Is the Chevy Silverado Z71 Package Worth It?
The Chevy Silverado Z71 Package gives your pickup serious off-roading grit. But are you better off with a different configuration or trim?
Written by Matt Terzi
Reviewed by Hillary Kobayashi
The Chevy Silverado Z71 Package is designed to give your pickup more off-road functionality and agility with suspension and technology improvements. The Z71 Package costs $2,210 MSRP and is only available with some box and cab configurations and some trims.
- The Chevy Silverado Z71 Package is designed to enhance your truck’s off-roading capabilities and better protect it from the elements. It accomplishes this by enhancing the suspension, transfer case, wheels, and tires, with skid plates, floor liners, and spray-on liners.
- You can’t get the Z71 Package with any two-wheel drive (2WD) trim—this package is for 4WD trucks only
- The price of the Chevy Silverado Z71 Package varies based on your box, cab, and trim options.
- The Chevy Silverado Z71 Package is designed to enhance your truck’s off-roading capabilities and better protect it from the elements. It accomplishes this by enhancing the suspension, transfer case, wheels, and tires, with skid plates, floor liners, and spray-on liners.
- You can’t get the Z71 Package with any two-wheel drive (2WD) trim—this package is for 4WD trucks only
- The price of the Chevy Silverado Z71 Package varies based on your box, cab, and trim options.
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4.7/5 rating on the App Store | Trusted by 5+ million customers and 7 million cars4.7/5 app rating | Trusted by 5M+ driversWhat is the Chevy Silverado Z71 Package?
The Chevy Silverado Z71 Package is an optional set of features designed to improve the truck’s off-roading capabilities and handling. When the tarmac ends and the gravel, mud, and snow begin, the Z71 Package also helps safeguard your truck inside and out with protective add-ons.
Unlike a crossover, SUV, or sedan, most modern pickup trucks nest their trim levels within sets of box and cab configurations, with 2WD and 4WD classes as well. The Chevy Silverado Z71 Package is only available with the following 4WD box and cab configurations and trims:
- Double cab, standard bed: LT and RST trims
- Crew cab, short bed: LT and RST trims
- Crew cab, standard bed: LT, RST, and LTZ trims
You can’t get the Z71 Package with any two-wheel drive (2WD) trim—this package is for 4WD trucks only. But you can choose any optional engine you want with those configurations and trims.
What’s included
The Chevy Silverado Z71 Package is designed to enhance your truck’s off-roading capabilities and better protect it from the elements. It accomplishes this by enhancing the suspension, transfer case, wheels, and tires, with skid plates, floor liners, and spray-on liners. Not a bad set of features for the considerably low asking price of $2,210 MSRP.
Here’s what you get with the Chevy Silverado Z71 Package:
- Off-road suspension using Rancho twin tube shocks
- Autotrac two-speed transfer case
- Heavy-duty, high-capacity air filter
- Twin-pipe exhaust
- Hill descent control
- Skid plates under the truck
- All-weather floor liners (sporting the Z71 badge, of course)
- “Chevytec” spray-on bedliner
- LT and RST trims: rear wheelhouse liners
- All-terrain blackwall tires sitting on 18” (LT and RST trims) or 20” (LTZ trim) painted aluminum wheels
What it does
The 4WD Silverado is already a formidable machine, but providing this storied pickup truck with an improved suspension, transfer case, and
A/T tires
means you’re not just taking your truck down the road less traveled. You’re going where there’s no road at all.The off-road suspension and A/T tires make it much easier to navigate rougher, uneven terrain, while the two-speed transfer case allows you to change the drivetrain dynamics completely depending on what sort of terrain you’re exploring.
Driving into town or going on a highway road trip? Pop it in 2WD HI. Is there an emergency and you need to get through a blizzard to safety? Set your transfer case to 4WD HI. Are your buddies taking their Wranglers and Outbacks to a camping site off the grid? No need for fireworks—your 4WD LO mode should suit you just fine.
Sticks and stones may not hurt the driver (well, proverbially anyway), but they can do a real number on the undercarriage of your truck without skid plates. The Chevy Silverado Z71 Package includes metal underbody shielding to alleviate those risks, and the interior gets protective all-weather floor mats, too.
How much is a Chevy Silverado Z71 Package?
The price of the Chevy Silverado Z71 Package varies based on your box, cab, and trim options. It should also be noted that Chevrolet occasionally offers various discounts, so you might pay significantly less for this package depending on when and where you’re shopping.
With the LT trim, you’ll pay $2,210 for the Chevy Silverado Z71 Package. The RST trim includes some features, bringing the price down to $1,910. The LTZ trim has even more stock features, so the price is just $1,770.
2023 Chevrolet Silverado trim pricing
There’s no polite way of saying it: navigating all of the box, cab, and trim configurations for the 2023 Chevrolet Silverado is a serious headache. But thankfully, Chevrolet’s website has
a useful build and price tool
that lets you explore these features. These build tools are great for any vehicle to have, but a life-saver when shopping for a pickup truck.The 2023 Chevy Silverado starts at $36,300 MSRP, but the cheapest trim with the ZR1 package starts at $53,195—that’s the LT trim with the double cab, standard bed configuration, and the 2.7-liter turbocharged engine.
Let’s look at the various trims available for the 2023 Chevy Silverado and the starting price for each. We’re only showing 4WD trims here, though.
Trim | Starting price |
|---|---|
WT (ZR1 not available) | $42,795 |
Custom (ZR1 not available) | $48,795 |
Custom Trail Boss (ZR1 not available) | $53,995 |
$53,195 | |
$54,195 | |
LT Trail Boss (ZR1 not available) | $59,895 |
$62,395 | |
High Country (ZR1 not available) | $67,495 |
ZR2 (ZR1 not available) | $73,395 |
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4.7/5 rating on the App Store | Trusted by 5+ million customers and 7 million cars4.7/5 app rating | Trusted by 5M+ driversIs the Z71 Package worth it?
The Chevy Silverado Z71 Package gives you a lot of bang for your buck. The skid plates, all-season floor mats, and liners could fetch that $2,000 or so on their own, and frequently do with other cars and trucks.
That you can get an improved suspension, transfer case, wheels, and more for the same money? It’s a no-brainer, really. The Chevy Silverado Z71 Package is definitely worth the money, provided you can see yourself using the off-road features and aren’t also looking at a separate off-road trim.
The ZR1 Package might be appealing even if you tend to stick to the beaten path. This is a good package for those of you who live in areas, like upstate New York or Minnesota, that experience heavy snowfall.
If your area’s climate is easier and you can’t see yourself going off-road, you might just want to save the money. A/T tires and an off-road suspension will make your Silverado less comfortable on your daily commute. That ZR1 badge is cool to have, but this package isn’t as practical for everyday use on paved roads.
ZR1 package vs. the LT Trail Boss trim
The LT Trail Boss trim is more expansive than the LT trim by roughly four grand—more than double what you’d pay for the LT trim and the addition of the ZR1 package. So what are you getting for that extra money?
The LT Trail Boss includes everything from the ZR1 package, plus remote start and an improved anti-theft system. But the real benefit is the availability of the bigger, meaner 6.2-liter V8 engine, which you can’t vet with the LT trim. That’s going to drive up the price though, from $59,895 to $64,395.
Unless you’re going for that bigger engine, it’s arguably better to get the LT trim and option it out as you see fit than get the LT Trail Boss trim.
You’ll of course want to take some time to look at these trims and compare them, but in terms of off-roading capability, the LT trim and ZR1 Package will be cheaper. You’ll be able to add some other packages and options of your choosing too, and still end up spending less.
ZR1 Package vs. the High Country trim
The High Country trim starts at $67,495—that’s a huge step up in price from the LT trim, or the LT Trail Boss trim for that matter. And like the Trail Boss trim, the High Country trim includes everything from the ZR1 Package.
The 5.3-liter V8, 10-speed transmission, external engine and transmission coolers, trailer brake controller, rear cross-traffic braking, the 20” wheels from the LTZ trim, perimeter lighting, power tailgate, rear pedestrian alert…that’s all just the tip of the iceberg. The High Country trim is a huge step up and jam-packed with great features that provide a lot of added value.
The bottom line
If you can see yourself off-roading, driving through snowy conditions, towing, or some combination thereof, the ZR1 Package is a great investment that couples well with the LT, RST, and LTZ trim levels. You get a lot of value and performance from what is a very reasonable price point.
If you’re looking for even more performance gains at a valuable price, the High Country trim is worth the money. We’re not sure the same can be said for the LT Trail Boss trim, which doesn’t seem to add much given the price. But you’ll want to take your time and look at these trims and packages yourself before deciding on which Chevy Silverado to buy.
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