REVIEW: Catching Air in the 2017 Chevy Colorado ZR2
Don’t let its size fool you. Midsize pickup is a mean, lean, off-road machine.
Pickup trucks: a man or woman’s workhorse, a utilitarian power wagon, a blue-collar worker’s primary means of transportation. Or is it? Maybe that’s how the world sees pickup trucks, but not necessarily Chevy.
The 2017 Colorado ZR2 is proof of that. Chevy isn’t kidding when they say this is a “segment of one,” because it really is. Think about it, in the already small world of midsize pickup trucks, the Honda Ridgeline is just an SUV with a truck bed, and the Nissan Frontier is about 33-years-old. That makes the Toyota Tacoma TRD Pro the only vehicle to come remotely close to the purpose-built ZR2. That leads us to a big question: why?
For starters, low fuel prices have helped consumers bury any thoughts of acquiring fuel efficient vehicles. As a result, consumers salivate at the idea of owning thirsty half-ton Silverados, Suburbans, and Tahoes. Why buy a smaller truck when a big one will work just fine? After all, this is ‘Murica, ain’t it?
Chevy recently invited us to the iconic Indianapolis Motor Speedway, where we had the chance to get behind the wheel of the mighty 2017 Colorado ZR2.
The Beast
As stated, there are many reasons to buy a bigger truck, but there’s one big reason to buy a ZR2 — because it’s absolutely insane. We don’t mean insane like the cat lady from down the street, but insane like your first college girlfriend who often got you in trouble, made you skip class, and showed you what “having a really good time” truly meant. Yeah, that kind of insane.
It all starts with the soul of the truck. It’d be easy to jump into the powerful engine and the sophisticated suspension setup, but that’s not where the story begins. The bad-boy Colorado believes that fun starts when you leave the pavement. It’s designed to make you want to go off-road as soon as you leave the dealership. Once Chevy nailed down the attitude, they followed up with incredible performance.
Our test trucks featured the standard 3.6L V6 engine, which is good for an astonishing 308 horsepower, and 275 lb-ft of torque. In case you need a refresher, those were V8 performance figures just a decade ago! As you may already know, Chevy also offers a little-known feature called a Duramax diesel engine. The 2.8L turbo-diesel will have 181 horsepower on tap, and a hefty 369 lb-ft of torque. When it comes to rowing gears, you’ll have to allow a computer to do it for you, as the V6 features a silky-smooth 8-speed automatic, and the turbo-diesel a 6-speed automatic.
Regardless if you opt for gasoline or diesel, the ZR2’s towing capacity is a decent 5,000 pounds. This is 2,000 pounds less than the non ZR2 Colorado, given the off-road champ’s modified chassis and overall body architecture.
Its Looks
Is the ZR2 pretty? No. Is it sexy? No. Does it matter? No. A purpose-built trail machine follows function over form. The stubby front-end and nearly non-existent lower fender overhangs in the front and in the back award the ZR2 ridiculously good approach and departure angles.
A plethora of aluminum skid plates protect the under belly of the truck, and standard rock rails will keep rocks and ruts from denting your beloved toy.
It Performs Better Than It Looks
Given what we think about its looks, this one’s kind of a given. After strapping on a race helmet and a HANS device, we proceeded to tackle a suspension torture course. Due to heavy rain the night before, Chevy had to shut down their 30-degree incline obstacle, which features built-in rollers to induce wheel spin.
While a bit of a bummer, the barrel and ramp-filled suspension torture course proved to be enough to make our breakfast-stuffed stomachs feel queasy. Picture a dozen barrels buried (horizontally) half way into the ground, and separated a good six feet away from each other. Then picture driving at 25 mph through them. Let me tell you, 25 mph may not sound like much, but when you’re tackling speed bumps that go up to your ankles, it’s scary fast.
For safety purposes our driving instructors kept us at 12-15 mph through the course, while they were able to exceed 25. The explanation was that the truck could dart in the wrong direction at the hands of an inexperienced driver. Fair enough.
Perhaps the ZR2’s sexiest attribute is its suspension. The gold and shiny Multimatic spool-valve shocks work absolute wonders while working in harmony with the chassis. The front and rear electronic locking differentials, and the selectable off-road driving modes make easy work out of challenging trails. If there’s one area where Chevy engineers spent the biggest chunk of time and money, it’s definitely the suspension and chassis tuning.
It Can Fly
After experiencing the barrels of death, it was time to catch some air.
Again, we were told to keep the speed steady through the trail as we headed into the ramps, and then simply hang on. The Colorado only needed to travel at about 20 mph in order to kick its wheels up in the air. The suspension actively adjusted its damping to fit whatever we threw at it, and even made jumping relatively comfortable.
To be honest, this exercise looked much cooler from the outside, as one could really appreciate the truck jumping a good 20” off the ground.
Overall
At a starting price of $40,995, the 2017 Chevy Colorado ZR2 is a cool $2-grand less than a Toyota Tacoma TRD Pro. Furthermore, it has more power and off-road goodies than all of its competitors.
It goes fast, it can tow, and it can fly, what more would you want from a midsize truck?