My 2013 Silverado is getting a little long in the tooth, and the road trip I took up to Alaska a while back did no favors to its stock suspension. I've already spent a lot of $$$ repairing the more serious damage, but it's developing new issues. I love my truck, but I don't want to continue spending $$$ to keep it overland worthy.
With that in mind, I've spent the last few days researching alternatives, and I've narrowed the field down to a 2019 ZR2 or a 2019 Rubicon Unlimited. From a price point, they are very similar. I took them both for a test drive today, the ZR2 was listed as ~$45k, and the Rubicon was ~$49k. I want something smaller and easier to handle around town with serious offroad chops. These two fit the bill nicely and at a reasonable price point. As a diehard Chevy guy, considering Mopar... at least it's not a Ford.
I drove the Rubicon first, so I'll start with that one. It was a black 4-door with the hardtop, the turbo 2.0 4-cylinder with Etorque. First off, the interior of the Rubicon is a lot more impressive than the ZR2. With some fiddling, I was able to find a seat position that accommodated my 6'5" 320lb+ ass in reasonable comfort. Even with the seat all the way down and leaned as far back as I could without banging my head against the roll bar, I was still looking out of the top 1/3 of the windshield.
I like all the little tweaks Jeep made to the interior to accommodate the fact that this thing is designed to be driven virtually naked, top down, doors off and windshield down. Call me old school, but I love, Love, LOVE tactile buttons and switches. The Rubicon has those in spades, and they all feel very robust and "Trail Rated." I could go on for a while more about the interior, but I'll sum it up with, I liked it. My only gripe is that it's about an 1/8 of a size too small for me. Anyone know of any easy seat mods to get me an inch or two lower?
Surprisingly, the Etorque feature works pretty well. The instant torque of the electric motor was very noticeable, and so far as I could tell from a 10-mile test drive, it completely eliminates turbo lag. From a stop, I stomped on the go fast pedal a couple of times, and it was more than enough to launch the Jeep forward. Instant rock crawling torque while running trails at 10,000ft in the Rockies, anyone? All in all, I enjoyed driving the Rubicon. The way its solid front axle handled reminded me of my old K5 Blazer. My K5 didn't have front and rear lockers or an electronically disconnecting front sway bar.
Climbing into the ZR2 was like sitting down in a well worn recliner that I've spent hours watching TV in. I was instantly comfortable with the ergonomics of the truck; there was a minimum of fiddling needed with the seat (6-way power, something the $4k more Rubicon lacked) to find a comfortable position. The My Link system is easy to use, and all the controls are familiar. The plethora of buttons in the ZR2 don't feel fragile by any means, but they don't feel as rugged as the Rubicons. While the interior is familiar, it is a sea of black plastic. The Rubicon wins on the interior.
My test rig was an 8-speed V-6, which is my preferred powerplant for this truck. The $3k premium for the turbo 4-banger diesel and the higher price of deisel, make that engine a no-go for me, even with the improved fuel economy. As for driving impressions, the electric steering pump means there is virtually no road feel transmitted through the steering wheel, that will take some getting used too. After driving the Rubicon with the E-torque, I caught myself missing the instant torque of the Rubicon. The ZR2's V-6 is responsive and the 8-speed auto shifts nice and smooth. My test drive was during rush hour traffic, so I didn't get to push the ZR2's capabilities even a little, but the DSSV shocks mean it rides better than the Rubicon. Ride quality goes to the ZR2.
I know the ZR2 Bison is available to dealers now, and if I do decide to go the ZR2 route, I'll go with the Bison. The extra $5k for the Bison package puts these two vehicles on equal footing as far as price.
On the engine front, I'm going to call it a draw. No one's ever going to confuse the characteristics of the two motors. They perform completely differently, and I enjoyed both. As for styling, ZR2 has a slight lead, IMO. Both rigs look awesome and practically scream their offroad pedigree. The more I look at the Rubicon though, the more I like it.
So, now that you've made it through my wall of text, I ask you, the greater Overland Bound community: for overlanding (and some DD duties), which would you choose? Rubicon or ZR2? Daily driver duties will be shared with my Camaro.
Vote above, tell me why below.
With that in mind, I've spent the last few days researching alternatives, and I've narrowed the field down to a 2019 ZR2 or a 2019 Rubicon Unlimited. From a price point, they are very similar. I took them both for a test drive today, the ZR2 was listed as ~$45k, and the Rubicon was ~$49k. I want something smaller and easier to handle around town with serious offroad chops. These two fit the bill nicely and at a reasonable price point. As a diehard Chevy guy, considering Mopar... at least it's not a Ford.
I drove the Rubicon first, so I'll start with that one. It was a black 4-door with the hardtop, the turbo 2.0 4-cylinder with Etorque. First off, the interior of the Rubicon is a lot more impressive than the ZR2. With some fiddling, I was able to find a seat position that accommodated my 6'5" 320lb+ ass in reasonable comfort. Even with the seat all the way down and leaned as far back as I could without banging my head against the roll bar, I was still looking out of the top 1/3 of the windshield.
I like all the little tweaks Jeep made to the interior to accommodate the fact that this thing is designed to be driven virtually naked, top down, doors off and windshield down. Call me old school, but I love, Love, LOVE tactile buttons and switches. The Rubicon has those in spades, and they all feel very robust and "Trail Rated." I could go on for a while more about the interior, but I'll sum it up with, I liked it. My only gripe is that it's about an 1/8 of a size too small for me. Anyone know of any easy seat mods to get me an inch or two lower?
Surprisingly, the Etorque feature works pretty well. The instant torque of the electric motor was very noticeable, and so far as I could tell from a 10-mile test drive, it completely eliminates turbo lag. From a stop, I stomped on the go fast pedal a couple of times, and it was more than enough to launch the Jeep forward. Instant rock crawling torque while running trails at 10,000ft in the Rockies, anyone? All in all, I enjoyed driving the Rubicon. The way its solid front axle handled reminded me of my old K5 Blazer. My K5 didn't have front and rear lockers or an electronically disconnecting front sway bar.
Climbing into the ZR2 was like sitting down in a well worn recliner that I've spent hours watching TV in. I was instantly comfortable with the ergonomics of the truck; there was a minimum of fiddling needed with the seat (6-way power, something the $4k more Rubicon lacked) to find a comfortable position. The My Link system is easy to use, and all the controls are familiar. The plethora of buttons in the ZR2 don't feel fragile by any means, but they don't feel as rugged as the Rubicons. While the interior is familiar, it is a sea of black plastic. The Rubicon wins on the interior.
My test rig was an 8-speed V-6, which is my preferred powerplant for this truck. The $3k premium for the turbo 4-banger diesel and the higher price of deisel, make that engine a no-go for me, even with the improved fuel economy. As for driving impressions, the electric steering pump means there is virtually no road feel transmitted through the steering wheel, that will take some getting used too. After driving the Rubicon with the E-torque, I caught myself missing the instant torque of the Rubicon. The ZR2's V-6 is responsive and the 8-speed auto shifts nice and smooth. My test drive was during rush hour traffic, so I didn't get to push the ZR2's capabilities even a little, but the DSSV shocks mean it rides better than the Rubicon. Ride quality goes to the ZR2.
I know the ZR2 Bison is available to dealers now, and if I do decide to go the ZR2 route, I'll go with the Bison. The extra $5k for the Bison package puts these two vehicles on equal footing as far as price.
On the engine front, I'm going to call it a draw. No one's ever going to confuse the characteristics of the two motors. They perform completely differently, and I enjoyed both. As for styling, ZR2 has a slight lead, IMO. Both rigs look awesome and practically scream their offroad pedigree. The more I look at the Rubicon though, the more I like it.
So, now that you've made it through my wall of text, I ask you, the greater Overland Bound community: for overlanding (and some DD duties), which would you choose? Rubicon or ZR2? Daily driver duties will be shared with my Camaro.
Vote above, tell me why below.
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