The Desert Boss is built up in numerous very necessary layers, beginning with the Chevy Colorado pickup truck at the sturdy and becoming base. Things get righteously started with a turbocharged engine and a spectacular trim package, along with a midsized Crew Cab bursting a short bed just over 5 feet long. The ZR2 trim level adds the true “Swiss Army” functionality 4 items such as skid plates and special shocks, and then the Desert Boss Edition serves up the 17-inch Beadlock capable wheels, a bed-mounted sport bar with a sail panel, very useful auxiliary power box, under body cameras, and off-road light bar.
You’ll also be navigating each treacherous exposed trunk and challenging ravine flaunting the very cool Desert Boss decals, blackout emblems, in an off-road front bumper fascia with a safari bar. The Detroit Bureau auto review team remarked that since this model has been body lifted from the factory, it can be quite a climb to get up into. Even though this may make it not the absolute best choice for anyone on the shorter end of things, it simply solidifies the truck’s mesmerizing and extreme abilities.
Once inside, there’s the very sweet “visual wow” factor derived from leather interior touches to the heated steering wheel. There are also heated and ventilated front seats, a surround-view camera, and an extra-large infotainment screen. The power supply on hand is the tip-top version of Chevy’s 2.7-liter 4-cylinder turbo engine, expertly tuned to crank out 237 horsepower and 280 lb-ft of torque. Those of you who don’t feel like playin’ around in the least can opt for the high-output version, which hits the challenges of the wild full-on with 310 horsepower and 391 lb-ft of torque.
The ZR2 also comes with driver-selectable front and rear locking differentials, which also heartily extends to the Desert Boss. The selection includes automatic high beams, lane-keeping assistance, and automatic emergency braking. There’s additional safety gear for treacherous times with blind spot monitoring, rear cross-traffic braking, steering assistance, and rear parking assist. The additional technology package preps you for dominating far corners anywhere courtesy of adaptive cruise control and the HD surround vision camera.
Once you’ve climbed up and are poised to conquer anything from slick rock to a wide-open fire road, you'll find that the high-output engine serves up the needed torque to get the extra-large tires in gear, and every single component offer a very smooth and quick performance. Any experienced driver will notice that cornering is a “labor of love”, but this is what you get for having such a pristine and powerful rock climber in your entourage. The Car and Driver crew claimed that the Colorado ZR2 has a sizeable advantage in terms of power and tech over the competing Ford Ranger, Toyota Tacoma, and Honda Ridgeline.
