Consumer Reports does not like the Chevy Colorado

[Techbrute]

This is the same bunch that complained about how large the Suburban was. If you are looking at something that holds up to 9 people plus gear WHILE towing 4 tons, yet gets the best mpg in its class, why would you make a point to complain that it doesn't park as easily as a Honda Fit?

[lennstang]

I agree with most of CR's likes in the article. But: Just traded in my 2015 Colorado Z71 4X4 long bed in for a full size 2015 Silverado. I gave the Colorado 9 months and 16000 miles and had enough. Not many other customers have had there's for as long as me. It completely sucks at towing...the engine screams at redline up hills and is constantly shifting. I towed 2 snowmobiles in an inline low profile enclosed trailer this past winter. My trailer loaded is about 3500 lbs and it just struggles to tow. Fuel mileage is only 9.5-10.5 mpg towing. I tried towing a 4 place enclosed snowmobile trailer which was about 5500 lbs...the Colorado is rated to tow 7500lbs...absolute nightmare...was all over the road. I wouldn't recommend towing anymore than I did. The 3.6 V-6 has good power for everyday driving...if you keep it the RPM's up. It vibrates and is very loud. It's the wrong choice of engine for this truck, they should have used the 4.3L. It rode good but was on the stiff side. I agree about the driver's seat...too small and doesn't tilt like the full size trucks do. The engine/transmission calibrations are way off. It shifts up too soon and causes the engine to lug, kick, buck, surge, ect... This was the biggest reason I got rid of it! This truck should have come with lower gears...3:73's or 4:10's...that would have helped drivability. Fuel economy was good...I saw 25+ on the highway and never less than 16 in town. If all you do is use it to commute to work on the highway everyday, it's not bad. But for rural roads and in town/city driving, it sucks. Check out this if you want more info: http://coloradofans.com/forums/185-engines-technical-discussion/224289-2015-colorado-shuddering-up-hills.html

[TedzGMC]

I think its really the price point of the vehicle thats turned them off. The smaller trucks were for the economically minded when first produced. Now all of a sudden you have a small decked out truck for the same price as a middle of the pack full size.

Dont hate on the japs too much. Reliability and fit/finish is still better than American built but they are closing the gap pretty quick.

[747jock]

As a proud owner of a Silverado Z71 myself, I share most comments about CR testers not knowing enough about real-world use of pickup trucks. But, I do take exception to those who think "GM didn't pay CR enough" for the review, or that they have "contempt for American vehicles". First, CR takes ZERO, NADA, NOTHING in the way of money from car companies or any other manufacturers. They use anonymous buyers to outright purchase the vehicles they test, to prevent the manufacturers from giving them "doctored" vehicles specially prepped to do well in their objective tests. It's a mark of their objectivity that they will never accept products offered to them, because they steadfastly refuse to have their reputation compromised by accepting gifts from manufacturers. Also, if you were to read their reviews rather than listen to the nay-sayers, you would see many examples where they have high praise for American vehicles: the Buicks and new Impalas have been very highly rated, and just this month so was the new Ford Mustang GT. Unfortunately, most American cars and trucks simply do not hold up over the long-term when it comes to reliability. CR actively polls all of its members annually to find trends in maintenance problems, and then (as long as their poll results are statistically significant) reports the trends in their annual reviews. Most vehicles made by Chrysler suck when it comes to long-term reliability; hence, they earn low ratings on frequency-of-repair stats, and yet there were many good comments of CR testers when it came to first impressions of the new Dodge RAM trucks. Just because a vehicle tests out well, it doesn't automatically follow that it will stay reliable; those are totally separate measures. So give CR a break; they report honestly on their tests and even though you may not like what they have to say, it's pretty damned hard to argue with their reliability ratings, which to my mind are more important than first-impression tests when deciding if I want to commit my hard-earned money to purchase a vehicle for the long-term.

[jbeenemd]

I drove the Colorado. The little v6 is too weak. The price is a little too high. If equiped with the 5.3 v8 at the current price then would have been hard to turn down.

[kstruckcountry]

http://www.aim.org/aim-report/aim-report-a-black-eye-for-consumer-reports/

 

http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/cars/2014/12/24/jeep-consumer-reports-worst-car-value/20837951/

[patriot]

It's amazing how many "new members" who chimed in to this thread JUST TO AGREE WITH CONSUMER REPORTS.

 

TROLL MUCH????

 

 

Mods:

 

Please edit that trash out.

[MikeNH]

I think its really the price point of the vehicle thats turned them off. The smaller trucks were for the economically minded when first produced. Now all of a sudden you have a small decked out truck for the same price as a middle of the pack full size.

Dont hate on the japs too much. Reliability and fit/finish is still better than American built but they are closing the gap pretty quick.

 

The Japanese tricks are some of their crappiest offerings. Toyota has a new one coming but comparing a current one to the GMs is a joke, GM is superior in every way. Nissan is back in the stone age.

[KARNUT]

I was very happy to drive a Toyota back in the 80s when I was struggling with a new business. Their gas millage and reliability was second to none. I loaded them down with fuel tanks, tool boxes, air compressors to run my clearing business. They never broke down and sipped gas. The big three at the time got 8miles per gallon and wasn't nearly as reliable. Toyota and Honda are the reason we have the type of ( American ) made cars and trucks today.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[kstruckcountry]

Maybe the full size Toyotas are crappy, but the Runner and Taco seem to both be very capable.

[Likarok]

Consumer Distorts isn't even good enough for toilet paper.

what the hell does an outfit who can't even evaluate a microwave oven know about a truck! HAHAHA Losers!

[MikeNH]

Maybe the full size Toyotas are crappy, but the Runner and Taco seem to both be very capable.

 

Capability isn't an indicator of build quality. Both rigs you mention have maintained their offroad cred but the Tacoma is still a miserable truck from 2005. The 4Runner has been updated heavily but its grill looks like that Honda robot is about to sneeze.

[kstruckcountry]

Capability isn't an indicator of build quality. Both rigs you mention have maintained their offroad cred but the Tacoma is still a miserable truck from 2005. The 4Runner has been updated heavily but its grill looks like that Honda robot is about to sneeze.

Haha the "bass mouth" look has grown on me... I just can't handle the 0-60 time. I realize it's an SUV, not a racecar, but my 10 year old pickup is in the 8's with a lot of extra weight over stock... and the MPG isn't that much worse

 

I like about the Taco/Runner what I like about Subarus, they haven't made many changes to the platforms compared to many brands. And in the second link I posted, the Taco was on the list of "worst values" according to CR. So it must be good if they don't like it!!

[MikeNH]

I had a 2008 Taco so it isn't blind hate. It was a disappointing truck to me. Felt delicate. By then they had done some improvements to the tailgate but still plenty of Tacoma and especially early Tundra (07+) owners had the tailgates fail. The metal, not the cables. The interior felt cheap, it had rattles and the dealer service was very disappointing.

[longnkrnch]

I gotta agree with them on price. Almost 35,000 bucks for a mini truck is frigging rediculous. That goes for toyota, nissan and any others. It would be reasonable at 20,000.00, but no more.