The conditions you're tackling can change from minute to minute, and if you are already dead set on off-roading, you pretty much may have already had eyes a bit larger than your plate! Once you’re in Driver Control Mode, you can turn the knob directly to the left of the shift lever and click through all the available modes on the Colorado. Just have your spotter fix their gaze on the infotainment display, which will provide icons and info on each mode.
The following are a few useful snippets of information about how each mode can aid you in trawling, crushing, or ascending your way to the perfect off-the-grid journey!
Normal Mode: This is where you’ll fire up each morning with some tunes and a warm coffee, and where the Colorado resides by default. It is only not active at startup when you are already in Tow/Haul Mode, which carries over within 4 hours. It’s for everyday conditions and on-pavement driving, with excellent comfort levels and the trademark Colorado grippy handling.
Off-Road Mode: This mode provides the “true gold” of trail-conquering ability and allows you to take on loose surfaces at medium speed. This lets you tackle snow, mud, gravel, dirt, and well-maintained trails with confidence and chiseled ability. This mode makes intricate tweaks to the steering, shift points, and pedal response, while also loosening the Antilock Brake System to alter the truck’s all-important stopping distance. The Electronic Stability Control and Traction Control System is also modified to make the truck more stable and cook up more traction for off-pavement endeavors.
Terrain Mode: This offers enhanced off-road performance for expert-grade situations such as rock crawling. It engages one-pedal driving and adjusts the aggressiveness of brake response when the vehicle is in low gear. It also provides the handy feature of holding onto an upslope while the accelerator is pressed again so you won’t pitch backward down the incline. Urgent scenarios such as an overheated transmission or brakes will cause you to return quickly to Normal Mode.
Tow/Haul Mode: This is the mode where the hard-working American gets to have their cake and eat it too, with everything under the sun seeing intense adjustments to get the tougher-than-tough jobs done! The pedals, steering, transmission shift points, ABS, ESC, TCS, and Trailer Sway Control all see their functions modified to offer up segment-leading stability and control while lugging a heavy trailer behind. This mode stays snugly activated for four hours after the pickup is shut down, after which steering things back to “normal.”
Baja Mode: This mode is included only with the Colorado ZR2 and is under strict orders to be switched rapidly off once the truck again hits asphalt! This mode edges in and boosts responsiveness at very high speeds to pave the way for supersonic driving over terrain that would otherwise be too hot to handle. Hard dirt, ultra-loose gravel, and packed sand are all fair game with this mode, which does an excellent job of taking an already great truck and making it a force to be reckoned with when the urge to conquer your corner of the wild takes over.
