2015 Chevrolet Colorado Z71 Update 5: Two Snowy Road Trips

While I took off for Australia over the holidays, I lent our Z71 to head photographer Brian Vance for a northern migration to Northern California and Nevada. It was Brian’s first road trip with our long-term Colorado, and he was pleasantly surprised with what he found.

“Thanks to the roll-up tonneau cover [by Bak] and carpeted bedliner [from BedRug], I was able to use the bed of the Colorado to haul my skis, boots, a workbench, ski tuning gear, a coffee kit, and my luggage up for the long Thanksgiving weekend. The day after a major snowstorm I went skiing at the Kirkwood resort and drove over lots of icy, snowy roads,” said Brian.

 

“After Thanksgiving dinner I drove from Sacramento to Lake Tahoe in a late-night snowstorm. Toward the top of the crest of the Sierra Nevadas, I had to go from 2WD to 4WD Hi. Easy to do by just turning the dash-mounted switch to 4WD Hi and waiting for the message on the dash indicating that all four wheels were engaged.”

Brian was so impressed by the Colorado’s all-conditions performance and gear-carrying ability, he requested it again for the Christmas holidays.

“I filled the covered bed again with ski gear, Christmas gifts, coffee and cocktail-making gear, and fresh pine for my furniture-making father, who is crafting me a new coffee table for the living room. (Thanks, Dad!)

“I used the bed for gearing up at Mt. Rose ski resort, the local hill I grew up skiing on. The felt bedliner is not only great because it keeps gear from shifting and getting banged up in transit, it’s nice to sit on when you’re putting on your boots,” said Vance.

“Later in the day, I flipped the traction control off, put the transfer case in two-wheel drive, and engaged in some snow-time fun from my bygone days: spinning donuts in the empty, huge, packed-powder parking lot of the ski resort.”

Downsides? A few: “The running boards collect snow and ice until you have big chunks of dirty ice hanging at shin level.

“The Z71’s V-6 seems to struggle power-wise at altitude. When climbing Sierra passes at 8,000-9,000 feet, I noticed lots of downshifting and hunting from the transmission. Inside, I noted a lack of places to put my phone, cables, and the other stuff you carry on long road trips.

“And finally, I loved the bed and roll-up tonneau cover combination. I was in and out of that tailgate so often because it was so convenient to be able store all my gear in a covered, lockable space. But it would be great to be able to lock the tailgate via the key fob instead of manually when it’s cold and snowing out.”

More on our long-term 2015 Chevrolet Colorado Z71:

• Arrival
• Update 1: Long-Hauling the Colorado Is Refreshingly Comfortable
• Update 2: Making Easy Work of Many Jobs
• Update 3: Pickup Tows Max Loads Like a Champ
• Update 4: Our Colorado Goes Surfing

The post 2015 Chevrolet Colorado Z71 Update 5: Two Snowy Road Trips appeared first on Motor Trend.

from Motor Trend http://ift.tt/1Rm62Zp