Chevrolet Colorado - Vehicle Overview

Entering its ninth year of production without a full redesign, the Colorado is still an affordable pickup with much the same muscular look as Chevy's full-size trucks. It offers multiple configurations of body styles, trim levels and engines, including a stout 300-horsepower V8 that can pull 6,000 pounds of trailer toys.

Body Styles, Trim Levels, and Options

The 2012 Chevrolet Colorado is a compact/midsize pickup offered in three body styles: regular cab, extended cab (with small rear access doors) and crew cab (with four regular doors).

Crew cabs come equipped with 5-foot cargo boxes while other models feature a 6-foot box. The Colorado is offered in either a basic Work Truck or a premium LT trim, with the latter available in LT1, LT2 and LT3 subsets tailored to specific needs. Every model of the rear-wheel-drive Colorado except for the LT3 offers four-wheel drive as an option.

Standard features for the Work Truck version of the Colorado include 16-inch steel wheels, a front split bench seat, a tilt steering column, air-conditioning, cruise control, OnStar, Bluetooth and an AM/FM stereo. The LT1 adds 16-inch alloy wheels, privacy glass, deluxe cloth upholstery, full power accessories, an auto-dimming rearview mirror and upgraded audio with a CD/MP3 player and satellite radio.

The LT2 models gain an off-road suspension, a sliding rear window, chrome exterior trim and front bucket seats. The LT3 is similar but has the V8 engine and a sport suspension. Leather seating is an option for crew-cab Colorados.

Interior

Though covered in plastic, the Colorado's interior features an effective gauge layout and easy-to-reach audio and climate controls. There are some nice chrome accents to spice up the cabin, but this is mostly a utility-friendly cab with adequate storage and reasonably spacious surroundings for a compact pickup. The seats are wide and comfortable, and the crew cab offers decent headroom and legroom for people of most heights. The extended cab's second row is for children only.

Under the Hood

The 2012 Chevrolet Colorado offers three engines. The base engine is a 2.9-liter four-cylinder generating 185 horsepower and 190 pound-feet of torque. Optional for all trims (and standard on 4WD Crew Cabs) is a 3.7-liter five-cylinder that produces 242 hp and 242 lb-ft of torque. Finally, a 5.3-liter V8 rated at 300 hp and 320 lb-ft of torque comes standard on the LT3 and is optional on LT2 models.

A five-speed manual transmission is standard for most four-cylinder Colorados, with a four-speed automatic optional; the five-cylinder and V8 engines are equipped only with the automatic. Four-wheel-drive models feature a dual-range InstaTrac transfer case with controls conveniently mounted on the dash.

EPA estimated fuel economy ranges from 18 mpg city/25 mpg highway and 21 combined for the regular cab model equipped with the four-cylinder to 14 mpg city/19 highway and 16 mpg combined for crew cabs equipped with the V8 and four-wheel drive. A properly equipped V8-powered Colorado can tow up to 6,000 pounds.

Safety

The 2012 Chevy Colorado comes standard with OnStar, antilock brakes, stability control, traction control and side curtain airbags.