There's a new 2023 Chevrolet Colorado that's just been introduced and we had the opportunity to drive two of its trims, the Z71 and the all new Trail Boss off road here in sunny Southern California. Here's how they did.
When you get off-road in your Trail Boss and going uphill as we are right now, just keeping it in four high is fine but you also have a number of different drive modes to play with. We currently have it in off-road mode, which does change the throttle position, changes your traction control a little bit as well, but it's still good for soaking up some of these bumps. Now it's not soaking them up like it would in the ultimate ZR2, which has the very special DSSV suspension that allows you to climb over everything and pretty much not feel very much of it at all. This one, yeah, you're gonna feel it, especially since this model has the optional 20 inch wheels with the Bridgestone Dueler All-Terrain tires. Standard are 18 inch wheels with Goodyear Wrangler territory all train tires. Really would've rather had those wheels on this truck for this kind of activity because taller sidewall will soak up the bumps a little bit better than the shorter sidewall on these twenties. But hey, it still does it, goes uphill just fine. The extra two inches of ground clearance haven't had to use that yet, but it's there if you need it. It's also when driving off road that you really start to feel all the hard plastic in this interior. There isn't even any soft touch around your knees. So as you're bumping along and you're banging into various pieces and parts on the door and the knee in the center console, it's hard plastic, not soft touch and well, could be more comfortable. The new Colorado also has up to 10 different camera views including some underbody cameras as well. All of it is controlled through the 11.3 inch touchscreen. It really depends on your trim level in terms of whether or not your vehicle has these, but they can be very useful on the trail, especially since this one also has some predictive lines to determine where exactly you're pointing your tires. That's very helpful when you're determining a line to go off-road as well. Going up the hill, we were in the Trail Boss. Coming back down this hill, we are in the Z71 and the big difference between the Trail boss and this Z71 in terms of off-road performance equipment is that this one is equipped with 18 inch wheels running Goodyear Wrangler territory tires. And let me tell you, the difference in just how it handles the bumps and how much it beats you up in the cabin, It makes it very obvious that if you plan on going off-road in your Chevy Colorado, stick with the eighteens, don't go with the twenties because, you probably already know it, If you're any kind of off-roader, you don't want the large wheels off-road, you want more cushion and that's what you get with taller side walls and smaller wheels. As with the Trail Boss, you've still got the four-wheel drive system, which does have an automatic mode. You've also got various drive modes. We've got underbody cameras in this one one as well that has even a little washer feature that'll clean the underbody camera in case it gets muddy like we've gotten this one. But for any kind of light off-roading like this, because this is what I call a light to intermediate fire road trail, nothing terribly complicated, it'll do it just fine. And perhaps what's more impressive about this is that even though these are early production, is that they are completely rattle free. Nothing is squeaking, nothing is rattling, nothing is shaking, nothing feels loose. You're not hearing weird body clunks, you're not hearing unusual bed noises. It's really solid. The entire truck really does feel solid. It's very well screwed together and really does provide for a nice driving experience. Does really well in the dirt, doesn't it? Well, we actually also got to drive the work truck and the LT along with the Z71 and the Trail Boss on road as well, and look for a full review of all four trim levels coming very soon from cars.com.
