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

So.. a better frame made of what. Because if you up the frame to tow an 8000 lbs trailer than your going to have a truck that weighs more than 4900 lbs. Then what will you have? A TUNDRA. DING DING DING .

The places in the world were trucks the size of the Tacoma exist with true +1000 lbs plus payload ratings don't have full sized trucks. The lack of a full sized truck drives manufacturers to make a heavier version of their small truck to fill in the role. They drive rough, because the suspension is built for a vehicle that weighs 1/2 of it's total weight rating, and costs as much as a full sized would. The people that own them work them, you don't see them driven as every day vehicles like you see trucks put putting around over in North America. In North America that sort of vehicle would sell minimum units because North Americans would rather spend the same amount of money on a bigger full sized truck over a small full size capable mini truck.

Sorry but you're really not catching on to this. The Tacoma is, at best, a stop gap towing machine. It has the ability to tow 6500 lbs the same way a Highlander can tow 5000 lbs or a F150 has the ability to tow 12,200 lbs. Those are max numbers. Can it be done, sure. Can it be done without making you want to barf on any sort of slope. No. Truck companies push those towing ratings now because they are compromising between a light and efficient design for gas mileage and a powerful efficient engine for towing. What they don't address is how that truck, with a small footprint, is supposed to stabilize a bumper hitch trailer. If you know anything about towing you'd know there's a big difference between a tractor unit fifth wheel hitch and a bumper hitch on a passenger vehicle.

And, speaking of which, great job comparing a truck designed for towing with a truck designed like a swiss army knife. So if I read you right you want the Tacoma to turn into a miniature Kenworth? What a joke. How well do you think a heavy Tacoma is going to offroad, or handle on road for the average driver, with heavy coil springs or leaf packs designed for +1000 lbs of payload?

 

You think you need fifth wheel to tow 8000 -12 000 lb
What happens when trucks tow tandem trailers?
Are you saying thats joke too and they should be towing only on the fifth wheel.

The rest of your post is nothing but BS. its like you have no car experience at all.
The fact is that trucks can easily tow double or triple of their own weight if trailer has own braking system.
The way you tow it (fifth wheel, trailer hookup has little difference and fifth wheel benefit is just more weight over driving wheels for traction. ) but I am not asking Tacoma to be able to tow 30 000 freakin pounds like Dodge RAM 4500.
Double of weight (9000) you can achieve with 500-600 lb hitch weight no problem. Nobody is planning to tow 9000 lb trailer in the middle of blizzard up the Ski slope in Vermont.
9000 lb is what I would consider minimum for that sized truck.
If you concerned with quality of ride than you dont have to buy Towing package, last time I checked it was optional.

 

I am not really interested in the diesel Colorado...I was thinking more along the lines of a Tacoma vs. a 1/2 ton fullsize. There was a time the Toyotas got a hell of a lot better gas mileage than the fullsizes. Why I downsized from a F250 that got 8 mpg to a 4Runner that got 22. Now that gap is narrowed. Hell, my buddy's Silverado gets better mileage than my Tacoma, plus can haul more, and have more power to boot.

Not too concerned about off road nimbleness since I ride dirt bikes, trucks get kinda boring off-road compared to a cycle.

I really like the Tacomas, hard not to look at 1/2 ton fullsizes now to replace it.

 

Thanks for the explanation. Still think Toyota is being cheap...since just about everything else out there has 4 wheel disks...like Honda Civics and such....even my old '02 Trooper has disks at all 4 corners. It stops better than my Tacoma.

 

Sigh, there's a big difference in the whole concept. If you want to go through airbrakes, a dedicated tractor unit, and double the rubber on the pavement be my guess. The fifth wheel at the front of a tractor train is critical to balancing the rest of the train. It forms a solid pivot vertically the fights to urge to tip far more effectively than bumper hitch style trailers. I manage super-B's all day at work in operations. There's a reason three hauling has mostly disappeared in Alberta. It's unsafe for the load and the driver in windy or emergency conditions.

Long road trains with bumper pull units are only used in very remote areas, like the outback of Austrialia, or in third world countries where bodies are cheaper than trucks.

Everything above a 3/4 ton sacrifices most of it's drivability for reinforcement to safely and effectively handle heavier and heavier loads behind a truck. The Tacoma was designed to be light and nimble. The closer you try to bring it to full sized trucks, the more you will take away from the drivability characteristics that are unique to the Tacoma. Heavier axles, suspension components, and other powertrain components have to be shared across the line for scale of economy reasons. You can't just stick those options on a few tow package vehicles and make your money back.

Enjoy your new full sized truck. They were built to move everything you keep talking about.

 

For what is worth, the 2015 Tacoma beat out the Colorado in 4wheelers latest review: http://www.fourwheeler.com/vehicle-reviews/2015-pickup-of-the-year/

 

The Ram smoked the Taco......

 

The put up a TRD Pro against it, it should of beat it. Wonder if a King equipped Colorado would of faired differently?

http://www.prnewswire.com/news-rele...kit-by-king-shock-technologies-300041005.html

In the end it is personal opinion. Crazy how the fan boys get all upset if someone points out the flaws in the platform. The Tacoma is a good little truck, but it isn't perfect. I dunno, I can get more truck for about the same money...this one time fan boy isn't impressed anymore. I am one of the people that think they ruined it when they upsized it back in '05. Should of kept it small, and worked on getting stellar fuel economy out of it. It has become this bloated behemoth that doesn't do anything well. The '16 looks like warmed over version of that..

 

The powerwagon is a pretty sweet truck. It's to big though to wheel in forested areas up in the mountains where I go. It's pretty easy to see why it would win any wheeling competition since it's the only truck available stock with front and rear lockers.

Just FYI if any Canadians are looking to buy one Northside Dodge in Lethbridge had a special on a 2015 Hemi Powerwagon. The had it marked down to 45K if you could prove you had a commercial account, which anyone working for a large company can do. You could finance the vehicle privately and it worked out ridiculously cheap. If I didn't think the wife would kill me for buying her one I would of snatched it up on the spot.

A king equipped Colorado isn't going to fix the fact that GM went with aluminum drive train components up front. You'd better throw lots of armor to cover every up front solidly on a Colorado or else you are going to have a bad time. Other than that I hope to see a few Colorado's up on the trails. There is nothing wrong with good competition.

Talking about bloated behemoth, the Colorado is bigger than a Tacoma..... just saying.....

I often wonder if someone came out with a really small truck, even a city car/truck concept like Hyundai was talking about, how well it would sell. If it did great I could see compact trucks coming back out into the market.

 

The GM twins look good to me on paper. I wanted to comparison shop a GMC Canyon before buying my new Tacoma last week, but there were none in stock locally, nor Colorados (I just prefer the styling of the GMC). I could have driven farther to find a Canyon in stock, but decided to get the Taco for a couple of reasons:
-We had a 2005 Yukon XL that wasn't as reliable as I'd hoped.
-I know the rules prohibit political banter, but the whole "New GM" thing rubs me the wrong way. I'll stop there.
-Tacoma does feel a bit dated, but it has the essential tech features, and reliability is more important to me in a truck than a cushy interior.
-Built in San Antonio, which appeals to this Texan.
-Taco has incredible resale value, so in a couple years I can reassess. Either give the GMC a fair shake, or trade up for a new gen Taco, or stick with my current one if I still love it.

 

That pretty much goes for any truck, stock skiplates are worthless.

Yeah the segment has grown too large. A 1/2 ton is a better buy, me thinks. There really aren't any major advantages of a mid size...maybe a little nimbler on the trail...that is not enough for me. I buy trucks for a general use all-around vehicle...more pros now-a-days with a fullsize than a mid-size.

What I like about the 1st gen Tacoma...it is great smallish run around vehicle...but I also think run-around vehicles should get stellar fuel economy...which it doesn't. My old 22RE's I could squeak 23-24 mpg out of them. My 1st gen, I get 17.5...and I drive it like an old man.

Believe a small pickup "should" be in the high 20's range for mpg. I would be fine even with a Uni-Body if it meant stellar fuel economy. Shoot, those Ford Tansits are Uni-Body, and they have 4000+ lbs payload...so strength isn't an issue. You can only do so much with IFS anyway (as for lifting and such)

 

Also, according to them the Tacoma has a faster 0-60 and faster 1/4 mile time.

 

It does. The Colorado is heavier and doesn't have much more torque than the Tacoma. I'd expect the new Tacoma might be a little slower 0-60 too considering the engine and gearing is going to be more tuned towards fuel efficiency. It's not a huge difference between the trucks though, and honestly whose drag racing a stock Z71 Colorado or TRD Pro Tacoma?

 

I guarantee when 2 hot heads pull up together at a red light, one with a Tacoma and the other with his all new cheby, they're gonna race. Cheby guy will be dissapointed when the 10 year old design Tacoma doesn't loose.

 

What they need to do is compare the new taco. 2nd gen is dated. Plus that is a site dedicated to 4 wheeling. The colorado is geared toward old men who drive in cities and dont want to park a giant truck. The third gen taco will take the cake for sure once its released, as it has the interior upgrade that is long over due and reduced road noise which is also long over due.

Gm did it right with the colorado and it wont be a flop. I bet they sell more colorados than tacomas this year. Unless you're a die hard tacoma fan or off road enthusiast the colorado is a better truck for a daily driver.

 

The chevy was faster in the 1/4 at 86.2 vs taco had 84.3
Chevy was also better in the braking with 131.4 vs taco 138.9

Would also like to see them numbers with 750# in the bed..
After all they are trucks. Real numbers or real life with some load on them.

 

Yep wait for them to try the ramp in the standard SR5 with the low front on it for 2016.
It will hit the same as chevy.

 

They won't try it in the 2016 SR5, they'll use a 2016 TRD Offroad. After removing the air damn I'd guess the 2016 Tacoma will still have a better approach angle than the Colorado just based on the pictures that are out.

After a good lift and/or aftermarket bumper it's all the same anyways.

That wasn't what wheelers was testing. They were testing the "out of the box" off road capability of those trucks. The one thing the Tacoma still has over the Chevy is a full locking rear differential. The ZR-2 concept from Chevy has lockers but there is still no word on if they are taking it to production. I hope they do. Not just because the ZR-2 is a nice looking machine, but because it would push Toyota to create a truly awesome TRD Pro for the next generation.

 

Chevy has a locker in the rear. I kind of like that setup better than the e lock that only works at low speeds and in 4L.

Had several in the past.
But nothing will beat a spool or full time locker for true off road.

 

We were talking off road...

I'd love a true LSD for snowy and rainy days. Other than that I prefer for the true locker for everything else such as off road, on boat ramps, and on muddy gravel roads.