The verdict: Though relatively pricey, the 2025 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 Z71 Trail Boss is a fantastic off-road truck that’s just as comfortable on-road as it is off — with an available Duramax turbo-diesel inline-six engine that sips fuel and can tow the moon.
Versus the competition: It’s not quite as capable as a Ford F-150 Tremor or Silverado 1500 ZR2, but the Trail Boss is a great option if you need a truck that can handle an occasional muddy two-track or deep snow. And if towing is your goal, the Duramax’s 13,300-pound maximum rating is close to best-in-class.
You know four-wheelin’ enthusiasts have got it good these days when the 2025 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 Z71 seems a smidge mundane — at least at first glance. But that’s just a good ol’ case of perspective rot, which set in sometime around the appearance of Chevy’s now-legendary ZR2 badge on its 1500 and 2500 trucks. A Z71? When the ZR2 exists? Zee, I dunno …
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That’s mostly nonsense, of course. I spent a week and a half with a 2025 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 Z71 Trail Boss (with the Duramax!), and while it can’t quite match the bravado and watering-hole bragging rights of the bigger, badder ZR2, Chevy’s long-standing Z71 package is all the average truck owner needs — especially if they city-slick more than they cowboy.
Catch Some Zs
First, let’s parse the alphanumerics. The Z71 Off-Road Package is available on a number of Silverados, adding mostly the same hardware to each. Limited to 4×4 trucks, the package adds hill descent control, an “auto” mode for the two-speed transfer case, skid plates and a heavy-duty air filter. Rancho off-road shocks and specific wheels and all-terrain tires are included in some Z71 package configurations, as are rear wheel-well liners.
It’s nothing wild, but there’s enough go-muck hardware to offset a chunk of your aftermarket budget. The evocatively named Trail Boss version of the Z71 is the best of the bunch, adding a 2-inch suspension lift and, on LT models, extra creature comforts like heated front seats and a heated steering wheel. Trail Boss models also get some aesthetic touches, including red tow hooks, a black Bow-Tie badge and excellent “Trail Boss” lettering on the rear quarter panels.
It’s a lotta truck. Even my Texas family was a bit truck-struck by the Trail Boss’ nearly 80-inch height; every rider made full use of the doorway grab handles and the truck’s fixed, textured running boards, which are meant to offset its high ride height. (There’s 10.9 inches of ground clearance with the lifted suspension.) The dimensions seemed frivolous until they didn’t, when back-to-back severe rainstorms gave way to flash flooding while we grabbed lunch. We drove through small ponds en route to a local butcher for some top-shelf steak sandwiches, fording at least 5 inches of water in some low areas, then watched the deluge while munching candied jalapenos and tri-tip. The storm water cruised halfway up a street-parked Toyota Tacoma’s front wheel, and in the background, a neon, kid-shaped “Kids at Play” sign floated down the street, now more canal than avenue.
(Paved) Road Warrior
The rest of the week was dry and (mostly) paved. Too often, off-road packages sacrifice daily drivability in the name of capability, but the Trail Boss has found a sweet spot. Its 2-inch lift meant cornering was a conscious activity, but the Silverado handled better than I expected. It rode beautifully, too, with jolts from even the craggiest Dallas roads sopped up by those package-specific Rancho shocks and fat tire sidewalls.
If the Trail Boss’ suspension setup is butter, the Silverado’s optional Duramax turbo-diesel 3.0-liter inline-six-cylinder is heavy cream. Preternaturally smooth for a full-size truck with a diesel engine, its 495 pounds-feet of torque means it lurches forward from stoplights like a freight train, while its 305 horsepower means it pulls to the upper range of highway speeds with comparable ease. I tend to drive every vehicle I’m in with homogenous aggression, whether it’s a cent-savin’ hybrid, an EV or a 9.0-liter dually, so the 18.4 mpg I averaged over roughly 650 miles of mixed city and highway cruising in the Trail Boss was respectable, if lower than the EPA ratings for the diesel engine, which go as high as 22/26/24 mpg city/highway/combined with four-wheel drive. This, combined with the truck’s 24-gallon fuel tank, translated to a cruising range approaching 500 miles. That’s enough to hit the third-tank mark and still not worry about gassing up before setting out on a road trip.
The Duramax’s 13,300-pound maximum towing capacity reveals the torquey sixer is meant for far more than shuttling folks to dinners or to see holiday lights, but what a lovely day-to-day powertrain it is. Really, my only complaint regarding the Trail Boss is the contrast between how my test truck’s interior was finished and equipped and its $69,700 sticker price. While you can get a Trail Boss version of the Silverado’s entry-level Custom trim, my test Trail Boss was a mid-level LT, which incorporates all you need but not a whole lot you want. An available Bose sound system, heated seats and a heated steering wheel were the standout luxuries.
Packaging Pains
The Trail Boss’ optional leather upholstery is nice enough, but it doesn’t feel equivalent to what you’ll find on a Silverado 1500 High Country or GMC Sierra 1500 Denali — and that truck’s starting price isn’t a lot more than my Trail Boss’ as-tested price. At nearly $70K, my Trail Boss felt a smidge underequipped — though that might just be a product of the current state of inflated vehicle pricing.
Still, I can’t complain too much. Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are welcome inclusions in light of GM’s fight against phone projection in favor of Google Built-In for some of its models. That said, while I was resistant to GM’s push of Google for a long time, I found myself using the native Google Maps app in the Silverado’s infotainment system more than my phone, so I at least relished having the choice. Also neato was the 13.4-inch center touchscreen and 12.3-inch digital driver display, both of which were requisitely high-fidelity and reactive.
Off-Road Amuse-Bouche
I just couldn’t return an off-road truck without doing at least a skosh of muddy stuff, so my dad and I hit a trail up to the impressively expansive Northwest Off-Highway Vehicle Park in Bridgeport, Texas. We were warned at the front gate that some of the trails were narrow and the Trail Boss’ pristine Radiant Red Tintcoat was unlikely to escape unmarred. Then, not 20 feet down the main dirt road, an old-timer in a UTV waved us down and warned us our gleaming truck was likely to add some desert pinstriping if we weren’t careful.
In that case, we were content to bound through an open field of craters filled with what appeared to be chocolate milk, throwing very washable dirt and muck on the truck’s clearcoat and leaving the tighter, technical trails to bedliner-coated Jeep beaters. Though certainly more physical, the field wasn’t much more mechanically demanding than the earlier rainstorm. Nor were the handful of wide trails I pointed the Trail Boss down; it handled every approach and line with such ease, I half expected it to emit a mighty, diesel-soaked yawn.
Capable? No doubt. Short of taking it on some open, brushless desert two-tracks, however, all I can personally attest to is the Trail Boss’ moderate water-fording ability and the exceptional do-it-all character that it displays on solid pavement. It wasn’t the Texas Edition Silverado, but I can’t think of a better holiday companion in the Lone Star State.
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