First Drive: 2015 Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon

Canadians love to buy small vehicles – hatchbacks, sedans, and crossovers – but it seems that we draw the line at pickups, which have languished near the bottom of sales charts for close to a decade. Of course, this national reluctance can’t be completely blamed on the whims on new vehicle shoppers, as the only two mid-size truck options on the market (the Toyota Tacoma and the Nissan Frontier) are nearly museum pieces in terms of their features, technology and drivetrains.

Enter the 2015 GMC Canyon and 2015 Chevrolet Colorado, a pair of all-new entry-level pickups designed to disrupt this corner of the market. The idea seems so simple, really: design a truck platform that leverages modern fuel efficiency and horsepower alongside a manageable footprint and up-to-date equipment list. And yet, it’s taken until now for a manufacturer to step up and put some skin in the game alongside the aging dinosaurs that have sat there treading water and absorbing limited mid-size demand.

The Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon certainly shine when compared to their Toyota and Nissan rivals, but more to the point, these two trucks seem destined to fulfill a greater promise and pry more than a few drivers away from the small crossovers and SUVs that have proven so popular. It’s a careful confluence of engineering know-how and marketing savvy, presented in truck form, and it’s one that seems likely to succeed.

2015 GMC Canyon. Click image to enlarge

Not Mid-Size – Right-Size

Shrink a truck too much and you end up with a model that’s too small to be useful. Conversely, if you pump up its dimensions until they’re just below that of a full-size pickup then you wind up in self-parody. The Colorado and the Canyon manage to walk the line between utility and daily practicality by adopting an overall length that ranges between 5,395 and 5,705 mm, with the former figure 400 mm shorter than the shortest Silverado or Sierra. Combined with their 1,886 mm width, the end result is a vehicle that’s hassle-free in urban traffic and much easier to park.

Despite their more modest footprint, this downsizing has little impact on either truck’s usefulness. Bed lengths come in six-foot, two-inch and five-foot, two-inch flavours, and the crew cab body style available with both the Chevrolet and GMC twins provides ample room for four passengers across two rows, with room for five in a pinch. The extended cab model forgoes the former’s full-size four-door setup in favour of a pair of rear-hinged half-doors that open up on an interior ‘trunk’ that also comes with a pair jumpseats/torture devices that are suitable only for the very young or extremely flexible.

2015 Chevrolet Colorado. Click image to enlarge

Power Plus Stability

If you’re looking to haul something that doesn’t quite fit inside the cabin of the Colorado or the Canyon then you’re still in luck, as the pair provide up to 3,175 kilos (7,000 lb) of towing capacity along with 708 kg (1,560 lb) of bed payload. This is made possible in large part by the inclusion of a direct-injected 3.6L V6 engine on the options sheet that delivers 305 horsepower and 269 lb-ft of torque through a six-speed automatic transmission. I had the chance to sample this motor in a number of different scenarios, including empty, hauling a pair of bikes, and towing a 2,000-kg load, and it acquitted itself well in each instance. Acceleration was marred somewhat by the six-speed’s unwillingness to kick down immediately to the lowest possible gear, but there was no question that the 305-horse unit felt up to each task.

The competence of the V6 had me questioning the place of the base 2.5L four-cylinder engine in the Chevrolet and GMC lineups. Its 200 ponies and 191 lb-ft of twist were certainly adequate, but given that there’s only a minor fuel efficiency gain to be had by sticking with this mill (11.7 L/100 km versus 13.0 for the V6 around town), and that its selection effectively halves towing capacity, I’d say that unless you are pinching pennies you’ll want the six-cylinder under the hood. Four-wheel drive is available with either motor, and the 2.5L adds the wrinkle of a six-speed manual gearbox for those willing to stick with the entry-level trim.

Truckin’ Lite

Power is only part of the story of the GMC Canyon and Chevrolet Colorado driving experience, as each of these pickups manage to transcend their live-rear-axle roots and offer an on-road attitude that is substantially divorced from what larger vehicles have trained us to expect from trucks. Not only do they feature a passenger compartment that is quiet and vibration-free, but dynamically there’s a substantial amount of crossover DNA that has been infused into their shared platform. Chassis tuning is such that I never really felt like I was driving a truck around town, as the electric power steering, manageable ride height, and comfortable suspension worked together to mute the full-frame body I was riding on. A colleague mentioned that the Canyon and Colorado never seem like pickups unless you want them to, such as when towing or off-roading, and I find this to be an apt encapsulation of their personalities. I only really became aware of the solid axle out back when on the highway at speeds of over 100 km/h, which is a testament to the stability of the platform.

More Than The Other Guy

In terms of mechanical details and overall refinement the GMC and Chevy have it all over any other current mid-size model, but the hits don’t stop there. General Motors has seen fit to invest the Colorado and the Canyon with their latest touchscreen infotainment interfaces (MyLink and IntelliLink), along with the availability of 4G LTE Internet connectivity via a mobile Wi-Fi hotspot. Then there’s the matter of safety, with these new mid-size trucks providing the advantage of available lane departure warning and forward collision warning alongside the standard complement of airbags.

If you’re looking for an extra bit of distinction – and some additional off-roading capacity – it’s available in the GMC All Terrain package and the Chevrolet Z71 package. The All Terrain edition introduces a monochromatic colour scheme that accents the blocky styling of the Canyon, and while the Z71 is a little less flashy it allows the Colorado to be equipped with fancy leather seats and upscale interior trim. Both packages feature aggressive tires, a locking rear differential, and a number of electronic driving aides designed to assist when out on the trail.

2015 Chevrolet Colorado dashboard, 2015 GMC Canyon steering wheel, centre stack. Click image to enlarge

Priced To Sell – To The Right Customer

The 2015 Chevrolet Colorado stickers for $19,900, with the GMC Canyon going for slightly less than $1,000 more. Truck fans will note that this makes them not all that much cheaper than a full-size, regular cab pickup, but that perspective doesn’t truly illustrate where GM is going with its mid-size strategy. At roughly $20K for an extended cab model that features reasonable fuel efficiency, modest size, and excellent utility, the Colorado and the Canyon start to pluck on the heartstrings of adventure-seeking customers who spend more time outdoors than indoors on the weekend. It’s a lot easier to throw an ATV into the back of a pickup than it is to tow it on a trailer behind a small SUV, and it’s certainly simpler to not have to find parking for said trailer on Monday morning. Chevrolet and GMC have civilized their pickup formula, and in doing so created a new opportunity to welcome buyers who would never have considered caring and feeding for a full-size truck.