Looking at the 2011 Chevrolet Colorado

As the model year 2011 comes for the Chevrolet Colorado comes, most aspects of this compact pickup truck remain unchanged. Its basic design is similar to that with the GMC Canyon’s.

Three body styles are available for the Colorado. These are the regular, extended, and crew cab body styles. The crew cab body style comes with a 5-foot bed.

Depending on the body style, the Colorado is further classified under four different trim levels, which are Work, 1LT, 2LT, and 3LT.

The rear-wheel drive system and the part-time four wheel drive systems are available on all Colorado models. The part-time four wheel drive is a system that is designed to allow the vehicle to remain engaged while on dry pavement, with an additional low-range gear meant for off-roading.

There are different engine types that are affiliated with the Colorado line-up, but the standard type for all models are the 185 hp 2.9 litre 4 cylinder engines. The availability of other engines is based on the model’s body style and trim level.

For models with the crew cab body style that have four-wheel drive systems, the 242 hp 3.7 litre 5-cylinder engine is standard. The same engine is optional for all the other Colorado models.

Standard for the 3LT models are 300 hp 5.3 litre V8 engines. The same engine is optional for most of the models with the 1LT and 2LT trim levels. Four-cylinder versions of the same engine can either be with 5-speed or 4-speed automatic transmissions. On the other hand, V8 versions as well as five-cylinder versions of the same engine can only come with an automatic transmission.

Maximum towing capacity of the vehicle is 6,000 lbs.

In its roster of available safety features, the Colorado has an antilock brake system, antiskid system, traction control, and curtain-side airbags.

Sport and off-road suspensions may be available, but it depends on which trim level is concerned.

Also, a new feature for this model year is the wireless cell phone link.

Expert ratings reveal that the Colorado’s two-wheel drive, 1LT, extended cab 4-cylinder model with automatic transmission fared slightly better than most pickup trucks that were within its class. Colorado’s contender scored a total of 47, a notch higher than the 45.1 average.

The best assets of the tested model were said to be its acceleration, controls, and value within its class, all of which were rated 6 – the highest rating the test subject got.

In terms of acceleration, the Colorado is good for town drives. It doesn’t have much capacity in terms of cargo, so it might not be the choice for transporting heavy loads.

The controls also get a rating of 6, since they are easy to use, but are a bit hard to see when the sunlight gets in the way.

Nevertheless, the model is still worthy for average pickup users, which is where most of the consumers really are. That’s why it’s value within its class remains higher than others.