2017 Chevrolet Colorado to Offer New Engine and Transmission

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The 2017 model year updates for the Chevrolet Colorado, which will arrive at dealerships later this year, include a new V-6 engine and a class-exclusive, eight-speed automatic transmission.

“For the new V-6 and eight-speed combination, we focused on improving everyday driving performance,” says Stan Ludlow, chief engineer for the 2017 Colorado. “Drivers will immediately notice that it pulls harder when accelerating from a stop or passing on the highway; it is more confident pulling a trailer up a steep grade, and it is more refined cruising at a constant highway speed.”

Use of aluminum and magnesium, combined with similar packaging to the vehicle’s previous transmission, equates to no increase in overall weight for Colorado models equipped with the new transmission.

The vehicle will also feature an updated suite of advanced engine technologies, including improved variable valve timing for intake and exhaust, improved direct injection, horsepower and torque increase, and Active Fuel Management, which disables two cylinders under light throttle applications.

Chevrolet is on track to sell more than 160,000 units of the Colorado, which entered the market for model year 2015, in its first 24 months on the market.

Colorado accounts for 23 percent of the midsize segment. Since the vehicle was introduced, the total midsize segment has jumped from 1.5 percent of total vehicle sales in 2014 to 2.4 percent of total sales in the 2016 calendar year.