2017 Chevrolet Colorado V-6 8-Speed Automatic 4×4 Squad Cab
There is one constant in the world of pickup trucks—year after year, trucks become more capable and more powerful. Two years after re-entering the mid-size-truck market, the two thousand seventeen Chevrolet Colorado hits the streets carrying the same mass yet packing more power and more gears. Here we go again: Another escalation in the pickup-truck arms race.
For 2017, the Colorado—and its GMC Canyon sibling—is propelled by General Motors’ all-new V-6, coded LGZ, a variant of the LGX V-6 found in the Chevrolet Camaro, Buick LaCrosse, and GMC Acadia, among others (the LGZ designation references a different oil pan and the lack of auto stop/commence). It’s a distant cousin of the former LFX V-6 that it substitutes, and while the Three.6-liter displacement may suggest that this engine is essentially the same, it’s not. The redesigned six shares with its predecessor only its 60-degree included angle inbetween its cylinder banks. This V-6 has cylinder deactivation, which shuts down two cylinders under light explosions.
Good for three hundred eight horsepower and two hundred seventy five lb-ft of torque, it’s up three hp and six lb-ft over last year’s Colorado. (The LGZ makes less power in this truck than the LGX in the cars, but GM says that’s just a product of intake and harass confinements.) Significantly, a fresh competitor emerged last year in the Honda Ridgeline, which offers a little less power but proved quicker than the GM trucks in our tests of the two thousand sixteen Honda. Now, the muscled-up Colorado spreads its power margin over Honda’s V-6 to twenty eight horsepower and thirteen lb-ft, enough to put it back in front.
Eight Is Fine
Also contributing to the improved spectacle is the Colorado’s fresh eight-speed automatic. Built in-house, the Hydra-Matic 8L45 provides quick and slick shifts, and its extra two gears help keep the engine rpm near the torque sweet spot. The four-wheel-drive example we tested recorded a 6.1-second sprint to sixty mph, a utter 2nd quicker than a similarly tooled two thousand fifteen Colorado and 0.Five 2nd ahead of the all-wheel-drive Ridgeline. Its quarter-mile time improved, too, requiring only 14.8 seconds to cross the line at ninety five mph, gains of 0.7 2nd and four mph and again shading the Ridgeline’s 15.2-second run. The Toyota Tacoma with a V-6 and four-wheel drive trails these two by a broad margin, needing 7.9 seconds to get to sixty mph and 16.1 for the quarter-mile.
The two thousand seventeen Colorado also feels a little livelier in everyday driving, albeit the 60-degree V-6 still sounds coarse—and tougher still when it is sipping fuel in four-cylinder mode. The fresh transmission, however, keeps both the revs and the noise down at highway cruising speeds.
Big Little Bro
As we’ve reported in earlier tests of the Colorado and its GMC Canyon sibling, the term mid-size applies loosely here. The Silverado’s little brother is almost as long as the full-size truck, albeit its width, almost six inches narrower, eases the task of navigating Home Depot parking lots. The slimmer cabin does feel more carlike, and it uses gauges, switchgear, and infotainment systems found in other platforms across Chevrolet’s lineup. The overall cabin volume is almost identical to that of an Impala, and the Colorado makes a comfy commuter, suggesting an ideal seating position and supportive front seats. The electrically assisted power steering is lighter than we’d choose but communicates well with the Goodyear Wrangler Fortitude HT rubber as the truck approaches its 0.75-g cornering limit. The brake pedal feels rock-hard and is effortless to modulate during normal driving stints, but we noted powerful fade after repeated fright stops in testing. Still, the truck stopped from seventy mph in one hundred eighty three feet despite weighing four thousand four hundred ninety three pounds, which is twelve feet shorter than the aforementioned Ridgeline that weighs seventy pounds less.
One might expect that a fresh V-6 redesigned for efficiency and paired with a gearbox housing more ratios would improve fuel economy. Not according to the EPA: The two thousand seventeen model wears a 19-mpg combined rating versus twenty mpg in 2016, more a reflection of stiffening EPA testing scrutiny than the switches in hardware; the 17-mpg city and 24-mpg highway ratings are unchanged. During this Colorado’s brief stay at C/D headquarters, we measured eighteen mpg, the same figure we recorded for the two thousand fifteen model.
Truckin’ on a Budget
Many similarly tooled full-size trucks cost at least $45,000, making the sticker on the crew-cab, all-wheel-drive Colorado in LT trim look reasonable at its $34,465 base price. Our tested example had options that swelled the as-tested figure to $38,985. The $1080 Luxury package includes power-adjustable and heated front seats, automatic climate control, an auto-dimming rearview mirror, heated power outside mirrors, and chrome cladding for the door treats and the rear bumper. The leather-appointed seats in Jet Black and Dark Ash add $950, while the LT Convenience package ($690) brings a sliding rear window and defroster, remote embark, a dampened tailgate, and front fog lamps. Tack on another $495 for Chevrolet’s 8.0-inch MyLink infotainment system with Apple CarPlay/Android Auto connectivity and $500 for the premium Bose audio system. An automatic locking rear differential adds $325, while accessing the Colorado’s top tow rating of seven thousand pounds requires the $250 Trailering Equipment package. The $230 trailer-brake controller helps slow mighty fountains.
While the revised powertrain makes this Chevy the quickest entry in the mid-size pack, it’s now even capable of hammering up on some full-size models. With Ford fixing to re-enter this segment with a fresh Ranger, the mid-size segment arms race is just getting began. Given that the Colorado can already do more than most buyers indeed require, maybe automakers could embark calling these models their full-size trucks and relabel the big equipments as oversize, which is what decades of unrelenting concentrate on improved capability from year to year has made them.
2017 Chevrolet Colorado V-6 8-Speed Automatic 4×4 Squad Cab Test – Review – Car and Driver
2017 Chevrolet Colorado V-6 8-Speed Automatic 4×4 Squad Cab
There is one constant in the world of pickup trucks—year after year, trucks become more capable and more powerful. Two years after re-entering the mid-size-truck market, the two thousand seventeen Chevrolet Colorado hits the streets carrying the same mass yet packing more power and more gears. Here we go again: Another escalation in the pickup-truck arms race.
For 2017, the Colorado—and its GMC Canyon sibling—is propelled by General Motors’ all-new V-6, coded LGZ, a variant of the LGX V-6 found in the Chevrolet Camaro, Buick LaCrosse, and GMC Acadia, among others (the LGZ designation references a different oil pan and the lack of auto stop/begin). It’s a distant cousin of the former LFX V-6 that it substitutes, and while the Trio.6-liter displacement may suggest that this engine is essentially the same, it’s not. The redesigned six shares with its predecessor only its 60-degree included angle inbetween its cylinder banks. This V-6 has cylinder deactivation, which shuts down two cylinders under light fountains.
Good for three hundred eight horsepower and two hundred seventy five lb-ft of torque, it’s up three hp and six lb-ft over last year’s Colorado. (The LGZ makes less power in this truck than the LGX in the cars, but GM says that’s just a product of intake and harass confinements.) Significantly, a fresh competitor emerged last year in the Honda Ridgeline, which offers a little less power but proved quicker than the GM trucks in our tests of the two thousand sixteen Honda. Now, the muscled-up Colorado opens up its power margin over Honda’s V-6 to twenty eight horsepower and thirteen lb-ft, enough to put it back in front.
Eight Is Fine
Also contributing to the improved spectacle is the Colorado’s fresh eight-speed automatic. Built in-house, the Hydra-Matic 8L45 provides quick and slick shifts, and its extra two gears help keep the engine rpm near the torque sweet spot. The four-wheel-drive example we tested recorded a 6.1-second sprint to sixty mph, a utter 2nd quicker than a similarly tooled two thousand fifteen Colorado and 0.Five 2nd ahead of the all-wheel-drive Ridgeline. Its quarter-mile time improved, too, requiring only 14.8 seconds to cross the line at ninety five mph, gains of 0.7 2nd and four mph and again shading the Ridgeline’s 15.2-second run. The Toyota Tacoma with a V-6 and four-wheel drive trails these two by a broad margin, needing 7.9 seconds to get to sixty mph and 16.1 for the quarter-mile.
The two thousand seventeen Colorado also feels a little livelier in everyday driving, albeit the 60-degree V-6 still sounds coarse—and tougher still when it is sipping fuel in four-cylinder mode. The fresh transmission, however, keeps both the revs and the noise down at highway cruising speeds.
Big Little Bro
As we’ve reported in earlier tests of the Colorado and its GMC Canyon sibling, the term mid-size applies loosely here. The Silverado’s little brother is almost as long as the full-size truck, albeit its width, almost six inches narrower, eases the task of navigating Home Depot parking lots. The slimmer cabin does feel more carlike, and it uses gauges, switchgear, and infotainment systems found in other platforms across Chevrolet’s lineup. The overall cabin volume is almost identical to that of an Impala, and the Colorado makes a comfy commuter, suggesting an ideal seating position and supportive front seats. The electrically assisted power steering is lighter than we’d choose but communicates well with the Goodyear Wrangler Fortitude HT rubber as the truck approaches its 0.75-g cornering limit. The brake pedal feels hard and is effortless to modulate during normal driving stints, but we noted strenuous fade after repeated funk stops in testing. Still, the truck stopped from seventy mph in one hundred eighty three feet despite weighing four thousand four hundred ninety three pounds, which is twelve feet shorter than the aforementioned Ridgeline that weighs seventy pounds less.
One might expect that a fresh V-6 redesigned for efficiency and paired with a gearbox housing more ratios would improve fuel economy. Not according to the EPA: The two thousand seventeen model wears a 19-mpg combined rating versus twenty mpg in 2016, more a reflection of stiffening EPA testing scrutiny than the switches in hardware; the 17-mpg city and 24-mpg highway ratings are unchanged. During this Colorado’s brief stay at C/D headquarters, we measured eighteen mpg, the same figure we recorded for the two thousand fifteen model.
Truckin’ on a Budget
Many similarly tooled full-size trucks cost at least $45,000, making the sticker on the crew-cab, all-wheel-drive Colorado in LT trim look reasonable at its $34,465 base price. Our tested example had options that swelled the as-tested figure to $38,985. The $1080 Luxury package includes power-adjustable and heated front seats, automatic climate control, an auto-dimming rearview mirror, heated power outside mirrors, and chrome cladding for the door treats and the rear bumper. The leather-appointed seats in Jet Black and Dark Ash add $950, while the LT Convenience package ($690) brings a sliding rear window and defroster, remote commence, a dampened tailgate, and front fog lamps. Tack on another $495 for Chevrolet’s 8.0-inch MyLink infotainment system with Apple CarPlay/Android Auto connectivity and $500 for the premium Bose audio system. An automatic locking rear differential adds $325, while accessing the Colorado’s top tow rating of seven thousand pounds requires the $250 Trailering Equipment package. The $230 trailer-brake controller helps slow intense explosions.
While the revised powertrain makes this Chevy the quickest entry in the mid-size pack, it’s now even capable of hammering up on some full-size models. With Ford fixing to re-enter this segment with a fresh Ranger, the mid-size segment arms race is just getting embarked. Given that the Colorado can already do more than most buyers indeed require, maybe automakers could begin calling these models their full-size trucks and relabel the big equipments as oversize, which is what decades of unrelenting concentrate on improved capability from year to year has made them.