Ask Me Anything: 2015 Chevrolet Colorado

[William Maley]

Another week is upon us and a new review vehicle has arrived. In this case it happens to be the 2015 Chevrolet Colorado Z71. This is one of the vehicles that I have been waiting for quite awhile to get my hands on for review and its finally here. My particular tester is a Z71 crew cab with Short bed. With a couple of options ticked off, it rings in at $36,710.

First impressions are quite good. The Colorado is quite the sharp looker with silver paint and 17-inch wheels. Moving inside and the controls are within easy reach and the seats are wrapped in a leather/cloth combination. Chevrolet MyLink so far hasn't crashed or showed any sign of slowdown. Also, this is one of the first GM vehicles with OnStar 4G LTE and wi-fi connectivity. I'll have more on this later in the week.

There are a couple of downsides that I have found/experienced at the moment. One is there appears not to be enough adjustments in the seat and steering wheel to make myself comfortable at the moment. Currently, my knees are touching the steering wheel column. The other is a somewhat slow transmission. When I was driving on the freeway and trying to make a pass, the transmission took a few seconds to upshift.

I'll have some more thoughts and impressions as the week goes on. In the meantime, if you have questions you would like to answer, drop them below.

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[G. David Felt]

For those of us that are 6'6" tall once the seat is all the way back can you get in the back seat and still be comfortable? In other words can four six footers plus ride in it comfortably?

[aurora97]

Are they going to make a single cab/short bed model anytime soon?

 

I'll take one of those with the 5.3L V8 from the Silverado.

[William Maley]

For those of us that are 6'6" tall once the seat is all the way back can you get in the back seat and still be comfortable? In other words can four six footers plus ride in it comfortably?

 

I'm slightly doubting that since I had trouble getting in the back with the passenger set slightly back. I'll try it tomorrow.

 

 

Are they going to make a single cab/short bed model anytime soon?

 

I'll take one of those with the 5.3L V8 from the Silverado.

 

Don't believe so at this time.

[GMTruckGuy74]

No Regular Cab is planned, and it's been stated many times that the full-size pickup engines will not be used in the mid-size pickups.  Of course things can change, but I think no manufacturer of mid-size pickups offer a regular cab anymore?  I think we'll see the Twin Turbo 3.6L V6 before we'll see a 4.3L V6 or 5.3L V8 in the engine bay of a Canyon/Colorado.

 

I agree with William about the seat adjustments.  This is the first vehicle in a long time for me that does not have a 6-way power driver seat - it's 4-way with power lumbar.  I miss the tilt feature of the 6-way seat.  I've found a comfortable position for myself (5'8" tall, 240~ lbs), but miss having the ability to tilt the seat back some.  Very disappointed in this lack of feature for a $40K MSRP "SLT"-trimmed truck :/

[William Maley]

I agree with William about the seat adjustments.  This is the first vehicle in a long time for me that does not have a 6-way power driver seat - it's 4-way with power lumbar.  I miss the tilt feature of the 6-way seat.  I've found a comfortable position for myself (5'8" tall, 240~ lbs), but miss having the ability to tilt the seat back some.  Very disappointed in this lack of feature for a $40K MSRP "SLT"-trimmed truck :/

 

That surprises me Roger since what you describe in your Canyon is basically the same in my Colorado tester. I would expect the top trim Canyon to have a six-way power seat at least.

[Drew Dowdell]

GM has been moving away from 6-way power seat on everything that has MSRPs principally below $30k.  I've registered my displeasure with this to the Buick people regarding the Encore and Verano. 

[knightfan26917]

The more I see the Colorado-GMC Canyon, the more I wouldn't mind having one....  Glad to see yet another person with the privilege of either owning one or test-driving one with such good impressions.

 

 

Cort www.oldcarsstronghearts.com

1979 & 1989 Caprice Classics | pigValve, paceMaker, cowValve

"It seems to have a vague, haunting mass appeal" __ Incubus __ 'Drive'

[ponchoman49]

Say what! At nearly 37 large this thing doesn't even have a 6 was power seat? What in the world are they thinking? At this high price point there should be no less than an 8 way driver's seat and at the very least a 4-way passenger. This is what kills me about GM. They take a good product and give it half baked engines, over price it or don't give it competitive standard features or cheap out on crash worthiness. In this case they have a knock out truck with great driving dynamics and towing and two very good engines and then go and hamstring it with GM's lazily programmed transmission, a 4-way un-competitive driver seat and only 4 starts in the latest crash test results effectively handing that title over to the new F-150. In this game you need a strike out right out of the gate. The Colorado strikes me as third base.

[FAPTurbo]

GM has been moving away from 6-way power seat on everything that has MSRPs principally below $30k.  I've registered my displeasure with this to the Buick people regarding the Encore and Verano. 

 

Seriously?! You can't get away with that with Hyundai/KIA in town. An Optima EX has 10-way power seats and that MSRP's for under 25K. Apples to Oranges yes, but still. 

[ocnblu]

Who cares?  Once the seat is set, forget it.  No need to move it until you're ready to vacuum the interior.  What a piddly thing to bitch about.

[William Maley]

Who cares?  Once the seat is set, forget it.  No need to move it until you're ready to vacuum the interior.  What a piddly thing to bitch about.

 

REALLY?! REALLY?

[G. David Felt]

Who cares?  Once the seat is set, forget it.  No need to move it until you're ready to vacuum the interior.  What a piddly thing to bitch about.

What cha talking about Willis? You be not having a 2nd who wants the chair moved around just right for themselves. Trust me, a multi-directional moving chair is much needed as a standard item.

[cletus8269]

I really want a 2015 z71 4x4 crew, but the price of admission is tough to justify. My '04 is getting up in the miles and the replacement is between a 2014 jeep unlimited willys wheeler and the colorado. honestly i cant justify the price for the colorado when the willys fits the bill well equipped for less.

[regfootball]

GM has been moving away from 6-way power seat on everything that has MSRPs principally below $30k.  I've registered my displeasure with this to the Buick people regarding the Encore and Verano. 

true.  But if they sell a few thousand of each base model and leave the seat out of it, they save the 200 bucks extra, or so would be their reasoning.  "Those few people that don't care won't miss it and we can make extra $$$$ on it being an option".

 

I have the same bitch with cruise control on things like the LS Cruze, etc.

[ocnblu]

The WT comes with the same power seat adjuster.

[GMTruckGuy74]

I received a GM Quality Survey in my email Thursday night; I took it Friday morning. Since I've been on the Colorado/Canyon forum, I mentally noted several complaints & issues that some owners are experiencing that I am not but fear could eventually. While taking the survey, I saw how some questions were worded that brought back these mental notes. I believe GM is aware of these owner issues and are now trying to quantify these issues. Driver seat comfort was definitely two questions worth ;-)

[William Maley]

I received a GM Quality Survey in my email Thursday night; I took it Friday morning. Since I've been on the Colorado/Canyon forum, I mentally noted several complaints & issues that some owners are experiencing that I am not but fear could eventually. While taking the survey, I saw how some questions were worded that brought back these mental notes. I believe GM is aware of these owner issues and are now trying to quantify these issues. Driver seat comfort was definitely two questions worth ;-)

 

Now that is quite interesting..

[ocnblu]

I find the driving position to be fine.  I have one concern that could not be remedied with a 6-way adjuster:  the width of the seat cushion is too narrow.  I need to keep my legs spread because of my balls, I'm a man, and the way the seat is bolstered, my left thigh feels the pressure from the bolster.  If the cushion were a little wider or bolstered differently, it would bring relief.  I find myself adjusting my left leg while driving.

[G. David Felt]

I find the driving position to be fine.  I have one concern that could not be remedied with a 6-way adjuster:  the width of the seat cushion is too narrow.  I need to keep my legs spread because of my balls, I'm a man, and the way the seat is bolstered, my left thigh feels the pressure from the bolster.  If the cushion were a little wider or bolstered differently, it would bring relief.  I find myself adjusting my left leg while driving.

Bulls were never meant to be confined!

[SuperDuper]

I was quite comfortable right off the bat when I sat the Colorado. It is interesting how much people vary in regards to their preferences in seat position. I was perfectly happy when there was slide the whole seat forward or back, tilt the back back.

 

The more extra electric do-dads you ask for, the more the price keeps going up.

[oldshurst442]

Say what! At nearly 37 large this thing doesn't even have a 6 was power seat? What in the world are they thinking? At this high price point there should be no less than an 8 way driver's seat and at the very least a 4-way passenger. This is what kills me about GM. They take a good product and give it half baked engines, over price it or don't give it competitive standard features or cheap out on crash worthiness. In this case they have a knock out truck with great driving dynamics and towing and two very good engines and then go and hamstring it with GM's lazily programmed transmission, a 4-way un-competitive driver seat and only 4 starts in the latest crash test results effectively handing that title over to the new F-150. In this game you need a strike out right out of the gate. The Colorado strikes me as third base.

Is it really necessary to have 6 way power seats? 8 way? Unlimited?

I get it...we should be comfortable when we drive...but even with a so called cheap 4 way...surely we could find a reasonably comfortable driving seating position...

OMG...first world problems....

Not too rag on you...I dont know you well enough to rag on you...I just want to show you where I stand on non-issues...

[oldshurst442]

I saw my first Chevy Colorado live in the wild yesrterday....

My My...it is a strikingly good looking truck.

I saw it at the auto show...it looked huge...but in the wild...it looked like a perfect sized pick-up truck for the avergae joe that needs to haul around stuff.

Im not a truck guy...so my opinion of this shall remain neutral and void of any criticism or praise.

Who cares?  Once the seat is set, forget it.  No need to move it until you're ready to vacuum the interior.  What a piddly thing to bitch about.

When I posted my remark on this...I did not see your post. My thoughts exactly.

[oldshurst442]

I was quite comfortable right off the bat when I sat the Colorado. It is interesting how much people vary in regards to their preferences in seat position. I was perfectly happy when there was slide the whole seat forward or back, tilt the back back.

 

The more extra electric do-dads you ask for, the more the price keeps going up.

No need to say anything...usually...we have similar thoughts and ideas. This here is no different. I am a smallish guy..at 5'6 1/2 " tall, I fit comfortably in just about anything. I usually find the perfect driving position almost immediately in any vehicle. Even huge Ford F-350s.

[SuperDuper]

 

I was quite comfortable right off the bat when I sat the Colorado. It is interesting how much people vary in regards to their preferences in seat position. I was perfectly happy when there was slide the whole seat forward or back, tilt the back back.

 

The more extra electric do-dads you ask for, the more the price keeps going up.

No need to say anything...usually...we have similar thoughts and ideas. This here is no different. I am a smallish guy..at 5'6 1/2 " tall, I fit comfortably in just about anything. I usually find the perfect driving position almost immediately in any vehicle. Even huge Ford F-350s.

 

I'm 6'1" 225 Lbs and mostly I'm the same. At least for shorter trips.