2018 Chevrolet Colorado Pros vs Cons

Full-size pickup trucks are the top-selling vehicles in America today, but despite being overshadowed by their larger brothers, modern compact pickups also provide an excellent balance of comfort and utility that many shoppers can appreciate. The 2018 Chevrolet Colorado is an excellent example of just how much a compact truck can offer: it has a versatile selection of engines, excellent performance and utility specifications, and is easy to drive and use. Anyone who needs or wants a truck will appreciate the advantages that it can offer.

What’s New for 2018?

While the Colorado was last redesigned in 2015, Chevrolet has been adding new features and options to improve its utility every year. This year’s addition to the specifications sheet is the Active Tow feature, which helps align the truck with the trailer to make the coupling process easier and less frustrating.

Ten Reasons You May Like the 2018 Chevrolet Colorado – The Pros

1. Powerful Engines

The 2018 Colorado impresses with several powerful engines to choose from. The base engine is a 2.5-liter four-cylinder that feels adequate for the truck’s compact size at 200 horsepower, and provides a nicely balanced option for buyers who aren’t pushing the truck to its limits. They are likely to prefer the 3.6-liter V-6 that clocks in at 308 horsepower. That outclasses most of the Colorado’s competition easily.

2. Available Turbodiesel

For the really tough jobs, the Chevrolet Colorado offers a diesel option alongside its conventional gasoline offerings. It is a 2.8-liter turbocharged four-cylinder model, and it can generate up to 369 pound-feet of torque. That can easily get anything you attach to the truck moving, while also providing good fuel efficiency as a bonus.

3. Good Fuel Efficiency

It is not just the turbodiesel that offers good fuel economy on the Colorado, with the entire lineup being surprisingly restrained in fuel consumption. While the diesel is the most efficient option, at 22 miles per gallon city, 30 mpg highway and 25 mpg combined, the base four-cylinder is close behind at 20 mpg city, 26 mpg highway, 22 mpg combined. Even the six-cylinder is relatively efficient, getting a respectable 18 mpg city, 25 mpg highway, 20 mpg combined for the rear-wheel drive model.

4. Excellent Towing

The 2018 Chevrolet Colorado may be rated as a compact pickup truck, but it can easily match some of the larger trucks with its towing capacity. Maxing out at 7,700 pounds, it is virtually unmatched in its own class, making it easy for towing-minded buyers to choose it over a bigger truck. It matches it with a respectable max payload of 1,600 pounds as well.

5. Solid Off-road Ability

With its tall ride height and good suspension, all versions of the 2018 Colorado can confidently leave the pavement, but the Z71 and ZR2 models are especially well-equipped for vehicular trailblazing. The Z71 raises the truck’s suspension and adds special off-road dampers to it, as well as adding a limited-slip differential to the rear axle. The ZR2 one-ups those changes, making the suspension not only taller, but wider as well, and using high-end racing shock absorbers, making it an amazing off-road machine.

6. Agile Handling

Even when it is not racing through deserts or wading through marshes, the 2018 Chevrolet Colorado provides a very dynamic and responsive driving experience. The suspension is soft, but still provides the truck with a good turn radius, while the steering feels engaged and evenly weighted.

7. Comfortable Cabin

The soft suspension and the large tires, as well as the spacious seating, make for a very comfortable ride inside the Colorado. The rear passengers also have a chance to stretch out in the Crew Cab models, which can seat up to five, giving the Colorado the versatility of a people-mover as well.

8. Versatile Bed

The heart of any truck is its bed, and the 2018 Chevrolet Colorado provides many different ways to use its bed. It is deeper than the industry average, and comes in either a 62-inch Short Box or a 74-inch Long Box versions. Both offer some excellent quality-of-life features, like a one-handed tailgate. For specific applications, it is even possible to get a Colorado without a bed in order to add a custom one, adding to its versatility.

9. Extensive Options Sheet

For a truck, the Colorado offers a surprisingly wide array of options, features and entertainment upgrades. From a touch-screen infotainment system to premium Bose audio, there are plenty of things to choose from. As an added bonus, many of the options are either offered a la carte or bundled into relatively small packages, making the Colorado easy to customize.

10. Inexpensive Entry Level

For buyers who are looking to get a good truck without too many frills, the 2018 Colorado offers impressive value. While the base model may be short on features and is not very customizable, unlike the rest of the lineup, it also offers one of the lowest price points in the segment. That makes it a perfect value as a business vehicle or a secondary vehicle.

Reasons You May Not Like the 2018 Chevrolet Colorado – The Cons

1. Spartan Interior

While the Colorado is well-built and the interior has a nice quality to it, it uses very inexpensive materials throughout, which might turn off buyers used to better-appointed vehicles. Many other trucks in the segment offer more attractive materials as well.

2. Below Average Safety Record

The 2018 Chevrolet Colorado earned four out of five stars from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration for its crash safety. While that is a relatively respectable score, most of the other compact and full-size trucks earned five-star ratings, outclassing the Colorado.

3. Off-roading Trims are Very Specialized

While the mid-range models of the Colorado are very easy to equip to one’s desire, the Z71 and ZR2 off-road models offer a more limited set of features. Many of the safety and entertainment technologies are simply unavailable on those ostensibly high-end models.

How It Stacks up to the Competition

The compact pickup truck segment is a relatively small one, and the 2018 Chevrolet Colorado sits near the top of the heap. It is more versatile and comfortable than the Toyota Tacoma, though the Tacoma’s off-road trim lines are also very attractive. The Colorado also offers much better performance, towing and payload statistics than the Honda Ridgeline, which otherwise matches it for comfort and versatility, though it is more expensive than the Chevrolet.

Conclusion

The 2018 Chevrolet Colorado is a segment leader when it comes to the compact pickup truck class. It beats its competitors for power, payload and maximum tow rating, as well as offering an excellent off-road and entertainment feature set. Buyers who can forgive it its somewhat basic interior appointments will find a very versatile vehicle that excels at everything it does.