My navigator, Rebecca Donaghe, and I have been in Johnson Valley, residence of the notorious King of the Hammers rock crawling race. It was the fifth day of the all-female, all off-road Rebelle Rally and we have been presently sitting in second place total and main the Bone Inventory division in a 2017 Chevrolet Colorado ZR2.

Perched atop a steep and rocky hill, a blue flag indicated a checkpoint. I took a deep breath, switched to four-wheel drive low and locked the rear axle.

The diesel engine put out loads of low-range torque as we clambered up the hill. Because the terrain turned a bit extra steep and greater than a bit sketchy, Donaghe gave encouragement to the ZR2, “Go, Zelda, go!”

I felt the entrance wheels slip only a bit as we approached the highest, so I engaged the entrance locker as nicely. That was all Zelda wanted as she neatly crested the hill, awarding us 10 factors for getting the checkpoint and a fantastic view of the desert beneath us.

The Rebelle Rally is a navigational contest that stretches throughout California, from Squaw Valley all the best way to the dunes of Glamis, close to the Mexican border. It isn’t a race for velocity, however for accuracy. Fashionable expertise like cell telephones and GPS are banned. As a substitute, all navigation is finished with a compass, a topographical map and a ruler.

Groups can compete in a 4×4 or crossover, chasing three ranges of checkpoints. Inexperienced checkpoints are nicely marked with massive flags and are designed to maneuver rivals down the course. Blue checkpoints are tougher, marked by a smaller blue flag or only a blue stake within the floor. Black checkpoints aren’t marked in any respect and groups should use triangulation to find out their place.

Every morning groups are given a set of latitude and longitude factors to plot on their maps. Then they resolve how they will drive there. There is not any set route, so groups can take no matter filth highway or observe they select. Groups can skip checkpoints, however they have to be achieved so as. As soon as on the checkpoint, groups sign a tracker that sends their place again to rally officers.

On the inaugural Rebelle Rally final yr, Donaghe and I headed into the final day in direct competitors for the lead, however sloppy time administration dropped us right down to 11th place. This yr within the new ZR2, we have been decided to podium.

The ZR2 is Chevrolet’s off-road prepared mid-size pick-up truck. It sports activities Multimatic spool-valve shocks, Goodyear Wrangler rubber and it is larger and wider than a inventory Colorado.  A three.6-liter fuel engine comes commonplace, however I opted for the two.Eight-liter Duramax diesel engine, because the Rebelle Rally is as a lot about gasoline administration as it’s about navigational accuracy. With an EPA gasoline ranking of 23 miles per gallon mixed, the additional three miles over the fuel engine may imply the distinction between making it again to base camp or not.

Whereas the Rebelle Rally is not about velocity, the 20 or so checkpoints to search out every day imply groups cannot dawdle within the desert. Our technique was easy: Drive as quick as legally potential to present Donaghe time to search out the coveted black checkpoints. The Rebelle Rally velocity restrict on filth roads is 50 miles per hour.

The ZR2 match our plans completely. The Multimatic shocks are some form of voodoo engineering magic that I do not fake to know. All I care about is the end result. We have been in a position to hold a quick tempo over every kind of filth roads, be it an open and graded filth highway, a whooped-out path or a silty mess of a observe. The shocks stored the ZR2 flat and regular, absorbing whoops and permitting for fast path change when wanted. By the second day of the Rally, different rivals in Jeeps, Land Rovers, even a Ford Raptor and a Ram Power Wagon, knew to drag to the aspect once they noticed Zelda’s bow tie of their rear view mirror.   

I needed to regulate my driving model get essentially the most out of the four-cylinder diesel engine and the six-speed computerized. Whereas driving off highway, it is uncommon for a driver to be on the throttle repeatedly. As a substitute, I needed to feather the accelerator to account for little obstacles corresponding to small whoops or bits of rock. The diesel simply is not responsive sufficient to get the truck again up to the mark shortly. As a substitute the transmission downshifted, the turbo took its candy time to spool, whereas Donaghe and I form of leaned ahead, irritated on the energy delay.

I solved this downside by left-foot braking. Maintaining my proper foot on the throttle to maintain the engine in larger revs, I dragged my left foot on the brake. As soon as we have been by means of the issue space and my foot was off the brake, the diesel engine was able to go along with no hesitation.

This was all effective within the hard-packed sections of the desert, and the 369 pound-feet of torque was welcome on the aforementioned Johnson Valley, the place slow-speed rock crawling was the norm. That each one modified, nevertheless, once I reached the dunes.

Navigating within the dunes is troublesome for just a few causes. There are few distinguishing landmarks, so Donaghe and I needed to carry on as straight a heading as potential. This meant that I needed to go straight up and over with sufficient momentum to crest the dune, however not a lot as to launch off the bottom.

As I tried the primary set of hills in Dumont Dunes about 100 miles west of Las Vegas, I discovered simply how troublesome this was going to be with a 181-horsepower diesel engine. I lifted simply as I received to the highest, solely to have the ZR2 lose all momentum and mainly cease simply in need of the summit. I needed to strive it thrice earlier than I spotted that I needed to hold my foot on the throttle only a bit longer than I felt comfy doing. Raise any sooner and it was a no-go.

Nonetheless, I used to be in a position to push by means of my worry and hold my foot buried. All by means of Dumont Dunes and later within the bigger dunes of Glamis, the ZR2 climbed  each sand hill I tried, aside from one: the 500-foot tall Oldsmobile Hill, the Everest of Glamis.

After we arrived at Olds and noticed the blue flag waving on the prime within the sturdy winds (Mom Nature had given us one other problem to take care of: a sand storm with 50 mph winds and super-low visibility), I received so excited that I took the worst line and went straight up the center. I attacked the underside with a velocity that overwhelmed the suspension journey, leading to an unlucky “stapler impact” because the truck contended with the whooped-out backside part of the hill. As soon as the floor was easy I floored it, however 181 horses are simply not sufficient to propel a 5,000 pound truck up the 88-percent grade hill.

Donaghe, not one to attend, merely jumped out of the truck and ran the remainder of the best way up, tracker in hand. I managed to get the truck rotated and tried a greater line in four-wheel drive excessive and once more in low, however Zelda simply did not have it in her.

Zelda was additionally injured. I made a foul line alternative within the rocky Johnson Valley on day 5 and mangled the skid plate, leading to a slowly leaking differential. Now on day seven, within the 184 square-mile space of Glamis the place I wanted it essentially the most,  the diff lastly gave up the ghost. 4-wheel drive was making essentially the most horrendous grinding noise. To compensate I dropped the tire strain from 16 psi to 12, widening my footprint only a bit extra on the expense of creating me much more nervous of slipping the bead off the wheel.  

For 9 checkpoints I wheeled the ZR2 within the dunes in principally two-wheel drive, utilizing four-wheel drive solely when completely wanted. It set us again in time and we needed to skip just a few checkpoints, however we stored our spot on the rostrum, and the respect of the Rebelle rivals and workers. The leaking diff was completely resulting from driver error, however we stored going, assured in Zelda’s off-road prowess Donaghe’s navigational chops and my driving expertise.

After I began the Rebelle Rally, I used to be already a fan of the ZR2. Certain, the Raptor is nice and far sooner, but it surely’s additionally a lot larger and never as nimble. The Energy Wagon is a incredible truck as nicely, however once more, she’s a giant mamma-jamma. I am going to all the time love Jeeps for his or her rock-crawling means and convertible tops, however they sacrifice on-road manners. And as for the venerable Toyota Tacoma, it has every kind of off-road modes to make wheeling simpler. It is accessible with a six-speed guide however no locking entrance differential.

In the long run, Donaghe and I earned a third-place total and a second within the Bone Inventory class, the first-place Bone Inventory trophy going to the enormous Ram Energy Wagon, a testomony to driver Nena Barlow’s talent behind the wheel.

It isn’t all pet canine and rainbows. I’ve just a few small quibbles with the ZR2. The four-wheel drive choose knob is positioned low on the sprint on the driving force’s left, just about hidden from view by the steering wheel. My 2017 mannequin did not have a splash mild to point four-wheel drive standing, and I as soon as discovered myself in four-wheel drive on a pavement transit part, having by chance hit the rattling knob with my knee as I entered the truck.

Driver’s aids are practically nil within the 2017 ZR2. Cruise management does not work beneath 30 miles per hour and there is not any blind-spot monitoring, lane-keeping help or adaptive cruise management. Certain, these may not be issues off-road of us search for, however they’re accessible on the Ford Raptor, and Chevy would do nicely to a minimum of make the tech accessible for many who commute to work of their filth truck.

Whereas I nonetheless love the ZR2, if it have been my cash I might go along with the gas-powered engine. The diesel is nice if you may be on rocky terrain more often than not, however in order for you velocity, the fuel is the place it is at. And admittedly, I did not see a lot of a bonus in effectivity. After practically 1,000 miles, I averaged solely 16.four miles per gallon. If Chevy ups the horsepower on the diesel sooner or later, I would change my thoughts, however because it stands, it is not definitely worth the $three,500 premium.

Chevrolet is presently creating an entire slew of aftermarket parts to make the Multimatic suspension much more magical, however now we have no phrase on when these components will turn into accessible. For now, the ZR2 does an amazing job within the filth, even when confined to simply two-wheel drive. The 2017 mannequin begins at a good $40,000, however my tester with the Duramax diesel, an upgraded sound system and an eight-inch coloration touchscreen with navigation (which we needed to cowl in order to not cheat) involves $45,435, together with vacation spot.