{"id":33878,"date":"2024-12-28T18:35:17","date_gmt":"2024-12-28T22:35:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/?p=33878"},"modified":"2024-12-28T18:35:17","modified_gmt":"2024-12-28T22:35:17","slug":"payne-on-dasher-on-dancer-on-silverado-christmas-tree-shopping-in-chevys-pickup","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/2024\/12\/payne-on-dasher-on-dancer-on-silverado-christmas-tree-shopping-in-chevys-pickup","title":{"rendered":"Payne: On Dasher, On Dancer, On Silverado! Christmas-tree shopping in Chevy’s pickup"},"content":{"rendered":"

West Bloomfield<\/em>\u00a0Township<\/em>\u00a0\u2014 My 2024 Chevrolet Silverado ZR2 is ready for anything that Michigan winter throws at it. Knobby 33-inch all-terrain tires to drift through three-foot Gaylord snowdrifts. Lifted 11.5-inch chassis lift to scale Holly Oaks\u2019 off-road course. Beastly 420-horsepower oomph to merge with authority onto the (finally completed) I-696 racetrack.<\/p>\n

But on a December Saturday, I just needed it to haul a Christmas tree.<\/p>\n

For all the extraordinary physical attributes modern pickups have been endowed with, their signature feature continues to be that big box out back. It\u2019s what defines pickups. They can pick up what other vehicles can\u2019t. Mulch, trailers, motorbikes, go-karts … trees.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Detroit News Auto Critic Henry Payne uses the 2024 Chevy Silverado ZR2 to pick up a Christmas tree for the holidays.<\/em><\/div>\n
Henry Payne, The Detroit News<\/em><\/div>\n

Like many of its performance pickup peers, the ZR2 only comes with one bed option: a standard 5’8\u201d box. That\u2019s enough. Mrs. Payne and I fished our tree base out of the closet and headed for English Gardens. We should have brought a ladder, too.<\/p>\n

For off-road convenience, ZR2 has no running boards and that 11.5-inch ground clearance. Which is an inconvenience to my 65-inch-tall wife, who contemplated the climb into the truck\u2019s passenger seat like it was the oak in our backyard. Woof, that\u2019s high.<\/p>\n

Thank goodness for A-pillar grab handles. The effort is worth it as the interior of the Chevy is posh and palatial. Like the Goodyear Wrangler Territorial MT tires and two-story grille, everything is supersized, including a digital 12.3-inch instrument panel and 13.4-inch touchscreen.<\/p>\n

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SUVs gotta tie the tree down on the roof. With the 2024 Chevy Silverado ZR2, you just throw it in the bed.<\/em><\/div>\n
Henry Payne, The Detroit News<\/em><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Beginning with the $49K LT truck, this state-of-that-art combo brings premium looks to the Silverado range of trucks above the Work Truck\/Custom starter trims. Sometimes you just need a bed \u2014 but the digital wizardry makes the pickup a pleasant, everyday tool. The screens are powered by Google Built-in, and I instantly synced truck to my Google account in the cloud so that I could navigate on Google Maps like my phone \u2014 but without using up its battery.<\/p>\n

\u201cNavigate to English Gardens,\u201d I barked, and we were off.<\/p>\n

I should have taken the long way. Chevy\u2019s base truck chassis is the best engineered in the business, and ZR2 feels sporty despite its Brobdingnagian dimensions and 5,500-pound girth (actually 300 pounds lighter than the, ahem, midsize Cadillac Lyriq EV). Firm steering. Multimatic shocks. I dialed the Drive Mode selector to SPORT and cracked the whip on the brawny eight cylinders like Santa lashing his reindeer into the night.<\/p>\n

BWWAAAARRGHHH!<\/em>\u00a0My sleigh leapt across Oakland County.<\/p>\n

\u201cI thought we were going to English Gardens, not the race track!\u201d said my wife, once again grabbing for the A-pillar handle. Take it easy, Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner and Blitzen, we don\u2019t want to make Mrs. Claus uncomfortable. Or anyone else who might want to come along for the ride.<\/p>\n

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The 2024 Chevy Silverado ZR2’s 6.2-liter V-8 is one of four Silverado engines, including a 2.7-liter turbo-4, 5.3-liter V-8 and turbo-inline-6 Cummins diesel.<\/em><\/div>\n
Henry Payne, The Detroit News<\/em><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

It was just my wife and I this day, but we could have packed all the North Pole\u2019s elves in the backseat. Good gravy, these Silverado Crew Cabs are yuuuge. I\u2019m impressed the Dodge Charger Daytona EV has gained four inches of legroom to 37 inches, but the Silverado has a yawning 43! You could pack in the elves plus Victor Wembanyama and you\u2019d still have room for more.<\/p>\n

There are even cubbies in the seatbacks to hide presents.<\/p>\n

At English Gardens we selected our tree \u2014 a healthy seven-footer \u2014 and screwed on the base. Were we driving anything other than a pickup, we would have spent time securing the Fraser Fur to the roof, worrying about scratches or about it falling off on the way home.<\/p>\n

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The 2024 Chevy Silverado ZR2 could even hide a Christmas present in the rear-seat cubbies.<\/em><\/div>\n
Henry Payne, The Detroit News<\/em><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Not with a full-size pickup. Silverado makes loading even easier with the Multi-Flex tailgate, an affordable $445 option on any Silverado starting with the $37K Work Truck. The tailgate features six configurations, with my favorite being the stairway. To deploy:<\/p>\n

1) Drop the gate<\/p>\n

2) Drop the middle gate<\/p>\n

3) Drop the middle step<\/p>\n

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The 2024 Chevy Silverado ZR2 comes standard with a 5’8″ bed – $425 Multi-flex tailgate optional on all trims.<\/em><\/div>\n
Henry Payne, The Detroit News<\/em><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Voila!<\/em>\u00a0Two steps up and I was into the bed carrying our tree. Placed diagonally in the sprayed bed, the fur fit fine, base and all. No concern about scratches. I walked back down the stairwell, collapsed the gates and was ready to go.<\/p>\n

To preserve the tree (and my marriage), I wasn\u2019t tempted into any V8-powered antics on the way home. You can look up my review of the\u00a0Silverado ZR2 in the Joshua Tree desert<\/a>\u00a0to see its enormous bandwidth, from trail-running in OFF-ROAD mode to rock-climbing using the two-speed transfer case and locking differentials.<\/p>\n

In addition to the Google Built in system where I managed my most-used icons (just like my Android phone home screen), Chevy\u2019s brute boasts superb steering-wheel ergonomics. Forget the touchscreen, my hands never left the wheel on the drive home \u2014 and subsequent trips around Metro Detroit.<\/p>\n

<\/figure>\n
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The 2024 Chevy Silverado ZR2 stands nearly a foot off the ground – a high climb for 65-inch Mrs. Payne.<\/em><\/div>\n
Henry Payne, The Detroit News<\/em><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

With my left thumb, I set Cruise Control with a downward pull of the dimpled steering wheel roller. Rolling up\/or down adjusted speed. Punch it upward and return to the set speed. All the while, I followed directions to my destination in the instrument display.<\/p>\n

I scrolled through favorite radio stations with the buttons on the left, back-side of the steering wheel. Settling on Sirius XM\u2019s Comedy Greats, I adjusted the volume using the buttons on right, backside of the wheel.<\/p>\n

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The 2024 Chevy Silverado ZR2’s posh interior is a Christmas tree of goodies, including 25 inches of screens.<\/em><\/div>\n
Henry Payne, The Detroit News<\/em><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Back home, I easily walked tree-from-bed using the Multi-Flex stairway. The most difficult task was getting my wife down from her seat.<\/p>\n

Hey, Chevy, Mrs. Payne wants to know if you\u2019ve thought of a Multi-Flex stair-step solution for the cab? Would make a great Christmas present for 2025.<\/p>\n

Next week: 2025 Kia K4<\/em><\/p>\n

2024 Chevrolet Silverado<\/h2>\n

Vehicle type: Front-engine, rear- and four-wheel-drive five-passenger pickup<\/p>\n

Price: $37,445, including $1,695 destination charge ($72,560 ZR2 as tested)<\/p>\n

Powerplant: 2.7-liter, turbocharge inline-4 cylinder, 5.3-liter V-8, 6.2-liter V-8, 3.0-liter Duramax diesel inline-6 cylinder<\/p>\n

Power: 420 horsepower, 460 pound-feet of torque (6.2L V-8 as tested)<\/p>\n

Transmission: 10-speed automatic<\/p>\n

Performance: As tested \u2014 towing, 8,900 pounds; payload, 1,440 pounds<\/p>\n

Weight: 5,500 pounds (est., as tested)<\/p>\n

Fuel economy: EPA: 14 mpg city\/17 highway\/15 combined (6.2L V-8)<\/p>\n

Report card<\/strong><\/p>\n

Highs: High-tech, big-screen interior; Multi-Flex tailgate<\/p>\n

Lows: 35-inch tire option, please; gets pricey<\/p>\n

Overall: 4 stars<\/p>\n

Henry Payne is auto critic for The Detroit News. Find him at hpayne@detroitnews.com or @HenryEPayne<\/em>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

West Bloomfield\u00a0Township\u00a0\u2014 My 2024 Chevrolet Silverado ZR2 is ready for anything that Michigan winter throws at it. Knobby 33-inch all-terrain tires to drift through three-foot Gaylord snowdrifts. Lifted 11.5-inch chassis lift to scale Holly Oaks\u2019 off-road course. Beastly 420-horsepower oomph to merge with authority onto the (finally completed) I-696 racetrack. But on a December Saturday, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7,87],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33878"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=33878"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33878\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":33879,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33878\/revisions\/33879"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=33878"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=33878"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=33878"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}