So my future father-in-law traded in the '01 Silverado he had and got a Colorado work truck... base everything except it's got the automatic tranny.

He let me borrow it for the ride to work today (picking up the vickie tonight, and needed a loaner for the day to get to the office). It's not a bad little truck... doesn't really feel like you're in a truck unless you hit a bump and then the stiff suspension and jittery back-end really remind you that it's a small pickup.

The 2.8L I4 isn't too bad either... not fast, by any means, but it's got gobs of torque starting at like 1100rpm. You really have to feather the throttle to not be constantly accelerating (up to about 70, at which point it loses some steam). The engine's actually a true hemi, from what Mike was telling me... actual hemispherical cylinder heads and spark plugs going right down the middle. It's got a super low idle (like 650rpm) and it burbles and pops like a 426 (but sounds a lot smaller, obviously). Pretty tight, responsive steering and a very responsive brake pedal are kinda nice too.

We don't know how it is for service yet, as it's still "brand new" (less than 2500 miles) and actually still smells like a new car. We'll see what starts to fall apart, but overall it's a very well put-together vehicle in my overall experience with cars, new and used.

Oh, P.S. - it's one of the cheapest vehicles to insure in America. He's paying like $600/year for it... they also have an AWD 2005 Vibe, and that things insurance is awfully high by comparison.

Posted by velcrozeppelin So my future father-in-law traded in the '01 Silverado he had and got a Colorado work truck... base everything except it's got the automatic tranny. He let me borrow it for the ride to work today (picking up the vickie tonight, and needed a loaner for the day to get to the office). It's not a bad little truck... doesn't really feel like you're in a truck unless you hit a bump and then the stiff suspension and jittery back-end really remind you that it's a small pickup. The 2.8L I4 isn't too bad either... not fast, by any means, but it's got gobs of torque starting at like 1100rpm. You really have to feather the throttle to not be constantly accelerating (up to about 70, at which point it loses some steam). The engine's actually a true hemi, from what Mike was telling me... actual hemispherical cylinder heads and spark plugs going right down the middle. It's got a super low idle (like 650rpm) and it burbles and pops like a 426 (but sounds a lot smaller, obviously). Pretty tight, responsive steering and a very responsive brake pedal are kinda nice too. We don't know how it is for service yet, as it's still "brand new" (less than 2500 miles) and actually still smells like a new car. We'll see what starts to fall apart, but overall it's a very well put-together vehicle in my overall experience with cars, new and used.

the 07 Colorado 4x4 extended cab base that i tried out was awful gutless.

this is an 09 base regular cab and isn't nearly as awful as he or I expected. Not underpowered... certainly very adequate.

The thing is that irked med about the Colorado is that GM instead of just taking up Isuzu's offer of making the real D-MAX Trucks for North America, GM instead took a half assed approach of making a derivative of the D-MAX.

fucking junk.

I can't imagine anyone paying money for a Colorado/Canyon. It's like a Ford Tempo with a truck bed. And none of the quirky Tempo reliability.

I'm not hating just because it's a GM. I like lots of GM products. But these things feel like a miled out Ranger when I PDI them and they're brand freaking new.

Both 4 and 5 cylinder engines are jokes. The heads warm, they drop valves, the timing chains like to jump off, and the thrust bearings wear out causing the crank to shift forward about 1/8".

The brakes are a joke... the rotors are mounted inboard to the hubs, and the ABS sensor is housed in a tin sleeve, which generally falls apart when you remove it. So a brake job is 7.5 hrs labour. The rear brakes ALWAYS squeal. The 4WD actuators last about a week. The actuator for the variable valve timing likes to fail. The air injection pump relays like to fail, causing the air pump to run all night, killing your battery. Evap vent solenoids are good for about a year.

They aren't good things.

i don't really like them either.

Besides price and insurance costs apparently, these things have no redeeming features. The Colorado one of those vehicles that's so dull and uninspiring that it hurts GM's reputation.

In Canada they aren't even well priced. You can get a real truck with a V8 for less than 2k more.

He got 4K trade-in on a fair condition 01 Silverado, plus GM employee discount on top (his father-in-law is a legacy beancounter from when GM used to be in Rochester even more). Paid about 9K for the truck total, and had enough down that he only had to finance like 7? For 9k, it's a phenomenal truck.

The one I'm currently doing a PDI on (like RIGHT now) has a $37,000 sticker price.

It has 4x4, auto and the 5 cyl engine. That's it.

OUCH.

you canucks are getting seriously ripped off.

Yup!

On these anyhow. We sell K Series 4x4s for the same price. With a V8.

Posted by bandi Yup! On these anyhow. We sell K Series 4x4s for the same price. With a V8.

even down here, 4x4 Silverado V8's go for less than fucking Colorado's.
I'm a GM guy and even I don't care for the Colorado.
what does that tell you?

it tells me they are poo

Posted by bandi it tells me they are poo

what's funny is that the S10 sucked too.
but it didn't suck as bad as the Colorado.

The LUV was not that bad....oh wait, that was an Isuzu

Posted by Agent Skelly The LUV was not that bad....oh wait, that was an Isuzu

so was the S10... in fact, the 82 S10 had an Isuzu 1.9L OHC as it's base engine.
mated to the wide ratio 4speed manual, you were lucky if it ever got into 3rd gear, let alone 4th!

Posted by Samurai so was the S10... in fact, the 82 S10 had an Isuzu 1.9L OHC as it's base engine. mated to the wide ratio 4speed manual, you were lucky if it ever got into 3rd gear, let alone 4th!

I thought the S-10 was an All GM design that just used some Isuzu engines?

Posted by Samurai what's funny is that the S10 sucked too. but it didn't suck as bad as the Colorado.

I had love for the 4.3 behind a 5speed with a regular cab and a short bed