2009 Chevrolet Colorado

The 2009 Chevrolet Colorado -- along with its clone, the GMC Canyon (*Est. $16,705 to $27,075) -- is tempting, reviews say, because it is now the smallest pickup truck to offer a V-8 engine. It certainly does have power, but reviews doubt buyers will be able to get past the Colorado's cheap plastic interior and noisy, jittery ride.

"But where the Colorado really falls flat is in its driving position," says Andrew Ganz at LeftLaneNews.com, echoing other critics. "It's almost as if General Motors designed the interior of the Colorado and then just threw in some seats.  No matter how much we adjusted the seat, we just couldn't get comfortable."

In safety tests, the Chevy Colorado again can't measure up to the class-leading compact pickup truck, the Toyota Tacoma. While the Tacoma gets high scores in all crash and rollover tests, the Colorado does only a "marginal" job protecting occupants in rear crash tests at the nonprofit Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. Without optional side airbags, the Colorado rates "poor" in side crash tests.

Good handling is a highlight

Reviews do find some good points in the Chevy compact pickup, saying that it handles well. A dual-position tailgate is a nice touch, Edmunds.com says; you can close the tailgate halfway to provide extra stability for long items. And reviewers say the Colorado pickup certainly looks tough, with an exterior that evokes the full-size Chevrolet Silverado 1500 (*Est. $19,375 to $41,355).

Acting tough is another matter. Reviews say the Chevy Colorado's towing ability is wimpy without the optional V-8, but they don't highly recommend that fuel-thirsty engine -- and the Colorado's maximum 6,000-pound towing capacity is still 500 pounds less than the Toyota Tacoma's or Nissan Frontier's. Those pickup trucks offer more efficient V-6 engines that get the job done with oomph, experts say, but the Colorado lacks a V-6 option.

Although editors at Kelley Blue Book find plenty of power from the Colorado's two lower-level engines, most experts say these engines are weak compared to rivals'. The base 185-horsepower, 2.9-liter four-cylinder delivers 20 mpg in mixed driving (18 mpg city and 24 mpg highway) with rear-wheel drive, whether matched with the five-speed manual transmission or the four-speed automatic. That's 2 mpg less than the most fuel-efficient Tacoma.

A step-up 242-horsepower, 3.7-liter five-cylinder doesn't do much more to motivate the Chevrolet Colorado compact pickup, testers say, and it cuts fuel economy (17 city, 23 highway and 19 combined). The V-8 is less efficient (15 city, 21 highway and 17 combined). Add four-wheel drive to any engine, and you'll lose another 1 mpg.

Features, pricing and trim levels

The Colorado comes in three cab styles: regular, extended and crew. The regular cab has a 6-foot bed and seats three on a 60/40 split bench. The extended cab also has a 6-foot bed, plus narrow, reverse-opening rear doors and two forward-facing, flip-up rear jump seats. The crew cab has four normal doors, a 5-foot bed and room for six with a bench backseat, although testers say space back there is still tight. Front bucket seats are available.

Three basic trim levels are offered. The base Chevy Colorado Work Truck (*Est. $16,705 to $22,250) includes air conditioning, a radio and OnStar, but few other features. The Colorado LT (*Est. $17,830 to $21,335) and its 1LT, 2LT and 3LT variations (*Est. $20,405 to $26,940) add more standard and optional features, working up to leather seats and aluminum wheels. A VL trim (*Est. $20,525 to $23,025) bundles together popular features such as power windows and locks.

The Chevrolet Colorado small pickup carries a three-year, 36,000-mile basic warranty. Its five-year, 100,000-mile powertrain warranty is more extensive than the usual five-year, 60,000 mile coverage, and all General Motors and Chrysler warranties are now backed by the U.S. government, which will become the majority stakeholder in General Motors once it exits the Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings it entered on June 1, 2009.

ConsumerReports.org and Edmunds.com both expertly test the Chevrolet Colorado and compare it with its rivals; ConsumerReports.org's ratings chart makes the Colorado's strengths and weaknesses especially clear. LeftLaneNews.com provides a fairly comprehensive review of the new V-8-powered Chevy Colorado, although the reviewer doesn't test it off road. J.D. Power and Associates' surveys show how unhappy consumers have been with their Chevy Colorado pickups. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency are the best sources for safety and fuel economy data. Kelley Blue Book has high praise for the Chevrolet Colorado's fuel economy, although data shows it is not the best in its class.