im starting to look for my cobalts replacement. the cobalts been my very reliable daily for 13 years, but its time for something new. im sick of hauling stuff in my trunk that should be in a pickup box, and i think ive grown out of daily driving a modded small car. im not necessarily getting rid of the cobalt (not worth anything on trade in, and worth next to nothing to sell), although i really dont have storage for it, or a real use for it as a 2nd car as the 944 fills that spot.

im looking for a small truck and ive really had my eye on the canyon/colorado with the 2.8l diesel. i dont want a full size truck as 95% of the time it will just be a commuter, but im still wanting something that can do pickup things. the rated towing capacity on these trucks is more than i would ever tow (i figure my 944 on an open trailer is under 5000 lbs), and the box is plenty big for anything id haul.

anyone know what the word is on these trucks? im having a hard time finding the good and bad about them as nobody posts threads saying how much they love their vehicle.

 

I have a 17 canyon allterrain and I love it.
the 3.6 serves it well. Very quiet. Easier to park than the full size but I rarely miss not having a full bed. The diesel is cool but frankly lethargic. I’m glad I stuck with the v6.
the only features I miss by having the allterrain package is heated mirrors and steering wheel. I didn’t want the Denali most if it’s add ins are bs convenience features.
its done everything I’ve asked and no real complaints
fuel economy isn’t miles better than a full size on the highway but city it’s def better.

 

I've been looking at them as well. I may go test drive one to see what I think. I have also been looking at the Tacoma as well. For some reason I really like the Tacoma in the Cement color.

 

I'm not sure the diesel is worth the premium price.

 

I wonder what @Kolt 's opinion is on them, since he works at a dealer

 

I have a few buddies with the new ranger and they love them. One guy is doing rally racing in his mustang and he hauls the car on a trailer with no issues. Im not sure on the Colorado or canyon. I am sure they are just as reliable.

 

I've only heard good things about them, other than their nasty habit of popping the side curtain airbag when you go off-roading

 

be careful towing, if you do do it smartly, issues with bent frames

 

So I'm hearing trailer brakes are required and no high speed turns with trailer

 

i drove a taco a couple years ago, just wasnt real impressed. there was nothing wrong with it, it drove fine, but there was nothing about it that stood out to make me want it.

in the used market im finding that with comparable options the diesels arent that much more in price. what i do find is the diesels are more common in the higher optioned trucks, so it seems like there is a big price jump for the diesel.

my biggest thing is ive seen/heard of issues with the slightly older 3.6l (2012-2015 era) in some of the fwd stuff and im a little turned off by it. timing chains seem to be a big issue on those, and im not wanting to have to deal with the problems that come with gdi. the diesel does come with its emissions problems (easily fixed after warranty), i guess its just a case of whats worse.

i just dont think i could own a ford truck. nothing against it being a ford (im not loyal to any brand, or hate any brands), ive just never liked the way ford trucks drive. couple years ago a friend of mine was looking at trucks, we went and drove everything we could one weekend. we both couldnt stand the way the f150s drove. ive driven hundreds of ford trucks over the years and havent found one id say i liked the way it drove. while i havent driven a new ranger, i just feel i wont like it from past experience.

not an issue for me, the most offroad action it may see is heading to the parking lot at the mountain bike trails. in reality id buy a 2wd if i could find one, but in western canada its near impossible to find 2wd pickups.

noted. im used to getting things right when setting up a truck/trailer.

if im towing a car trailer it would have electric brakes. surge brakes are not legal in western canada.

 

We haven't seen a lot of issues specifically internal with the diesel engine or the trans in those just yet but there also isn't very many. I can tell you one thing though, don't buy anything gm at least until late next year... maybe even later. Check in before you do to make sure we are still not seeing the same billion issues we got right not. We are not quality checking vehicles and are having a lot of issues with paint, wiring, and doa modules.... and I mean a lot. As of right now the 4cyl and diesel engine in the small and big trucks has around 30-40 known chaffing points in the engine/trans harness causing a multitude of random issues. I honestly would still recommend a later year last gen Frontier or Tacoma before a canyon/Colorado but if you want gm then stick with a low mile one from 15-18. There is some common issues with a few things in those years but nothing major other than the trans shudder. I think the latest fluid we got a few months ago has alleviated that problem finally, we aren't seeing repeats like we used to. We aren't seeing timing chain issues on the 3.6 in those truck like we did in the cars, the first couple years we saw a few but haven't had any since. The most reliable combo I have seen so far is the 4cyl 6spd manual. Couple people bought some here and we only see them for maintenance and light work like purge valve, vent valve, (evap system sucks on all of them due to vent location) and whatnot. Not a single manual trans issue has come in but it is true there was a lot less made but same goes for Camaros and c7 vets but we see them from time to time (usually user caused though).

Def be cautious with a trailer. Brake are required and no campers imo. I haven't noticed any frame bending issues in a while since 12-14 but I wouldn't chance it.

 

Cough don't by a C8

 

I have about 20 pictures on my phone of one I just pdi'd for delivery with paint imperfections. There was even non matching touch up paint on each of the bottom corners of the front and rear bumpers where either the paint didn't quite stick/bubble or the bumpers were dropped.

 

I am with you on Ford. I had them for years and then the last one that I owned sucked so bad I was done. The new ranger seems to be fairly popular and dependable.

 

thanks for the insight. im looking at something used, would be a 16-18.

i just hate the way fords drive, always have. the 2018s i drove (one ecoboost, one 5.0l) had real light steering with no feedback, the throttle response was lacking, and the trans calibrations were terrible (going up a steep hill and stepping on the throttle its upshifting when it should hold or drop a gear). the ranger was always a popular truck, im sure a lot of people love it, but a lot of people love the f150 too.

 

I had several 93-97s when I was a teen. Good trucks especially the 2.3 5 spd. They ran forever.

 

well i went truck shopping today. stopped by the toyota lot and had a look at a tacoma and came to the conclusion i dont fit in them. im 6'5", and i had no head room. went over to the gm lot and looked around for a bit. they had a used datsun frontier (running joke) i had a look at, and i decided for sure that that one is out. looked at the canyons a bit, they didnt have much on the lot, they had a couple 2021 trucks, a 2019 denali and a 2019 all terrain, and a 4 cyl base model work truck. sales guy was a dick, he asked what i was looking for, and what i drove now, as soon as i said cobalt he started trying to show me the work truck. told him im really after a 2.8l diesel slt, or even a denali he just tried to push me towards a 1/2 ton 3.0l I6 diesel. finally he let me drive the all terrain, which was a v6 (they didnt have a diesel on the lot, nobody anywhere near me does). the truck had just come onto the lot of trade with 20k km on it, been detailed, but not inspected yet.

i gotta say, i really liked it. lots of room, everything feels in the right spot, heck, i even had to move the seat ahead a couple notches. this one had the leather and cloth interior, it seemed pretty decent. ride was decent, especially considering its an offroad package. i was actually surprised with how the v6 felt, it had decent power. the transmission was a big let down. the first time the converter locked up there was a big shudder and a squawk. my guess was this truck was traded in because the owner likely got tired of gm attempting to fix the transmission issues. after that though, the transmission felt alright, just a little busy. i told the sales guy what i had felt, and he then started telling me how good the warranty is.

overall, i can see one of these being my next vehicle. i did like the cloth/leather interior of the all terrain, but i dont want the rest of the all terrain package. if im not able to find a diesel i think i could settle for a v6, although not one with an 8 speed (meaning im looking at 2015-2016 to get a 6 speed v6). im still searching for a diesel, there is only a couple local, both private sale. i have low hopes of one being a clean truck as they show pics in the ad with crap leaning against it and scratches on the painted tonneau cover. the other the owners wont let me look at it unless i have "cash in hand". id look at buying in the states, but thats really not an option right now with the border being closed.

 

I would at least go look at the ranger. I know ford blah blah blah, but my buddy who is at least 6"5 owns one and loves it. It has more tq and gets better mpg than the Colorado.

Here is a unbiased break down of the two.

https://www.garberautomall.com/blog/...olet-colorado/

 

I really like the new bronco as well. That might also be an option for you. Since the Blazer panned out so well for GM...

 

I saw a Blazer in my neighborhood on saturday. My only thought was "turns out someone actually bought one"

 

i might go have a look at the ranger. ive looked into them a bit, not really a fan. the biggest thing is in canada we didnt really get the ranger in 2019 (ive only seen a couple listed for sale, but i think its actually a typo), and there isnt a whole lot of them around. we have somewhat different packages up here, such as we dont even get a 2wd version, our base truck is 4x4 xl starting at over $30k, and moving beyond that you jump up to nearly $40k. there are no used trucks out there yet either.

ive seen a bunch of reviews on the ranger vs the colorado, most of them the ranger seems to come out on top. i cringe at the thought of maintenance and repairs on a ford, they are always such a pain to work on. i guess ive spent to much time wrenching on fords, nothing ever seems easy. even an oil change on the new ranger requires removing the wheel and fender liner to get to the filter.

i dunno, i may have a look at one, it might change my mind.

as for blazer/bronco, if i wanted a glorified car id just buy a new car.

 

ive seen 2 issues on them i work at a dealer now but i pdi'd a few of them that had a extreme coolant smell, now gm put in the latest emerging issues that alot of vehicles in the past 2 years of chevy, gmc, cadillac, buick have coolant getting into the cylinders. other thing with the 2.8 is that it takes 5-30 dexos 2 oil and even at the dealer a technician can put the wrong oil into it

 

hmmm, interesting. is the coolant smell something that typically shows up right from new, or after a while? and is there any indication of whats causing it? the oil problem wouldnt be an issue for me as i do my own servicing. even with a free service package ite more of a hassle to drop my vehicle off at the dealership for an oil change than to do it myself. only thing it would go to the dealer for is warranty work, or a recall.

i found a somewhat local dealer that has a 2018 all terrain with a diesel im going to go drive tomorrow.

 

just got back from driving the diesel, and its pretty well what i expected. it feels great driving it around town, the only detectable turbo lag is if you slap the throttle from a dead stop, aside from that the power delivery is smooth. it does lack power in the higher rpm range at full throttle, its almost as if gm could have had the trans calibration set to shift at a lower rpm. i was happy with the 6 speed auto, it worked great, imo it felt far better than the 8 speed. overall i feel id much rather have the diesel 6 speed over the v6 8 speed.

the truck i drove wasnt what i was after at all. it was an all terrain with cloth interior, hadnt been looked after that well, had really noisy bfg mud terrains. the salesman said they hadnt even put it through inspection yet and it was sold through wholesale, unless i wanted it. obviously i passed. now i know what the diesel drives like i can keep my eyes open for the right truck.

 

Fords have really gotten to be a pain to work on. I built pushrod fords for years. They were super easy to work on. When ford went retard with the modular idea that's when things IMO went down hill. They didn't make a good motor until the 5.0 came out again. the 4.6 4v 03-04 cobras where good as well.