FIRST DRIVE: 2026 CHEVROLET COLORADO TRAIL BOSS MIDNIGHT EDITION
Remember when the entire pickup industry was sent into a total conniption when Ford introduced its EcoBoost V6. Blue Oval enthusiasts lost their mind. Six pistons would never be enough for their manly travails. Turbochargers were for wussies or worse, Europeans. “Hell, if I wanted fuel economy, I’d just get a diesel,” went the refrain. And yet, here I am 10 years later, driving around in a Chevrolet Colorado — a pickup “mid-sized” only in the delusions of regulators and anyone that thinks a 2,160-kilogram curb weight is light — powered by a four-banger and, frankly, I might not have noticed if my significant other, Driving’s Nadine Filion, hadn’t insisted on driving everywhere we went with the windows down so she could smell the California eucalyptus. As it turns out, the one thing you can’t disguise with a ginormous turbocharger is the rather weedy exhaust note of a four-cylinder engine. No matter how much horsepower they put out, they always sound like they’d be better off powering a tugboat.
What powers the Chevrolet Colorado Trail Boss?
That said, there really is some serious power underfoot, the 2.7-litre Turbo four pumping 310 bona fide SAE-rated horsepower . Better yet, said little bitty four promises no less than 430 pound-feet of torque . That number seemed outlandish so I first checked that they too were bona fide and then, once reassured, decided it was worth delving into how many of those torque things the comparable — as in entry-level — V8s pump out. This is what I found out:
You can still buy a 5.3-litre EcoTec3 V8 in the Silverado (it’s not available in the Colorado) that ups peak power to 355 horses, 45-hp more than the four. But it only boasts 383 pound-feet of torque and they only appear at 4,100 rpm. The Colorado’s 2.7 only needs to be spinning 3,000 rpm before its maximum 410 torques start doing their thing. And since I always thought the mantra amongst truckers was that horses are for courses and grunt was where it’s at, I think that, in this case at least, four in a row beats eight-in-a-vee.
Ford’s only naturally-aspirated engine, a 5.0L V8, does a bit better, promising a substantial 90-hp more than GM’s 2.7L and is only 20 pound-feet shy of its 430 torques. But they are, again, only available at 4,250 rpm, compared to the Turbo four’s 3,000 revs. Now, many, if not most, will argue that a V8 will always be smoother, not to mention better sounding, than a turbocharged four. And they’d be right. The same folk would also probably say that a high-strung — or, at least, highly boosted — four will not prove as durable as the lumbering old V8s we all love and adore. That claim is less provable, seriously turbo’ed engines now proving more than reliable as long as coolant and oil change maintenance schedule are adhered to. And again, until She-who-must-be-obeyed opened all the windows, I had no idea the Colorado was powered by a four. No clue at all. And, I guarantee that, except for the sound, you won’t either. It’s also worth noting that those 430 torques also allow the Colorado to tow 7,700 pounds, the same as the 2.8L Duramax diesel that was available in the previous-generation.
The Colorado also fairly trounces its direct competition. The other four bangers in the segment, Toyota’s Tacoma Hybrid and the Ford Ranger 2.3L EcoBoost, take 8.5s and 8.0s respectively to hit 100 kilometres an hour. The Trail Boss, for its part does it in just 6.9 seconds. Even the V6-powered Ranger is slower at 7.2 seconds. P.S., the Colorado can also tow more than the Ranger or Tacoma. It’s probably also worth noting that the 2.7L is also available in the full-sized Silverado. One supposes if it’s good enough for the full-sized version, it’s more than passable in the “intermediate” Colorado.
That’s not to say that the 2.7L four is perfect. Indeed, it’s one fault is in the very attribute which its diminutive displacement is supposed to excel — fuel economy. Officially, Natural Resources Canada rates the Trail Boss for 14.0 litres per 100 kilometres in the city, 11.9 L/100 km on the highway and 13.1 L/100 km overall. In real world driving — a mix of crawling tight SoCal city streets half cruising its famed Highway 101 — the best we saw was about 16.5 L/100 km. That’s about what I’d expect from a V8-powered truck.
In pure highway driving, however, we managed 11 L/100 km even when cruising at about 120 kilometres an hour. So, while it appears that the little 2.7L is indeed frugal on the open road, its fuel economy advantage is only available if you never wake up that big, bad Turbo that gives it so much power. In the end, I suspect that the 2.7L’s primary advantage is allowing The General comply with governmental efficiency standards. So yes, the little four can perform like a V8, but it appears that, in doing so, it fuel efficiency around town isn’t all it could be. Part of the problem is that the Colorado is pretty sizeable for something designated mid-sized. At 5,416-millimetres bumper-to-bumper and 1,983-mm across its bow, it’s about the same size as a second-generation Silverado Short Bed Extended Cab.
It also rides pretty well, a combination of the Trail Boss’ suspension being ‘lifted’ by some 50-mills and it rides on fairly impressive 20-inch Bridgestone Dueler A/Ts (275/60R20s all round). Despite the off-road-oriented suspension the Colorado’s comportment was impressively compliant. California’s legendary budget woes mean once pristine pavement isn’t getting the attention it deserves, but the Colorado didn’t care, swallowing it all up like it was riding on independent suspension. And yes, I did check; there is a plain, ole solid rear axle back there and is slung on equally-archaic leaf springs. Score one for well-calibrated dampers.
Actually, they deserve even more credit. The darned thing also steers pretty well. Oh, it’s not even close to sporty, but it doesn‘t wander on the highway — even on those damnable grooved concrete sheets California likes to call roads — and isn’t a burden to muscle around town. I’m sorry, however; I can’t vouch for its bona fides off-road. California’s rules of where you can bust berms are fairly Draconian so I didn’t venture any deeper than a few gravel roads. That said, the Midnight Edition of the Trail Boss offers a bitchin’ — that’s me being all surfer dude-ish — 40-inch LED light bar that’ll light up any trail at midnight, a limited slip differential and is the cheapest Colorado that offers a dual-range four-wheel-drive system.
It also boasts something Chevrolet calls its Air Down Mode which allows you to set a target air pressure for all four tires — fewer psi translating into superior traction off-road — and then automatically chiming when that target is met. That said, you do have to manually deflate each tire yourself. More of a compromise is that there’s no onboard compressor to re-inflate the tires when you’re finished busting berms. Indeed, other than the beeping when you hit the desired tire pressure, this just seems like a standard tire pressure monitoring system so it really is too bad that an onboard compressor is not part of the deal. As to its benefits, beyond the obvious advantages when off-roading, my significant other, again Driving’s own Nadine Filion, was concerned that she was going to rip off that, again, bitchin’ light bar heading into the local Macy’s underground parking lot and was all set to go into tire deflation mode until she realized she’d have to find a gas station to pump them back up. C’mon Chevrolet. If you’re going to call something a “mode” make it more useful.
Interior features in the 2026 Chevy Colorado Trail Boss
As for more mundane technology, the Colorado’s interior runs two screens, one for the instrument gauge set and the other, of course, the infotainment system. The first is a busy affair with lots of options — only the speedo, speedo and tach and one dedicated to off-roading with a pitch and yaw meter. The only problem is that the myriad data can be a little overwhelming, the sheer amount of information sometimes distracting. The good news is that a) the infotainment system is much better organized and b) that some of the information — the pitch and roll meter and the trip reading can be transferred over to the infotainment screen. And, oh, hooking up Apple CarPlay is a doddle.
As for the cabin itself, it’s a great place to be if you’re in the front seats: roomy with well supported seats and passable side bolstering. In the rear, not so much. The seats are flat as a pancake and their backs offer precious little rearward tilt. Even so, there’s only 881-mm of legroom back there. The young and/or compact will find just enough room to be comfortable, but an old timer like me would find it a long drudge indeed if I had to spend more than an hour back there.
As for the décor, the inside of the Colorado is a little more truck-like than the high-end Silverados , Sierras and F-150s I’ve driven lately which seem to see BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Audi as their most direct competition. The Colorado, in contrast, is wrapped in pretty plain black plastic, the centre console is the height of utilitarian basics and the switchgear is the kind of stuff that sedans — even lower-end models — left behind ages ago. It’s not horribly styled nor are the buttons poorly arranged, but there’s a marked difference in the materials used in a mid-model intermediate pickup than what we see in (much) pricier full-sized trucks. Indeed, it’s not surprising at all considering that the Midnight Edition of the Colorado Trail Boss I drove (base price, $48,799; $58,964 by the time you had in the Trail Boss and Midnight Edition packages) is substantially cheaper than a topline Silverado High Country.
Final thoughts
As a non-truck person, I found the Trail Boss impressive. I admired its engine for what it could do with but four pistons, appreciated its ride when it was obviously meant for more serious suspension utilization and, truthfully, found its intermediate size way less intimidating to drive. But I’m not the intended clientele. I’ve always has a sneaking impression that those who buy small and mid-sized pickups only do so because they can’t afford the real deal. For those whom that describes, I can offer you little advice. But, if you actually prefer something a little smaller, the Colorado isn’t half bad at all. If you’re actually going to use its off-road ability, then it’s actually quite the bargain.
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2026-05-05T16:13:37Z