Tacoma vs GMC Canyon Diesel

So, I am down to two vehicles in my decision. I plan to buy on Thursday

Tacoma
Chevy Colorado Diesel

Looking for some feedback on pros/cons:

I plan to tow a boat a couple times a week around town (~30 mile trips) during the summer months, and maybe two longer road trips (~500-1000 miles) per year. I have not bought the boat yet, but the expected wet weight will be in the 3500-4500lb range. Otherwise, this will be my daily driver/commuter. Not planning on doing any real off-roading stuff, maybe a little if I get the TRD Tacoma, but this is not my primary purpose.

The Colorado Diesel appears to be the better tow vehicle, but the Tacoma has the resale/reliability combo.

The forums on the Colorado Diesel have plenty of people complaining about problems with the vehicle/engine. Now, of course, most people who have the truck don't have issues and don't go to message boards to complain. But, I can't help but be concerned as there is no long term reliability with this engine, and the Tacoma trumps the resale value.

Also, the fuel economy when towing will be much better with the Diesel than the Tacoma. However, I do not know if my towing situation warrants the Diesel for towing alone.

I am a total newb on the truck/towing, so looking for any feedback to chime in. JDPower gives the Colorado a better initial quality study than the Tacoma, and the Colorado has also won Motortrend truck of year in 2015 and 2016, so that must account for something.

I would really appreciate people chiming in with pros and cons. Hopefully as the Colorado came out in 2015, and the Diesel in 2016, by now a 2018 model would have fixed the new model problems.

 

I just don't understand mid-size diesels. Given the current restrictions on emissions, all the crap you have to deal with, upfront cost, annual maintenance. It just does not make any sense to me. Even towing, it's typically not the power that's the issue. It's the chassis itself. If your boat is in the upper 4k lb range, I would venture to say for the longer trips, rent a full size. Shorter trips, you should be fine with either truck.

I think GM makes nice trucks. FULL SIZE trucks. Mid size, they've always lagged. Even back in the early-mid 2000's when Ford had the Ranger, the Colorado always seem to underperform (sales wise) compared to the Tacoma and Ranger. My brother in law had one with 60k miles and always had some sort of issues. I always rubbed it in when I pulled up in my then 1999 Tacoma with 120k miles, running like it was new.

I just don't see the benefit of going diesel for your usage. I still read about regen issues (although it may be overblown like some of the 3rd gen "issues" posted here). I know some here drool over diesels, never having owned one. They're not worth it, in my opinion.

 

I looked at the Colorado Diesel during my buying process. I couldn't justify the higher price tag associated with the diesel. In my opinion the interior quality and feel didn't feel worth the 44k sticker on it, its a bit Kitchen-Aid in there to me. I understand you are really paying for the motor at that point, but for me it didn't feel justifiable. For that money you can purchase really well optioned 1-2 year old full size Silverado and have plenty of towing capability. As @phsycle stated, you should be fine on the short trips. On the longer ones you might feel a little weak but those are 1-2 times a year.

I paid 33k for my Tacoma brand new. The comparable Colorado at I looked at was 44k. In my opinion I would get the Tacoma, then if you decide you don't like it after doing one of your long haul boat trips you could trade it in for something else and not lose much on the trade. At the end of the day, I'd say drive both again and figure out what truck feels better for your day to day as that will be its primary use.

 

I would not get the canyon just because it has a diesel. You still have a midsize truck, it’s not going to be fun towing regardless of the engine under the hood. The premium for the diesel just doesn’t make sense.

I contemplated a Dodge ecodiesel. The price on those is pretty crazy as well, and I can’t stand the look of the new dodge half tons. I realized if I’m going that route I might was well get a 3/4 ton gasser or diesel and be done with it. I looked at prices on those and I ended up back with the Tacoma. I made a great choice couldn’t be happier.

If you neee to tow get a full size.

 

I can get a TRD Offroad with premium package and tech package for 39k on the road
I can get a Diesel Colorado SLE package, with a couple options, for 38.5k on the road.
Price is basically the same, but I can also use my 3000 bonus points from the GM card.
That gets the Diesel down to 35.5k on the road.

Currently, Toyota offers 0% APR, whereas I can finance on my own at 3.5% for the Colorado.

So, the initial price is basically the same for both vehicles.

Upfront price irrelevent, which is the better vehicle? I want it to last a long time. My concern is the durability of the Colorado, but I don't know if those concerns are overblown.

I have no interest in a full-size truck because it will be my daily driver, and I need to get around narrow city streets.

 

Both trucks can handle towing that boat. The Tacoma will save you money on resale and the Canyon will save you money on gas. Except for some brake shudder problems, I haven't seen anyone complaining about drivetrain issues on this forum.

Test drive both, do the math on the finances, and pick the one that makes sense for you.

 

If you havent heard complaining about the 3rd Gen on here; you havent been here long.

 

Just my opinion, I have a good friend that bought the 2018 Chevy Canyon Z71 with the diesel. When I bought my truck about a month later, he was jealous and still is. All he wanted to do was look up things for my truck and check my truck out. He also talked about how he has been comparing the Tacoma with the Canyon and wishes how he would have looked at the Tacoma's before buying the Chevy. He also said I got a lot more options for the price I paid (way lower than his). He likes the Tacoma body stance better than the Chevy. I also looked at both and went with the Tacoma over the Canyon more because of the price and what came with that pricing.

 

Have you looked at the Nissan diesel?

 

Personally I would go full size for those long towing distances. If you are set of midsize for DDing then I'd go the Tacoma based on Reliability and Resale. Also based on your input from financing and the future cost of maintaining a diesel i'd stick with a Tacoma.

I would look into also getting the OVTune for that gear hunt, extra grunt and drive-ability fix.

 

Get a Tacoma, the maintenance and extra price of fuel will never be enough to justify better mileage while towing. I love diesel, but unless you are going to delete all the emissions stuff and void your warranty it's not worth it imo. I own a f350 and a Tacoma. Have you looked at the new ranger. Might be the best of both worlds

 

Note I said drivetrain issues. Plenty of people bitching about the tweeters and the clearcoat.

 

Chevy Diesel looks to have really slow performance times. The 3rd gen isn't quick to me and I have a manual.

Definitely drive them around and maybe they could let you try towing on both too on a used truck just to get a feel for it.

 

And the "tranny searching for gears" is what i was referencing.

 

OP, have you test driven a 3rd gen Tacoma?; the seating position is different, if you can't live with that, forget about the Tacoma. I raised the back of my front seats up and it's much more comfortable to me, overall I love my 17' Tacoma. Toyota generally is higher on the JD Powers survey than Chevrolet, so that implies a Tacoma would probably be more reliable that a Colorado, but not necessarily so. Another thing that sold me on the Tacoma; how the rear seat folds down. The Tacoma rear seat folds lower and is flat when it's down, and has a hard back surface. I don't know if they changed the twins rear seats but it was far inferior a design. Also the twins didn't offer a sunroof when I bought my Tacoma, irrelevant to many people, but that's what I wanted. I don't have the OV Tune but I think if you're regularly towing as others have said you probably could use the OV Tune which is another $800 or whatever. Good luck in your decision.

 

So I am a complete newb, but what are the increased maintenance costs on the Diesel Colorado vs. Gas Tacoma??

 

US diesel emmisions kill any desire for me to have one, reliability suffers big time. Plus they're slugs getting up to speed. A lot of people want diesel Tacoma's on here, I wouldn't be a buyer, not a chance.

 

If I towed 3500lbs to 4500lbs regularly - I would be in a FULL SIZE Tundra, no questions. Since I do not to that much weight, the Tacoma Sport DCSB MT has been a perfect truck for me and highly recommend it.

 

I have the exact same problem,but i am not in a hurry I got until January to decide,so I would like to know what you end up getting and why

 

I'll also add. My next door neighbor sold his diesel Colorado after the first winter owning. It didn't run during the extreme colds. He traded it in on a tundra