Debate TRD vs. ZR2

This! I briefly considered a Colorado, but the unproven diesel was a stopper. But more importantly, I have had an anti-GM bias for decades. They make some of the ugliest products in the automotive world. Their interiors seemed dated in the 90s and body styling sucks, though the Colorado isn’t bad. Aztec anyone?

 

the rears shocks are MSRP $4864 leaf springs $4043 and the fronts are $5092 without the required uca $975. oh and dont forget their fancy bump stops. add about $3000 more.

 

more like

 

You can always make more money but short shocks last a lifetime...with replacement of course.

 

That's if you go with the multimatic upgrade right? Do you know if there are any aftermarket suspensions available. (But I guess aftermarket shocks would defeat the purpose of the multimatic shocks and paying for them. At that point you would probably be better off just buying the Z71 and doing as you please) Just a quick search and I found a BDS system that raises 4" but it looks like it retains all the factory shocks just gives adapters for them. Which one would wonder why would you lift and then restrict your travel with your factory shocks?

 

that 2.8 duramax has been around for a long time. i am happy with so far. got to love the fuel mileage. average since owning it 22.5 that is all 16,000 miles including off road. normal daily driving 23.5 and interstate driving 27mpg

 

i haven't heard of any dura max issues. i read or was told it been in use overseas for many years. there are a lot of people complaining about the 8 speed transmission on the gas models

 

correction 30 Dicks! it has the same full size spare.

 

yes that is correct!

 

i do love the multimatic shocks and why pay all that money for them to replace them with something else. this thing rides so nice on and off road. i don't believe you can get a Z71 with a front locker. which was one of the things that i really wanted. BDS does have a 4" kit that keeps the stock shocks, it does not limit travel it has a drop bracket for the front dif.

 

I was a GM guy since l was a kid. I kept giving them chance after chance. But they kept disappointing me. Except my 2002 S-10 though, l did love that truck!!
But l got sick and tired of making excuses to myself to explain away the issues that alwats seened to come up. l then swore off GM.
I bought an F150 that l never had one problem with for the 6 years that l had it. Then l gave Tacoma a chance, and I'm glad that l did. l just wish l had done it sooner!!
I didn't buy my used Tacoma for any resale value, because l plan on keeping it.
I bought it for the dependability.

 

I cast my vote for the TRD Off Road. However, like others have written I think the ZR2 is the clear winner off the showroom floor.

I believe that the Tacoma would suit my needs better, and I believe that I would be better able to modify it to suit my intended purpose if the truck was inherently deficient in one way or another.

 

I'm not a Chevy guy and it would be hard for me to buy one but if I'm looking at a ZR2 I'm going with ZR2 Bison as you said. The TRD Pro still chase a lot of money off the showroom floor. They're either going for MSRP (or more) and if you get a discount on them it's maybe 1-2k. On the flipside, you can get deals on a Chevy all day long. A local Chevy dealer has a ZR2 Bison in stock that is about $5-7k off msrp right now. Getting a ZR2 Bison for less than a TRD Pro is a great value. From a value perspective the ZR2 wins because of the discounts you can get. Reliability, quality, and looks wise that is another debate.

 

At least they addressed this problem on the ZR2 "side airbags would go off when there was virtually no reason during off-road maneuvers"

https://www.autoblog.com/2018/11/09/chevy-colorado-zr2-trucks-airbag-deployment-fix/

 

So after I saw the videos of the frame I stopped by the Chevy dealer and looked at that rear frame and it is the smallest rear section I have ever seen. That rules out any ZR2 Bison or any Colorado. It looks like something that should be on a little Miata! Then looked at the Tacoma's and it looks like a Mack trucks back there compared to the Colorado. I haul and tow - case closed on the ZR2 - too wimpy.

 

Hot damn

 

I like a diesel in theory, but inconsistent availability and much higher prices here pretty much negate the mileage advantage.

 

Where do we look on this "paper" to see which one is better after a 100,000 miles? How about 200,000 miles?

 

What are the $5k in mods you would do?