An in-depth look at the differences between these two very similar midsize pickup trucks.
It's no secret the 2024 Chevrolet Colorado and the GMC Canyon are closely related beneath their skins—and in the previous generation, even their skins were pretty similar, which made the Canyon a tough sell against the less-expensive Colorado. For the new versions of these pickup trucks, General Motors tells us it made a concerted effort to differentiate these two midsize offerings—so what are those differences?
Colorado Vs. Canyon: Exterior Styling
Styling is the primary differentiator between the Chevrolet and GMC versions, and the two divisions went out of their way to make their individual styling more pronounced. Though there's some commonality in the low-profile headlights—the better to make everything plug into the same understructure, we imagine—the grille, front fascia, fenders, and hood are unique. The view from the back is different as well; the two trucks get unique tailgates and taillights (the 2024 MotorTrend Truck of the Year-winning Colorado has a separate turn signal, while the GMC uses a single brake/turn combo lamp; seems strange the more expensive truck gets the cheaper setup). The rear fenders differ slightly as well, presumably to accommodate the unique lights.
Colorado Vs. Canyon: Interior Styling
The basic control layout is the same between the two trucks; differences are in the details, such as the dashboard vents, which are round in the Chevrolet and square in the GMC. Dash and door trim differ as well, with GMC models offering nicer materials such as padded faux leather and wood on the lux-truck Denali model. The Chevrolet models are more austere; in fact, the WT and Trail Boss models are downright parsimonious, while the LT and ZR2's interior trim is quite a bit nicer. Outside of the dash, much of the interior plastic is shared between the two midsize pickup trucks, and these Chevrolet-grade materials clash with the nicer trim in the GMC Canyon.
Colorado Vs. Canyon: Powertrain
Both the 2024 Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon share a 2.7-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine driving an eight-speed automatic transmission. Chevrolet offered three versions of the engine for 2023. The 2.7-liter turbo produces 237 hp and 259 lb-ft of torque and comes standard in the WT and LT models. The 2.7 Turbo Plus makes 310 hp and 390 lb-ft, and is standard in the Z71 and Trail Boss, and optional in the WT and LT. The 2.7 Turbo High Output delivers the same 310 hp but a boost to 430 lb-ft and is exclusive to the ZR2. For the 2024 Colorado, the Turbo Plus version is discontinued, replaced by the High Output engine.
Colorado Vs. Canyon: Suspension And 4WD
The Chevrolet Colorado Trail Boss comes with a 2-inch suspension lift and 3-inch wider track than other Colorado models; this taller and wider suspension is standard on all GMC Canyon models. The exception to this rule is the Colorado ZR2 and Canyon AT4X, the high-performance off-road versions of both trucks. The ZR2 and AT4X share much of the same hardware, including a 3-inch suspension lift and Multimatic DSSV spool-valve shocks. Both trucks offer 10.7 inches of ground clearance; however, the Chevrolet has a better approach angle (38.3 degrees versus 36.9 for the GMC) and departure angle (25.1 versus 25.0) due to bodywork differences.
Chevrolet offers both rear-wheel drive and four-wheel drive for the WT and LT models, while the Trail Boss, Z71, and ZR2 come only with 4WD. GMC only offers 2WD on the Elevation model, with 4WD standard on the AT4, Denali, and AT4X trims.
Colorado Vs. Canyon: Towing And Hauling
Most Colorado and Canyon variants can tow up to 7,700 pounds, provided they are equipped with an optional Trailering Package and limited-slip differential. The Colorado requires the Turbo Plus (or, for 2024, High Ouput) engine as well; without the trailering package (and, on the Chevrolet, a more powerful engine), towing is limited to 3,500 pounds. Both the Colorado ZR2 and Canyon AT4X max out at 6,000 pounds of towing capacity, though the limited-run AT4X Edition One is limited to 5,500.
The Colorado's payload is higher than the Canyon's, at 1,684 pounds for the WT and LT, and 1,587 for the Trail Boss and Z71. The ZR2's max payload drops to 1,150. The Canyon tops out at 1,640, and that's only for the 2WD Elevation model; the 4WD Elevation can only haul 1,590 pounds. The AT4 drops that capacity further to 1,550, and the Denali to 1,360. The AT4X hauls slightly more than the ZR2—1,250—but the AT4X Edition 1's payload is just 1,010 pounds. (Remember that the weight of passengers and fuel will cut into payload capacity.)
Colorado Vs. Canyon: Model Lineup
The 2024 Chevrolet Colorado and the GMC Canyon take different approaches in model availability. The Chevy begins with the bare-bones WT (Work Truck) trim, with steel wheels and no bedliner. The LT model is the everyday-driver version of the Colorado, while the Trail Boss model is the bare-bones off-roader; it gets the taller-and-wider suspension but shares its basic-plastic interior with the WT. The Z71 is available only with four-wheel drive, though it doesn't get the wide-track suspension. It offers nicer interior appointments than the LT, including optional leather-trimmed seats. Topping out the lineup is the Colorado ZR2, which has a unique suspension setup designed for aggressive off-road performance.
Over on the GMC side, the base Canyon model is the Elevation, which comes with nicer trim than the most basic Colorados, though like the Colorado WT it lacks a sliding rear window or a keylock for the tailgate. The AT4 is better equipped, while the top-of-the-line Denali is largely differentiated by its chrome grille and leather-trimmed seats. The top-of-the-line AT4X largely parallels the Colorado ZR2 in its feature set, though GMC also offers an Edition 1 version of the Canyon AT4X, which adds several off-road upgrades including a light bar and a winch.
Colorado Vs. Canyon: Available Features
We expected the GMC Canyon to offer a better feature set than the Chevrolet Colorado, but we were surprised to learn it doesn't. Though the Canyon does come standard with the Colorado ZR2's engine and the Colorado Trail Boss' wide-stance suspension, most of the nice-to-haves offered on the GMC, such as a Bose stereo, larger digital instrument cluster, and leather-trimmed seats can also be had in the Chevy. Luxury features offered on the full-size GMC Sierra (and other competing full-size trucks)—things like rain-sensing wipers or a power-sliding rear window—cannot be had on the Canyon, not even on the top-of-the-line Denali model.