GM mulling GMC, Chevy Colorado diesel option
The next gen-Chevy Colorado may well be a Colorado diesel, as GM is rumored to be mulling bringing the engines with the international edition of the truck. Image from Wikimedia Commons.
General Motors is known to be bringing the Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon back in new guises in a few years’ time, likely the international versions of those trucks. However, a Colorado diesel pickup might be offered, according to some recent rumors.
New Chevrolet Colorado might get international engine with international looks
General Motors is winding down production on the Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon, the mid-size pickups that are the only such vehicles offered by a domestic automaker at the moment. The only non-full size pickups a person can buy are besides them are the Toyota Tacoma, Nissan Frontier and Suzuki Equator, though the Equator is, according to Edmunds, a re-badged Nissan Frontier.
Suzuki also isn’t in business anymore in the U.S.
However, the Colorado is due to return in calendar 2014, according to Automobile magazine, as well as the Canyon. Not much is known about the pending mid-size except that it will be very similar to the international version. According to AutoGuide, GM is mulling a Colorado diesel, as they might fit the oil-burners from the international version.
Not a bad thing
Basically, a rumored Colorado diesel means GM would make the same truck in the U.S., in many respects, as everywhere ekse. The international Chevrolet Colorado has two diesels, both being four-cylinder Duramax turbodiesels. The base engine, According to Inside Line, is a 2.5-liter producing 150 horsepower and 258 foot-pounds of torque. The larger one is the same motor over-bored to 2.8-liters, producing 180 horsepower and 346 foot-pounds of torque.
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The international Colorado is also sold as the Isuzu D-Max, according to Automobile magazine, although the base 2.5-liter Duramax turbodiesel is de-tuned to 115 horsepower and 135 horsepower, as buyers can opt for either. A 177 horsepower 3.0-liter four-cylinder diesel is also available.
According to InsideLine, the international version, mostly sold in Thailand where it’s produced, comes with five-speed manual or six-speed automatic transmissions, though the auto is only available with the bigger motor. Slightly wider, longer and taller than the domestic model, the truck has a much curvier front fascia, reminiscent of the Chevy Cruze.
Makes sense when you think about it
Diesels in small or mid-size pickups make a lot of sense. The point is to have truck utility with car or car-like fuel economy. Internationally, diesel is the most common if not only choice for small pickups. Toyota tried it in the 1980s, according to Edmunds, as a diesel was briefly sold in the then-Toyota Pickup in the U.S., but it didn’t stick.
Unfortunately, mid-size pickups have been getting larger in size and full-size pickups get close if not comparable fuel economy. The Toyota Tacoma, for instance, gets 21 mpg city, 27 highway with the base four-cylinder and 18 mpg city, 25 mpg highway with the six-cylinder. Not great, but not bad and combined with Toyota’s reputation of iron-clad toughness and reliability, that’s why more people opt to go to Toyota dealers in Bellevue, Wa., to Austin, Tx., or wherever else, for a Tacoma more than any other non-full size.
If a Colorado diesel can manage 20 mpg city or more, that makes it a very attractive choice. If it gets close to 30 mpg highway, it might present a serious case for a mid-size rather than a full.
Sources
Edmunds: http://www.edmunds.com/suzuki/equator/2012/?mktcat=suzuki-equator-ratings&kw=suzuki+equator+review&mktid=ga56490746&gclid=CIvB6Z_4_rMCFUjZQgodiGQABQ#fullreview
Automobile: http://rumors.automobilemag.com/isuzus-new-d-max-pickup-is-a-facelifted-2013-chevrolet-colorado-81071.html#axzz2E18mrojx
Edmunds: http://www.edmunds.com/toyota/tacoma/history.html