Bison vs Raptor vs TRD vs Mojave

[Lunentucker]

There are some things that can be argued and picked here, especially in the scoring criteria, but it's interesting to see them go head to head on the same courses.

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[Wheelin98TJ]

Cliff notes:

 

[DanW]

We're going to see how the Bison does in Moab in 3 weeks, stacked up against my JL Rubicon and Gladiator Rubicon. All 3 vehicles are on 35's. Should be fun. My brother loves his Bison, but also owned a Gladiator Rubi with 2" lift and 35's. First thing he said was that the visibility is far superior in the Gladiator. But he has some great cameras in the Bison to compensate for it.

We're going to run them side by side on every trail for 6 days. Can't wait.

The main thing we can compare right now is fuel economy. With no load and not towing, the Gladiator has him beat by over 3mpg in similar driving. Point to the JT.

On paper, the Bison has more power. But we've run them side by side and it's very close, with the Bison barely inching ahead. I'm sure at altitude the advantage will increase, but we were both shocked that the Bison didn't blow the Gladiator's doors off. I think the gearing on the Bison is a handicap. But if it had the right gearing, the gas mileage difference would be even greater.

Lots of folks dog on the ol 3.6. But in the real world, it is competitive.

Having owned both, he did say that with his 5k lb. Boat on the back, his Bison has achieved about 1 mpg better than his Gladiator did and the power of that big turbo 4 gets it moving more briskly.

I'll report back as we go. I think that Bison will do very well off-road. Can't wait to see it and drive it off road! It certainly is beautiful and has an amazing sound system! Great seats, too!

 

[OCJosh]

Interesting video for sure. I do feel like if they wanted to truly compare "vehicle" capabilities, they should have put them all on the same tires just to keep that out as a potential factor in different performance metrics but really enjoyed the video overall

 

[Zachanadandy]

The scorecard is the dumbest thing I've ever seen and clearly designed to handicap the Jeep. Off road tech doesn't include the cameras but the visibility does? Because the Jeep destroys them all in actual visibility and relies on offroad capabilities and the driver instead of knobs and drive modes. The fact that the Jeep doesn't easily win the rock crawling portion proves both rigged scoring and a course that is too easy. Nobody in the real world would rank any ifs above the solid axle Jeep rock crawling. And yet the Colorado wins and the ranger ties? Bring all 4 to the rubicon and tell me your scorecard represents reality.

 

[Deleted member 57233]

The scorecard is the dumbest thing I've ever seen and clearly designed to handicap the Jeep. Off road tech doesn't include the cameras but the visibility does? Because the Jeep destroys them all in actual visibility and relies on offroad capabilities and the driver instead of knobs and drive modes. The fact that the Jeep doesn't easily win the rock crawling portion proves both rigged scoring and a course that is too easy. Nobody in the real world would rank any ifs above the solid axle Jeep rock crawling. And yet the Colorado winds and the ranger ties? Bring all 4 to the rubicon and tell me your scorecard represents reality.

The trucks are compared stock. A stock solid axle Jeep doesn't rock crawl any better than a stock IFS truck, it probably does worse due to less clearance.

Take all 4 of these to the Rubicon in stock trim and the scores will be the same, and they will all be damaged.

 

[Zachanadandy]

The trucks are compared stock. A stock solid axle Jeep doesn't rock crawl any better than a stock IFS truck, it probably does worse due to less clearance.

Take all 4 of these to the Rubicon in stock trim and the scores will be the same, and they will all be damaged.

I've run the Rubicon in a stock JLUR on 33s, no damage. We've run it in a wj with a budget lift and 31s. I guarantee you that the solid axle in the JT will out so the stock IFS rigs and the even if you pick bad lines it will be mechanically sound after the rubicon. Body damage is definitely a risk especially in a Mojave with no bed corner protection. The IFS rigs I wouldn't count on driving them home from Tahoe after and it's only 3 hours for me.

 

[Jefe1018]

A stock solid axle Jeep doesn't rock crawl any better than a stock IFS truck, it probably does worse due to less clearance.

 

[Lunentucker]

The Rubicon would have likely been the better choice for these courses, except maybe the Baja styled higher speed run.
Weighted against the Jeep's traditional strengths, the scorecards are a bit silly, but they may also accentuate how Jeep is losing market share to first time and less hardcore off-roaders.
Traditionalists and more seasoned drivers will likely always choose Jeeps, but it's a generation on the way out.

 

[legacy_etu]

Um, they give the Jeep low scores for “tech” and complain it doesn’t have any off road modes………without realizing it DOES have an “off road” mode. They need to learn the products better before they try to judge vehicles.

The guy doing the “high speed” test needs to turn in his training wheels. Jeesh, could he go any slower.

 

[Deleted member 57233]

The Rubicon would have likely been the better choice for these courses, except maybe the Baja styled higher speed run.
Weighted against the Jeep's traditional strengths, the scorecards are a bit silly, but they may also accentuate how Jeep is losing market share to first time and less hardcore off-roaders.
Traditionalists and more seasoned drivers will likely always choose Jeeps, but it's a generation on the way out.

The Bison is setup like a Rubicon with Mojave suspension. The point of this comparison seems to show how the well they "do it all" for the average consumer that doesn't mod or care about the Rubicon.

 

[DanW]

The trucks are compared stock. A stock solid axle Jeep doesn't rock crawl any better than a stock IFS truck, it probably does worse due to less clearance.

Take all 4 of these to the Rubicon in stock trim and the scores will be the same, and they will all be damaged.

Not true, and not even close by my experience with both friends and my own Jeeps and 2 4 Runners. IFS doesn't hold a candle to solid axles in any situation where traction and stability is at a premium.

I've done Moab 5 times and would take a stock Mojave over a stock ZR2 every time. The Bison closes the gap with some lift and tires. But It'd probably still go with the Mojave in anything but high speed whoops, where I think the IFS and high tech shocks take the win.

But if you include visibility, all the cameras in the world won't make up for the superior visibility of the Jeep. The Colorado, Tacoma, and any other conventional truck lose big time in that department. In the rocks, that's a massive advantage.

I do love all these machines though. I just would not be able to do a Toyota. I can't stand sitting on the floor.

Stick a front sway bar disconnect on the Mojave for a paltry few bucks and you dramatically increase its capability. You'd spend a ton of money for that kind of gain on any IFS.

The most fun video, though, was a stock older Jeep Liberty. It was a big wreck at the end of the run, but it made it. It lost all kinds of plastic and sheet metal. LOL.

But it is all talk until you get on the trail. I'm excited to see what my brother's Bison can do. And he's nuts enough and has a fat wallet enough to give it a serious thrashing. The fun happens soon!

 

[Stormtroopin]

Just going off the cliff notes looks like the Chevy takes it, but from personal experience that thing is lackluster on road.

We're going to see how the Bison does in Moab in 3 weeks, stacked up against my JL Rubicon and Gladiator Rubicon. All 3 vehicles are on 35's. Should be fun. My brother loves his Bison, but also owned a Gladiator Rubi with 2" lift and 35's. First thing he said was that the visibility is far superior in the Gladiator. But he has some great cameras in the Bison to compensate for it.

We're going to run them side by side on every trail for 6 days. Can't wait.

The main thing we can compare right now is fuel economy. With no load and not towing, the Gladiator has him beat by over 3mpg in similar driving. Point to the JT.

On paper, the Bison has more power. But we've run them side by side and it's very close, with the Bison barely inching ahead. I'm sure at altitude the advantage will increase, but we were both shocked that the Bison didn't blow the Gladiator's doors off. I think the gearing on the Bison is a handicap. But if it had the right gearing, the gas mileage difference would be even greater.

Lots of folks dog on the ol 3.6. But in the real world, it is competitive.

Having owned both, he did say that with his 5k lb. Boat on the back, his Bison has achieved about 1 mpg better than his Gladiator did and the power of that big turbo 4 gets it moving more briskly.

I'll report back as we go. I think that Bison will do very well off-road. Can't wait to see it and drive it off road! It certainly is beautiful and has an amazing sound system! Great seats, too!

Totally agree, a buddy I hit the trails with often he has a bison on 35s, I’m on 37 ko2s so small 37s. I was not impressed at all with it on the road/highway. Off-road was neat but honestly I don’t need/want all the cameras and tech it offers.

If I was in the market for a midsize I’d get the raptor ranger, it’s small inside but it’s a super fun drive on and off-road.

 

[Deleted member 57233]

IFS doesn't hold a candle to solid axles in any situation where traction and stability is at a premium.

IFS was literally invented to improve traction and stability over solid axles .

 

[Badunit]

All those "drive modes" are stupidness. Gimicks. Same with those idiotic Tacoma seats. The more drive modes there are, the lower I rate them in that category. Put the danged thing in 4wd and start driving.

That one driver really needs to lose some weight. His stomach nearly touches the steering wheel.

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