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CARLOS LAGO: Hey, Carlos Lago with Edmunds here.
That is a 2021 Chevrolet Colorado ZR2 Bison.
It's an off-road version of an already off road capable truck.
What is it?
Why does it look so cool?
How functional is it?
Why should you care?
And how does it land among the other midsize off-road trucks
like the Jeep Gladiator Rubicon, the Toyota Tacoma TRD Pro,
and the Ford Ranger Tremor?
That's what we're going to talk about in this video and more.
But before we do, make sure to hit that Like button
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What is the Bison package?
Well, it costs about $5,800 and it's available on ZR2s
with a crew cab shortbed or extended
cab longbed configuration.
It's made in collaboration with a company called American
Expedition Vehicles, or AEV.
And they specialize in off-road overlaying equipment.
Now for the ZR2, the package adds a bunch
of protection, durability hardware, along with specialty
bumpers and stuff.
The 17 inch wheels, Goodyear Wrangler DuraTrac
off road tires.
But most importantly, a whole host
of AEV logos on the bumpers, tailgate,
and headrests, and floor mats.
So you can show off to your friends.
Whoo.
Just doing some truck stuff.
Yeah.
All right.
Cool guy parking.
Now our ziggurat out of integrity
isn't just for cool guy McParking.
It's also a really good way to demonstrate the clearances
and traction you have when climbing steps like this.
And the Colorado was really easy in four low
with the front rear diffs lock, this thing
was able to climb up these steps really
smoothly because the throttle control was
really good at low speeds.
Let's talk about the front.
Now the big addition to this truck
comes in the form of protection.
This is all steel.
And that is fantastic because when you scrape stuff,
you don't want to damage your truck.
Right?
Now this front bumper is all steel,
it has a lot of nice additions to it.
You have a provision for a winch on the front that's
cleanly integrated.
Chevy and AEV say that when you install it,
it doesn't impede the cooling abilities of this truck.
The downside to it though, is that because this protection is
here, you actually have a worse approach
angle than pretty much any of the off-road trucks
in this segment.
So that means you're more likely to scrape things.
But because it's steel, it kind of maybe doesn't matter.
We notice that approach angle difference
when actually climbing these steps because there
was a point at the very beginning, when we were
about half an inch away from rubbing this skid
plate on the steps.
And again, this is all steel.
The other nice thing about this bumper
is you have big bright red recovery hoops at the front.
Now as we make our way around the side,
we can see all the other protection
that comes as part of the Bison package.
Starting at the front, you've got
that steel skid plate which covers
the oil pan and the front diff.
There's more steel for the transfer case,
steel for the fuel tank, and steel for the rear diff.
You also have these long steel rock sliders.
And the length of those are actually
really impressive because you see a lot of rock sliders
that end right at about the rear door.
The problem with that is if you're actually
using the rock sliders and relying on them because you're
sliding down rocks, as soon as the rock slider ends,
that rock is going to give your bed a kiss.
And your bed doesn't want to get kissed by rocks.
Scooting back a little bit, you can
see that we have picked up a tire off the ground.
And using our super scientific method
of measuring articulation, that's about maybe 2 and 1/3
Arnies underneath that rear tire.
We have nothing to compare that against right
now because there isn't another truck here.
But what we can see them, take a look at these shocks.
Those look impressive, yeah?
I was so busy talking about Bison stuff
that I forgot to mention these spool valve mutlimatic shocks
that come on all the ZR2s.
I lack the ability to explain how they work succinctly
on camera right now.
But we'll talk about them more while we're driving.
Hey, there's steel more to come.
So rear bumper.
All steel.
This part as well as this protection bar.
There's also the trailer hitch as well.
That's all really cool in terms of protection.
Underneath this, you also have a full sized spare wheel
and tire.
That's really cool.
You've got these attachment points
for your D-Ring or your shackle, whichever you want to call it.
Now AEV also has additional upgrades
you can put on this truck after you buy it.
These little plates, or these little pods here,
are for backup lights if you want to get them.
There's additional underbody protection specifically
for the transmission.
You can get a snorkel, you can get 35 inch tires.
However far down this path you want
to go they'll help you get there.
Not actually sure how I'm going to do this.
Is that going to support my weight?
It is.
Remember when I said we didn't have a vehicle here we
could compare the Colorado to?
Well I lied.
This is a Jeep Wrangler Rubicon long term test car.
We use it as a support vehicle during off road shoots.
Now we all thought that Colorado was really impressive when
it climbed these steps and it got its rear tire
off the ground by about two and 1/3 Arnies.
Well, here's what a Wrangler Rubicon
does on the same steps in the same position approximately
with the front sway bar disconnected,
a feature that you only get on the Wrangler and the Gladiator.
The Colorado put its rear tire about 2 and 1/3 Arnies
off the ground.
This is about a third of an Arnie off the ground.
It's not a exact comparison.
But hey, we're not in the lab.
The Colorado ZR2 comes with a locking front differential.
It and the Jeep Gladiator are the the only trucks
in the segment to do so.
Why would you want that?
Well, when you lock the front diff and the rear diff,
it ensures equal power distribution
to all four tires improving traction.
Why would you want that?
Well, we saw an example of that on the ziggurat of integrity.
It helps crawl up those uneven surfaces more evenly.
But it also helps in extreme low traction surfaces
like mud, which we happen to have in front of us right now.
The park rangers actually advise that we
don't drive through this mud puddle pool
because they said it's deeper than it looks.
But I have problems with authority.
And I've also got a locking front differential.
So we're going to give it a try.
The trick is to try to get some speed, even in low range.
Speed is your friend in this situation.
That's why you get a snorkel I guess maybe.
So that puddle probably didn't need a front locking diff,
but hey, it was still fun.
And that's why you do this kind of thing, right?
Two wheel drive mode with a lock diff is also fun.
So now that we've got this Colorado nice and muddy,
let's do a little hill climb.
Now this hill isn't steep.
It shouldn't be too challenging at all.
And I'm going to try to make it more
challenging than it should be.
We have all these tools at our disposal with regard
to traction.
But I'm actually going to use the auto four wheel drive
mode, which is kind of like an all wheel drive mode
to climb this hill.
And I'm going to engage the off road
mode by hitting the button.
And that's the only drive mode this Colorado has,
which is actually kind of refreshing.
So put it in drive and I'm going to start climbing the hill.
I'm intentionally going to do it at a low speed.
Speed can be your friend when climbing this stuff
but I'm again trying to make this more challenging to see
what this truck can do when you do it badly,
how much control it has.
There's some pretty good sized ruts here.
But that's where we got all that protection underneath.
Let's see if I can just take a worse line.
OK, traction's on.
And we are stuck.
OK.
First rut.
So let's try four wheel drive.
And then I'll lock the rear diff.
And see if that's it.
There we go.
Traction control is actually helping
me climb which is pretty cool.
And I've picked up a tire.
I might need to engage low.
Nope, nope.
Traction control did it.
Traction control got me through.
That's really cool.
The traction control I could feel it selectively
applying brakes and traction to get traction
to different tires.
And nope.
OK, that's not going to work.
Let's put it in low range.
Rear diff is still locked.
And low range did it no problem.
And when I get to the top of the hill, I will call out
there's no forward facing camera on this truck.
There's a rear facing camera, not on a forward facing camera.
And the hood has a bit of a bulge in it.
So I would appreciate being able to see over
the crest of the hill like a can with some other trucks
in this segment.
But overall, pretty competent up that hill.
So the Colorado whether it's a ZR2 or the ZR2 Bison
has a choice of two different engines,
turbo diesel 2.8 liter four cylinder, or a 3.6 liter V6.
We had the turbo diesel in our long term Colorado ZR2 test car
and like that engine quite a bit.
This one of course has the V6.
In terms of response, the engine feels and sounds
kind of diesely if I'm honest.
Both in the way it responds when you hit the gas pedal
and also with the sound it makes.
But overall it's a solid engine.
Colorado ZR2 Bison has 5,000 pounds
of max towing capability and about 1,100 pounds
off the top my head of payload, which
are pretty strong figures.
I like the fact, too, that the Colorado comes
with a trailer brake control.
So if you need to haul a trailer that has brakes on it,
you have a means to control that.
That's a nice addition.
As regarding to the rest of the truck,
well, this is a pretty solid rig otherwise.
You can easily daily drive this car
without a lot of complaints.
Credit that to the suspension control
that you get from those spool valve dampers, which
do an admirable job of delivering both ride
quality on the street and control off road.
The impacts are far, far from abusive in this truck.
The only real complaint I have with this Colorado with driving
it is the interior just kind of looks drab
and you don't have a push button start.
So you get to hear your keys jangle as you drive over bumps.
But otherwise, this is a pretty compelling truck
for what it gives you and what you want out of it.
The Colorado ZR2 Bison delivers a lot of off-road features,
specifically protection and a front locking differential.
And those are things you can't get on a Toyota Tacoma TRD Pro.
And you can get this truck for less money
than it kitted out Jeep Gladiator Rubicon there
are some downsides.
The clearances certainly aren't best in segment.
And the interior is just kind of OK.
But if you care about what the Bison delivers,
you probably don't care about the interior.
Now the Bison package is certainly overkill for light
off road.
And if you're the kind of shopper
who wants the kind of protection that this package offers
and also a path to continue down should
you want to go more aggressive in your overlanding adventures,
this Bison package is a really compelling truck.
Thanks for watching.
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And also, check out some of the links
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and others like it.
Now that we're done filming this video,
I'm going to do some more donuts.