What are the Most Important Model Years for the Chevy Colorado?

The Chevy Colorado can do it all, from navigating crowded streets to bounding through the mud while off-road. The Colorado has been available for about 20 years now, though not continuously, and in that time it’s earned a lot of fans among pickup drivers. If you’re looking at used Chevy trucks for sale and are particularly interested in what a Colorado has to offer, then the model year you choose will be crucial. Even a single year’s difference can have a huge impact on the sort of performance and features you can find with your Colorado, particularly when it marks the start of a new generation.

We’re always happy to answer your questions and help you find the perfect truck here at Edwards Chevrolet 280. In that spirit, let’s go through some of the most important model years to watch as you’re looking at your options. Other model years can still be great, but having these ones in mind makes it easier to guarantee you’ll get certain features or trim levels. Just remember to look beyond the model year and look closely at the details of any particular used truck you’re interested in before making a purchase.

The 2004 Chevy Colorado

The inaugural year for the Colorado is a great place to start, though you won’t find too many of these at used car dealers since they’re pushing two decades at this point. Still, this was a terrific year for the Colorado, which launched with a 2.8L I-4 engine that offered 175 hp, with a more-powerful 220-hp 3.5L option available. Rear-wheel drive (4×2) was standard from the very beginning, though four-wheel drive (4×4) was available, so you can find 2004 models with either drive type. Numerous cab sizes were also offered, including two-door standard cabs and four-door Crew Cab models.

These first models also had a pretty simple trim selection with just three options: the base, the LS, and the LT. As you might expect from a truck born two decades ago, amenities and tech features are pretty limited, although leather-trimmed seating and a six-disc CD changer (remember those?) were available. Of particular note was the available Z71 Off-Road suspension—a name that has remained an important part of the Colorado ever since.

The 2007 Chevy Colorado

Still part of the first generation for the Colorado, the 2007 model saw a minor revision, including a facelift to update its curb appeal. Perhaps more importantly, however, this update included two new engines: a 2.9L I-4 that offered 185 hp and an advanced 3.7L option with 242 hp for boosted performance. You can see that both of these engines were more powerful than the ones the Colorado launched with, and these kinds of innovations and improvements can be seen throughout its impressive history. In addition to its updated grille, new paint colors for the exterior were offered for 2007, along with new wheels and other options.

The 2013/2014 Chevy Colorado

The most noteworthy aspect about the 2013 and 2014 models of the Chevy Colorado is that they don’t exist. Although the Colorado had proven itself pretty popular early on, sales had been on a bit of a decline in the years leading up to this point. Even updates for the 2007 and 2009 model years weren’t enough to boost those numbers back up, and Chevy realized they needed to give the Colorado an injection of excitement with a full redesign. This took some time to develop, so you won’t find this truck from 2013 or 2014, but it made a huge splash when it returned the following year…

The 2015 Chevy Colorado

For the 2015 model year, Chevy launched an all-new second generation of the Colorado with a complete redesign that took some visual inspiration from the full-size Silverado. New materials and superior engineering help make the frame of the 2015 model significantly lighter than previous ones, with high-strength steel to ensure it can still handle anything you throw at it.

It launched with a 2.5L I-4 engine that offered 200 hp, with an available 3.6L V6 engine that boosted performance with 305 hp; both were offered with a six-speed automatic transmission. A five-speed manual transmission was available for the standard engine, so keep that in mind if you’re looking for a used truck with a manual.

With this second generation, Chevy slightly expanded on the trim selection with a Work Truck (WT) with more features, an LT with improved standard features, and a Z71 off-road-focused trim level. Since these models were released less than a decade ago, it’s pretty easy to find plenty of them in their diverse trims and equipped with all kinds of available features. One thing to note is that a diesel engine quickly became available for the Colorado but not until the 2016 model year, so if you’re interested in a 2.8L Duramax I-4 turbo-diesel engine with 369 lb-ft of torque, then you’ll want to look at a later model.

The 2017 Chevy Colorado

Since the fully redesigned Colorado launched for the 2015 model year, you won’t find huge changes on 2017 models, with one important exception to note: the 2017 Colorado offered an all-new ZR2 trim level. While the Z71 is a great choice for heading to your favorite campsite or dealing with a lot of gravel and dirt roads, the ZR2 is the peak off-road experience for the Colorado.

This first appearance included a wider track, a factory-installed two-inch suspension lift, Multimatic DSSV dampers, and much more. If you’re looking to do some serious off-roading in a used Chevy Colorado, then you definitely want to look for 2017 or later models of the ZR2 trim for the best trail performance possible.

The 2021 Chevy Colorado

For the 2021 model year, Chevy gave the Colorado a facelift and update that includes a new grille, front fascia, and tailgate for an improved overall look. A dealer-installed one-inch leveling kit also becomes available starting with this model year, along with new 17-inch wheels found on the WT and Z71 trims. The LT model for 2021 started with an 8.0-inch infotainment display and a new Chevy Infotainment system, improving and updating this truck’s tech features and functionality.

Also of particular note, the ZR2 trim received an update for 2021 with a new grille, front fascia, and overall look, plus new exterior colors; meanwhile, the ZR2’s available Bison Edition included front bumpers, interior details, and skid plates designed in partnership with American Expedition Vehicles (AEV) for even greater off-road capability and style.

Now to Narrow Down Your Options

As you can see, the model year you look at greatly impacts the performance, features, and overall look and feel of the Chevy Colorado you get. You probably don’t want to go as far back as the first few model years, if only because they’d be difficult to find, but even a Colorado from the end of the first generation can still be a great option with a lot of life left in it.

We’re particularly big fans of the second-generation Colorado, and models from 2016, 2017, and 2021 are among our favorites for pre-owned trucks designed for the modern age. (Of course, with a third-generation Colorado launching for the 2023 model year, we’ll soon see a wide range of exciting new options for pre-owned Chevy trucks in the years ahead.) Once you’ve chosen the year you like, you can look at different used models and find the perfect engine, trim, and features that meet your needs.

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