Tested: 2023 Chevy Silverado 1500 Crew ZR2 Bison

The 2023 Silverado 1500 delivers a plush, smooth road experience that practically begs “Take me off-road!” It’s got everything you need for the job, too – 33-inch all-terrain tires, more ground clearance this year, Multimatic spool-valve dampers, and, in my tester, a furious 420-hp 6.2-liter V-8.

What’s New for 2023?

We had the Bison package, meaning AEV-stamped steel bumpers front and rear as well as additional underbody skid plates. Specially made 18-inch AEV wheels and fat 33-inch Goodyear Wrangler Territory mud terrain tires come with, and you also get trim-unique AEV badging within and without. The Bison package will help you both in and out of off-road situations but doesn’t give you any more than the 11.2 inches of ground clearance you’ve got. The badging, though, makes an already gorgeous pickup truck even more coiffed. The handy Multi-Flex Tailgate offers six different functions.

Engine choices

The ZR2 arrives, depending on which trim you pick, with a choice of a base 5.3L Ecotec3 V8 making 355 horsepower and 383 lb.-ft. of torque, a 420-hp 6.2-liter V-8 or a 305-hp turbocharged 3.0-liter inline-six Duramax diesel. A 10-speed automatic transmission and four-wheel drive come standard.

Inside

Its dashboard is handsome and streamlined, featuring a 12.3-inch digital instrument panel next to a humongous 13.4-inch touchscreen. Leather-trimmed seats are butter-comfortable and visibility is excellent. There’s a T-shaped electronic shifter which took some ramp-up time to really get the hang of, but eventually it did as we asked. There’s more than enough room for passengers in this crew cab – the only body style offered – whether you’re in front or back.

Infotainment and Connectivity

A horizontal 13.4-inch touchscreen infotainment system comes as standard and wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are available, as is syncing with Amazon Alexa and built-in Google voice assistance, an app store and maps. The sound was rich and full but the nav system was a bit slow on the draw, typical for in-vehicle nav systems. I mostly used my phone to get me places.

The Ride

The ride is as sweet as the vehicle is handsome. You’re a large lug out there on the highway so your sweet spot is basically a reasonable, steady presence, and you get respect whereever you go. Steering wheel response isn’t the tighest in the world but braking and accelerating are suitably powerful. Off-road, where I navigated a forest with a tightly packed section of dirt “road” that tossed me diagonally left and right for a little under an hour, I never felt once like the vehicle would tip or otherwise be unable to handle what I asked it to do. This Silverado was built to go off-road, and that’s where it truly thrived during its test.

But it was also a sweet pleasure to take it out during early, warm evenings and bask in its big-boy finery around the neighborhood.

Fuel Economy/MPG

You get something like 14 MPG in city driving, 17 MPG on the highway. There are some similar vehicles that get even less, though – Ram’s TRX gets 12, for example, with its 702-horsepower supercharged V-8. That said, no one buys a truck of this size and delivering this much power for its outstanding mileage.

Pricing

The vehicle’s MSRP starts at $71,500 and with the $11,510 in options and additional delivery charges, it comes to $80,905. You may want to do without the Bison option, which adds $7,000, and stick with the basic ZR2 unless money is no object. The Bison badging alone might be worth it for you – I didn’t see one other Silverado with similar badging.

If you’re crazy for pickup trucks, you won’t find much wrong and a lot of things right with the Silverado.

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Ride safe!