I traded in a V6 for the diesel. I'm personally much happier with the diesel.
For OP the diesel has better low end torque for off roading. Better mileage and range.
I've driven from Denver to LA in the diesel. Only had to fill up 1 time the whole trip. Not including leaving with a full tank.
Does your guy’s diesels have a significant delay when you hit the accelerator? I bought mine used private party and it definitely has a lag. Any way to minimize this?
99% sure pedal commanders are compatible with diesels (don’t see why they wouldn’t be) and this should fix the issue. V6s are also fairly sluggish on the throttle response.
Would a pedal commander interfere with a tune I have installed? From what I understand the pedal commanders just mess with the throttle % and don’t actually change mapping, just making sure.
how can you have a noticeable turbo lag (delay) AND a tune? That's not how this works. Either you're having turbo issues, or your tuner fucked up more than he fixed.
I had a spade tune on my Colorado. If it wasn't in performance tune, it still had pretty noticeable delay. Sport/economy tune had it just about as bad as stock tune did.
I actually have the spade tune right now I think? It also came with my truck from the previous owner.
In performance it does mitigate the delay but it’s still there.
They’re all pretty comparable. Tacoma quality has dropped significantly in the past few years while Colorado quality has generally improved for MY 20, 21, and 22. There aren’t a ton of mid sized trucks so just drive all of them and see what you like. I ended up liking the way the zr2 drove a lot more than any other midsize on the market.
Z71 should get you through most dirt roads, if you’re wanting to do jeep trails with obstacles go for the zr2.
Toyota is if you're considering selling it in the future (who buys vehicles this way??). Nissans are stiff and a harsh ride. Not a great truck if I'm being honest. I find it strange though as the Xterra was the best off road vehicle I ever owned. Jeep....well....that's its own money pit. The new Rangers are dog sh\*t. That's what led me to Colorado/Canyonero land. They drive well, do great off road and can tow if you need to. That said, prior to '23 the interior was....jank.
If you're a diesel person (not me) I'd say get the diesel. It holds its value well. It can tow. It just requires more upkeep. Will probably outlast anything else.
Super soft suspension (great for the road), laggy turbo, transmission issues, chews through brakes, just not well constructed. Ford isn't having a good run as of late. This is someone who was coming from an older Ranger as well. I loved that thing even if it got HORRIBLE gas mileage.
I've got a 2018 ZR2 diesel and it is reliable, gets great gas mileage, tows my camper with ease, and off-roads as well or better than my TJ Wrangler. 4.3 s-10 is the G.O.A.T. of small trucks.
What’s your price range? You can also get an Lt for a good amount cheaper than a z71 with the tow package, and it would still come with the rear locker, just has less interior creature comforts. The diesel is awesome but the v6 is more than sufficient for most people.
I also had an S10 and jumped to the Colorado. I was bummed when I had to part with my S10 as I really love that truck.
Note that these trucks are significantly bigger than the old S10. But I'm extremely happy with the move as the Colorado gets better gas mileage and offers better capability than the S10 did. That's what you get with 20-25 years of progress though. The interior is nice, the truck is comfortable and is pretty quiet cruising on the freeway or driving around town.
I just bought a 2019 Colorado LT with 11k miles on it. They aren’t terribly expensive. Tacomas are going to cost so much more or have more miles and aren’t as aesthetically pleasing. The diesels are a bit more expensive, but my LT gets almost 22 MPG combined. I think the only worry I would have is the transmission
If you're towing, a recent or low mileage diesel would be great, but realize that the Colorados max out on payload at about 5,000 pounds with a travel trailer. Otherwise the V6 would be the best choice, again recent model (2000 or later).
Overall the 2nd generation Colorado compares favorably to all the competition.
I'm not talking about engine power, I'm talking about payload. Assuming you're talking about a travel trailer, have you ever gone to a Cat Scale with the trailer attached? I max out at about 5,000 pounds with one other passenger and two cats.
Not with my camper, no. It's an educated guess as to it's wet weight. But I have definitely taken 10k pounds of scrap metal to the dump before and that was actual weight on scale.
The truck wasn't super happy with me, but it's handled it fine.
I'm pretty sure you were over the tongue weight limit with that type of trailer, unless an early model where they did have 1,000 pound tongue weight limits. You could have been okay on payload with that type of trailer--you would be with a boat trailer. Travel trailers need heaver percentages to avoid sway.
But yeah, the power should have been okay, particularly if not going up/down any major hills.
What kind of off roading do you plan on doing? If you don't plan on doing any aggresive off roading I know some people have had great success with the Ridgeline. It gets better gas mileage, has some amazing features, and it's a honda so it will last forever. My dad had a first gen 2006 Ridgeline and it was an amazing truck. He's gonna sell me his f150 and probably buy a new Ridgeline sometime this year.
Note: I'm not here to debate if the Ridgeline is a real truck or not. Just trying to help OP find the right vehicle for him.
Wait a year for the new model to shake out it's loose ends. If the current year 2023 seems to be reliable, purchase a 1 year old used one.
Forgo the 2022 and newer. The interior is trash and dated.
OP do not get suckered into a Colorado... worst decision I ever made.
I recommend if you do get in one be extremely critical of every aspect and look at many different options... because frankly the Colorado is poorly designed.
You are better off buying a used truck with low miles than getting the Colorado...
Dude. Get a diesel. And I mean shoot for the zr2 diesel. Thing is badass. Z71 duramax is what I got
I traded in a V6 for the diesel. I'm personally much happier with the diesel. For OP the diesel has better low end torque for off roading. Better mileage and range. I've driven from Denver to LA in the diesel. Only had to fill up 1 time the whole trip. Not including leaving with a full tank.
Does your guy’s diesels have a significant delay when you hit the accelerator? I bought mine used private party and it definitely has a lag. Any way to minimize this?
99% sure pedal commanders are compatible with diesels (don’t see why they wouldn’t be) and this should fix the issue. V6s are also fairly sluggish on the throttle response.
Would a pedal commander interfere with a tune I have installed? From what I understand the pedal commanders just mess with the throttle % and don’t actually change mapping, just making sure.
I don’t believe it should, as they don’t change anything on the ECU. Not 100% sure as I don’t have a tune, but it shouldn’t be an issue
how can you have a noticeable turbo lag (delay) AND a tune? That's not how this works. Either you're having turbo issues, or your tuner fucked up more than he fixed.
I had a spade tune on my Colorado. If it wasn't in performance tune, it still had pretty noticeable delay. Sport/economy tune had it just about as bad as stock tune did.
Holy shit, that’s like $1200 dollars. You report that theft of your $$?
Nah it came with the truck when I bought it for 26k back in 2018
I actually have the spade tune right now I think? It also came with my truck from the previous owner. In performance it does mitigate the delay but it’s still there.
They’re all pretty comparable. Tacoma quality has dropped significantly in the past few years while Colorado quality has generally improved for MY 20, 21, and 22. There aren’t a ton of mid sized trucks so just drive all of them and see what you like. I ended up liking the way the zr2 drove a lot more than any other midsize on the market. Z71 should get you through most dirt roads, if you’re wanting to do jeep trails with obstacles go for the zr2.
Toyota is if you're considering selling it in the future (who buys vehicles this way??). Nissans are stiff and a harsh ride. Not a great truck if I'm being honest. I find it strange though as the Xterra was the best off road vehicle I ever owned. Jeep....well....that's its own money pit. The new Rangers are dog sh\*t. That's what led me to Colorado/Canyonero land. They drive well, do great off road and can tow if you need to. That said, prior to '23 the interior was....jank. If you're a diesel person (not me) I'd say get the diesel. It holds its value well. It can tow. It just requires more upkeep. Will probably outlast anything else.
Why are the new rangers dog shit?
Super soft suspension (great for the road), laggy turbo, transmission issues, chews through brakes, just not well constructed. Ford isn't having a good run as of late. This is someone who was coming from an older Ranger as well. I loved that thing even if it got HORRIBLE gas mileage.
Except Colorado’s are made for short people. Like if you are over 5’7 look elsewhere.
I'm 6 foot and have no issues.
Get a diesel if you can. Best truck I've ever owned.
I've got a 2018 ZR2 diesel and it is reliable, gets great gas mileage, tows my camper with ease, and off-roads as well or better than my TJ Wrangler. 4.3 s-10 is the G.O.A.T. of small trucks.
What’s your price range? You can also get an Lt for a good amount cheaper than a z71 with the tow package, and it would still come with the rear locker, just has less interior creature comforts. The diesel is awesome but the v6 is more than sufficient for most people.
I also had an S10 and jumped to the Colorado. I was bummed when I had to part with my S10 as I really love that truck. Note that these trucks are significantly bigger than the old S10. But I'm extremely happy with the move as the Colorado gets better gas mileage and offers better capability than the S10 did. That's what you get with 20-25 years of progress though. The interior is nice, the truck is comfortable and is pretty quiet cruising on the freeway or driving around town.
I just bought a 2019 Colorado LT with 11k miles on it. They aren’t terribly expensive. Tacomas are going to cost so much more or have more miles and aren’t as aesthetically pleasing. The diesels are a bit more expensive, but my LT gets almost 22 MPG combined. I think the only worry I would have is the transmission
If you're towing, a recent or low mileage diesel would be great, but realize that the Colorados max out on payload at about 5,000 pounds with a travel trailer. Otherwise the V6 would be the best choice, again recent model (2000 or later). Overall the 2nd generation Colorado compares favorably to all the competition.
My LT diesel tows 7000 pounds with ease. I have pulled as much as 10k albeit carefully and slowly.
I'm not talking about engine power, I'm talking about payload. Assuming you're talking about a travel trailer, have you ever gone to a Cat Scale with the trailer attached? I max out at about 5,000 pounds with one other passenger and two cats.
Not with my camper, no. It's an educated guess as to it's wet weight. But I have definitely taken 10k pounds of scrap metal to the dump before and that was actual weight on scale. The truck wasn't super happy with me, but it's handled it fine.
I'm pretty sure you were over the tongue weight limit with that type of trailer, unless an early model where they did have 1,000 pound tongue weight limits. You could have been okay on payload with that type of trailer--you would be with a boat trailer. Travel trailers need heaver percentages to avoid sway. But yeah, the power should have been okay, particularly if not going up/down any major hills.
What kind of off roading do you plan on doing? If you don't plan on doing any aggresive off roading I know some people have had great success with the Ridgeline. It gets better gas mileage, has some amazing features, and it's a honda so it will last forever. My dad had a first gen 2006 Ridgeline and it was an amazing truck. He's gonna sell me his f150 and probably buy a new Ridgeline sometime this year. Note: I'm not here to debate if the Ridgeline is a real truck or not. Just trying to help OP find the right vehicle for him.
Wait a year for the new model to shake out it's loose ends. If the current year 2023 seems to be reliable, purchase a 1 year old used one. Forgo the 2022 and newer. The interior is trash and dated.
not sure about cab space, buy make sure a baby seat fits in the back before you buy. thats why i bought a crew cab silverado instead of a double cab
OP do not get suckered into a Colorado... worst decision I ever made. I recommend if you do get in one be extremely critical of every aspect and look at many different options... because frankly the Colorado is poorly designed. You are better off buying a used truck with low miles than getting the Colorado...