New Tacoma TRD Offroad or a really good deal on a ZR2?

Because they realized their mistake and bought a Tacoma.

 

Yes, resale value has always been most important to me and the Ranger-Edge, the Wrangler-Sahara paid off and now the Tacoma 3rd gen? who knows?

 

Tacoma SR5

 

Yah looks like it’s more of a competitor to the pro. But what is the approach angle? The tires are actually .6” smaller than the trd off-road tires according to google. And are the shocks really better? I’ve never heard of them, and are they better than an upgraded suspension that most people do anyway? Probably not.

It comes with sliders... but are they bolted/welded to the frame? Or bolt to the rockers like a side step?

The skid plate may be better, but still not sure of it’s thickness. I know the Tacoma comes with skids made of aluminum foil but I don’t know how much better the zr2 really is. If you truly need skids, you’ll get aftermarket skids.

The front and rear lockers are nice, and the more powerful engine is definitely a plus, but those are the only true advantages to the Tacoma that I can see on paper. But what is the weight of the Colorado vs the Tacoma? Tacoma has plastic bed and such to lighten it up, so a less powerful motor can still be better in actual driving conditions if the Colorado is a lot heavier.

In the end, does it have the reliability of a Toyota, overwhelming no. Does it have the aftermarket support of a Tacoma, no. Does it have the extra features available that can be had on a tacoma, probably not. You see a ton of Tacoma’s on the road, parking lots, trails, campgrounds, off-road....and I rarely see Colorado’s out anywhere. The only 2 I’ve seen today were base model, and I have seen one ZR2 ever.

I think the consumers are the true judge of this comparison, Tacoma wins hands down.

 

@Jmauvias My man, I appreciate your tenacity for all things Toyota. I think you make a lot of great points and many of the things you say (reliability, aftermarket support) are reasons why I also chose a Toyota. I swear we should join some kind of like-minded club or online meeting place something...

If you like to research, I think Chevy has something going for them when it comes to their shocks.

http://www.multimatic.com/structure...-suspensions-products/dssv-dampers-road-cars/

Also a more fun read

http://autoweek.com/article/technology/what-heck-dssv-stuff-anyway

Seems these shocks got their way into mass-production through winning some awesome races, some 25 cars entered in le-mans lad year had them, and 3 of the 4 class winners had them equipped. The only thing that kinda trips me out is the zr2 seems to be the only truck with them equipped, most everything else is a race car... haha.

I will concede this point; I think both trucks are very capable out of the box. I do believe the zr2 was created in response to the pro, and that’s why you see special details paid attention to the skid plate, sliders, redesigned front fascia for better approach, beefier suspension, dual front and rear e-lockers, ect. I also think that’s why every website only compares those two trucks(pro and the zr2), and why Chevrolet compares its truck to the pro directly on its website.

Cheers, you and I both made the right choice. Hopefully OP does too.

 

I think you answered your own question. That Zr2 lost $10k in 1500 miles. Looks like shit resale to me.

 

Ford, Dodge and now Chevy lack of reliability and the crap resale value and the shear numbers of Tacomas sold every month is an indication of the fact that they cannot compete with with the Tacoma in the mid size truck game, end of story.

 

I put 25K miles on a '15 Z71. I swore I'd never buy a GM product, but I bought the Colorado. Honestly, I'd still have it if the tranny hadn't been a steaming
pile of shite. It was more comfortable than my Tacoma, and seemed to have more space in the cabin. It also had stake pockets for my ladder rack!!! I keep
repeating that, but the Tacoma is a damn pickup truck and it should have stake pockets. The only problem I had with the Colorado was some goofy issues with
the entertainment system that would come and go.

The Colorado won't hold its value as well as the Tacoma. He should drive both, or if possible, rent both, and pick the one he likes.

 

I've gone 4 wheeling with a stock ZR2 and can say that everything on it is a gimmick. At the time all I had was a 2.5" lift on stock tires and some skids and while I ws able to complete every obstacle the ZR2 had to bail on about 50% of them and go around....

TheZR2 does run bigger tires but are moot. The DSSV suspension has no business offroad and it will never succeed offroad. The skid plates are just as tinfoil as the Tacoma. The sliders are actually clipped onto the body not the frame, so if you hit something hard enough you will damage the body. The front a rear lockers are a JOKE! The ZR2 will never be in a position to EVER use them. In my experience lockers are needed in extreme terrain and if a ZR2 has to go around most obstacles on a trail then whats the point of front and rear lockers....

 

I've driven both, just recently bought a '18 OR. Here's why:

ZR2 comes with "rock sliders", cool suspension, lockers, duramax, etc - BUT a lot of that stuff was added by chevy engineers to add curb appeal and lack any real world advantages. Reviewing the construction, the sliders are mounted to the cab, the sway bar links are super tiny which have potential to snap if loaded and driven with any sort of urgency on the trail, skids are 3/16 aluminum, transfer case lo ratio is no better than the taco. lockers are kind of a moot point, with 31's stock and absolute shit approach and departure angle, you'll really never have a use for them and if you do, its really not going to help your situtation. Aftermarket support for the zr2 is limited and the lack of an available winch bumper was a huge disadvantage as well as a lack of aftermarket leaf springs which will be needed for any load carrying capacity.

That said, i really liked the way the zr2 drove. I drove the diesel, had great torque, sweet fuel economy, interior felt a slight better than the tacoma, and the ride was absolutely amazing. I did not like the transmission or the 4wd selector. back seat of both vehicles is useless for adults.

I went with the tacoma because of the resale, styling, aftermarket support and the interior layout. I felt the zr2 didnt have the form or function that the tacoma does (example: the small ass 4wd selector, tiny seats, and lack of storage space in the center console).

Food for thought, I got my brand spanking new tacoma for 33k out the door...so far i've put about 6-7k into it for lift, tires, bumper, camper shell and i feel confident that it will go anywhere i need it to in comparison, a new zr2 will cost you 46k to 54k depending on powertrain. The ONLY reason i would consider a zr2 is for the duramax and pulling 24 to 30 mpg on the highway.

I'd say that if you're torn between the two and don't plan on adding any features, i'd go with the one you feel most comfortable in. zr2's (especially in colorado) have been been doing OK for retaining resale, but who knows, they are only a couple years old. i don't know about you, but i typically keep my vehicles for a while... so resale isnt as important as having a vehicle i really enjoy driving.

Edit: regarding warranty: i don't have first hand experience, but all vehicles regardless of manufacturer will have some issues. Chevy isn't exactly known for reliability, however, none of the articles i read prior to purchasing suggested that the new zr2 was unreliable.

 

I would chose ZR2 personally if they are similarly priced. Resale isn't close though between the two if that's a big thing for you (Taco is way better than the Colorado), that being said I don't know how the ZR2 will resale given that its a much more rare version of the Colorado

 

Bigger tires? Did you mean better tires?

ZR2 comes with 265/65/17 stock. Tacoma TRD OR comes with 265/70/16 - those are the same size

 

DO IT!!!

 

You bought a brand new OR for 33k OTD? 4X4? DCSB?

WHERE?

 

Hahaha. Wow I’ve gotta say I’ve never seen that one before... I looked doesn’t seem to be available in the US....

That said the reason i ditched my 2015 2500 Power Wagon for a Tacoma was it’s just too damn big... that G-Wagon is obviously amazing but not for trails in the NE I promise you that.

Final note: I did say “most” any vehicle, while I COULD afford a G-Wagon I’d rather keep my other hobbies... and my wife... and food... lol

 

I owned a ZR2 for about 12 days until the local chevy dealership told me the bank gave them the wrong payoff on my trade and that I would need to pay the $2k difference. I told them to pound sand and that they could take it back or let me keep the ZR2. They took the ZR2 back and I couldn't have been happier. Of the 12 days I owned the ZR2 it was in the shop for 9 of them with QC issues and the AC making a terrible screaming noise. I got a lot of compliments about the appearance and it was a fun truck to drive, but the interior and mpg is terrible. I also recently looked at what used ones were going for and saw similar results to OP. Even though I was putting down an almost $15k down payment I would have been pretty close to having negative equity if the dealership hadn't made a mistake. They are even having trouble selling new ones now it seems. The new ZR2's around me are all priced around $38k-$39k for the lower tier ones where 8 months ago they were at $43k.

PS steer clear of Henna Chevrolet in Austin.

 

I was in same situation 2 weeks ago when considering a new vehicle. There are a lot of incentives going on for Colorado.
You can get a new ZR2 for pretty cheap. I liked Tacoma's exterior & interior more, sun roof and reliability.

 

Multimatic are great on the road but are unproven off road. Big difference in design and reliability! Sure they could be compared to the Pro's Fox shocks with built in resi's but if you had the option to pick a Multimatic set up or a Fox set up I don't think anyone would go with Multimatic. They should have gone with King shocks then that would have been a game changer.

Over all I see the ZR2 as a good competition for Toyota to really advance their Pro vehicle line up for extreme off road and not a scam to sell a badge and half-a$$ expensive shock.

 

Honestly, if GM gets through the growing pains of the Multimatic shocks, they will be pretty awesome. They'll have to learn to take a beating though. I'd hate to replace them. Bet they ain't cheap.

 

definitely pick the Tacoma over the Colorado. Just better resale value and the Colorado looks funny imo. I do believe though that if I had the option to go to a full size I would pick a Ford or Chevy full size over the Tacoma merely for the space plus the new F150 are nice and well made and v6!