Is the 2023 Chevrolet Colorado ZR2 the Best Off-Road Midsized Pickup?

MotorTrend

MotorTrend editor Jered Korfhage details why the 2023 Chevrolet Colorado ZR2 midsize off-road pickup is an owner's dream.

Transcript

00:00 This is the Chevy Colorado ZR2, an off-road midsize pickup truck owner's dream.

00:17 The front of the Colorado ZR2 has been redesigned, starting with the ZR2 specific hood and badging,

00:25 LED headlamps and fog lamps, and the flow tie, the Chevy bow tie, with a hole in the

00:32 middle so air can flow through.

00:36 The front overhang of the truck has been reduced, which increases the truck's approach angle.

00:42 This makes for more capability when traveling off-road.

00:46 Up front, between the red tow hooks, is an aluminum bash plate under the radiator, and

00:51 an aluminum skid plate under the engine.

00:55 On the side of the truck, you have honest-to-goodness rock sliders, although, before I go on the

01:01 trails, I'd unbolt the side step parts of these so I don't damage them on any obstacles.

01:08 The Colorado ZR2 rides on 33-inch Goodyear mud terrain tires.

01:14 Compared to the base Colorado, the ZR2 gets a 3-inch lift kit, making room for those tires

01:20 to move on the trails.

01:22 Even more importantly, something that makes ZR2, ZR2, is the set of Multimatic spool valve

01:28 shocks in the front and the back of the truck.

01:32 These spool valve shocks are some of the best stock suspension components you can get on

01:37 a mid-size pickup truck.

01:39 Going fast in the dirt, they really resist bottoming out, and they let you maintain control

01:44 over whoops and bumps.

01:46 Down road, they make the truck really stable and keep the head toss to a minimum.

01:54 Just about everything inside the Colorado ZR2 is new compared to the outgoing ZR2.

02:03 You won't even recognize the inside of this truck.

02:06 Starting with the 11.3-inch infotainment screen, the contrast is amazing.

02:12 The colors are deep and dark.

02:16 There are big, useful knobs on the screen for volume and climate control, huge when

02:22 you're trying to reach for something on an off-road trail.

02:26 The infotainment screen flows right into the digital dash behind the wheel.

02:30 There are plenty of soft-touch materials throughout the cabin.

02:33 The leather on the dashboard matches the seats and the stitching.

02:40 Those themes carry through.

02:42 Brand new vents on each end of the cabin, and vents lower on the center stack as well.

02:51 Below the vents, I love the tactile buttons, big switches for the locking front and rear

02:59 differentials.

03:00 Very easy to select.

03:02 You don't have to dig through a menu to find these features.

03:06 There's nothing too incredibly fancy about the seats, but they do match the theme of

03:12 the truck.

03:14 Good enough to spend some long highway hours, log some good trail miles.

03:20 Colorado ZR2 can tow 6,000 pounds and has a payload of 1,151 pounds.

03:29 No more diesel, no more V6.

03:32 The only engine option for the new ZR2 is the turbocharged 2.7 liter inline four.

03:40 This engine sends its 310 horsepower and 430 pound feet of torque straight back through

03:46 an eight-speed automatic transmission.

03:48 [00:03:10] [SILENCE]

03:53 [BLANK_AUDIO]

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