Chevy Colorado four-cylinder gets 27 mpg highway

General Motors has released fuel-efficiency figures and payload capacities for its 2015 Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon pickups outfitted with four-cylinder engines.

When paired with a six-speed automatic transmission, the 2.5-liter mill has received city/highway ratings of 20/27 mpg in two-wheel-drive configuration or 19/25 mpg with four-wheel-drive.

Opting for the six-speed manual transmission, which is only available for the two-wheel-drive package, brings the numbers down to 19/26 mpg.

Rivals in the two-wheel-drive four-cylinder midsize pickup segment include the Toyota Tacoma, which gets up to 21/25 mpg, and the Nissan Frontier with a 19/23 mpg rating.

As the midsize pickup segment continues to shrink, it faces more competition from full-size alternatives that continue to post fuel-efficiency gains even with larger engines. The Ram 1500 EcoDiesel gets up to 28 mpg on the highway, while the aluminum F-150 is also expected to be a fuel sipper.

GM will eventually add a 2.8-liter diesel engine to its midsize pickups, but the company has not yet announced technical details or EPA estimates.