High Output Drag Race: Chevy Colorado Against a GMC Canyon, Does the Extra Torque Matter?
The GMC Canyon comes standard with the high output 2.7L available only in the Chevy Colorado ZR2. Is it worth the money?
In the Chevy Colorado lineup, you can upgrade to a high output 2.7L turbocharged engine making 310 horsepower and 391 pound-feet of torque for a little over a thousand bucks in the WT and LT trims. The engine is standard in the Trail Boss and Z71 trim. But that same high output engine makes 430 pound-feet of torque in the ZR2 trim. Of course, the ZR2 is significantly more expensive than the lower trims. But there is another, cheaper way to get that 430 pound-feet of torque. That is to get a GMC Canyon as even the base Elevation trim comes with this top spec engine. And the GMC is nearly $8,000 less than the Colorado ZR2. Does it make sense to look at the GMC line because of the more powerful base engine? Perhaps a drag race would help.
The folks at The Fast Lane Truck certainly think so. They recently posted a video of a Chevy Colorado Trail Boss with the 2.7L making 391 pound-feet of torque in a drag race against a GMC Canyon with the 430 pound-feet of torque engine. Now, let’s be clear about one thing up front. If you are buying a midsize pickup truck to win at the drag strip, you need to rethink your decisions. They are obviously not built for that. Extra torque is nice for towing and other truck like activities. And your decision should probably be based more around those tasks. But everyone loves a drag race. And it is interesting to see how the two trucks compare.
Drag Race
For a bit of fun the guys brought along a Camaro Convertible with the 2.0L Turbo to race against the Colorado and the Camaro won easily. But that is no real surprise, the tries and weight are all in the favor of the Camaro. The real test is here how does the Colorado match up with the Canyon. The two trucks weigh almost exactly the same. And obviously they are both midsize trucks. But will that extra 39 pound-feet of torque make a difference in the quarter mile? Is it worth the money for the extra power? Well, yes and no. The Canyon did win the race. It completed the quarter in 16.22 seconds compared to 16.88 for the Colorado. But neither will strike much fear in the heart of a Corvette driver.
Paying for Speed
$8,000 for a little over six tenths of a second in the quarter. That equates to about $1,300 per tenth of a second. And really unless you find yourself in a drag race like this, the performance is so close that the average driver would probably not feel that either truck has any perceptible acceleration advantage. The Colorado also lost the roll race to the Canyon but again it is close enough that unless you were running the trucks side by side, you would likely not notice. The Colorado did steal one victory though as it stopped from 60 mph in 110 feet compared to 120 for the Canyon.
A Better Test
The drag races are fun but each of these trucks can tow up to 7,700 pounds. And a better test would have been to hook up a 7,700-pound trailer to each truck and then send them down the drag strip. Would the more powerful GMC Canyon perform significantly better than the Chevy Colorado? Based on the drag race in the video alone we can’t say that the more powerful engine makes that much of a difference. If you like the other features of the GMC more, then fine. The extra torque is a nice bonus. But for us a less expensive Colorado with the 391 pound-feet of torque is the better choice.
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