The 2026 Chevrolet Colorado is built one way and only one way: crew cab, five-foot bed, five seats. That sounds like a limitation until you drive one through the Lehigh Valley. It is a foot and a half shorter than a full-size crew cab, it garages, and a properly equipped crew cab still pulls 7,700 pounds. Prices start from $32,400, a figure that excludes the $2,095 destination charge, every trim runs the same 310-horsepower 2.7L TurboMax four-cylinder, and the six trims separate on hardware rather than power.

Outten Chevrolet of Allentown stocks the Colorado at 1701 W Tilghman St and delivers across the Valley to Bethlehem, Easton, Emmaus, Nazareth, Whitehall and Slatington. This page covers the powertrain, all six trims and what each one costs, the technology, the cabin, towing and payload, the off-road hardware, the safety equipment, and which build fits which driver.

2026 Colorado Engines and Powertrain Options

There is one engine and one transmission across the entire lineup, which makes this the easiest powertrain decision in the midsize segment. Nothing above the base trim is quicker. What separates them is what the power runs through.

2.7L TurboMax turbocharged four-cylinder

310 horsepower at 5,600 rpm and 430 lb-ft at 3,000 rpm, on regular unleaded, through an 8-speed automatic. Chevrolet calls the torque figure best-in-class standard torque for the segment. The number that matters on a loaded trailer is where it arrives: peak torque is in by 3,000 rpm and stays, which is the difference between holding a gear up a sustained grade and hunting for one. The tank holds 21.4 gallons.

Drivetrains, and the one thing buyers get wrong

Three of the six trims start as rear-wheel drive and take four-wheel drive as a $3,300 addition to MSRP: Work Truck, Custom and LT. The other three arrive with it fitted. The distinction worth knowing before you order: four-wheel drive on a Work Truck, Custom or LT is a single-speed system with no low range, while Trail Boss, Z71 and ZR2 carry a two-speed transfer case. Ridge weather turns over fast enough that a truck can leave dry pavement and be in packed snow inside twenty minutes of climbing, and that is where a low range earns its place.

How far a tank goes

Configuration	City	Highway	Combined
Rear-wheel drive	19 MPG	24 MPG	21 MPG
Four-wheel drive	17 MPG	22 MPG	19 MPG
Four-wheel drive, mud-terrain tires	17 MPG	20 MPG	18 MPG
ZR2	17 MPG	17 MPG	17 MPG
ZR2 Bison	16 MPG	16 MPG	16 MPG

EPA estimates, published at fueleconomy.gov. Your mileage will vary.

Colorado Trim Lineup and Pricing

The lineup is unusual in that nothing above the base trim is faster. What the money buys instead is drivetrain, ride height, rubber and cabin content. Every price below is a starting figure that excludes the $2,095 destination charge, and four-wheel drive adds $3,300 where it is optional.

Work Truck, from $32,400

The entry point, and not a stripped one. Nothing about its capability is reduced, and 17-inch wheels ride on all-season tires. It carries the equipment every Colorado carries: the 11.3-inch touchscreen with Google built-in, the 11-inch digital driver display and Chevy Safety Assist. If the truck has to pay for itself, start here.

Custom, from $33,545

Work Truck mechanicals with a harder look: 18-inch high-gloss black aluminum wheels on all-season tires and black exterior badging. About eleven hundred dollars for the appearance step, with the same screens and the same safety content underneath.

LT, from $36,000

The daily-driver rung. Adds the EZ Lift tailgate, remote start and 17-inch argent-finish wheels and wireless charging available on this trim. If the truck commutes far more often than it climbs, this is the one.

Trail Boss, from $40,500

Twelve hundred dollars over a four-wheel-drive LT buys a two-inch factory lift, 18-inch wheels on 32-inch all-terrain tires, a two-speed automatic transfer case with a transfer case shield, four selectable drive modes and an off-road performance display. Twenty-inch Trail Boss wheels are available. Chevrolet prices that hardware at $1,200 over a four-wheel-drive LT, and it is what sits on our lot.

Z71, from $44,600

The comfort-forward take on the same capability: 18-inch wheels on 32-inch all-terrain tires, LED headlamps, taillamps and fog lamps, a Jet Black interior with Adrenaline Red accents, four drive modes and the off-road display. Twenty-inch Z71 wheels are available.

ZR2, from $50,700

The factory trail truck. Three-inch lift, Multimatic DSSV dampers, 17-inch wheels on 33-inch mud-terrain tires, 10.7 inches of ground clearance and five drive modes including Baja, fitted to the ZR2 alone. Above it sits the Bison, an AEV package that adds 35-inch mud-terrains, stamped-steel bumpers and extra skid plating.

Full trim-by-trim breakdown with the step-up costs: 2026 Chevy Colorado Trims and Pricing PA.

Technology and Connectivity

The screen content does not change as you climb the ladder, which is unusual in this segment. Every 2026 Colorado, Work Truck included, gets an 11.3-inch diagonal centre touchscreen with Google built-in, wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto compatibility, and an 11-inch diagonal digital Driver Information Center. Google built-in means Maps and Assistant run natively rather than through your phone, which matters on the stretch of Route 22 where a dropped connection and a missed exit are the same event.

Available across the lineup: wireless charging, underbody cameras, up to ten camera views, and the trailering app. There is a deeper look at all of it on the Colorado tech and safety page.

Interior and Comfort

Five seats, one cab. Up front there is 40.3 inches of head room, 45.2 inches of leg room and 57.4 inches of shoulder room; the back seat gets 38.3, 34.7 and 56.1. That rear leg-room figure is honest midsize rather than full-size, and it is the trade you make for a truck that fits a residential garage and a downtown parking deck. Two adults sit behind two adults comfortably; three across the back is a school-run distance, not a road trip.

Interiors run Jet Black cloth or Jet Black leatherette depending on trim, with the Z71 adding Adrenaline Red accents. Full dimensions are on the specs and dimensions page.

Towing and Payload Capability

Maximum trailer weight for a properly equipped 2026 Colorado, which is built only as a crew cab with a five-foot bed, is 7,700 pounds, and the conditions attached to it are worth reading rather than skimming. A rear-wheel-drive truck gets there with the available Trailering Package fitted. A four-wheel-drive one needs that package and a limited-slip differential together. Gross combination weight rating is 13,250 pounds on a 3.42 axle. The ZR2 is the exception in both directions: its off-road hardware brings the crew-cab trailer rating, properly equipped, down to 6,000 pounds and its GCWR to 11,600.

Payload, which is gross vehicle weight rating minus curb weight, runs from roughly 1,445 to 2,046 pounds depending on cab, bed and drivetrain configuration, with 1,710 pounds on a rear-wheel-drive Work Truck. The number that governs your truck is printed on the tire-and-loading label inside the driver's door, and Chevrolet's own guidance is that passengers, cargo, options and accessories reduce what you can tow.

The bed is five feet with a mid-position tailgate rated to 500 pounds, a built-in measurement tool and cargo bed lighting; a 120-volt outlet is available. A boat ramp that drops away down a narrow twisting descent is the real test of a tow rig around here, and the mid-gate position is what lets a five-foot bed carry eight-foot material without the load riding on the tailgate edge. Configuration-by-configuration ratings live on the Colorado towing capacity page.

Off-Road Capability

Three of the six trims are built for it. Trail Boss runs a two-inch factory lift, 32-inch all-terrain tires, a two-speed automatic transfer case and a transfer case shield. Z71 shares the tire and wheel package with a comfort-first interior. ZR2 goes furthest: a three-inch lift, Multimatic DSSV spool-valve dampers, 33-inch mud-terrain tires and 10.7 inches of ground clearance, with a Baja drive mode no other Colorado offers. The nearest legal trail ground is an hour's drive on the highway, so a trail truck here has to be a highway truck first — which is exactly what the DSSV dampers buy you. The ZR2 and Trail Boss page compares the hardware side by side.

Safety and Driver Assistance

The east-west spine through the Valley carries freight at every hour, which is why the two driver aids that matter most here are the ones you never have to option: blind-spot monitoring and front and rear cross-traffic alert are standard across the lineup, on a Work Truck as much as on a ZR2. Merging beside a fifty-three-foot trailer is the ordinary condition on this stretch of road, not the exception.

The rest arrives under the Chevy Safety Assist name, a six-item package Chevrolet fits to every Colorado: automatic emergency braking and front pedestrian braking, forward collision alert, lane keep assist with lane departure warning, a following-distance indicator, and IntelliBeam high beams that drop themselves on the unlit two-lane stretches north of the city.

Crash ratings for the 2026 Colorado are published by two bodies and they do not say the same thing. Federal testing puts it at 4 stars overall; the agency-by-agency detail, including where IIHS is tougher, is on the tech and safety page. IIHS is tougher than NHTSA here, and the test-by-test detail sits on the tech and safety page. Acceptable for pedestrian front crash prevention and Poor for vehicle-to-vehicle front crash prevention. Both sets are worth reading in full at nhtsa.gov and iihs.org.

Where the truck lives changes which one you want. A Nazareth or Easton commute down PA 33 and Route 22 is mostly highway, and the rear-drive trims are the quieter, thriftier answer for it. Run north to Slatington and the road turns before it climbs, which is where the lift and the all-terrains start earning their money. Emmaus and Whitehall buyers tend to split the difference.

Which 2026 Colorado Is Right for You?

If this is you	The build	Why
The truck has to earn its keep	Work Truck 4WD	Identical output and trailer rating to a ZR2, with a cabin that shrugs off a work week.
You commute far more than you climb	LT 4WD	The convenience content you touch daily, with nothing given up on the trailer.
You want the look and the low range	Trail Boss	Lift, all-terrains, skid protection and a two-speed transfer case for $1,200 more MSRP than an LT 4WD.
You want capability with the nicer cabin	Z71	Same tires and wheels as the Trail Boss, LED lighting, and the interior upgrade.
You have somewhere real to use it	ZR2	DSSV dampers, 33-inch mud-terrains, 10.7 inches of clearance and a Baja mode.

A four-wheel-drive Trail Boss starts from $40,500, again excluding destination, which is where most of our Colorado buyers end up. See what is on the ground, or run the numbers on a payment before you come in.

Why Buy the 2026 Colorado at Outten Chevrolet

We stock the Colorado the way this market actually buys it, which right now means a lot of Trail Boss. Our Colorado inventory sits at 1701 W Tilghman St, sales reach us at (484) 244-2822, and the service department that will do the salt-season underbody work is the same one that hands you the keys. Trade appraisal, financing and a test drive can all be lined up before you arrive.

Salt and anti-skid go down heavily from late autumn until spring, and what that does to brake hardware and underbody fasteners has nothing to do with how many miles are on the odometer, which is a good reason to buy the truck somewhere that will still be servicing it in year six.

2026 Colorado Frequently Asked Questions

More on the 2026 Colorado