First Drive: 2004 Chevrolet Colorado & GMC Canyon

[Base Model]

The 2004 Chevrolet Colorado was supposed to raise the bar in the midsize truck segment - and on paper it does. So why are its sales so poor versus the old Chevy S-10 it replaced? Check out our road test plus an INTERVIEW with Colorado brand manager Mike Weidman and a quick look at the COLORADO CRUZ CONCEPT!

First Drive : 2004 Chevrolet Colorado & GMC Canyon
By: Mike Magda © PickupTruck.com, 2004
Posted: 9-26-04 00:10
http://www.pickuptruck.com/html/2004/chevr...test/page1.html

[tgagneguam]

I particularly liked the interview section of this post; Magda did a great job of taking Weidman to task on some partilarly weak points of the Colorado. And Weidman seemed to struggle giving adequate answers.

The Colorado (and Canyon) are not bad trucks, per se. GM did a nice job of designing small pickups that competed well with what was being offered at the time of their development. The problem, of course, is that nearly every automaker advanced the design of their pickups, so the Colorado and Canyon are outdated at the starting gate. It seems fairly obvious to me that GM not only avoided large capital investments in these trucks for the tuner crowd (as Weidman suggested), but GM also generally invested relatively little capital in these trucks as a whole. It definitely shows.

[Dumb_Ass_2003]

Dodge:

4.7L V8*
230 hp
295 lb-ft torque




Are they kidding? :lol:

[jlkirkmans]

Just to add my 2 cents worth, I bought a crew cab 2wd ZQ8 Colorado about a month ago. The truck it OK, the engine has taken a little getting used to, the power band is so high. Would I rather have the I6 ? YES ! A V8 ? YESSSSSSS But I have been getting 22 mpg in city driving, so that is a plus. I use the truck as a car, so I didn't buy it for towing anyway. My few complaints with the truck are: the steering wheel sits too far to the left of the cab. It's about 3" off center with the driver. There isn't enough room to ride with your foot flat on the floor with your knee between the door panel and the wheel. Second, there is no dead pedal for your left foot... I hate that. Third, the materials for the dash and door panels SUCK ! The plastic is too hard. My old 1994 S10 had fabric on the upper door panel, felt good to rest your elbow on. Also the new material on the arm rest of the doors feel very rough, like sand paper on your arm. They need some kind of cushion there. Forth, you would think with a brand new truck from the ground up, GM would have included rear A/C vents in the console. Lastly, GM has made this truck just about impossible to lower it. The transmission cross member is so low, it already scrubs speed bumps. It also shows when viewing the truck from the sides.

I came very close to buying a Nissan Titan, I love the V8 power and sound. I already have a full size Silverado, so I wanted something different. The 2004 Silverado I drove was just like climbing in my 2000 model... felt like I had the same old truck. The Colorado was a good compromise for me, better mileage, sportier look, bright yellow paint, and $ 4000 cheaper than the Titan Crew Cab. My final price for my 2004 crew cab was $ 22,600, and the dealer had to pull it from another dealer in another state. My advice, test drive one for as long as possible, in all kind of driving conditions... city, open road, ect. You just have to learn if you want to pass.... lay the sucker on the floor and spin it 6 grand. It feels pretty good there. When a turbo or supercharger comes out... I'll be the first in line. Thanks for reading.

[tgagneguam]

Originally posted by jlkirkmans@Sep 29 2004, 11:55 AM
Just to add my 2 cents worth, I bought a crew cab 2wd ZQ8 Colorado about a month ago. The truck it OK, the engine has taken a little getting used to, the power band is so high. Would I rather have the I6 ? YES ! A V8 ? YESSSSSSS But I have been getting 22 mpg in city driving, so that is a plus. I use the truck as a car, so I didn't buy it for towing anyway. My few complaints with the truck are: the steering wheel sits too far to the left of the cab. It's about 3" off center with the driver. There isn't enough room to ride with your foot flat on the floor with your knee between the door panel and the wheel. Second, there is no dead pedal for your left foot... I hate that. Third, the materials for the dash and door panels SUCK ! The plastic is too hard. My old 1994 S10 had fabric on the upper door panel, felt good to rest your elbow on. Also the new material on the arm rest of the doors feel very rough, like sand paper on your arm. They need some kind of cushion there. Forth, you would think with a brand new truck from the ground up, GM would have included rear A/C vents in the console. Lastly, GM has made this truck just about impossible to lower it. The transmission cross member is so low, it already scrubs speed bumps. It also shows when viewing the truck from the sides.

I came very close to buying a Nissan Titan, I love the V8 power and sound. I already have a full size Silverado, so I wanted something different. The 2004 Silverado I drove was just like climbing in my 2000 model... felt like I had the same old truck. The Colorado was a good compromise for me, better mileage, sportier look, bright yellow paint, and $ 4000 cheaper than the Titan Crew Cab. My final price for my 2004 crew cab was $ 22,600, and the dealer had to pull it from another dealer in another state. My advice, test drive one for as long as possible, in all kind of driving conditions... city, open road, ect. You just have to learn if you want to pass.... lay the sucker on the floor and spin it 6 grand. It feels pretty good there. When a turbo or supercharger comes out... I'll be the first in line. Thanks for reading.

What a great, realworld perspective. It seems like your experiences confirm some people's concerns - powertrain, interior ergonomics, interior quality - about these vehicles. $22,600 and it doesn't seem like you're an overly enthusiastic Colorado customer, or am I reading your post incorrectly?

[thehemi]

As many people have said, they are good trucks... this year.
Dodge, Toyota, and I think Nissan, get new trucks next year.
Toyota will even offer a Double Cab with Long Bed... The
Colorado's I5 does seem like it should offer a good mix for a
person wanting > I4 power with some decent fuel economy.

I am finding the Colorado Crew Cab Xtreme very tempting.
Although I have a couple years until my next purchase, so I
definately plan to review all the manufacturers to see who's
got the best deal for my needs.

[jlkirkmans]

Well, I like the truck... I think it looks good. I forgot to mention earlier today... it is VERY quiet on the road. The power is my main issue and the interior. Another fault is the ignition switch, it's very hard to get the key in the hole without looking around the steering wheel. Give me a dash mounted ignition switch. I liked my 94 SS S10, kept it 10 years, 100,000 miles... never a minutes trouble. I like the sportiness of the Colorado. And as the other post says, I wanted an Xtreme also. But my truck stickered at 27,000... the Xtreme option was going to be $ 3000 more. For that kind of money, I'd for sure get the full size and the V8. Some of these quaility and power problems may because I sold a 99 STS Seville to buy the truck. It was such a plush interior, super powerful 300 HP Northstar... that's probably why I've had such a hard time adjusting. But to clear my statements up, yes I do like the truck, just wish GM would "get it right" from the start. As much as I read about GM improving interiors, better materials, ect. For them to make a dash and door panels with such hard and unpleasing plastics is beyond me. What makes it worse is knowing that they know how to do it right. The Cadillac interior was super ! Dash was soft. Materials first rate.... understanding that is a $ 50,000 car... don't get me wrong. GM needs to do better though. These new Japanese trucks with 4.0 V6's with over 250 HP makes me sick. I think I have an awesome looking truck... just give me more HP. Also, I considered waiting for an SS model... I'm sure it's in the works, but with the Xtreme package being $ 3000 grand.... the SS will be way, way outta my price range for a mid size truck.

[AmericanREV]

This is alittle off the topic, but I'm picking up my 04 Colorado Z71 Crew, with I5, in blue.

I'm really excited, I'll let you guys know how much I love it.

[MelvinJ]

Originally posted by AmericanREV@Sep 30 2004, 03:04 AM
This is alittle off the topic, but I'm picking up my 04 Colorado Z71 Crew, with I5, in blue.

I'm really excited, I'll let you guys know how much I love it.

Congratulations! I considered getting an extended cab this fall, but I couldn't part with the money.

Let us know how you like it, and what your gas mileage is!

[armycam68]

My COLORADO Z-71 4X4 Extended cab is now a month old. I agree that the key hole is very difficult to find. You must look around the steering column to find it. The truck has ample power. The ride is smooth. I checked the mileage the other day. Combined city/highway was 19.7 MPG. The interior is cheap....cheap....cheap! The interior looks like it should be in an old CJ-5 Jeep. The cheap visors are so thick that my garage door opener won't hang on the visor. The boxes below the jump seat are worthless. I don't like the lamp controls or the heater/air controls. If you must read the owners manual to work the controls........they're too complicated! I ordered the optional chrome side steps........a definite waste of money. The truck is too high without them, too low for them. I get a dirty pant leg every time I get out of the truck. That was a $445 mistake!
I do like the truck. It does have its good points. I can't believe Chevy just can't get it right on small things. I think they should take a look at the product manager. Maybe he golfs too much? He should spend more time in the cab!
I guess right now I compare it to my 02 S-10. That was a great truck!

[thehemi]

Originally posted by jlkirkmans@Sep 29 2004, 08:51 PM
Also, I considered waiting for an SS model... I'm sure it's in the works, but with the Xtreme package being $ 3000 grand.... the SS will be way, way outta my price range for a mid size truck.

No doubt, the SS is going to cost too much.
I am having no luck finding anything official
(or semi-official) about an upcoming SS, but
I know the price is going to be out of reason,
if the Xtreme is $3000 on top of the ZQ8...

For the potential price of a Colorado SS, you
can probably get an Ext Cab Silverado with a
Joe Gibbs supercharger package installed. I
would prefer a smaller truck like the Colorado,
so hopefully they can keep prices reasonable.

[Squachy]

get VVT on the I5 and the powerband troubles are solved for the most part.

Kind of makes me wonder how the heck Honda can get away with a truck considering they dont make any V8's.

[jlkirkmans]

These I5 engines do have VVT, here is the article from GM,

"The new I-5 and I-4 engines are scaled down versions of the I-6 engine. With their common design, the 3.5-liter I-5 and 2.8-liter I-4 engines feature the same all-aluminum construction, dual overhead camshafts and four-valves-per-cylinder technology as the 4.2-liter I-6. The new engines also share the I-6's high 10:1 compression ratio, electronic throttle control, variable valve timing, coil-on-plug ignition, direct-mount accessories and easy maintenance features. "

One complaint I have forgotten to mention is, like a armycam68 said, the heater and A/C controls are again "cable operated".... just like a 1975 Datsun or something would have. Very CHEAP !! I thought GM had very nice controls on my previous GM vehicles (92 Bonneville, 96 Astro Van, 94 S10, 2000 Silverado) So why did they return to a cable design ? I think I've read somewhere that Isuzu did most of the engineering on these trucks, then GM had to step in to finish up because it was running behind. The Japanese are the only mfg's that have used cable controled A/C controls in the past 20 years as far as I can remember. GM has used the vacuum controled actuators in there stuff for years, then finally switched to an actuated temperature control and done away with the cable controled valve under the hood. The actuated control gives very precise adjustmenets, a very nice feel to the temp knob. I know on my Silverado, each little click of the temp adjustment can be felt out the ducts. I have a hard time on the Colorado adjusting a good temperature. The A/C also seems to have a hard time keeping up with hot weather. I live in eastern NC, so humidity is extreme... find myself with the recirc switch on most of the time and the fan speed on 3, which is a little LOUD also. Again, why no vents out the back of the console ?? GM do you read these posts ???????? Get your act together !!!!!!!!!!!!

[crazywop112]

I see why GM gave it the I-5, but I was very dissapointed when I heard the I-5 was the top of the line motor.

[djarrell]

Beware of the Colorado!!! Don't do it!!!

Mine has been in the shop four times and only has 4,000 miles! Very cheap quality truck!

04 crew cab, I5, Z71

:angry: