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Canyon/Colorado Thoughts?


jjackkrash

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Anyone tow a boat with one?  I'd need it to tow around 4500 lbs. plus passengers and light gear.  

Anyone have experience with the diesel vs. the v-6 gasser?  

 

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The newer Colorado's are great smaller rigs. I want to say they can tow 7k plus but don't quote me on that. We have purchased 4 for work this past year for our superintendents who drive around a lot and they have been well received.

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40 minutes ago, jetskipro550 said:

The newer Colorado's are great smaller rigs. I want to say they can tow 7k plus but don't quote me on that. 

The 6 cylinder is rated for 7K and the diesels a bit more; with 10% on the hitch though I think payload/gross vehicle weight will max out before 7k.  

I have a 3500 for towing big stuff that I also use for my daily, but I got a teenager who will hit driver age at some point coming up and was thinking a small truck would be good have around to tow the ski boat 20 minutes.  It is also looking like parking the DRW might turn into a problem at work here in the near future.

The 1/2 tons seem like too much money for what they are especially when I already have a big truck to haul stuff when I need to.  

 

 

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5 hours ago, jjackkrash said:

Anyone tow a boat with one?  I'd need it to tow around 4500 lbs. plus passengers and light gear.  

Anyone have experience with the diesel vs. the v-6 gasser?  

 

I am very close to someone who just bought a Colorado. He also has a 2500 ram deisel. He is starting to pull the lighted stuff with the Colorado. He was happy with the way it pulled. 

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If going V6, Why not get a tacoma? It will get terrible mpg, be vastly outdated technology and option wise, and you’ll pay a small fortune for a new one (or used one). But, it will have incredible resale (best of any truck), never leave you stranded, and run forever. They are bulletproof and are great for getting around on logging roads if you mountain bike or hunt at all. I towed my old vlx with one (prob similar weight to your towing needs) and it did fine. Didn’t win any drag races and wouldn’t want to pull over our mountain passes with it, but it did fine on a 20 mile round trip tow. 

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Don't do it.  When buying my boat, I gave the Canyon Denali a casual look.  My observations:
- It looks/feels like a lower end Sierra.  The overall build felt more "budget"
- Fuel mileage wasn't any better
- Cost was the same as what I paid for mine, which is a nicer and more capable truck

So basically, you pay similar money to a full size to have a truck that isn't as nice and can't do as much.  Not a logical decision.

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9 hours ago, jjackkrash said:

The 6 cylinder is rated for 7K and the diesels a bit more; with 10% on the hitch though I think payload/gross vehicle weight will max out before 7k.  

I have a 3500 for towing big stuff that I also use for my daily, but I got a teenager who will hit driver age at some point coming up and was thinking a small truck would be good have around to tow the ski boat 20 minutes.  It is also looking like parking the DRW might turn into a problem at work here in the near future.

The 1/2 tons seem like too much money for what they are especially when I already have a big truck to haul stuff when I need to.  

 

 

Around here, a half ton will be cheaper than the mid sized truck.  Can't explain it, other than maybe volume of sales.

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5 hours ago, oldjeep said:

Around here, a half ton will be cheaper than the mid sized truck.  Can't explain it, other than maybe volume of sales.

I need to look into this a bit more.  I can get a 2021 loaded Denali 4x4 Canyon gasser at Dennis Dillion for 37 (which my local guy will usually match if I ask).   The comparably equipped 1/2 tons are a lot more, even looking at left over 2020 with the 5.3l and not the 6.2l.  

 

 

Edited by jjackkrash
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1 hour ago, Nitrousbird said:

Don't do it.  When buying my boat, I gave the Canyon Denali a casual look.  My observations:
- It looks/feels like a lower end Sierra.  The overall build felt more "budget"
- Fuel mileage wasn't any better
- Cost was the same as what I paid for mine, which is a nicer and more capable truck

So basically, you pay similar money to a full size to have a truck that isn't as nice and can't do as much.  Not a logical decision.

I do need to get in one to make this assessment.  I have never sat in one so I might hate it.  Same money, correct, no brainer, but comparable 1/2 tons around here are all over 50k.  Maybe I need to look harder.  

Anyway, I don't need anything right now, just thinking down the road a bit.  

 

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3 hours ago, jjackkrash said:

I do need to get in one to make this assessment.  I have never sat in one so I might hate it.  Same money, correct, no brainer, but comparable 1/2 tons around here are all over 50k.  Maybe I need to look harder.  

Anyway, I don't need anything right now, just thinking down the road a bit.  

Canyon Denali, 40k: https://www.laurabuickgmc.com/VehicleDetails/new-2021-GMC-Canyon-Crew_Cab_Short_Box_4_Wheel_Drive_Denali-Collinsville-IL/4615102273

Sierra SLT 44k: https://www.laurabuickgmc.com/VehicleDetails/new-2021-GMC-Sierra_1500-Crew_Cab_Short_Box_4_Wheel_Drive_SLT-Collinsville-IL/4664129683

When I bought my '18 in '18 (new), I paid 44k.  But the discounts were better then (17k off MSRP), as I got a SLT Premium Plus, Z71 crew cab, 6.2 motor and sunroof (freaking 1k for that damn sunroof).  As close as I could get to a Denali Ultimate without being one, as there weren't discounts on the Denail's then.  A Canyon Denail was only a couple thousand cheaper, and if I had downgraded my Sierra to be more like the Canyon, it would have been less.

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5 minutes ago, Nitrousbird said:

Canyon Denali, 40k: https://www.laurabuickgmc.com/VehicleDetails/new-2021-GMC-Canyon-Crew_Cab_Short_Box_4_Wheel_Drive_Denali-Collinsville-IL/4615102273

Sierra SLT 44k: https://www.laurabuickgmc.com/VehicleDetails/new-2021-GMC-Sierra_1500-Crew_Cab_Short_Box_4_Wheel_Drive_SLT-Collinsville-IL/4664129683

When I bought my '18 in '18 (new), I paid 44k.  But the discounts were better then (17k off MSRP), as I got a SLT Premium Plus, Z71 crew cab, 6.2 motor and sunroof (freaking 1k for that damn sunroof).  As close as I could get to a Denali Ultimate without being one, as there weren't discounts on the Denail's then.  A Canyon Denail was only a couple thousand cheaper, and if I had downgraded my Sierra to be more like the Canyon, it would have been less.

This is good info.  Right now locally the discounts are much better on the Cayons than the Sierras but, you know, Covid, so who knows.  Man, 44k with the 6.2L is pretty sweet.  Hard to beat that.  

 

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12 hours ago, Pnwrider said:

If going V6, Why not get a tacoma? It will get terrible mpg, be vastly outdated technology and option wise, and you’ll pay a small fortune for a new one (or used one). But, it will have incredible resale (best of any truck), never leave you stranded, and run forever. They are bulletproof and are great for getting around on logging roads if you mountain bike or hunt at all. I towed my old vlx with one (prob similar weight to your towing needs) and it did fine. Didn’t win any drag races and wouldn’t want to pull over our mountain passes with it, but it did fine on a 20 mile round trip tow. 

I'm not excited about a Taco.  I know they are bullet proof but that's about all they got going for them, IMO.  The other trucks are not unreliable enough, IMO, to make up for the other Taco shortcomings.  

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33 minutes ago, jjackkrash said:

This is good info.  Right now locally the discounts are much better on the Cayons than the Sierras but, you know, Covid, so who knows.  Man, 44k with the 6.2L is pretty sweet.  Hard to beat that.  

 

I could have been under 40k with the 6.2L.  But I didn't want a regular SLT or Premium SLT, which would have saved me thousands.  If I did my same truck without the Premium Plus package and sunroof I would have been around 38k; I'm pretty sure they had one in stock like that at the time too but not what I wanted.  I wanted a NHT truck (Max Trailering) but was impossible to find at the time, so I settled for the Z71 package instead.  

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I have a friend who tows a response LX with a Canyon Diesel and loves it. It'd be great for your SN. When you do get to test drive one, take it to the local Home Depot and park it. The maneuverability is nice. I almost bought a Canyon Denali before my buddy turned me on to Laura (back when I lived in the Midwest). 

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18 hours ago, jjackkrash said:

This is good info.  Right now locally the discounts are much better on the Cayons than the Sierras but, you know, Covid, so who knows.  Man, 44k with the 6.2L is pretty sweet.  Hard to beat that.  

 

Could also be a regional thing.  A Colorado/Canyon is a rare sight around here.  The dealers don't stock many, they are not a popular truck here.  The local Chev mega dealer has 11 - compared to 74 1500's.  Same is true of Rangers on the ford side

Edited by oldjeep
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Went to a ZR2 colorado from a Ford Raptor.  Tows as well if not better than twin turbo raptor.  Biggest thing I like is easy parking, and able to get into garage easier.   Spent 30 year in full size, mostly diesels.  Don't miss backing up 2 times to get into a parking space.

On down side is gets the same gas MPG as full size or worse IMO.  Seem to average 15.6 mph around town.

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My buddy has a Colorado with the diesel.  It is a few years old now, so maybe it is a 17 or 18?  Anyway, from what he has told me, I wouldn't consider one.  Especially the diesel.

First, it was in the shop enough times the first year he had it that he barely missed the lemon law.  Ongoing problems that the regional rep finally figured out was a problem in the wiring harness, but not until it left him stranded a couple times.  Since they figured out that issue, it has been reliable.

As far as MPG, it does great when it is solo.  But he uses it as a work truck (he is a contractor), and is always towing a 14' enclosed trailer.  My guess is that it weighs around 5000 pounds.  He swears that his F350 gets better MPG towing than the Colorado does.  And he complains about lack of power in the diesel - so much so that on a trip from Colorado to Texas, full trailer, fighting a head wind, it was all the truck could do to maintain 65 MPH.  When he does that trip now, he always takes his big truck.

He also complains that the interior isn't nearly as nice as the 150/1500's.  

Long story shorter with him, while he still has the Colorado, it is used less and less.  Most of his work stuff is now done with an F150.

In regard to what others have said, I will concur that, at least around here, there really seems to be no benefit to going with the mid size vs full size for cost.  They are about the same price out the door, with much less capability, and equal fuel economy.  If parking is an issue, I get going with the mid size.  Otherwise, I think the 1500 would be the way to go.  I have heard some good things about the 3.0 Duramax.  Would be interesting to see what the out the door price difference would be between the two.

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2 hours ago, RyanB said:

They are about the same price out the door, with much less capability, and equal fuel economy. 

If this is really true, ya, no brainer 1500.  But I can get a 2021 Denali Canyon with the v6 for $37k and a strippy model for $25k; $37K doesn't get you many frills on a 1/2 ton right now from what I can tell.  But if we get back to the time of $15-17K off an SLT premium plus with a big engine, that's for sure a better way to go.  

Anyway, I got plenty of time just planning ahead a bit.  We'll see if the 1500 supply can catch up to demand in the meantime.  

 

Edited by jjackkrash
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13 hours ago, jjackkrash said:

If this is really true, ya, no brainer 1500.  But I can get a 2021 Denali Canyon with the v6 for $37k and a strippy model for $25k; $37K doesn't get you many frills on a 1/2 ton right now from what I can tell.  But if we get back to the time of $15-17K off an SLT premium plus with a big engine, that's for sure a better way to go.  

Anyway, I got plenty of time just planning ahead a bit.  We'll see if the 1500 supply can catch up to demand in the meantime.  

 

Around 37K would get you a chevy like this

https://www.jeffbelzer.com/new-Lakeville-2020-Chevrolet-Silverado+1500-Custom-1GCRYBEF8LZ369309

Or a Ram like this

https://www.jeffbelzer.com/new-Lakeville-2020-RAM-1500-Big+Horn-1C6SRFFT2LN394148

For the money you can't get as much equipment on a Chevy, but maybe they are cheaper in an area where they sell more of them.

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  • 3 weeks later...
On 10/6/2020 at 1:05 PM, RyanB said:

 I have heard some good things about the 3.0 Duramax. 

This engine with the 10-speed looks like a winner from the reviews I'm reading and watching.    I may need to take a test ride in one.  

Edited by jjackkrash
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On 10/4/2020 at 11:26 AM, Nitrousbird said:

 But the discounts were better then (17k off MSRP), as I got a SLT Premium Plus, Z71 crew cab, 6.2 motor and sunroof (freaking 1k for that damn sunroof). 

I'm gonna have to be patient.  The discounts right now are not even close to this.  I think I'd also like the 3.0L Duramax, especially since GM dropped the upcharge to 900 bucks over the 5.3l, and the towing reports look great. 

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I have a 2019 Canyon. I tow my boat 2 times a year - it is good for that (08 21' LSV).  I would not keep it if I had to tow longer distances or more frequently. 

I traded  a Sierra Crew with the 6.2L.  With the 6.2 shutting down cylinders and fuel management, I think I actually got better mileage in the Sierra. 

I have also had transmission issues (google Canyon / Colorado Transmission).  After less than 12 months, the truck started shifting hard, it got worse, and before I got it fixed it would vibrate like I was driving on rumble strips.  They did a full transmission flus and put in a different fluid blend, and that solved it.  But now (14 months later) I am starting to feel the shifts again.  From what I understand, the standard fluid can accumulate moisture in some specific climates.  Anyway, I would do some research and see if it is still an issue (I have a 2019). 

Also consider back seat passengers,   Canyon is OK for kids, but a little tight for adults for a long ride. 

(PS - I a looking for a Tahoe / Yukon in the spring).

 

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