Chevrolet Colorado named 2015 Motor Trend Truck of the Year

General Motors' mid-size Chevrolet Colorado pickup has been named Motor Trend's 2015 Truck of the Year.

DETROIT, MI - General Motors' mid-size Chevrolet Colorado pickup has been named Motor Trend's 2015 Truck of the Year.

Motor Trend's Truck of the Year program selects only significantly updated trucks and vans for the 2015 model year, and the Colorado edged out six contenders for this year's title, including GM's full-size Chevrolet Silverado 3500 HD, the Ford F150 2.7L EcoBoost and 3.5L EcoBoost, Ford F-450, Ford Transit, GMC Canyon SLT and GMC Sierra Denali 2500 HD.

In making the pick, the publication highlighted the Colorado's clean-sheet design, "right-sized" package, solid and handling and overall capability, as well as its fuel economy.

"After days of testing, hundreds of miles on the road, and our most rigorous truck testing program to date, our editors unanimously selected the Chevy Colorado as our 2015 Truck of the Year," Edward Loh, Motor Trend's editor-in-chief, said in a release. "Colorado is a smart, capable, and refreshingly honest truck that makes a strong value and efficiency statement. It's perfectly sized and suited for the needs of many of today's truck users."

Motor Trend's testing of the vehicles involved 0-60 mile-per-hour acceleration, 1.4-mile acceleration, 60-0 mph braking and maximum lateral grip. All of these were done without the truck pulling any kind of payload or trailer.

A payload was then attached to each truck or van. With that in tow, the vehicles embarked on more than 250 miles of additional testing in the deserts of Arizona and Nevada to evaluate ride quality and fuel economy.

The vehicles were then shipped to Motor Trend headquarters for further, proprietary fuel-economy testing. Editors of the magazine then discussed testing results and weighed the attributes of each truck and van before selecting the Colorado as the overall winner.

"The Chevrolet Colorado offers customers the versatility of a pickup in a powerful, refined, fuel-efficient midsize package, with up to 27 mpg EPA highway," Sandor Piszar, Chevy Trucks marketing director, said in a release. "For Colorado to emerge from MOTOR TREND's thorough evaluation as the 2015 Truck of the Year shows how Colorado is changing the game by offering truck customers fresh new choices."

The 2015 production Colorado was introduced at the Los Angeles Auto Show last year. The new midsize pickup will start at $20,995, including $895 dealer freight charge, for a standard extended-cab model with a 200-horsepower 2.5-liter, four cylinder engine and six-speed manual transmission. Other models will start as high as roughly $35,000. The pickup is arriving at dealerships now.