Chevrolet Hopes to Grow Midsize Truck Market with Two Special Edition 2019 Colorados

Chevrolet has had phenomenal success with its return to the midsize truck market. Now it is hoping to grow that market even more with the launch of two special edition 2019 Colorados. Chevrolet is introducing the 2019 Chevrolet Colorado RST, which is street focused. It is also adding a 2019 Colorado Z71 Trail Runner, which is focused on off-roading.

“The success of Colorado helped reignite the midsize truck segment, which increased 27 percent from 2015 to 2017,” said Sandor Piszar, director of Marketing for Chevrolet Trucks. “It changed what customers expected from a midsize truck, brought new customers to Chevrolet and has inspired competitors to follow Chevy’s lead.”

Chevrolet introduced the midsize Colorado four years ago. Since then, more than 428,792 Colorados have been sold. Chevrolet has designed the Colorado to have something for every prospective truck owner— including three different powertrains, three configurations and a wide range of trim. Perhaps most attractive feature was the EPA-estimated rating of 27 mpg highway. It also boasts 7000 pounds of towing capability.

The 2019 Colorado RST Details

The Colorado RST builds on the successful street-focused RST models offered on Tahoe, Suburban and the all-new Silverado. For Colorado, the RST is based on the LT trim and adds monochromatic exterior offset with black beltline and body side moldings. It also adds a black tailgate bowtie, Colorado and RST badges. The RST is also the first Colorado to offer 20-inch wheels, finished in low-gloss black.

The Z71 Trail Runner Details

The Z71 Trail Runner begins with the Colorado Z71 off-road package and adds the Colorado ZR2’s underbody protection. Changes include stamped aluminum front and mid skid plates, functional rocker protection and Goodyear Duratrac tires.

With the Z71 Trail Runner, the Colorado lineup now offers four distinct levels of off-road capability:

Colorado Z71: Z71 Off-Road Suspension, automatic locking rear differential and unique 17-inch painted wheels and all-terrain tires.

New Colorado Z71 Trail Runner: Adds additional off-road protection to the Z71 trim with the Colorado ZR2’s front and mid skid plates, rocker protection and 17-inch Goodyear Duratrac tires.

Colorado ZR2: Compared to a standard Colorado, the ZR2 features a factory-installed 3.5-inch wider track and a suspension lifted by 2 inches. Class-exclusive features include front and rear electronic locking differentials and Multimatic DSSV Dampers. The ZR2 also features front and mid skid plates, rocker protection and front and rear bumpers modified for better off-road clearance.

Colorado ZR2 Bison: The ZR2 Bison adds even more extreme off-road capability with five hot-stamped Boron steel skid plates and stamped steel front and rear bumpers with front winch provisions and rear recovery points. The Bison is due on dealer lots in early 2019.

Both new special editions feature the flow-through “CHEVROLET” lettered grille first introduced on the Colorado ZR2 Bison.

At this point, Chevrolet is not saying when the new special editions will be available or how much they will cost. Once the official numbers are released, you can compare them to their competitors here.