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Is the Chevy Colorado the future of pickups?

The all-new 2015 Chevrolet Colorado Z71 is built with the DNA of a true Chevy truck and is expected to deliver class-leading power, payload and trailering ratings.

With so many choices, and updated technology, the Chevy Colorado is stronger, better, and faster than ever before.

Only Chevrolet offers buyers three choices of trucks: the midsize Colorado, and full-size and heavy-duty Silverado. The 2015 Colorado will be founded on two 128- and 140-inch wheelbases and body configurations: extended and crew cabs. The extended cab will have conventional rear-hinged doors and will only offer a 6-foot, 2-inch bed at this time. The crew cab will offer a choice of long or short bed.

Colorado presents three trim packages, starting with a well-equipped base model and moving up to the LT and Z71, all offered in two-wheel and four-wheel drive. The Z71, the "sportier" package for the pickup, includes 17-inch painted wheels and all-terrain tires, a body-colored grille, uniquely tuned springs and shocks, and a special steering wheel.

The Colorado will have two engines available at introduction and another coming online in 2016. The base engine will be a 2.5-liter inline-four gasser that's estimated to produce 193 horsepower; only this engine will offer a six-speed manual option.

The larger, optional gas engine will be the 3.6-liter V-6 and will likely offer more than 300 horsepower. Both gas engines feature direct fuel injection, variable valve timing, aluminum blocks, dual overhead cams, jet-spray piston cooling and a forged steel crankshaft.

Many of the technology improvements of the full-size Chevy Silverado have made their way onto the new Colorado. The frame, although quite different in size and capability, uses many of the bigger pickups' design and strengthening techniques to make it strong but light. GM has said it will have class-leading numbers of 1,450 pounds of carrying capacity and 6,700 pounds of maximum towing.

One of the top of the line improvements is the quietness of the cab,” says Greg Dunn of Dunn Chevy Buick in Oregon. “A giant improvement over the previous Colorado is the comfort of the front seats. It’s a night-and-day difference.

“The first 2015 Colorado lasted only seven hours on my lot. I almost had customers fighting over it. The next one is due here in the next day or two.”

For more information about the Chevy Colorado, contact Dunn Chevy Buick at 419-693-3000.