Yahoo Autos The 2019 Chevrolet Colorado ZR2 Bison Is GM's Most Capable 4x4 Ever
The trail doesn't have a name. It shouldn't. It isn't even really a trail. It's a climb, a two-track that mangles skid plates and tests a 4x4's traction, wheel travel, and ground clearance.
We just call it "the Hill." For most of its quarter-mile length, it holds a steady angle of 40 degrees or so, which is no big deal. But about 25 feet from the top, it gets nasty, kicking up sharply just as the surface changes from grippy hard-packed dirt to slippery rock. Deep ruts grab the left-side tires and throw a truck back and forth across the slick surface, arresting its momentum just 10 feet from a stupid-steep breakover that high-centers all but the tallest rigs. Crest the top, though, and you're treated to a panoramic view of California's Sierra Nevada mountains. It's a challenge most new trucks and SUVs can't handle. Over the last few years, we've attempted the Hill in a couple dozen factory-fresh 4x4s, but either the kickup or the ruts stop them in their tracks, forcing them to back down the incline. Until today, we've enjoyed this particular view of the Sierras in only three modern-day vehicles: the Jeep Wrangler Rubicon, the Ford F-150 Raptor, and the Ram 2500 Power Wagon.
Add Chevrolet's Colorado ZR2 Bison to the list. With its front and rear differentials locked and its armored undercarriage scraping along the jagged rock shelf, Chevy's most capable off-roader made the climb look easy.
Chevy partnered with American Expedition Vehicles (AEV) to create the ZR2 Bison. Headquartered in Missoula, Montana, AEV has been creating quality off-road accessories and cranking out custom-built Jeeps and Ram trucks for over 20 years. The aftermarket 4x4 builder is probably best known for its Wrangler-based pickup, the Brute. AEV built about 700 of them from 2002 to 2017, and some, including us, say the Brute was the inspiration for the new Jeep Gladiator. Work on the Bison began about two years ago, soon after Chevy unveiled the Colorado ZR2.
"Essentially they asked me what I would do to the truck," says Dave Harriton, the founder of AEV. "I said, 'Well, if I was an average Joe and I was going to take a ZR2 to Russia and do the Road of Bones or go to South America with it, what would I do to it before I left?' And that's essentially what we got."
What we got is basically a Colorado ZR2 in a suit of armor. AEV hasn't added traction, power, or suspension travel to the already impressive Colorado ZR2, which now makes up about 10 percent of all Colorado sales. The truck's stance is still 3.5 inches wider than a standard Colorado's, and it still stands two inches taller. Its Multimatic Dynamic Suspensions Spool Valve dampers remain untouched. Instead, AEV focused on protecting the truck's body and powertrain.
Beefy stamped-steel front and rear bumpers and five hot-stamped boron-steel skid plates are at the heart of the Bison package. Shielding the pickup's oil pan, fuel tank, transfer case, and its locking front and rear differentials, the new skid plates are stronger and more extensive than the ZR2's aluminum units. The front bumper is designed to accommodate a winch (not included), and the outer portions can be replaced if needed.
To further visually differentiate the truck from lesser ZR2s, the Bison package also includes larger wheel-well flares, AEV-badged floor mats and headrests, purposeful-looking 12-spoke aluminum wheels, and a Raptor grille—except this one reads "Chevrolet." For $5750, buyers can spec the Bison package on any ZR2 configuration with either available engine—the 3.6-liter V-6 or the turbo-diesel 2.8-liter inline-four—and they can do it right on the Chevrolet website. AEV engineered all the parts, but they're installed on the assembly line at GM's Wentzville, Missouri, plant.
The Colorado ZR2 is GM's only truck with locking front and rear differentials. They're unchanged on the Bison, which also wears the same Goodyear Wrangler DuraTracs as the ZR2, size 265/65R-17—or, as the off-road guys call them, 31s, on account of their 31-inch overall height. Harriton wanted larger, 33-inch tires to be part of the package, and a motivated owner could cram such tires under the Bison's larger flares, albeit with a little trim of the plastic. The aftermarket is not going to have a hard time fitting them.
