Chevy pick-up a preview of next Colorado

Driving GM's new US-built mid-size pick-up raises expectations for the next-gen Holden Colorado. The names are the same but this could be a game changer for GM's Aussie brand.

Let's cut straight to the point. The American Colorado is a damn good truck by any measure. For those who believe size counts and only a full-size pick-up will do, the mid-size twins from General Motors – GMC Canyon and Chevrolet Colorado – are punching above their weight.

The Canyon and the less blinged-out Colorado are no doubt recognisable to Australians. In fact a lot of the DNA from the Holden Colorado (built in Thailand) has influenced the reincarnation of the US-built mid-size pick-up, but there's a twist in the genetic link.

While the Aussie Colorado copped well-needed upgrades for the 2015 model range, the Yankee Colorado/Canyon arrived in showrooms late 2014 as an all-new pick-up underlined by substantial engineering perks and powertrain options. Other than its mid-size dimensions and a handful of exterior design cues, the US Colorado/Canyon built in heartland America borrows next to nothing from the Thai-built, Holden-badged Isuzu sold in Australia.

The Colorado/Canyon is a half-generation ahead of the Colorado sold in Australia, claims Mark Reuss, President of General Motors North America. You probably know him better as the managing director at Holden in 2008-09. If you care to wager, we'll bet that most of the body and chassis improvements introduced on the US Colorado/Canyon will carry across pronto to the Colorado built in Thailand.

It should if Colorado is to keep pace with the impressive new Ford Ranger in local showrooms. The US Colorado offers a slightly longer wheelbase (3259mm versus 3096mm) to yield a longer overall length (5395mm versus 5347mm) for load and improved interior space.

There is a longer wheelbase variant (3569mm) stretching bumper to bumper to 5705mm with a 1880mm bed.

Roll alongside the big bro Silverado and the mid-sized Colorado/Canyon isn't so small. The Silverado comes up short in overall length and wheelbase which means if you want big, buy the Colorado. It just happens to be slimmer and lighter in weight, and it is even lighter by around 100kg than the Aussie-rado. 

That extra wheelbase pays off gracefully when you point its nose down the road. It doesn't ride nor steer like a work truck. The direct steering and suspension response and agility is more like what you feel behind the wheel of a Corolla or a Civic. GM says that's exactly who's buying the Colorado/Canyon – guys stepping out of Japanese compact cars and into a truck for the first time. The mid-side pick-up also brings an impressive level of refinement and a cockpit quieter than a Cadillac ATS.

And the boys are buying. GM is on track to sell around 90,000 in Colorado/Canyon's first full year back in US showrooms, and GM is still to launch its 2.8-litre turbo-diesel engine matched with a six-speed automatic. It is basically the same turbo-diesel four-cylinder engine already in service in Australia in Colorado and Colorado7, so you know the 147kW power and 500Nm torque outputs. It will be a new experience for Americans and a wakeup call for Toyota and Ford, who have nothing to match GM's little oil burner under the bonnet.

Ford seems almost dazed by the Colorado/Canyon and has firmly planted its head in the sand. Raj Nair, Ford Motor Company Group VP responsible for global product development is always friendly and often talkative, but he limited his response to two letters when asked if Ford was considering planting the Ranger's 3.2-litre five-cylinder turbo-diesel in the US-built F-Series to counter GM mid-sized muscle flexing: "No."

GM pumps up the drivetrain selection with two petrol engines available in the Colorado/Canyon, and the 4WD Canyon on test is powered by a sweet 3.6-litre V6 producing 227kW and 364Nm. It may lack about 136Nm against the 2.8-litre turbo-diesel but compared with the Australian-made 3.6-litre Alloytec V6 that saw service a few years ago in the Australian Colorado and there's good reason to expect Holden may reintroduce a petrol V6 – if only for the Colorado 7. This is a brilliant engine.

Efficient, quiet and smooth through to its 6700rpm redline, the V6 returned 9.5L/100km at California's fast paced highway speeds. An urban stint saw fuel consumption climb to 12.5L/100km.

There are quite a few other bits that Holden may want to consider for the next-generation Colorado. The Yankee models get larger front disc brakes with four-piston callipers, very low 4WD transfer case ratio of 2.72:1 (2.62:1 Australia), electronic power steering, and a head-up display that you quickly learn to like a lot. And it all comes packaged in a taut, stiff body/chassis that is so not what you expect from a pick-up.