Chevrolet’s Colorado mid-size pickup truck has made quite a splash in sales since it debuted alongside its corporate counterpart the GMC Canyon several years ago. While the Colorado has certainly suceeded in putting pressure on the benchmark Toyota Tacoma, it has always had a cookie cutter esque character with no real distinction even in range topping ZR2 trim. Chevrolet has decided to tackle this problem head-on, and has unveiled the refreshed 2021 Colorado.
The exterior styling of the Colorado is arguably where the bulk of the changes take place, with all models featuring revised front Chevy “bowtie” emblems, as well embossed “Chevrolet” lettering in place of the rear mounted bowtie on the tailgate. The latter item is a small nod to vintage Chevrolet trucks that also had the Chevrolet name prominently featured on their tailgates.
The ZR2 Chevrolet featured in todays release, also appears to borrow a page from the Bison’s playbook, and replaces its big bowtie with a Chevrolet font adorned flow through front grille. The old logo itself does not vanish completly however, and is relegated to a spot in the lower left corner of the grille.
“We’ve sold 520,000 Colorado pickups in five years through a relentless, foot-on-the-gas approach to product and feature updates,” said Bob Krapes, director of marketing, Chevrolet Trucks. “With its new-look front end and tailgate, Colorado will now have a more aggressive appearance to match its award-winning capability.”
Meanwhile, the rest of the Colorado range (WT, LT, and Z71) also get in on the act, and all three will feature updated center bars, lower grille pieces, and front skid plates for the 2021 model year. WT and LT models feature all new gold bowtie logos, while the Z71 blacks its logos out for a more purposeful apperance. As for the ZR2, the bulk of its performance hardware remains unchanged, with the lone revisions being a set of red tow hooks, and the all new “Sand Dune Metallic” paint color which can also be equipped to the Z71.
The 2021 Chevrolet Colorado is expected to go on sale later this year, with pricing expected to be released sometime before that. The white elephant in the room however is the ongoing UAW strike, which could affect this time table, especially if retooling certain elements of the Wentzville, Missouri assembly center is delayed as a result.