Comparing the 2024 Chevy Colorado to the 2024 Toyota Tacoma

If you want a truck as your next vehicle, you’re buying a truck, and we don’t need to convince you of that much. However, which truck is the best choice if you’re on a tighter budget or aren’t shopping for anything too big? You’ve likely seen a few options, and that’s led you to wonder which is better: 2024 Chevy Colorado vs 2024 Toyota Tacoma.

Without knowing the full picture, you may notice these two trucks have plenty in common, but these pickups aren’t two sides of the same coin, as one manufacturer clearly understood the assignment better than the other. So, which one holds the crown for the best midsize truck in 2024? That’s what we’re here to determine, so let’s get this show on the road…

Close Performance

In their base configurations, the 2024 Colorado and 2024 Tacoma have similar performance figures, but one still has the edge over the other. What’s fascinating in this particular scenario is that the truck with the edge in performance is also the truck that you’ll save the most money on.

How does that make sense? It’s best not to dwell on the logistics, but what you need to know is the 2024 Colorado and its standard turbocharged 2.7L I-4 engine pumps out more horsepower and provides greater torque than the turbocharged 2.4L I-4 engine that comes standard with the Tacoma.

The turbocharged engines that come with both the Colorado and Tacoma have a few similarities we’ll mention, but with the Chevy Colorado, its base engine’s 237 hp and 259 lb-ft of torque is a slight improvement over the 228 hp and 243 lb-ft of torque that comes with the cheapest Tacoma.

As for the similarities between the two powertrains, both the Colorado and Tacoma come standard with RWD, with 4WD available instead of AWD, meaning these two trucks can have some off-roading potential. Also identical between the two are their eight-speed automatic transmissions, along with a maximum towing capacity of 3,500 lbs. The towing capacity of both trucks being identical at least helps the Tacoma’s case, but it’s immediately made irrelevant by the higher price of Toyota’s truck.

There’s better performance to be had with both trucks, however, although you’ll be purchasing a higher-end trim. Both trucks stick with a turbocharged powertrain to achieve their best performance levels, but the Tacoma still falls short with another turbocharged 2.4L I-4 engine—one that outputs between 270 to 278 hp and between 310 and 317 lb-ft of torque, depending on the trim.

The Colorado’s alternate powertrain also has an identical displacement to its base engine, but this turbocharged 2.7L I-4 engine is a TurboMax engine, so horsepower and torque are greatly increased. With 310 hp and 430 lb-ft of torque, the Colorado’s higher-end powertrain outputs 11.5% more horsepower and 35.6% greater torque than the best powertrain in the Tacoma that isn’t from its hybrid model, which is a different story altogether.

Adding to the Chevy Colorado’s credit, its best powertrain has a higher towing capacity than what the Tacoma is capable of, with capacities of 7,700 and 6,500 lbs for the Colorado and Tacoma, respectively.

A Multimedia Divide

Chevy’s lineup has always been one that doesn’t forget the average shopper, and as one of the means of proving it, Chevy’s vehicles have regularly been kept in the loop of modern tech. Technology moves at a rapid pace, which makes it the perfect industry to mingle with what automakers cook up, which is an industry that moves equally as fast. We’ve seen partnerships form throughout the years—some long-lasting and others flash in the pan—but there’s nothing more impactful than the two game changers: Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.

We’re no longer in a time where features like Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are considered much of a luxury because we’ve been seeing vehicles equipped with these intelligent infotainment centers for years now. If it weren’t for partnerships that both Chevy and Toyota have with Apple and Google, we wouldn’t have features like Apple CarPlay and Android Auto in these more cost-effective pickups—or in any Chevy or Toyota vehicle, for that matter.

Some manufacturers waited a long time to form these partnerships, but the 2024 Colorado and 2024 Tacoma don’t have to worry about this. However, both trucks provide different experiences thanks to a divide in screen size.

Since you’d be spending more on the Tacoma than you would with the Colorado, we’ve already mentioned that performance goes in favor of Chevy’s truck, which is a great turn of events for the more cost-effective vehicle. However, with a screen size of 8.0 inches in the Tacoma and 11.3 inches in the Colorado, the reasons to buy Chevy’s truck continue to stack against Toyota’s.

There’s a light at the end of the tunnel for the Tacoma, though, as having wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto helps it stay up-to-date. The problem for the Tacoma, however, is that the Colorado also comes with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.

The added screen real estate of the larger infotainment center has multiple advantages, including ease of use with easily readable text, which simply makes the infotainment center in the Colorado less cumbersome; driving requires attention, so the more intuitive of an infotainment center, the better because you can keep your eyes on the road more instead of fumbling around with a tightly-condensed infotainment center simply to change songs.

That’s not to say Toyota doesn’t have a larger infotainment center for the Tacoma, but if there’s one thing the 14.0-inch infotainment center isn’t, it’s standard. Even with the cheapest Colorado trim, you’ll get that glorious 11.3-inch infotainment center.

Something else that propels Chevy’s infotainment center past even the 14.0-inch variant in the Tacoma is that the Colorado has Google Built-In, which the Tacoma doesn’t. Having Google Built-In is becoming an increasingly reasonable thing to look for in your new vehicle, no matter what type of phone you have. With Google Built-In, your infotainment center has a far more capable Operating System (developed by Google, as the name implies).

Google Built-In enables a more robust experience. This places trustworthy apps at the forefront of the experience, including Google Maps and a fully enabled Google Play Store, where you can not only purchase songs and other media but you can also download more apps for the infotainment center without ever having to plug a phone in. Again, the more cost-effective truck has this at no extra cost to you.

Which Is the Better Midsize Truck?

Now for the question: which truck is the better truck? The Tacoma is a great truck, but Toyota has some work to do if it wants to keep up with Chevy. Nowadays, Colorado models are more like their Silverado brethren than ever before—of course, with a few exceptions like towing strength and cabin size—while the Tacoma feels noticeably cheaper than its bigger sibling, the Tundra.

While the Colorado can be purchased for a lower price, its performance is more variable and even exceeds the Tacoma in some ways. And, who can forget the impeccable tech features in the Colorado that Toyota charges extra for or doesn’t have at all, like Google Built-In? Chevy wins this one, and if Toyota repeats the same mistakes next year, Chevy may easily take next year’s competition, too.