Chevy's Silverado ZR2 Looks Great, But The Smart Money Buys A Different Trim

The Silverado 1500 is Chevy's light-duty pickup truck that does battle with the likes of the Ford F-150, Ram 1500, and Toyota Tundra. It's Chevrolet's top-selling vehicle, and there's a lot to like about the sizable pickup. It has several different engine options, your choice of three cab configurations, varying bed-length selections, and options as far as the eye can see. There's even an all-electric version of the Silverado that's worth a closer look if you want your daily commute driven by plug-in power instead of gasoline or diesel fuel. 

One of the most interesting things about the Silverado 1500, though, is the number of different available off-road trims it's offered in. There's premium trims like the High Country, or basic trims like the standard WT, but then there are off-road experts like the ZR2. While it's not quite as wild as rivals like the F-150 Raptor or the Ram RHO, the ZR2 offers serious off-road capability via lots of upgraded hardware. The ZR2 isn't cheap, though: it costs over $74,000. 

Further down the lineup, however, there are off-road ready trims like the LT Trail Boss and Custom Trail Boss which offer a bit less luxury and capability, but with a much smaller price tag. I've driven multiple versions of the Silverado over the years, and tested trucks off-road exhaustively. And in my experience, most off-road adventures can be done in trims like the LT Trail Boss and Custom Trail Boss, without breaking the bank. 

The ZR2 is the top of the Silverado's off-road trims. For 2026, it has a starting price of $74,690 (including $2,595 destination fee) and it comes with a lot of serious hardware. The ZR2 has a 2-inch lift, and it impressed us with its Multimatic DSSV dampers. It also gets off-road bumpers, underbody aluminum skid plates, and 33-inch mud-terrain tires. 

For significantly less money, though, you can get a pretty well-equipped Silverado further down the lineup — the LT Trail Boss. It also has a 2-inch lift and lots of features worth noting, with a much more approachable price of $62,195. The LT Trail Boss doesn't use the same Multimatic suspension, it uses Rancho monotube shocks instead, but they should suffice for most off-roading purposes. The Custom Trail Boss gets the same Z71 suspension as the LT Trail Boss, but with fewer creature comforts. 

There are two base trims of the Silverado: the WT (Work Truck) and Custom. And just above the Custom is the Custom Trail Boss, and it's priced at $55,395 –that's nearly $20,000 less than the big ZR2 and about $7k less than the LT Trail Boss. It feels a bit bare-bones by comparison, but it still comes standard with a lot of the necessary items for mild off-roading. And, if you're like me, and you enjoy a bit of personalization and at-home modification, there will be plenty of budget left over for that with either of the Trail Boss trims.

It's less expensive than the priciest Silverado trims, but the Custom Trail Boss still offers a good amount of equipment for the money. Along with the 2-inch suspension lift via the Z71 suspension, it comes with skid plates to protect the oil pan, differential case, and transfer case. Red tow hooks give you a nice, bold towing location to latch onto, and standard Hill Descent Control helps with steep downhill grades. Goodyear mud terrain tires are standard, wrapped around black 18-inch wheels. The Custom Trail Boss comes with Chevrolet's smaller 7-inch center touchscreen, but wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are also part of the package (the LT Trail Boss gets the larger 13.4-inch touchscreen).

Both the Custom and LT Trail Boss come standard with Chevy's TurboMax four-cylinder engine, so there's no difference in power. In both trims, it puts out 305 horsepower and 430 lb-ft of torque and is paired with an 8-speed automatic transmission. Four-wheel drive is, naturally, standard. The Custom Trail Boss is missing some creature comforts and modern features like wireless smartphone charging, heated seats, and a 360-degree camera. Those options can all be had on the LT Trail Boss if you want to spend some mid-range money to upgrade.

Looking closely at the trim levels available for the Silverado, and at the equipment that each trim offers, it's clear that not everyone will need a ZR2. In my experience out on the trails, most buyers want something that's competent in getting them too and from their nature destination, but not nearly as many adventures include the need for maximum articulation and rock-crawling capability (at least not in full-size trucks). That reality, along with lots of experience wheeling in all sorts of trucks and SUVs, influenced the recommendation here for the lower-level Trail Boss trims. 

And if we look at the landscape that is the full-size truck market, options like the Ford Raptor and trail-busting Ram RHO are probably better suited for desert-conquering activity anyway. For off-roaders that want to pull a trailer, barrel through some muddy sections of their local fire road, and keep most of their hard-earned money in their pocket, the LT, and Custom Trail Boss trims are strong options.