Chevrolet Colorado ZR2 2017 Review

We know the Ford Ranger Raptor is on the way, along with the HSV Colorado, a reborn Toyota HiLux TRD, the 190kW Mercedes-Benz X-Class V6, a more powerful Volkswagen Amarok V6 and maybe even the mooted Walkinshaw Wildfire mega-ute. No doubt more will follow.

But there is one way of understanding what the fuss is all about right now, because there is a hot pick-up on-sale, albeit in the USA.

No, we’re not talking about the original super-truck, Ford’s F-150 Raptor, sadly there’s nothing like the Raptor heading our way ex-factory any time soon.

The vehicle in question is the Chevrolet Colorado ZR2. OK, despite the name it’s not the same Colorado as we get in Australia, but it is a ladder frame mid-size ute, so it’s broadly similar in size and intent.

And the ZR2 version is the most hotted-up thing you can find in the segment right now anywhere in the world. Which is why we jumped at a chance to drive it when we were in North America recently.

And just for a bit of added local interest, an Australian played a key role in the vehicle’s suspension development. But more on that later.

The big deal about the ZR2 is not added power. Nope, the 2.8-litre Duramax diesel engine in our test vehicle churns out 135kW and 500Nm, which is 12kW less, but the same torque as the engine in the Aussie Colorado.

There’s also a 230kW/373Nm 3.6-litre petrol V6 available. The diesel is mated with a six-speed auto, the petrol with an eight-speed.

You’ll find the big changes are underneath the vehicle, where Chevy has done its best to emulate the chassis prowess of the Trophy Trucks which inspired the ZR2’s invention – and the F-150 Raptor’s creation before that.

What is a Trophy Truck? Well it’s an off-road racing pick-up of the type made famous in the Baja 1000 desert race. They look something like the real thing, but underneath the skin it’s a whole different story of course.

Trophy Trucks have a space-frame chassis, huge amounts of travel from off-road suspension and enough baggy rubber to conquer any obstacle this side of a wheat silo.

Obviously the ZR2 doesn’t go the full hog Trophy Truck, it’s closer to what desert racers call ‘pre-runners’, the tricked-out production-based vehicles in which they undertake reconnaissance runs over the courses before they race.

Chev was serious enough about the target performance to enlist desert racing legend Bryan Kudela to help with prototype testing.

The key changes made over the course of the ZR2’s development program included a 90mm front and rear track-widening supported by stronger cast-iron control arms, a 50mm suspension lift, front and rear electronic locking differentials and Multimatic Dynamic Suspensions Spool Valve (DSSV) dampers.

In this case we’ve definitely saved the most important bit until last. Multimatic is a Canadian company and its spool valve dampers have been around for a while and are still gaining fans constantly.

From debuting in IndyCars in 2002, DSSV tech has spread through Formula 1, sports cars, DTM, Super GT and just about every worthwhile pro racing class you care to name.

DSSV has made it into road cars, starting with the Zeta-based Chevrolet Camaro Z/28 and more recently, the latest Nurburgring-bashing Camaro ZL1 1LE, the Aston Martin One-77 and Mercedes-AMG GT. Chevrolet’s ZR2 pick-up marks the technology’s off-road debut.

The ZR2’s DSSV dampers are position-sensitive. Their aluminum bodies each house two spool valves providing both compression and rebound damping optimised for everyday driving.

During extreme off-road use, a third, piston-mounted spool valve delivers additional, uniquely tuned, compression damping. The front dampers also employ a separate rebound valve, which comes into play when the suspension approaches full extension.

A traditional, deflected-disc damper only offers two force-velocity curves for tuning. The ZR2 dampers offer six tuning curves for the front, four at the rear.

There’s a lot more to Multimatic than dampers of course. The company helped design and now builds the incredible GT sports car for Ford.

It also developed the Ford Mustang GT4 racer and its Asia-Pacific headquarters in Melbourne manages a growing vehicle development business in the region, predominantly in China.

Which brings us back to the Aussie connection. The ZR2’s DSSV dampers were tuned by GM techs with input from Australian Michael Barber.

A former senior chassis engineer at Holden, Barber was a key player in the development of the local Zeta architecture and the cars produced using it.

Barber left Holden in 2015 to join Multimatic. Amusingly enough, he showed up for his first taste of an early ZR2 prototype at GM’s Milford proving ground just weeks after starting his new job, surprising a bunch of not-so-old acquaintances.

Later, he was part of a two-week test program in the Mojave Desert and then two more week-long sessions at GM’s Yuma testing ground in Arizona.

The experience has left him a fan of ZR2.

“If you are a grazier doing your perimeter fence-checks in a ZR2, the way you can just lope along across the open country is fantastic. You can cruise at 80km/h and use lots of travel and the car just has these big hydraulic legs on it that just move up and down with fantastic control.

“You just blast long, it’s phenomenal. Anything else would be pitching and bouncing and heaving and wallowing.”

Time to find out for ourselves. Picking up our black ZR2 from a Chevy dealer in Vancouver, Canada, the first impression was: what a hot looking vehicle.

The front bumper has been tucked away to improve approach angle, there’s a thick aluminium skid plate to protect the radiator and engine, the grille is blacked out and there’s a black insert in the bonnet which does nothing except look menacing. Inside it’s luxurious by truck standards, but still hard to the touch.

Completing the imagery, the ZR2 rolls on 17-inch alloy wheels shod with 31-inch (265/65) Goodyear Wrangler Duratrac tyres.

Jeez it looks tough. It would stop traffic in Australia. But in British Columbia - submerged in a sea of Ford F-150s, Chevrolet Silverados and Dodge RAMs - no-one pays it any attention. In the four days I drove this thing not one person commented on it, or asked me what it was.

But you know what? That’s their problem not mine, because the ZR2 proves bigger is not always better. It is a terrific drive.

No, I didn’t get to launch it from jumps like the ones GM execs were exhorting Yank journalist to get more air over during the launch last November, but I did find some tasty dirt in the hills behind Squamish which proved the ZR2 has traction and travel to burn, even when you leave it in rear-wheel drive (there is a two-speed transfer case of course).

Hey, it could not turn a tough and corrugated piece of gravel into a smooth freeway, but it was impossible to imagine any standard truck attacking these roads with anything like the same composure.

The experience left me wishing for more power and punch than the sleepyhead Duramax could provide, and for a better manual mode than the rocker switch on the shifter which US trucks come with. One thing is for sure, there’s no doubt the ZR2 could handle more oomph.

But there was an even bigger revelation when the transition was made from highway to road. This thing handles like no other pick-up I’ve driven…leaf springs and all.

The drive north from Vancouver to Squamish is on a spectacular highway twisting and curling alongside the Strait of Georgia. It’s a spectacular setting and a challenging road which the ZR2 just gobbled up. More grip, better steering and great balance made it great fun.

The only downer: the ZR2 has a huge turning circle, so maneuvering in town was a pain. But I’d accept that for all the other positives it delivers.

This thing is proof that more suspension travel, tuned correctly, can work on-road as well as off. It certainly bodes well for the Raptor, TRD, Wildfire and whatever else may be in our hot truck future.