The 2015 Chevy Colorado Secures Motor Trend Top Truck Honor

If you’ve owned a new car or truck in the last decade or so, you know just how important Motor Trend‘s top picks of the year are. Not only are the vehicles that compete for such awards those at the top of the industry, but the winning vehicles are deemed the superior ride based on a stringent criteria.

Well, the time has come for Motor Trend to announce their Truck of the Year pick and it was the 2015 Chevy Colorado by a landslide, according to GM! How’s that for an early Christmas present for all you Chevy lovers out there?

The 2015 Chevy Colorado WT and the 2015 Colorado Z71 were just two of 10 top trucks and vans that were invited to be part of Motor Trend’s Top Truck of the Year contenders.

Also invited from GM were the Chevy Silverado 3500HD, the GMC Sierra Denali 2500 and the GMC Canyon SLT. Other vehicles that competed for top honors included the Ford F150 2.7L EcoBoost, F150 3.5L EcoBoost, Ford F-450, Ford Transit 350 HR and Transit 150 MR.

In order to be considered for the Motor Trend Top Truck of the Year honor, each vehicle had to be either all-new or significantly updated from previous model years.
Testing each truck was Motor Trend‘s dedicated test team, which put each truck and van through the ringer to determine its position among the top 10 new trucks for the upcoming year.

All tests were geared around six criteria: design advancement, performance of intended function, engineering excellence, value, efficiency and safety. Vehicles up for the Top Truck honor aren’t necessarily judged against each other in testing, but against these six criteria.

Each truck went through a grueling test process, including zero to 60mph and quarter-mile acceleration tests, a 60 to zero mph brake test, and a maximum lateral grip test before being loaded down with a specific payload and driven more than 250 miles to the Arizona/Nevada border to determine loaded fuel economy and ride quality.

Other tests that each vehicle went through included instrumented acceleration tests with normal weight trailers at a world-class automotive proving grounds, a short handling test with a normal weight trailer, and “Real MPG” testing at Motor Trend‘s El Segundo, California headquarters, which consists of measuring tailpipe exhaust from each truck every second during a 3-hour, 88-mile drive around LA. This test is done to determine real-life fuel economy.

After all the testing was performed, the Chevy Colorado was deemed Motor Trend‘s Top Truck of the Year by a unanimous vote from MT editors. Those responsible for choosing the truck particularly liked the Colorado due to it’s new clean design, excellent handling and overall capability, its size and best-in-class fuel economy.

Congratulations goes out to Chevrolet for their impressive honor!