepower/torque wars. It is a pissing match really. Wondering if the target market is men that feel inadequate?

Too bad the LC70 wouldn't fly here, proves you can build a 1 ton truck without a massive grill. Man, if I could get my hands on one of these, probably be the last vehicle I would have to buy at this point in life.

Boring and no bullshit...

 

Personally I love the styling of the older trucks. I had an 84 and a 93 Toyota pickup, and I always loved the way those older boxier trucks looked.

 

Me too, I had '85 4Runner and a '92 truck. My favorite years are the '79-83 and the '01-04 first gen Tacos. Seems like the 01-04's took some of the early pickup style cues, without going over the top. Round wheel wells, semi rounded lights, vertical grill "teeth".

 

I don't see how, my new Tacoma is luxurious compared to my Colorado. The main thing for me is reliability. I also love the looks of my truck too.

 

That one with the round headlights is awesome!

 

Well, I wouldn't get too enamored of the new GM twins. Edmunds has a longterm review going in a Z71 and after 7500 miles they were avging 18mpg combined http://www.edmunds.com/chevrolet/colorado/2015/long-term-road-test/

They liked it overall, but I'm 99% sure the 2016 Tacoma will match it or top it in every category. They paid invoice on the Z71, here's what they paid for:
We're going to be spending a lot of time in our Colorado, so the navigation system ($495) and seven-speaker Bose audio were musts ($500). We'd like to test the Colorado's 7,000-pound towing capacity, so we opted for the $250 Trailer package that includes a hitch and four- and seven-pin connectors. Lastly, we ordered floor mats ($160) and a rubber bed mat ($140).
Total MSRP on our 2015 Chevrolet Colorado is $36,535. Because we have repeatedly purchased cars at Selman Chevrolet in Orange, California, they offered it to us at the invoice price of $35,357.
http://www.edmunds.com/chevrolet/colorado/2015/long-term-road-test/introduction.html

That is a lot of $$$$ for the top of the line Z71 model that surely is not as offroad capable as the current TRD OR Tacoma. Rear slider is an option, 15 bolts to remove the front airdam. http://www.edmunds.com/chevrolet/colorado/2015/long-term-road-test/performance.html

The Colorado and Canyon I test drove are quiet, comfortable, they have some refinements that top the current Tacoma but I bet the 2016 Taco will match or top them in every category. The rear drums on the Tacoma are still a bone of contention.

I didn't see dual zone climate control nor heated mirrors on the Twins, no inverter, no bedrail load control, only four tie hooks in the bed stock. Curb weight I believe is up around 4600 lbs.

There may be some things about the Twins that scream "BUY ME!" to some people, but not to me.

 

To even get navigation on the Tacoma you have to get the TRD Sport Extra Value option. So you're base price (without a locker or towing package) is $35,170. Keep in mind, that's over $35k for the ten year old model; not the new 2016. Plan on spending a WHOLE lot more once the 2.5, uhhh 3rd gen Tacoma comes out.

If you care about offroad capability you are going to remove the airdam and never put it back on. Most of the offroaders on this site remove their sway bar and you don't hear them bitching. Bottom line, if you are so inept you can't remove some bolts, you probably are too much of a pansy to own a truck.

Heated mirrors are bitchin for those in colder climates. For the rest of us it's not an issue. The inverter that comes with the towing package is absolute shit. You can't power a damn thing with only 400 watts. I know from personal experience. If I could go back in time I'd change two things about my truck 1) Locker 2) Don't spend a dime on that worthless bed outlet. I recall my Tacoma coming with only 2 tie downs so 4 sounds like an improvement. In any event, I added 4 additional tie downs to my truck for $10. I'd imagine if 4 weren't enough you could do the same to the GM trucks. And there is a bed rail system on the GM trucks.


So again, I'm just a little disappointed that Toyota didn't come much further in an entire decade. The GM trucks have improved leaps and bounds. Though one could argue they needed to come a long way to be competitive (they surely did) they seem to have hit the mark. I'd assumed that fiercer competition would drive Toyota to come up with a better product but that doesn't seem to be the case. At least when Apple comes out with a "new" product that's exactly the same as the old one, the price is somewhat similar. The "new" Tacoma seems very much the same as the 2005 but will cost more. I've seen the truck in person so I'm allowed to pass judgement but I'll wait to form my final opinions till fall of this year when I can drive one!

 

I saw my SECOND Colorado yesterday evening. I drive 60 miles of hwy daily in DFW and thought that I would see more by now. These things are really selling like hotcakes around here.

 

Ive only seen one on the road..

 

You can see why. They have two decent motors. Imagine getting the base model, still with a plus 200 hp four. Toyota is playing catch up on the low end.