Medium pickup adopts Silverado-inspired design and completely changes the interior.
One of Brazil’s best-selling midsize pickup trucks, the Chevrolet S10 is showing its age. The current generation was released in 2012 and has been restyled twice since then. And, in the meantime, it stopped being produced in Thailand, ending its career in Asia. This led to several behind-the-scenes reports saying that the new S10 would be unified with its North American sister, the Colorado, which has just been unveiled in the US.
The look of the new Colorado is very different from the current one, much more reminiscent of Silverado due to the shape of the front bumper and the sturdy grille positioned very high. The headlights are much thinner and with an LED light at the top, which goes to the top of the grille. The rear adopts lanterns with a new format, keeping the name of Chevrolet written in full – something we don’t have on the S10.
If you were impressed by the exterior, you’ll find the interior even more revolutionary. Say goodbye to rounded shapes and plastic trim. Colorado receives a rectilinear panel with round air vents in the corners, giving more prominence to the multimedia center and the instrument cluster. The simplest version of the photos, the Trail Boss, has a textured plastic finish, while the versions above like the Z71 and ZR2 use leather. The steering wheel is completely new, much smaller and with another design for the buttons.
Speaking of buttons, the cabin is pretty minimalist in this regard. It has some controls for the air conditioning and to turn off the start-stop or the lane keeping assistant. In the most equipped configurations, it still has buttons for heating the seats, locking the rear axle and other functions.
Even so, it tries to focus everything on multimedia, which uses an 11.3-inch screen as standard. It is capable of showing 10 different images from the cameras around the truck, including one under the vehicle, the first in the segment and available in the Z71 and ZR2 versions. Next to it will be the instrument panel, with an 8-inch screen as standard – the ZR2 and Z71 versions will have a larger display, but GM does not reveal the size.
It will bring some interesting equipment. From the most basic version, it will come with automatic emergency braking, lane keeping assistant and automatic high beams. Depending on the version, you will receive LED headlights, wireless charger for smartphones, two-zone air conditioning with rear exit, sunroof, adaptive cruise control, blind spot sensor, rear cross traffic alert and more.
The new generation of Colorado arrives with an evolution of the previous platform, now named GMT 31XX-2. A new chassis was developed, increasing the wheelbase by 7.8 cm, going from 3.25 m to 3.33 m. On the other hand, the length has not changed much, now at 5.41 m, against the 5.40 m of the previous generation. This is because the front overhang has been shortened, improving the angle of attack. As a comparison, the national S10 is 5.40 m long and has a wheelbase of 3.09 m.
An example of how Chevrolet is streamlining the Colorado lineup (and, consequently, the S10) is that the midsize pickup will only have one wheelbase and cabin option for the North American market, discarding extended bed or tailgate options. single cabin. The company itself says it’s to “create a unified Colorado family.”
In the USA, the new Colorado will be launched in the 1st half of 2023, produced in Missouri. In the case of the new Chevrolet S10 , the launch will also take place next year. The manufacturer has unfrozen an investment of BRL 5 billion for the complex in São José, responsible for the pickup truck and the SUV derived from Trailblazer . Speaking of which, the Trailblazer will have a new generation.
