Some Chevrolet Silverados of the past are blessed with the best pickup truck design to ever grace American roads. The truck’s pinched-eye look that’s been with us since 2019 is a little less, uh, traditionally handsome. But I have to admit, the ZR2 treatment with a more intense grille and aggressive bumper really matches up with the new lights for an altogether solid look.
For those who are tuning in from outside the world of trucks, ZR2 is Chevy’s off-road designation. The mid-sized Colorado ZR2 came out a few years ago and is still a solid option for desert off-roading if high-speed driving isn’t a priority (its V6 is competent but casual).
The main ingredient of the ZR2 formula, for both Colorado and Silverado, is its suspension developed by top-tier tuner and supplier Multimatic. The shocks on these trucks use technology called spool valves. The Drive‘s writeup gets into their functionality a little more specifically, but the short story is that modern dampers are filled with fluid the flows through little holes — this regulates how quickly they bounce, essentially — and spool valves basically are an exceptionally efficient and precise method of managing that fluid.
Better-managed fluid flow, among other things, translates to a suspension system that does a great job keep a vehicle composed in a multitude of situations and at various speeds. Practically speaking, ZR2 Multimatic dampers make the truck very nice to drive both on and off-road.
With that little detour out of the way, we can get back to the actual thesis for this blog: The ZR2 Silverado looks better than I expected, and a lot better than the regular-old Silverado.
A lot comes down the corners of the front bumper. The ZR2 gets these scooped-out end pieces that complement the pinched-face look of the headlights in a cool way. And the fact that the Chevy emblem is open to allow for airflow to the radiator (GM calls this the Flowtie, because of course) is kind of neat. With the hood up, you can actually see how air comes up through that big snout and up into the engine bay.
I also liked the interior quite a bit. Not only is the cockpit nicely modern looking without being over-the-top techno-futurey, but the yellow and blue accent stitching is unique and cool. There are not too many predominantly grey interiors that I could get excited about but this Silver’doe’s is nice.
Anyway, that’s all I really have to say on the matter — I’m glad the Silverado is starting to trend back towards aesthetically appealing, is all. Here, please enjoy a big batch of photos of this truck from almost every angle.
2022 Chevy Silverado ZR2 Exterior
Here you’ll get a closer look at the Flowtie, multi-stage tailgate which probably has another cute PR name, and of course the truck’s general presence in a beautiful shade of blue. Click any image to enlarge it. While it technically doesn’t count as the “exterior, I’ll also include a picture of the engine bay so you can see where the air goes after it gets ingested by the Chebby emblem.
2022 Chevy Silverado ZR2 Interior
The bolsters on these seats look very supportive, especially for a pickup truck. And check out that secret seatback storage spot.
2022 Chevy Silverado ZR2 Underbody Details
From this perspective, you’ll see how the underside of the Silverado ZR2 is armored. Forgive the dirt; this truck had just been out in the desert doing a photoshoot before it was rolled into this studio.
