LA MOTOR SHOW: 2015 Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon

In Australia and South East Asia, the mid-size diesel pickup is a million-vehicle market dominated by American and Japanese manufacturers. As we know, the Toyota HiLux often tops Australia’s best-selling vehicle list, but that success hasn’t translated to North America, where big pickups rule the road.

A bit of history: Chevrolet stopped US production of the Colorado in 2012, and about the same time Ford stopped building Ranger for the US preferring to blindly protect F-Series sales. Only Nissan and Toyota still offer a pickup smaller than huge is the States, and neither is diesel powered.

That leaves the field wide open for General Motors which has revealed the 2015 Chevrolet Colorado will be built at GM’s Wentzville, Missouri plant. What’s more, Chevrolet will begin offering, as of 2016 model year, a 2.8-litre turbo-diesel in the mid-sized Colorado claiming best-in-class payload, towing ability, and fuel efficiency.

Australia, in a direct way, can take some credit. The sub-text to the new Colorado carries a heavy Australian accent. The man who is often credited for bringing the Holden Commodore to America has also had his hand in reviving the Colorado. Mark Reuss, now GM Vice President and President, North America, had his name on the door at the big office at Fishermans Bend a few years ago.

“The diesel Colorado we build in Thailand and sell in Australia is an impressive vehicle,” Reuss said more than a year ago during lunch in Las Vegas. By then, he’d already started GM on a three-year development of the Asia-Pacific Colorado to alter, tune and tweak it for American production and American tastes.

The US Colorado shares much of its structural architecture with the global Colorado, but the exterior and interior design has been reworked by GM’s studio in Warren, Michigan under the guidance of Ken Parkinson, who grew up in Utah in the heart of truck country.

Reuss admits to becoming a diesel advocate while at Holden and saw clearly the potential in the US for a more focused Colorado that wasn’t just smaller and less expensive than GM’s full-sized pickup but offered unique qualities.

“The Colorado is more than 900 to 1000 pounds [408kg to 453kg] lighter than Silverado,” he said, “and it offers 95 per cent of Silverado’s payload.” An alloy bonnet and other weight-saving changes focused on providing Colorado with the best fuel efficiency in class and perhaps class-leading driving dynamics. Reuss reels out customer survey information claiming there is a growing truck-buying customer base in the US that doesn’t want or need a full-sized pickup.

For Parkinson, the design reflects a younger, more active buyer as well as revisions to meet US pedestrian impact requirements. “When we started this project, my brief was to design the Camaro of pickup trucks,” he recalls. His interpretation of Camaro with a tray retains the basic glass area of the Thai-built Colorado but Parkinson moved quickly away from simply designing a smaller Silverado.

The headlights are tight and incorporate themselves into the grille very unlike Silverado and unique to the global Colorado design. The gold Chevy Boxtie appears large on the Colorado’s small, rounded nose. He’s progressed Colorado design beyond the Asia-Pacific model released in 2011.

When Reuss talks about unique qualities he means responsive steering, manoeuvrability and, of course, diesel engine. “We’re the only ones offering a diesel, and the other guys won’t be able to react quickly. That’s a big advantage for us.”

The US Colorado is powered by a 2.8-litre Duramax DOHC 16-valve turbo-diesel (sourced from Thailand) which is being revised for US emissions and fuel quality. GM isn’t quoting output nor pricing for the US variant, but peak torque and power curve shouldn’t vary much from the 500Nm maximum output quoted for Australia when matched with a six-speed automatic. GM engineers predict a slight loss in torque output once the Duramax comes online for model year 2016.

Chevy will offer two body variants: space cab and crew cab, as well as offering a range of cab-chassis box options for tradesmen.

The 2.8-litre turbo-diesel with 500Nm is certainly the pick of the engines with GM also offering a 2.5-litre four-cylinder petrol with 253Nm at entry pricing and a 3.6-litre V6 petrol with 366Nm which will be priced on parity with the turbo-diesel.

There have been many changes at GM since the US government bailout. GM now sees itself as a global company and willing to take advantage of overseas opportunities when they exist. Proof is the new Chevy SS and the new Colorado with turbo-diesel.

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