Don't Forget About the GMC Canyon

• The Chevrolet Colorado is a pretty good midsize pickup truck.
• But you know what's an even better midsize pickup truck? The GMC Canyon.
• Here's why I'd pick the Canyon over its corporate twin.

The Canyon looks so much better

The Colorado isn't a bad-looking truck, per se, but it's really color- and trim-dependent. Our long-term Colorado Z71? It's OK. A lower-spec LT or rugged-ish Trail Boss with its plastic-fantastic front fascia and halogen headlights? Super dumpy. ZR2? Cool. Very cool.

The Canyon, on the other hand, looks great across the board. Credit the standard LED running lights, split headlights with LED projector beams and, crucially, the flared-out wide-body look that you get on every single trim (not just the off-road-biased versions like you do with the Colorado). It all gives the Canyon a much more premium and planted stance on the road. Compare a base Canyon Elevation with a similarly priced Colorado Z71 and you'll see, the GMC is significantly more attractive.

The GMC's interior is nicer

OK, the differences between the Colorado and Canyon aren't as massive inside, but every little detail counts. GMC uses a more intersting and premium-looking vent design, with better accent materials throughout the cabin.

Don't forget, GMC has the edge on luxury, too. If it's a fancy truck you desire, Chevy doesn't offer a high-zoot version of the Colorado, but GMC gives the Canyon the full Denali treatment, with extended leather and woodgrain surfacing. Even the one we tested, the butch AT4X model you see here, has some interesting two-tone upholstery inside the cabin that differentiates it from an equivalent Colorado ZR2. The differences might be subtle, but they're meaningful.

The pricing lines up — but you get what you pay for

Here's the one big catch of the Canyon: The base Elevation trim is equivalent to a midgrade Colorado Z71. If you're looking for a cheap truck, GMC doesn't have it. That's where the Colorado WT and LT come in, as well as base-level versions of other midsize pickups.

On top of that, while Chevy will sell you a Colorado with less powerful versions of the 2.7-liter turbocharged inline-four engine, GMC only offers the TurboMax tune with 310 horsepower and 430 lb-ft of torque. That's not a complaint, of course; it's a great engine. But if you don't need that kind of power, it's another reason to consider the Chevy.

But all that being said, how big is the price gap between these two trucks, really? We paid $48,445 for our long-term 2023 Colorado Z71 with the TurboMax engine. An identically optioned 2024 Canyon Elevation? It's an even $48,000, all-in. The Canyon looks better, has a slightly nicer cabin, and comes with all the same in-car tech and driver assistance features. I know which one I'd rather have in the Edmunds garage.

Photos by Keith Buglewicz