2022 Chevrolet Silverado ZR2 First Drive Review: Fashionably Late Off-Road Flagship

There is no dinosaur-based badge anywhere on this truck.

Hunt all over the 2022 Chevrolet Silverado ZR2, and you won’t come up with so much as a pterosaur, giganotosaurus, or even an amber-trapped mosquito. Wait a minute, has Chevy really not built a straight competitor for the Ford F-150 Raptor or Ram TRX?

Yes and no. What we have here is the Bow Tie Brigade’s new full-sized pickup flagship, and yes, it’s serious about off-roading. But the new Silverado ZR2 focuses less on the high-speed dune jumping, and more on the technical stuff. It’s not as extreme, but that makes it a friendlier animal to live with, one that’s still super impressive when the paved stuff runs out.

The ZR2 trim is new to Silverado for 2022, after earning a reputation for off-road prowess on the mid-sized Colorado. It enjoys all the revisions Chevy has wrought on the rest of the Silverado lineup for 2022, namely a wholly modern interior and slightly tweaked exterior styling. We covered the other trims in our initial 2022 Chevrolet Silverado First Drive last week.

On top of that, the ZR2 has a look all its own, with a pared-back front bumper improving the important off-road angles. The approach angle is now 31.8 degrees, with breakover and departure angles of 23.4 and 23.3 degrees, respectively. Ride height is up too, at 11.2 inches versus the puny 10.9 of the existing Trail Boss. The front grille gets the “Flow Tie” emblem that first appeared on the Camaro, and the whole package rides on unique 18-inch alloys wrapped in 33-inch Goodyear Territory mud tires.

The ZR2 is the flagship of the truck family, with a price tag to match. The window sticker clocks in at $70,195 ($79,843 CAD), including destination. It comes with just one engine, the stalwart 6.2-liter V8 pumping 420 horsepower and 460 pound-feet through a 10-speed automatic. That’s slightly down on the turbocharged F-150 Raptor, to say nothing of the Ram TRX’s faintly ridiculous 702-horsepower roar. Numbers aren’t everything, though, as the big change happens in the wheel arches, where Canadian firm Multimatic has crafted unique Dynamic Suspension Spool Valve (DSSV) dampers. To simplify, as the external rod moves up and down, precisely cut holes in the internal rod dictate the level of resistance. The folks from Multimatic were on-site to give a demonstration, allowing us to go hands-on with a damper. As the damper nears its maximum compression (or rebound), the resistance builds smoothly, avoiding sending unwanted shocks through the suspension.

Ahead of me is a small fleet of 2022 Chevrolet Silverado ZR2s, all arranged single-file. We’re a couple hours north of Toronto, on a custom-made course cooked up by the good folks at Truck King. Elmers senior and junior (the latter an AutoGuide alumni) had already run the gauntlet in the dry, but the morning’s rain has left us with thick mud and slick surfaces.

Challenge accepted.

The first obstacle is a series of deep, diagonal ruts. Shift into 4LO and engage the rear lockers is the advice that crackles over the walkie-talkie. Or don’t lock ’em up, if you want to get a feel for getting stuck. So imagine my surprise when I forget to hit the button and still sail through with minimal wheelspin, easy peasy. As it turns out, this is just an appetizer.

The rest of the course is altogether tougher. A short rock climb doesn’t look too threatening, but requires precise wheel placement and measured throttle inputs to clamber over. Additional suspension travel (9.8 inches / 249 mm up front, 10.6 inches / 269 mm at the rear) ensures proper articulation here. A steep climb complete with mid-hill turn tests the Silverado’s grip too, especially as the ruts start to form between each truck’s run. Here is as good a spot as any to test the Terrain mode, which allows for one-pedal driving. Letting the computer brain sort out braking lets us focus on pointing the ZR2’s considerable girth between the tight rows of trees. It’s still a tidier package than the swollen-arched Raptor or TRX, though.

The V8 has all the grunt you could reasonably need right off idle, especially in low-range. Bench-racers will tout the cross-town rivals, but Chevy sticking to low-speed prowess means the pony deficit doesn’t really matter.

Out of the forest and far away from the clouds of blood-thirsty mosquitos, the mud-splattered ZR2 is our chariot back to civilization. The same DSSV dampers that make it so formidable off-road give it a pleasant, downright cushy ride on the highway, or even broken pavement. Alright, those knobbly mud tires do lead to more play in the steering than the road-biased rubber on the High Country or RST, but that’s pennies to pay for such a sure-footed experience off-road.

We take in a short high-speed section over a particularly gnarly gravel road. The ZR2 has a light touch here. There’s a lot of initial body movement due to the soft suspension, but those trick dampers quickly lock it all down, building confidence early.

The rest of the package is just as good as the rest of the lineup. The new interior is an overdue upgrade, with comfortable seats and, in ZR2 trim, a unique, honeycomb-textured material that’s grippy and just looks cool. A crisp 13.4-inch central touchscreen sits front and center, armed with the latest native features from Google and wireless mirroring for both major phone platforms, plus a 12.3-inch configurable digital instrument cluster behind the wheel. The ZR2 also includes a gaggle of camera angles, including an all-too-helpful nose camera for navigating sharp rocks.

It might be blasphemous to even write this, but the Borla exhaust is borderline too much. Sure, it unlocks that classic V8 burble, but the drone it creates on the highway is draining. Sorry, Chevy.

As mentioned before, the Silverado ZR2 comes with a pretty hefty price tag. $70,195 ($79,843 CAD) ain’t nothing to sneeze at, even eclipsing the basic Raptor by a few grand in the US. There’s not much else to add after that though, with our tester only seeing a couple thousand more of goodies on top.

We did ask Chevy why, with the ZR2 being so accomplished, it couldn’t offer it with other engines, just like the Colorado. The answer was that this is a flagship, a statement; folks looking for some of the same experience can opt for the Trail Boss. Personally, a diesel-powered ZR2, or even the torquey four-cylinder, and a couple thousand staying put in the bank sounds good.

Chevrolet was smart to distance the 2022 Silverado ZR2 from the other off-road monsters in the class. This truck excels off-road, yet it doesn’t feel as compromised when it’s on the tarmac to those destinations. That adventure image is an emotional one, but on a practical level, these trucks are still more likely to spend time on-road than off.

Beyond that, the ZR2 can still do regular truck things like tow up to 8,900 lb, and it now features an interior that stands up to the rest of the class. Instead of reaching for superlatives in the hunt for ever more wild zoo exhibits, Chevy has crafted a more well-rounded beast.