2017 Chevy Colorado ZR2 Climbing A Metal Hill Proves It Means Serious Business
Is This The New Off-road King?
Press events are designed to showcase the abilities of the car. So when you see a giant aluminum hill with the ZR2 banner draped over the side, you know that the new 2017 Chevrolet Colorado ZR2 was GOING to go up that hill successfully and probably very easily. However, that doesn't minimize the fact that it's still an amazing capability.
For the 2017 Chevrolet Find New Roads Experience in New Jersey Motorsports Park, we were invited to check out a bevy of new Chevrolet cars and trucks available in dealerships today. One of those trucks is the Chevrolet Colorado ZR2, a midsize truck that has a 3.6 liter V-6 with direct injection, that pumps out 308 HP (@ 6,800 rpm) and 275 lb-ft of torque (@ 4,000 rpm). The ZR2 differs from your standard Colorado by having a significant girth bump of 3.5" wider front and rear track and a decent suspension lift of 2". The Chevrolet folks were pretty upfront that this new ZR2 is the most capable Colorado, capable of doing most things that would send their last top of the line, the Z71 Colorado, go home crying.
In this event, the Colorado ZR2 was put through its paces by driving through a simulated off-road course consisting of simulated offsets and hills. Followed by driving through an articulation cross-axle test via offset log ramps, and a massive climb up an aluminum ramp equipped with rollers.
I'm not going to lie, but this experience truly showcased the midsize truck's capability to handle some serious off-road duty. The 3.42 rear axle ratio may not be as serious as some of the more dedicated off-roaders, like the Jeep Wrangler Rubicon, but given the beefy off-road suspension, dampers, ground clearance, and rugged nature, I suspect the ZR2 owners will be experiencing plenty of Baja like moments.
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Comments (3)
FINALLY I can climb all those metal hills I've been eyeing! (Seriously, the ZR2 looks dope.)
I had no idea so much technology was involved in an American Chevy pickup truck. Or let me rephrase that, in any pickup truck for that matter.
This still cannot even touch the Raptor when it comes to off road capabilities and technology.