2017 Colorado ZR2

[Jeff7181]

Long story short, I'm considering the ZR2 for a semi-fun, utilitarian vehicle that will also serve as my every day driver (70 miles per day) and do some occasional towing/hauling.

I'm looking for two opinions:

Would the high tech suspension on the ZR2 dissuade you from buying due to potential costly repairs later in the trucks life?

Occasionally I will be towing boats, utility trailers and light construction equipment. Convince me not to get the diesel.


(I've watched every video TFL Truck has regarding the 2.8L Duramax, so I'm familiar with their opinions and it's Ike Gauntlet results)

 

[herm0016]

1. No. the tech in the shocks has been used for years in different, but still high performance/strain applications such as Aston Martins and F1 cars. if they do go bad and you don't want to pay for them, i'm sure king and fox will make replacements.

2. I would get the diesel.


IMHO: I am not sure you will gain much in performance for your use case by getting the zr2. I think the diesel z71 would be good. generally, the more compliant suspensions such as the power wagon and raptor have less towing capacity due to the more flexy suspensions.

i think these are great trucks. My wife does not like the smaller size from my 1/2 ton, otherwise i would be looking at them for my next ride.

 

[Jeff7181]

1. No. the tech in the shocks has been used for years in different, but still high performance/strain applications such as Aston Martins and F1 cars. if they do go bad and you don't want to pay for them, i'm sure king and fox will make replacements.

2. I would get the diesel.


IMHO: I am not sure you will gain much in performance for your use case by getting the zr2. I think the diesel z71 would be good. generally, the more compliant suspensions such as the power wagon and raptor have less towing capacity due to the more flexy suspensions.

i think these are great trucks. My wife does not like the smaller size from my 1/2 ton, otherwise i would be looking at them for my next ride.

Yeah, I've been debating whether the ZR2 is worth the extra money. I like the idea of lockers front and rear as it may come in handy some day in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and the added off-road capability might provide the "fun" that my 2013 Fusion lacks. 99% of the miles I put on it will be highway miles, though, as it'll turn into my daily commuter.

I've also considered the Silverado 1500 with the 6.2L to provide the "fun" but that's a very impractical commuter vehicle since all I carry with me on a daily basis is my laptop.

 

[herm0016]

i spent 5 years in houghton, at MTU. i bombed down most of the forest roads in my olds 88. the z71 should have the g80.

I have an 09 z71 with the g80 and we have not had problems with a slide in camper on the back going over some pretty good mountian passes in CO, WY and UT.

The z71 would still be a heck of a lot more fun than a fusion.

 

[freeskier93]

Yeah, I've been debating whether the ZR2 is worth the extra money. I like the idea of lockers front and rear as it may come in handy some day in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and the added off-road capability might provide the "fun" that my 2013 Fusion lacks. 99% of the miles I put on it will be highway miles, though, as it'll turn into my daily commuter.

I've also considered the Silverado 1500 with the 6.2L to provide the "fun" but that's a very impractical commuter vehicle since all I carry with me on a daily basis is my laptop.

Lockers in a truck like that crack me up because you're never going to do anything in that fancy brand new truck that requires lockers. I've been off-roading for a while now (rock crawling) and only just recently put an ARB in the rear, you'd be amazed at the shit I did with open diffs.

 

[herm0016]

Lockers in a truck like that crack me up because you're never going to do anything in that fancy brand new truck that requires lockers. I've been off-roading for a while now (rock crawling) and only just recently put an ARB in the rear, you'd be amazed at the shit I did with open diffs.

he's a rock crawler and has stuff from Australia. you should be amazed!

lockers are pretty damn nice to have when you like to act like an adult on the trail. "as slow as possible, as fast as necessary"

 

[Conroe]

I think I've only been in a few precarious positions were my e-locker was really needed, but when you get that other wheel of the ground and can't move it is nice to have that button down there.

Yeah, a ZR2 diesel would be nice. $45000? IDK I hated my duratracs. The stock tires are too small anyway.

 

[jlee]

I think I've only been in a few precarious positions were my e-locker was really needed, but when you get that other wheel of the ground and can't move it is nice to have that button down there.

Yeah, a ZR2 diesel would be nice. $45000? IDK I hated my duratracs. The stock tires are too small anyway.

What didn't you like about Duratracs? I love mine (I've put them on two trucks now).

 

[freeskier93]

he's a rock crawler and has stuff from Australia. you should be amazed!

lockers are pretty damn nice to have when you like to act like an adult on the trail. "as slow as possible, as fast as necessary"

Point is the roughly $10k premium of the ZR2 over the Z71 is pretty absurd if all you want is lockers. I'm not familiar with what axles are in these trucks, but assuming there is aftermarket support it's going to be a hell of a lot cheaper to have lockers installed aftermarket.

Not sure what you mean by your "act like an adult" comment. Not having lockers forces you to be smarter about your line and use tricks like applying the brakes. If I had to take a guess though you are talking about people who just put the pedal to the floor to power through everything.

 

[Jeff7181]

While I'm bored with the Fusion, it is a reasonably fun car for what it is.

I'm sure I could build a better rig for trails rather than spending $45k on a ZR2, but that's not what I want.

I want a single vehicle that's economical enough to put 20-25k miles per year on. I want a vehicle that can tow a ~25 foot boat or a skid steer. I want a vehicle I can take to the sand dunes or up north in the dead of winter and have a reasonable amount of fun without getting stuck over and over. I want a vehicle I can throw a couple yards of dirt in when I feel like doing some yard work. And most of all, I want a vehicle that's reliable.

A Z71 is probably adequate, and 5 grand less... I may make that compromise since 99% of the life of the truck would be on-road. But the suspension intrigues me... I'll probably wait to see some more reviews of the ZR2 once more people get their hands on them and are able to test them on open roads/trails.

I'm worried about the 2.8L being a bit of a dog, too. I know there are tuners out there, and I'm not opposed to that, but I'm not looking forward to a 10 second 0-60 off the showroom floor.

 

[Conroe]

What didn't you like about Duratracs? I love mine (I've put them on two trucks now).

Rough ride, poor mileage and toe heal ware. They were great off road, but not so great on road. I gained 2 mpg going to Grabber ATs, got much better ride and road handling and lost nothing off road. They may not be as good in the mud and snow. I don't know yet. I live in a desert and it rarely snows here. On road it was night and day on my Tacoma.

 

[jlee]

Rough ride, poor mileage and toe heal ware. They were great off road, but not so great on road. I gained 2 mpg going to Grabber ATs, got much better ride and road handling and lost nothing off road. They may not be as good in the mud and snow. I don't know yet. I live in a desert and it rarely snows here. On road it was night and day on my Tacoma.

My mpg is shit, but I have AWD + V8 so that's kinda expected. Interesting that the difference was that extreme for you, though.

When I wear these out (or decide to go bigger) I want to try Falken's new AT3W's.

 

[Jeff7181]

I've decided to go with a Colorado Z71. ZR2 carries such a price premium and it'll spend most of its time on paved roads. I still wanted 4WD and the rear locker for the times I do take it off road and for Michigan winters if I need a little extra grip when pulling something.

 

[Jeff7181]

Just saw a preview of the ZR2 from TFL Truck on YouTube - they show the mpg as 22 highway (as opposed to 29 for the 4x4 duramax non-ZR2) because of all the air dams that they've removed for better rock crawling. I'll definitely go with the Z71 in that case...

 

[NutBucket]

Huh. MT removed the lower air dam of their long term Duramax reporting about 1 mpg hit on the highway. Maybe different gearing for the ZR2?

 

[Conroe]

The 2 inch lift is a bigger hit on highway fuel economy. It needs taller tires too. I bet some will fit.

 

[Kaido]

I have the new ZR2 on my shortlist of vehicles to replace my Renegade later this year. I like it. I say go for it!

The diesel option is particularly intriguing. It's no Ford Raptor, but I don't need it to be. Also, I think the ZR2 looks way cool. Especially in black!

 

[Kaido]

as it may come in handy some day in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan

A UP'er! Send me some pasties bro!!

Although I was down near the capital. My poor homies in Flint are still living off bottled water to this day

 

[dave_the_nerd]

A UP'er! Send me some pasties bro!!

Although I was down near the capital. My poor homies in Flint are still living off bottled water to this day

That's "Yooper" tyvm.

/former

 

[Kaido]

That's "Yooper" tyvm.

/former

Always wondered how to spell it...

I have no wish to ever visit Michigan again. Too dang cold. I hate the cold. The lake effect. Oh my gosh. Awful.

 

[dave_the_nerd]

Always wondered how to spell it...

I have no wish to ever visit Michigan again. Too dang cold. I hate the cold. The lake effect. Oh my gosh. Awful.

http://dayoopers.com/

 

[IHateMyJob2004]

FWIW: Lockers + areas that get shit loads of snow = WIN

Sorry, but the things I've seen lockers do in Vermont and New York by people with lockers amazed me. One was a friend with a SAAB just parking the thing in a heavily snow covered parking spot. I was like holy shit, how did this car just pull into this deep heavy snow like it was dry pavement.

My room mate had a Toyota truck with lockers and that thing was insane in snow. Nothing could stop it. Steep Uphill on an icy road ... no problem.

FWIW: 1995-1998 time span when I saw some amazing shit.

 

[freeskier93]

FWIW: Lockers + areas that get shit loads of snow = WIN

Sorry, but the things I've seen lockers do in Vermont and New York by people with lockers amazed me. One was a friend with a SAAB just parking the thing in a heavily snow covered parking spot. I was like holy shit, how did this car just pull into this deep heavy snow like it was dry pavement.

My room mate had a Toyota truck with lockers and that thing was insane in snow. Nothing could stop it. Steep Uphill on an icy road ... no problem.

FWIW: 1995-1998 time span when I saw some amazing shit.

It's worth noting lockers create under steer. Fine for getting out of certain situations but if we're talking plowed roads (aka hard pack snow/ice) you shouldn't be using them, unless you like having no steering.

 

[jlee]

FWIW: Lockers + areas that get shit loads of snow = WIN

Sorry, but the things I've seen lockers do in Vermont and New York by people with lockers amazed me. One was a friend with a SAAB just parking the thing in a heavily snow covered parking spot. I was like holy shit, how did this car just pull into this deep heavy snow like it was dry pavement.

My room mate had a Toyota truck with lockers and that thing was insane in snow. Nothing could stop it. Steep Uphill on an icy road ... no problem.

FWIW: 1995-1998 time span when I saw some amazing shit.

What Saab had differential lockers?

It's worth noting lockers create under steer. Fine for getting out of certain situations but if we're talking plowed roads (aka hard pack snow/ice) you shouldn't be using them, unless you like having no steering.

Lockers should only be used in a straight line. Turning with a locked front axle is nearly impossible.

 

[Jeff7181]

I test drive the Colorado Midnight Edition with the V6, a Z71 with the Duramax and a Silverado 1500 with the 6.2L.

The Midnight Edition seemed to toss us around a bit on bumpy roads, and in a different way than my wife's JK Wrangler. Only thing different vs the regular Z71 was the Duratrac tires. It was quite a bit less stable under heavy braking than the regular Z71. The V6 felt more powerful than I expected, and if I didn't put 70+ miles a day on my vehicle I may have gone for that.

The Z71 Duramax drove like a truck. It sounded like a truck - has a little of that diesel clatter but it goes away when under light load, which I kinda like. Even when not in tow mode, there's enough engine braking that it held speed downhill whereas with the V6 I had to brake going downhill to keep from going 5-10 mph faster than I intended. It felt very stable compared to the Midnight Edition.

The 1500 with 6.2L was interesting. The bigger size was most definitely noticeable and there was no mistaking that it was faster. Hit 80 getting on the highway in no time. It had the same feel as the V6 Colorado - tossed us around more than the Duramax Colorado. It would definitely be a fun truck to drive but I can't justify spending an extra $15k right out the gate and getting 30% less fuel mileage for some extra fun when accelerating, extra towing capacity that I likely won't use, and some extra space that I don't really need. And while there's no doubt it's faster, it's not so much faster that it made me say, "I gotta have that." I know it's a 3 ton truck... but I guess I had high expectations.

I asked the salesman to hold the Duramax for me overnight to think about it and talk to my wife about it a little more, but I think we've already decided to get back in touch with them in the morning and tell them we'll take it. The only things missing that I would have added if I were building it on chevrolet.com is the spray-in bed liner and the block heater.

I don't really need the block heater... it might be convenient 5 days out of the year, but I think I can squeeze it into the garage if I really think I need to on those -10 degree days. As for the bed liner, I might try a roll-on if I feel like doing all the prep... or I may just get a bed rug for those days when I want to haul some landscaping stuff. For the most part, I think some of the rougher things I haul, I'll use a trailer anyway.