Chevy Colorado Towing Capacity Through the Years
The Chevy Colorado truck has been around since Chevy discontinued the S-10 small truck in the early 2000s. Truck fans lamented the fact, at the time, that the new truck was actually less capable in one key area: towing. While the S-10 could tow up to 5,100 pounds when equipped right, the Colorado could pull just 4,000 pounds. Since then, Chevy worked on the truck and added larger and more powerful engines that helped it boost that to 6,000 pounds and eventually 7,700 pounds with a turbo-diesel.
But how much can the all-new 2023 Chevy Colorado Tow?
The new 2023 Colorado will tow the same amount
GM realized that the midsize truck segment is booming and that it needed a new truck to compete with the Toyota Tacoma, Ford Ranger, and Nissan Frontier. The new 2023 Colorado will have more technology, more off-road capability, and critically more powerful engines and a larger interior. The new truck uses the 2.7-liter turbocharged four-cylinder from the Silverado, but with three different power ratings that increase its horsepower and torque significantly to help towing.
How much can a 2004 Chevy Colorado tow?
Compared to today’s trucks, the towing of the first generation was miniscule. The first-gen truck could tow just 4,000 pounds, max, and that was with the large 3.5-liter V6. The first generation of the Colorado and Canyon came out in 2003 as 2004 model year trucks. Both trucks were fairly basic, especially in Base trim, which came with a 175-horsepower four-cylinder and a clunky stick shift. You could get an upgraded LS or LT trim levels that swapped the vinyl seats for cloth and upgraded some of the plastics.
Though the original Chevy Colorado wasn’t much of a workhorse, it was practical for light-duty truck stuff. Later in its life Chevy added a 5.3-liter V8 option to the truck that boosted its towing capacity to 6,000 pounds. Fun fact: it was the same as the Isuzu I-Series truck.
How much can a 2014 Colorado tow?
The second generation of truck was released in 2013 as a 2014 mode and was popular as a light-duty work truck. It packed in many improvements, not the least of which was a major improvement in towing capacity thanks to larger motors. The new 305-horsepower V6 could tow up to 7,000 pounds. This is the current generation of truck GM will phase out after this model year. While it was a huge improvement over the first generation of Colorado, reviewers never fell in love with it and Consumer Reports never recommended the truck.
However, the trucks from these years could be options with features to make hauling and towing easier, most notably a diesel. The 2.8-liter turbo-diesel boosted max trailering up to 7,700 pounds. You could order automatic grade braking and the transmission did come with a tow/haul mode.
How much can a 2023 Chevy Colorado pull?
The new 2023 Colorado can tow a maximum of 7,700 pounds in WT, LT, Trail Boss, and Z71 trims, with an available towing package. The off-road-oriented ZR2 can tow 6,000 pounds. The max payload capacity of the new truck will be 1,684 pounds in WT and LT trim, but that drops to just 1,587 in Trail Boss and Z71 packages. The ZR2 will hold just 1,151 pounds in the bed. Though the diesel is gone for 2023, the new 2.7-liter makes more torque so towing up to 7,700 pounds will be easier.
