Starting at
Starting at
181-308 | Horsepower (hp) | 159-278 |
191-369 | Torque (lb-ft) | 180-265 |
7,700 | Max Towing (lbs) | 6,800 |
If you are in the market for a new midsize pickup truck, then you probably want to check out the 2022 Chevy Colorado vs 2022 Toyota Tacoma. Now, you might be thinking that with Toyota's reputation in the industry, its truck must be the best of the two, but when you get into the details of each, you'll quickly come to realize that one of these trucks stands above the other, and it's not the Tacoma. From price and performance to tech and towing abilities, the Colorado makes the Tacoma look less a powerhouse and more like a waste of money.
Pricing is a large part of a vehicle’s success because, in this day and age, people want the most power and quality for the lowest price possible. Trim levels are also an important factor, but sometimes it can be tricky to find the right trim level if you’re given too wide of an array of options. Having a wide array of trim options can sometimes help you tailor your choice, while other times, it makes it difficult to streamline your options, and you may end up paying more for a "better" trim that is the only one that has all the options you want.
With the Tacoma, there are six available trim levels, including the base SR trim, with a starting price of $27,150. The Colorado’s base trim, the WT, has a far lower MSRP of $25,200 and is succeeded on the list by three other trims: the LT, Z71, and ZR2.[a] No matter which options you choose, you'll still find that the Colorado offers more powerful engine options, better capability for towing and hauling, and a nicer interior.
There is a larger difference in the performance levels of the Colorado and Tacoma than you might expect. With the Tacoma being priced significantly higher than the Colorado, you’d hope for more grunt to match the performance. Unfortunately for Toyota’s titular Tacoma, its two powertrains can’t hold a candle to the three engines available for the Colorado. Perhaps most upsetting for drivers interested in Toyota’s truck is the complete lack of a diesel engine, which for drivers who prefer to go that route, will make the decision to choose the Colorado easy. Regardless, the base powertrains have a few similarities between the two, but they’re not two sides of the same coin in the slightest.
The base engine inside the 2022 Colorado is a 2.5L I-4 engine paired with a 6-speed automatic transmission. Under the hood of the Tacoma is a larger 2.7L I-4 engine, but that larger size doesn’t translate to better performance––quite the opposite.
Leaving the base engine inside of your Colorado, you’ll get a respectable 200 hp and 191 lb-ft of torque, and with this performance comes a fuel economy of around 19 MPG in the city and 25 MPG on the highway. Comparatively, the standard engine inside of the Tacoma also links to a 6-speed automatic transmission. However, the Tacoma’s engine only provides 159 hp and 180 lb-ft of torque, which is abysmal for a truck of this price. You'll also see fuel economy numbers of around 20 MPG in the city and 23 MPG on the highway, which is pretty comparable to the Colorado. So, both of these models with their base engines would be good for commuters.
Both trucks are available with V6 engines, although the Colorado has a larger 3.6L V6 engine against the 3.5L variant in the Tacoma. Unlike the base engines, however, the larger size of the Colorado’s V6 helps it achieve far greater performance. The V6 inside of the Colorado comes paired with an 8-speed automatic transmission, but it’ll come with either a 6-speed manual or 6-speed automatic with the Tacoma. With their V6 engines, the Colorado achieves 308 hp and 275 lb-ft of torque against the Tacoma’s 278 hp and 265 lb-ft of torque. Again, these two engines do offer similar fuel economy as well, with the Colorado getting 18 MPG city and 25 MPG highway while the Tacoma gets 19 MPG city and 24 MPG highway.
As mentioned, you can purchase a 2022 Colorado with a turbo diesel 2.8L I-4 engine paired with a 6-speed automatic transmission. There’s simply nothing to compare it with the Tacoma, meaning it can’t keep up with its exceptional torque output and impressive fuel economy ratings of 20 MPG in the city and 30 MPG on the highway with an RWD drivetrain. Thanks to the turbodiesel engine, your Colorado will get 181 hp and a whopping 369 lb-ft of torque, which will boost the towing capacity far beyond the Tacoma along with the fuel economy.
A quick glance at the specs between these two trucks, and you'll quickly come to realize that the Colorado outperforms the Tacoma when it comes to towing. These two trucks do share the same 3,500 lbs capacity for the base engines, but when you move up to the V6s, the numbers begin to change. With the Colorado V6, your max towing will be 7,000 lbs, while the Tacoma caps out at 6,800 lbs. However, nothing beats the diesel capability of the Colorado, which is 7,700 lbs.
While drivers heavily favor pickup trucks with a greater towing capacity over the other, cargo space is perhaps equally as important. The Colorado, in addition to towing more than the Tacoma, can allow for longer and wider pieces of cargo. Of course, this comes down to the truck bed, so how do they compare? Starting with the length of the beds, both trucks have two available beds, but both are larger in the Colorado. The base beds measure out at 61.7 inches long on the Colorado and 60.5 inches long on the Tacoma––translating over to 5’2” and 5’0”, respectively. Aside from the length of the base cargo bed, the Colorado’s standard bed is wider, too, coming in at 44.4 inches wide between wheel wells and 41.5 inches for the Tacoma.
For those looking to purchase a truck for more of the professionalist side of things and not so much hobbyism, it’s important to have a bigger bed, and thankfully the Colorado delivers. However, even the size of the standard beds may be too small for the type of work you need your truck for, and both the Colorado and Tacoma can accommodate a larger bed size. With the Colorado, the upgraded bed is a 6’2” (or 74-inch) long bed. The Tacoma’s larger bed isn’t too far behind, measuring in at only 1-inch smaller with a length of 6’1” (or 73-inches).
A larger bed for hauling cargo means that you can keep the interior clutter-free, and if you need to haul something that simply won’t fit in the interior anyway, then having one of these beds is crucial. With that said, having a larger bed is always going to be the better idea, even if the difference comes down to a singular inch. Ultimately, the Colorado is slightly more spacious than the Tacoma but is spacious nonetheless.
Both the Colorado and Tacoma have interiors worth talking about. From materials to features, Chevy and Toyota are well-known for providing drivers with some of the best interiors on the market, and there are many amenities shared between the two. Starting with the basics, cloth is the standard material for both trucks, but this can be swapped out for leather on the higher-tier trims. The Colorado and Tacoma both offer power-adjustable driver’s chairs, and their infotainment centers are loaded with some of the most popular features, from Apple CarPlay and Android Auto to a Wi-Fi hotspot, among others.
Being comfortable in your truck is more than a seat. To be truly comfortable in any vehicle, it needs to provide a spacious-enough interior to match the menacing size of the exterior. While the Tacoma may offer a slightly better chair––a 10-way power-adjustable chair against a 6-way power-adjustable chair––the Colorado is the more spacious vehicle overall. The interior of the Colorado will likely be a more comfortable fit for taller drivers or passengers. Inside the Colorado, you and the passenger next to you will have 41.4 inches of headroom against the 39.7 inches in the Tacoma. Legroom is an even greater difference, with 45 inches in the front row of the Colorado against the more lowly 42.9 inches in the Tacoma.
If you’ll be driving with passengers in the back seat, it’s worth noting the Colorado is more spacious than the Tacoma in these scenarios too. For example, passengers sitting in the back row of the Tacoma will have 38.3 inches of headroom and 32.6 inches of legroom. This may not sound bad, but that amount of legroom isn’t ideal, especially against the 35.8 inches found in the back of Chevy’s truck. Perhaps not so exciting, however, is the identical 38.3 inches of headroom that backseat passengers will have inside both vehicles.