2
Motor Trend
![]()
Article Quotes:
What was good for Texas was good for pickups. So full-size pickups got bigger, and midsize trucks began to vanish. Gone were the Ford Ranger, the Dodge Dakota, and, most recently, the GMC Canyon and Chevy Colorado.
But three years after disappearing, the Colorado returns, completely redone in more manageable bite-sized proportions compared to those full-sized Texan trucks. The Colorado may not be the biggest pickup in contention for the 2015 Motor Trend Truck of the Year, but it turns out to be the best in more of our judging categories than anything else. "The Colorado to me is the perfect-size truck again," Reynolds said. "Its simplicity and purity are what a truck ought to be about."
Indeed, for many, a midsize pickup appeals to a more modest sense of size. The segment has been shrinking due to neglect. So when the Colorado reappeared, it trounced the Toyota Tacoma and Nissan Frontier in a comparison test, clearly marking itself as a segment leader. No other vehicle tested stands out as much."This is a really good, honest little truck," Evans said. "I can see it being very popular with small businesses that have been running old Rangers and the like."
USA Today
In a blow to Ford's pride in its all-new aluminum-bodied F-150 pickup truck, Motor Trend is announcing today that it has chosen Chevrolet's new midsize pickup, the Colorado, for its prestigious Truck of the Year award.
Given the amount of hoopla over its new, lighter aluminum body, many assumed the 2015 Ford F-150 would be a shoo-in for major awards this year.
But Ed Loh, editor-in-chief of Motor Trend, says the publication bestows the honor only on vehicles it deems best in its class. Among full-size trucks, he says, the publication believes that Ford's new F-150 falls in behind the clean-diesel engine version of the current Ram 1500.
F-150 didn't even come in second. That honor went to another Ford: its new Transit full-size commercial van.
Such awards are coveted in the auto industry, where reviews and awards are seen as swaying potential buyers. The next major test for the F-150 will be the North American Truck of the Year prize announced each year at the big annual auto show in Detroit in January.
In a unanimous vote among Motor Trend writers and editors, the Chevy Colorado midsize trounced all rivals to be best in class by being a right-sized truck with "sexy" looks and "a big fuel efficiency story," Loh says.
![]()
GM Press Release
MOTOR TREND Names Chevrolet Colorado 2015 Truck of the Year
Midsize pickup outclasses competition in design, engineering, efficiency, safety and more
EL SEGUNDO, Calif. – After its most comprehensive truck evaluation program in history, MOTOR TREND has selected the Chevy Colorado as its 2015 Truck of the Year®.
MOTOR TREND’s Truck of the Year program is only open to all-new or significantly updated trucks and vans for the upcoming model year. For 2015, seven contenders were invited to compete; three competitors were asked to bring a powertrain and/or body style variant for a total of 10 vehicles overall:
Chevrolet Colorado WT and Colorado Z71
Chevrolet Silverado 3500 HD
Ford F150 2.7L EcoBoost and 3.5L EcoBoost
Ford F-450
Ford Transit 350 HR and Transit 150 MR
GMC Canyon SLT
GMC Sierra Denali 2500 HD
The 2015 Colorado emerged as MOTOR TREND’s 2015 Truck of the Year by a rare unanimous vote. The editors were particularly impressed with Colorado’s handsome, clean-sheet design, “right-sized” package, excellent handling and overall capability. Colorado’s potent-yet-efficient powertrains also returned best-in-class fuel economy according to Real MPG and EPA testing.
“After days of testing, hundreds of miles on the road, and our most rigorous truck testing program to date, our editors unanimously selected the Chevy Colorado as our 2015 Truck of the Year,” said Edward Loh, MOTOR TREND’s editor-in-chief. “Colorado is a smart, capable, and refreshingly honest truck that makes a strong value and efficiency statement. It’s perfectly sized and suited for the needs of many of today’s truck users.”
Said Sandor Piszar, Chevy Trucks marketing director: “The Chevrolet Colorado offers customers the versatility of a pickup in a powerful, refined, fuel-efficient midsize package, with up to 27 mpg EPA highway. For Colorado to emerge from MOTOR TREND’s thorough evaluation as the 2015 Truck of the Year shows how Colorado is changing the game by offering truck customers fresh new choices.”
To determine which truck deserved top honors, the MOTOR TREND test team subjected all of the contenders to numerous instrumented and real-world road tests. First up was standard MOTOR TREND testing, which included: 0-60 mph and 1/4-mile acceleration, 60-0 mph braking, and maximum lateral grip - all without payload or trailered loads.
A specific payload was then added to each truck and van, and the vehicles were then driven more than 250 miles to the Arizona/Nevada border to evaluate ride quality and loaded fuel economy. The vehicles were driven up and down the famed Davis Dam in Bullhead City, Ariz., for further assessment, including an instrumented test designed to simulate a passing situation while carrying a load.
The team then moved to a world-class automotive proving grounds for instrumented acceleration tests with nominal weight trailers. Truck and trailer were also driven through a short handling course to evaluate acceleration, braking, maneuverability and outward visibility. The final phase of evaluation involved a 21-mile road loop through hills of Arizona’s Hualapai Mountains.
Following the team’s intensive evaluation, the trucks were shipped to MOTOR TREND headquarters in El Segundo to undergo proprietary “Real MPG” fuel-economy testing. Using advanced exhaust gas and flow-rate analyzers, Real MPG measures tailpipe emissions every second during a three-hour, 88-mile drive around the Los Angeles area to record accurate real-world fuel economy.
Once testing was completed, select MOTOR TREND editors convened to determine which truck would be crowned Truck of the Year. The winner is not chosen from a direct comparison against the other contenders, but rather as a result of how each contender performed in testing and against the award’s six criteria: Design Advancement, Engineering Excellence, Efficiency, Safety, Value, and Performance of Intended Function.
Article Quotes:
What was good for Texas was good for pickups. So full-size pickups got bigger, and midsize trucks began to vanish. Gone were the Ford Ranger, the Dodge Dakota, and, most recently, the GMC Canyon and Chevy Colorado.
But three years after disappearing, the Colorado returns, completely redone in more manageable bite-sized proportions compared to those full-sized Texan trucks. The Colorado may not be the biggest pickup in contention for the 2015 Motor Trend Truck of the Year, but it turns out to be the best in more of our judging categories than anything else. "The Colorado to me is the perfect-size truck again," Reynolds said. "Its simplicity and purity are what a truck ought to be about."
Indeed, for many, a midsize pickup appeals to a more modest sense of size. The segment has been shrinking due to neglect. So when the Colorado reappeared, it trounced the Toyota Tacoma and Nissan Frontier in a comparison test, clearly marking itself as a segment leader. No other vehicle tested stands out as much."This is a really good, honest little truck," Evans said. "I can see it being very popular with small businesses that have been running old Rangers and the like."
USA Today
In a blow to Ford's pride in its all-new aluminum-bodied F-150 pickup truck, Motor Trend is announcing today that it has chosen Chevrolet's new midsize pickup, the Colorado, for its prestigious Truck of the Year award.
Given the amount of hoopla over its new, lighter aluminum body, many assumed the 2015 Ford F-150 would be a shoo-in for major awards this year.
But Ed Loh, editor-in-chief of Motor Trend, says the publication bestows the honor only on vehicles it deems best in its class. Among full-size trucks, he says, the publication believes that Ford's new F-150 falls in behind the clean-diesel engine version of the current Ram 1500.
F-150 didn't even come in second. That honor went to another Ford: its new Transit full-size commercial van.
Such awards are coveted in the auto industry, where reviews and awards are seen as swaying potential buyers. The next major test for the F-150 will be the North American Truck of the Year prize announced each year at the big annual auto show in Detroit in January.
In a unanimous vote among Motor Trend writers and editors, the Chevy Colorado midsize trounced all rivals to be best in class by being a right-sized truck with "sexy" looks and "a big fuel efficiency story," Loh says.
GM Press Release
MOTOR TREND Names Chevrolet Colorado 2015 Truck of the Year
Midsize pickup outclasses competition in design, engineering, efficiency, safety and more
EL SEGUNDO, Calif. – After its most comprehensive truck evaluation program in history, MOTOR TREND has selected the Chevy Colorado as its 2015 Truck of the Year®.
MOTOR TREND’s Truck of the Year program is only open to all-new or significantly updated trucks and vans for the upcoming model year. For 2015, seven contenders were invited to compete; three competitors were asked to bring a powertrain and/or body style variant for a total of 10 vehicles overall:
Chevrolet Colorado WT and Colorado Z71
Chevrolet Silverado 3500 HD
Ford F150 2.7L EcoBoost and 3.5L EcoBoost
Ford F-450
Ford Transit 350 HR and Transit 150 MR
GMC Canyon SLT
GMC Sierra Denali 2500 HD
The 2015 Colorado emerged as MOTOR TREND’s 2015 Truck of the Year by a rare unanimous vote. The editors were particularly impressed with Colorado’s handsome, clean-sheet design, “right-sized” package, excellent handling and overall capability. Colorado’s potent-yet-efficient powertrains also returned best-in-class fuel economy according to Real MPG and EPA testing.
“After days of testing, hundreds of miles on the road, and our most rigorous truck testing program to date, our editors unanimously selected the Chevy Colorado as our 2015 Truck of the Year,” said Edward Loh, MOTOR TREND’s editor-in-chief. “Colorado is a smart, capable, and refreshingly honest truck that makes a strong value and efficiency statement. It’s perfectly sized and suited for the needs of many of today’s truck users.”
Said Sandor Piszar, Chevy Trucks marketing director: “The Chevrolet Colorado offers customers the versatility of a pickup in a powerful, refined, fuel-efficient midsize package, with up to 27 mpg EPA highway. For Colorado to emerge from MOTOR TREND’s thorough evaluation as the 2015 Truck of the Year shows how Colorado is changing the game by offering truck customers fresh new choices.”
To determine which truck deserved top honors, the MOTOR TREND test team subjected all of the contenders to numerous instrumented and real-world road tests. First up was standard MOTOR TREND testing, which included: 0-60 mph and 1/4-mile acceleration, 60-0 mph braking, and maximum lateral grip - all without payload or trailered loads.
A specific payload was then added to each truck and van, and the vehicles were then driven more than 250 miles to the Arizona/Nevada border to evaluate ride quality and loaded fuel economy. The vehicles were driven up and down the famed Davis Dam in Bullhead City, Ariz., for further assessment, including an instrumented test designed to simulate a passing situation while carrying a load.
The team then moved to a world-class automotive proving grounds for instrumented acceleration tests with nominal weight trailers. Truck and trailer were also driven through a short handling course to evaluate acceleration, braking, maneuverability and outward visibility. The final phase of evaluation involved a 21-mile road loop through hills of Arizona’s Hualapai Mountains.
Following the team’s intensive evaluation, the trucks were shipped to MOTOR TREND headquarters in El Segundo to undergo proprietary “Real MPG” fuel-economy testing. Using advanced exhaust gas and flow-rate analyzers, Real MPG measures tailpipe emissions every second during a three-hour, 88-mile drive around the Los Angeles area to record accurate real-world fuel economy.
Once testing was completed, select MOTOR TREND editors convened to determine which truck would be crowned Truck of the Year. The winner is not chosen from a direct comparison against the other contenders, but rather as a result of how each contender performed in testing and against the award’s six criteria: Design Advancement, Engineering Excellence, Efficiency, Safety, Value, and Performance of Intended Function.
