I can't even list all the things wrong about this comparo

LOL, ZR what ever it is a Chevy. We know what truck we are getting in if we have to get there.

 

I hope you don't visit BI on the regular. They are a bullshit news site, like Gawker was. All these millennial sites are garbage, with hipster authors who tell their children there are 96 genders.

 

Spoiler alert! No need to read the article. Get the synopsis from the last paragraph:

"So there you have it. The Zr2 is the better mid-sized performance pickup!"

 

Can't list all of the things wrong? I'll give it a go...

A) $44,000 Chevy Colorado ZR2
B) $38,000 Toyota Tacoma TRD Sport
OPINION: So, let's start this off by using two completely different trim levels from different years so that we're comparing apples to oranges. Yeah, that sounds like a good plan.
REALITY: The 2018 Colorado Z71 4WD, Crew Cab, Short Box is actually a lot closer to a 2018 Tacoma TRD Sport that is also a 4WD, Crew Cab, and Short Bed. Keeping upgrades to an absolute minimum, but necessary on the Colorado to get to the same feature set on the Tacoma, you've spent $41,600 on the Chevy over Toyota's $35,810. That's a whopping $5,790 just to get the Colorado Z71 to an even keel with the Tacoma TRD Sport at it's base price. Talk about misleading the public, holy smokes.

A) Eye catching Cajun Red Tintcoat paint job.
B) Utilitarian "Quicksand" color. "It'll look good dirty.
OPINION: Don't think that this is an accident or coincident. They did the color choices on purpose to make the Colorado look snazier.
REALITY: Let's face it, color influence's people and they know it.

A) $43,475 is pricier than the base $20,000 model, but well optioned for $700.
B) $38,031 is over the $25,000 base. "...already set up with many options..."
OPINION: At least they admit that their comparison models are more affordable with the Taco.
REALITY: A bold faced lie. See my note above about the $5,790 needed just to make them much closer to each other. On top of that, the Tacoma also features TSS which has Dynamic Cruise Control, Pre-Collision System, Lane Departure Alert, Automatic High Beams, and Pedestrian Detection. Did they mention any of these with the Colorado? Hmmm, no because the Colorado doesn't have ANY of those safety features. I'll bet a paycheck that their R&D division is working on it though.

A) Short Box, i.e. what most owners need. Also showing a 4-door double cab.
B) Long bed and is just an "access cab."
OPINION: Also intentional with the purpose of showing the Colorado as being more functional for common folks and more worksy for the Taco. They can spin it any way they want, but it's cloaked favoritism.

A) Grill is aggressive and sporty. Good balance.
B) Grill is certifiably unattractive.
OPINION: Yup, I get it. At least they said that it looks more like a truck.

A) Quarter panel stickers are jazzy.
B) The word "Sporty" makes it more fun.
OPINION: You actually focused on the quarter panel stickers as a comparison point? LOL

A) Locking Diff front and rear and shielded underbelly.
B) "Limited-slip differential and an electronic transfer case..." Make it just as ready.
OPINION: No mention at all about the Crawl Control on a Taco. Sheese...
REALITY: They didn't mention that the Toyota is built from the ground up to handle off-roading better than other trucks, period.

A) Worthless hood scoop.
B) The Taco's hood scoop vents the engine bay.
OPINION: Although technically true, but just as useless in that sense, it offers the perfect hiding place for an LED light bar.

A) Bed is on the smaller side. This contradicts their own statement in item #3.
B) The longer bed offers more versatility.
OPINION: Again, focusing on something less worthy trying to prop up the Colorado to the common folk.

A) 3.6 liter V6 is underpowered on paper, but we couldn't tell in reality.
B) 3.6 liter V6 has less horsepower, but it's grunt is more visceral.
OPINION: At least they admitted that the Taco gets better gas mileage.

A) 8-Speed auto. Designed to have a sporty and powerful feel.
B) 6-speed manual. Stated that shift is clunky and they had trouble getting it reverse. Barely mentioned a 6-speed automatic.
OPINION: Intentionally done to turn off drivers that are only used to automatics, which is the majority of the US population. You can't even begin to compare auto vs. manual and frankly, by the writer's own admission, it sounds like he has issues driving a stick to begin with. We don't know that though because he didn't qualify his opinion by saying if he's owned and driven a stick before anything to that affect.

A) Nice interior ( showing all leather trim ).
B) Synthetic upholstery ( i.e. cloth ) and the rear jump seats.
OPINION: Well, most people prefer the cloth seats, like me who like cloth in the hot California sun so we don't stick to the seats when we get out.

A) Steering wheel is no-nonsense, but folks don't really need all of the extra stuff.
B) Downright minimal steering wheel with the only upgrade being the leather wrap.
OPINION: I did a side by side photo comparison of the two steering wheels the author used. They have the virtually the same featurers, including the leather wrapped wheel, but the Chevy's doesn't allow the leather to breath in the hot tems that build up in a vehicle's interior or have the textured grip that the Tacoma has.

A) Yeah, a retro key!
B) Key... Throwback!
OPINION: Although both models were old school keys, they deliberately chose to present them differently.

A) Infotainment is feature packed but small.
B) Infotainment is a smallish 7-inch screen and exacerbates its weakness relative to what we found in the Chevy.
OPINION: Sigh, again with the older vs. newer technology. The screens actually look to be about the same size based on photo, but if you're going to critique them, get into whether or not you have connect your phone to get the navigation system or if it's built into the car. What's the difference? Toyota is taking on the cost of the satellite feed for the truck. Chevy is dumping that cost onto the customer through the required phone app connection and using the consumer's cell phone data plan for navigation.

This actually so blatant, it pisses me off and I have half a mind to send this to businessinsider.com. If someone wants to do that for me, please do.

 

holy chit

 

At any point in the comparison were the trucks actually driven/moving?

 

"Will it beat the Toyota Tacoma's legendary durability? I wouldn't bet on it. Toyota pickups are designed to take a lickin' and keep on tickin' and tickin'." Yup and has a MT - Yota for the win in my book

 

That fucker has lost his mind. #FAKENEWS

 

Functional hood scoop ?
Sport instead of OR for comparison ?
Worthless article thrown together.
I thought shebudgets was bad.

 

Glad you summed it up. It wouldn't let me read the article because I use an Ad Blocker. So it was shut that off, to get pop ups and read a crappy article or pay $1 to their site to read a crappy article.

 

i don't even need to read any of it. anyone who compares a Government Motors product to a Toyota has clearly lost their mind. that would be like comparing our Subaru Impreza to our Lexus RC Coupe. give me a break. Chevy is desperate to get people to come back to their brand after all the buy out mess from years ago. while that is one reason i will NEVER buy another GM product, another is simply due to my past experiences. i read somewhere recently that if they continue on the path they are on now, they will need another government buy out by the year 2020 or somewhere close to that. they waste billions of dollars developing a new Corvette that only a small percentage of people can afford. while the Corvette is a bad ass car, it is not going to garner the market share of sales. they need to get a grip on that and stop wasting money.

 

IDK why but this made me laugh because they are both in your signature.

 

Yup, we own both of them. Its comparing apples to tangerines...lol

 

You've made an interesting point... GM is desperate.

Have you ever really analyzed a GM commercial vs a Toyota commercial?

Toyota commercials NEVER talk about vehicle quality and features. It's just Jan running down the finance specials of the month. Because Toyota has brand recognition; you go to buy a Toyota you know what you're getting before you step on the lot.

Chevy commercials have the hipster dude in skinny jeans trying to lure the car buyer into his van with the candy of awards, features, options, etc. It's like they're trying to ease and reassure you that you're not about to get AF'd if you buy one of these cars. JD Power and associates liked this car... you should too... who the hell is JD Power anyway.

Here in the Wichita area, Tacomas, Tundras, 4-runners, etc are NEVER advertised on TV. Why? They don't need to advertise. And every 15 minutes you're accosted by domestic vehicle ads.

 

He did mention that although I he didn't go off-roading, he did take them through some "tougher" snow somewhere. And in order to work the "clunky" MT, he had to have had it moving.

LOL

Studies have shown that the primary reason that GM became insolvent is due to the unrealistic retirement packages that GM kept agreeing to with the Union. The same thing keeps happening to the Airlines and neither industry has learned the lesson.

 

I'm surprised how many ads Ford runs for the F-series. Like those things will sell whether you advertise or not, is it to make sure they don't lose people to RAM?

But yeah, you don't see ads for Tacoma or 4Runners these days.

 

Should be an official Toyota ad:

 

The last true Tacoma television ad I can remember seeing was the one Toyota made to introduce the Gen 3's, but it didn't have any awards or any garbage like that, just Tacomas in their natural habitat. Still love it.

 

Yea, I read it a few days ago. Thought about posting, but was so confused by every part of the comparison but one.... the price gap. It's one of the reasons I didn't go with a Colorado/Canyon... the price gap is large and the first year depreciation difference is massive. I didn't want to take the hit if the truck didn't work out or I felt differently later on.

 

Main reason I didn't go fullsize. Now look at me, I'm getting sucked down the Tacoma offroad hole... oops.