2012 Chevrolet Colorado – Looks Sharp, But Within and Beneath It Lags

If there’s one thing that we sense from Chevy’s new Colorado midsize/compact pickup truck, it’s that this truck has been developed by keeping something big in mind and it represents another ten year plan of Chevy. Colorado enters the market as an heir to the S10, which stayed in market for almost two decades. And although the 2012 Chevrolet Colorado is a potent truck, its age doesn’t works in its favor and gets it outclassed by many of its primary rivals as far as utility, feature content, design and overall desirability is concerned.

The model year marks the ninth year in the market for Colorado, and even in its ninth year the truck enters the market without a complete redesign. But keeping all that aside, we would say that the Colorado  still is an incredibly affordable pickup truck boasting muscular look as the full-size truck of Chevrolet. The Colorado comes in different body styles, engine choices and trim levels including a heavy 300 bhp V8 engine generating maximum power of 6,000 lbs of trailer toys.

Now, while the outside and the specifications of the truck looks pretty impressive, we’re upset to see that the same cant be said about the cabin, and that’s where the shortcomings of the Colorado becomes apparent. The useful space having mediocre materials has not been changed a lot since the debut of Colorado. Chevrolet has designed the interiors by keeping the understated truck customers in mind, and that’s why this truck won’t impress the fleet managers.

As far as rivals for the Colorado are concerned we’d say that the only Ford Ranger feels more dated than Colorado, and that’s the only rival that the Colorado beats. Its other rivals are the modern and incredibly advanced Toyota Tacoma and Nissan Frontier, which any day are better choices.

What’s in for 2012 in 2012 Chevrolet Colorado?

The only new feature that we in the 2012 Chevy Colorado was the automatic locking rear differential offered on the midlevel trim models. Except for that the Colorado is pretty much the same material.

Body Styling, Equipments and Trims:

The 2012 Chevrolet Colorado comes in a single body style of a midsize/compact pickup which is offered in three body styling: extended cab (having small back access doors), regular cab and crew cab (having 4 regular doors).

The Crew cabs features 5 ft cargo boxes while all the other models have a 6-foot box. The Chevy Colorado comes either in a basic Work Truck trim or a premium LT trim. The Premium LT trim is further offered in LT2, LT3 and LT1, all of which could be tailored as per specific needs. All the models of the rear-wheel-drive Chevy Colorado leave alone the LT3 could be had with 4 wheel drive as a choice.

The standard equipments for the Work Truck variant of the Chevrolet Colorado comprise 16 in steel wheels, a tilt steering column, a front split bench seat, cruise control, and air-conditioning, Bluetooth, an AM/FM stereo and OnStar.

Go for the LT1 and you could also get 16 in alloy wheels, deluxe cloth coverings, privacy glass, an auto-dimming rearview mirror, complete power accessories and advanced audio having a satellite radio and MP3/CD player.

The LT2 models will get a sliding back window, an off-road suspension, front bucket seats and chrome external trim.

The LT3 trim is almost the same except for the fact that it comes with a V8 engine and a sport suspension. The crew-cab will also be having a leather seating as an option.

Engines:

The 2012 ChevroletColorado could be had with three different engines. The basic engine option here is a 2.9 ltr 4-cylinder engine that generates 185 bhp of maximum power and 190 lbs-ft of maximum torque. Standard engine for the 4WD Crew Cab and optional for all the trims will be a 3.7 ltr 5 cylinder engine generating maximum output power of 242 bhp and 242 lbs-feet of maximum torque. The last engine choice here is a 5.3 ltr V8 engine generating maximum power of 300 bhp and 320 lb-ft of maximum torque. The V8 is standard engine on the LT3 and is offered as optional on LT2.

The standard transmission for most 4-cylinder Colorado here is a 5-speed manual transmission, and then there is an option of a 4-speed automatic; on the other hand the V8 and 5-cylinder engines are only offered with automatic transmission. The four wheel models will also be offered with a dual-range InstaTrac transfer casing having controls suitably mounted on the dash.

Safety Equipments:

The 2012 Chevrolet Colorado offers the safety to the occupants with antilock brakes, OnStar, traction control, side curtain airbags and stability control.

Experts’ Word:

The 2012 Chevrolet Colorado is still a sharp looking truck but underneath that catchy skin is a rather mediocre features and equipments. The truck also lags behind its rivals in terms of overall refinement and passenger comfort.