Cheapest Chevrolet Colorado Axed, Leaving No New Truck Under $24,000
Just over a month ago, we still had a sub-$20,000 pickup. That’s all changed now.
For a short, shorth while, the base Chevrolet Colorado was the cheapest new truck out there. It claimed that title when Nissan killed off the four-cylinder variant of its Frontier, and the Chevy stood as the only new pickup under $24,000...for one month. Now, however, the lowliest Colorado has been axed, meaning its starting price for the 2021 model year has lept to $26,395 after delivery.
Automotive News pointed out the lineup change in a report earlier this week, noting Chevy's facelifted Colorado now falls short of the Ford Ranger in the cheap truck hierarchy. The Blue Oval's base MSRP stands at $24,410, but delivery fees push it into the $25,000 space. Both are still more affordable than the Toyota Tacoma, though, whose lowest sticker price is $27,145, delivery included.
We've already seen the Colorado's tweaks for the upcoming model year, which include a redesigned grille and a different tailgate design. Chevy hopes the styling refresh can help the Colorado hold tight to its runner-up spot in midsize truck sales, a position that's being contested by—you guessed it—the Ranger. While Colorado volume fell a sizable 36.02 percent in 2020's first quarter, Ranger sales somehow more than doubled to place it just 450 units behind the Chevrolet.
Production for the 2021 Colorado is set to commence near the end of June at General Motors' Wentzville, Missouri plant. There, the automaker will incorporate more diverse traits for improved trim variation, like a black bow tie logo on the Z71's grille. The off-road-focused ZR2, on the other hand, looks far more aggressive than in years past—shame it (probably) won't have the turbodiesel engine anymore.
The midsize pickup segment has survived the global pandemic surprisingly well, helped in part by big incentives from manufacturers. Whether or not this will continue for the year's second half remains to be seen, but at the moment, it's at least attractive enough to entice additional players—Ram included, supposedly.
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