The 2027 Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon are set to receive GM’s upgraded 2.7-liter TurboMax engine, bringing a major increase in output without adding two cylinders or turning the truck into a hybrid.
And the new numbers put Detroit’s midsize truck battle into an entirely different light.
GM Squeezes 350 Horsepower From a 2.7-Liter Four-Cylinder
The big story is GM’s new L4B version of the TurboMax.
The outgoing 2.7-liter L3B used in the Colorado and Canyon produced 310 horsepower and 430 pound-feet of torque.
For 2027, horsepower jumps to 350.
That’s a 40-horsepower increase without increasing engine displacement.
GM achieved the higher output through substantial internal changes rather than simply turning up the boost and calling it a day.
The Enhanced TurboMax introduced in GM’s 2027 full-size trucks features a redesigned turbocharger, revised pistons, an upgraded fuel-injection system and improved active thermal management.
GM rates that full-size application at 350 horsepower and 455 pound-feet of torque.
The Colorado and Canyon are also receiving the new L4B engine, although published reports currently disagree slightly on the final torque rating.
GM Authority reports that the midsize application will produce 350 horsepower and 450 pound-feet, while other truck publications have reported the full 455 pound-feet.
Either figure represents a significant improvement.
And unlike GM’s full-size pickups, which pair the Enhanced TurboMax with a 10-speed automatic, the Colorado and Canyon are expected to continue using an eight-speed automatic transmission.
Ford Still Has the Horsepower Advantage
The Ranger Raptor isn’t suddenly obsolete.
Far from it.
Ford’s high-performance midsize truck still packs 405 horsepower from its 3.0-liter EcoBoost V6, giving it a substantial horsepower advantage over GM’s upgraded four-cylinder.
Ford officially lists the Ranger Raptor at 405 horsepower and 430 pound-feet of torque.
That means GM isn’t beating the Raptor in every category.
What GM has done, however, is extract remarkable output from an engine with only four cylinders.
If the Colorado and Canyon ultimately receive the reported 450-pound-foot rating, they’ll still have 20 pound-feet more peak torque than the current Ranger Raptor.
If the final rating comes in at 455, the gap becomes 25.
Either way, Ford suddenly has another serious number to contend with.
Toyota Still Has Another Trick Up Its Sleeve
There is another major player in this fight.
Toyota’s Tacoma i-FORCE MAX produces 326 horsepower and 465 pound-feet of torque.
Toyota achieves that figure by pairing its turbocharged 2.4-liter four-cylinder with an electric motor integrated into the eight-speed transmission. Toyota says the motor draws from a 1.87-kWh nickel-metal hydride battery.
That means Toyota still has a torque advantage over the reported GM figures.
But GM is getting surprisingly close using a gasoline-only 2.7-liter turbocharged engine.
For buyers who don’t want a hybrid powertrain, that distinction could matter.
The regular non-hybrid Tacoma’s 2.4-liter i-FORCE, by comparison, produces up to 278 horsepower and 317 pound-feet of torque.
GM’s new engine therefore puts considerable distance between the Colorado/Canyon and Toyota’s conventional gasoline powertrain on paper.
Four Cylinders Aren’t What They Used to Be
There was a time when putting a four-cylinder engine into a serious American pickup would have been treated as a cost-cutting move.
Those days are disappearing quickly.
GM is now extracting 350 horsepower and roughly 450 pound-feet of torque from 2.7 liters.
That’s territory that once demanded considerably larger engines.
The result also gives GM an interesting answer for truck buyers who want big torque without stepping into a hybrid drivetrain.
Ford went after the performance crowd with a twin-turbo V6.
Toyota went after efficiency and low-end grunt with electrification.
GM is taking a different route: squeezing substantially more power from the turbocharged four-cylinder architecture it already uses.
And that could make the 2027 Colorado and Canyon particularly interesting for buyers who care more about usable torque than cylinder count.
The Next Numbers May Matter Even More
There are still details worth watching before declaring exactly where GM’s new midsize trucks land.
Final specifications, configuration-specific payload figures, towing charts and pricing will ultimately tell buyers much more than a peak horsepower number alone.
The torque discrepancy also needs to be resolved once complete 2027 Colorado and Canyon specifications are publicly available.
What is already clear is that GM has significantly strengthened its hand.
Ford’s Ranger Raptor remains the horsepower heavyweight with 405 ponies.
Toyota’s Tacoma i-FORCE MAX remains formidable at 465 pound-feet of torque, although it uses hybrid assistance.
But GM is now bringing 350 horsepower and at least a reported 450 pound-feet out of a gasoline-only 2.7-liter four-cylinder.
That’s a number Ford, Toyota and every midsize truck buyer shopping the 2027 model year will have reason to notice.
