New Chevy Colorado mega-thread

You guys are worried about vibes while GM just caused the deaths of 13 people from a poor design that they ignored for years too. Just seems strange...

Don't get me wrong I wouldn't buy a new Taco either but there's no way I would buy a GM product if your worried about annoying little issues.

 

What I cant figure out with Toyota is there game plan when it comes to selling their trucks. Unless they are making crazy profit per unit I dont know why they havent upped their game yet.

It seems like they put all their R&D/money into Tundra for the last 7 years and have just left the Tacoma alone since its already a class leader.

BUt the Tundra should be getting better mpgs.

If the 2016 rumor is true then they have probably been working on it for the past few years though.

 

The Colorado and Canyon drive/ride extremely well. Super smooth and well damped, very much a "full size light" truck, but lose a bit of the nimble sporty character that the Tacoma has.

 

What do you mean a full size light truck?

 

I think the full size trucks can ride quite well, and these are just like a mini version of the full size trucks. Feels quite substantial and hunkered down, kinda on the heavy side.

Whereas, I feel the Tacoma feels markedly different from a full size truck. A very light, relatively nimble truck. But the ride can feel a bit choppy and bouncy.

 

Excellent riding half tons = shitty towing and payload capabilities in my experience. I hope this doesn't happen with the Colorado too.

 

Must depend on suspension options. I have a Sport and think the driving is quite stiff (in a good way). Not bouncy at all.

 

I had a Sport as well, definitely the best on-road ride for a Tacoma with the tuned shocks, but know how all the Tacoma's drove/rode.

That said, there was still quite a bit of vibration and road chop, especially on the southern california highways, that came through to the cabin. The GM twins are a good bit more isolated from that.

 

This is kinda off topic, but does anyone know if Toyota has plans on redesigning the look of the Tacoma in 2017/18?

 

There's always been rumours on here of a new design just two years away, since 2010, so don't believe it until you see it. There are some photos of a highly modified 2nd generation undergoing towing tests out in the desert that seem legit. If those photos are true then Toyota is likely looking at a new powertrain, frame, and suspension update for our trucks in the next 4-5 years.

 

Do you guys have pics or a video on what it might look like? I wont.be able to trade in till those years, but Im partial to the 2012 type and dont want to buy used.

 

Were I to fill Mike Sweer's shoes for a day; I would explore the option of unifying Toyota's truck production lines as much as possible. I'd start by designing a standard global platform using the best characteristics from the Tacoma and Hilux. With enough commonality of design, I'd say the economies of scale will have an enormous effect in the medium to long term. Then we might see things like diesel hybrids, direct injection gasoline, etc.

Just my .02

 

Just remember due to the "Chicken Tax" and the wildly different environmental regulations there is a much smaller advantage to unifying the platform between Asia and North America versus doing the same thing with a car.

 

Mike Sweers would love to do something like that, but that's kind of the tail wagging the dog. The Hilux sells in much greater numbers worldwide than the Tacoma sells here in the States, and as of yet, the Hilux has vastly different needs in terms of capability (more) and safety (less). It wouldn't be cost effective for Toyota to currently equip the Hilux for the additional safety that the Tacoma is subject to. That's like hitting 95% of your global customers with added costs for safety that isn't yet required, in markets that are generally more cost sensitive.

 

Looks like we will be seeing these at dealers soon, should be interesting.

 

That orange is a sharp colour!

 

I like that corner step in built into the bumper.

 

Terrible tail lights but looks acceptable otherwise.

 

Looks like shit, but it's practical.

 

Tailgate lock.