Considering...

Jedi said:

Hi all, I am new to the forum. We have been considering the Colorado Diesel for a while now and looking at different things, especially safety and reliability. It looks like crash tests seem ok, but I am a mom and will be hauling kids all the time so keeping this in mind, pickups usually not as safe as a sedan or van. Does anyone have links to crash test videos? I have seen one, but I want a good review with ratings, not just a simple video with no talking.

On reliability, I have watched a video of a Colorado owner unhappy with his truck saying there is a shake in the driveline at higher speeds. Has anyone else heard of similar issue? I am hoping it is just a fluke thing as with all vehicles, but have dealt with high issue GMs before and not so great service at the dealers. We like our Silverado but the thing is just too big to be running around town all the time in. Need truck for dogs and 4H. Anyway, hoping to find some owners with higher miles on their trucks to chime in

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Jedi, hold on and sit down, I had a couple of cups of coffee so I got a little verbose.

I have had a vibration above 80. It used to be above 70, but had the tires re-referenced and re-balanced. I think they just moved the vibration. When I had that done, I was given a Silverado loaner. I did not like it at all, which made me even more pleased I went with the Colorado Diesel. There are a some odd vibrations associated with this diesel that I have not felt in any of my other diesels (Golf 1.9TDI, GLK250 2.1 Bluetec, Touareg V10 5.0 monster TDI). For context, my last truck was a 2002 GMC 2500HD 8.1l gas 6 speed, 4 door 4WD (insert Tim Allen grunts here).

I believe engine vibes are due to the size of the engine. 2.8 is rather large for a four cylinder motor. There is a lot of mass moving, but vibes should be limited by the relatively low RPM's the motor does it's work. You could opt for the 3.6l Gas motor, but it seems to work a lot harder to do the same thing. (It will save you about 5000 over the oil burner though).

As for crash ratings. I personally have never really even considered those when buying a vehicle. I wear seat belts and pray the airbags don't shoot shrapnel into my brain should I wind up in an accident, so do what I can to avoid crashes. I suspect if you do the same, this vehicle will provide an adequate level of safety. It does have reasonable visibility and optional electronic safety items that will help. But there is no substitute for a attentive driver. However, if something big does hit you, there is a body on frame chassis that should provide more rigidity than a unibody (mini-van) and a higher seating position that should allow you to avoid some of the worst things that could occur in a car crash. However if you are rear ended at 50 MPH by a brain dead moron chasing a Pokemon, or T-Boned at an intersection by some distracted teen, I doubt if any crash rating will matter, and will likely be the last thing going through your mind. Seriously, If a crash rating is the most important element in your decision making, wait for Subaru or Volvo to build a truck.

Meanwhile, back to the Colorado....when the emissions controls are doing their thing, it will produce: a)a smell like burning plastic outside the cab; b)some vibrations associated with the particulate filter purging (my terms, not GM's). The problem is you won't know when that is happening until it happens. No drama's just part of owning an engine that has to conform to the emissions mandates of the Climate Change crowd (people see diesel smoke and freak out. It is actually environmentally more friendly than anyone will admit. But that is a rant for another day...)

Another thing to consider is the how you are going to operate the truck. Short sub 10 mile jaunts around town, or short distance driving are not the ideal realm for modern emissions control laden Diesels and in general are not the best errand running engines (even UPS and FedEx have gone to gas motors in their delivery trucks). They (diesels) are better suited for longer drives. Compounding this now is the amount of emissions components that actually have to work harder if your drives are limited to short runs and stop and go driving.

Don't get me wrong, I love mine and would buy another. I love having a truck to go to Home Depot instead of a little Golf. I drive mine 62 miles twice a day for work. I get 32+ average and it pulls better than a V6. I think GM spent a long time getting this right. It may also be GM's best kept secret as trucks go.

Ford is introducing a 1/2 ton diesel next year. It might be worth looking into. Time for more coffee. Hope I didn't get too crazy Jedi.

Welcome to the site.

I don't have actual scientific videos or anything, but I know I'd rather be in a pickup truck than a sedan in a crash. Nearly ten years ago, My brother and I walked away from end-over-ending (think cartwheel) a Tacoma without as much as a bruise or scrape. Ten years is eons in vehicle design and safety, I would put any loved one in any new pickup truck and expect them to be ok. .

You can see how hard we hit the ditch by how far the dirt is packed into where the engine should be, which sent us into orbit