Gladiator vs. Colorado ZR2 Bison

[MoparToYou]

This is not accurate. The suspension between the two was Identical. The power was identical, tire size was identical The negative was the AEV bumper reduced approach angle and reviewers claimed to feel the weight of the skids. No different than putting a fat friend in the front seat and camping gear in the bed. In fact the TFL video stated they liked the extra protection from the skids.

I don't think we saw the same video then. What I said was accurate for the video I saw. I'm not going to bother trying to find it.

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[DanW]

To bad KO2 37s are really 35s lol; I know, I have a set on my JLUR

What is the actual outside diameter?

 

[DanW]

More Bison data....

3.42 axle ratio. Wow, I am surprised it isn´t at least a 3.73. It doesn´t look like it will have anything on the JT Rubi when crawling on very technical trails. 42:1 crawl ratio is almost half a stock Rubi and still nearly half a Rubi with 35´s. (Rubi with 33´s and auto is 77:1. Manual is 84:1).

There is no published data on the Tranfer case, but with those numbers it would have to be 2.72:1. They´d be advertising it if was any higher.

I still don´t think it will have any trouble, though. It makes up for much of that with the 400+ ft. lbs of torque.

 

[Solar Sparky]

I used to drive a Colorado truck as my work truck. I drove it from Denver to SoCal monthly, so that put me driving across Utah and other awesome places to wheel. I can say that the Colorado can wheel with the best of them. Mine didn’t have all the extra features of the zr2 or Bison package, but with some good rubber, it was very capable.

That said, the Mojave package seems like the best factory offering from any manufacturer, and it has definitely stood up to whatever I put it through. It also beats the price of the Colorado by many thousands. I really hope to get back out west and wheel in my Jeep, some of the places I only took the Colorado. My colleague is out on the San Rafael Swell this weekend, and while I’m a little jealous, the Gulf of America is a great place to relax and enjoy the Florida weather.

Taking the top and doors off the Bison is going to be a no go……just sayin

 

[GI Grandpa]

My brother just ordered a ZR2 Bison and it enters production this week. It sounds like a badass truck right out of the box, with nothing needed to hit the trail. I had to put tons of elbow grease and thought into my JT to get it to similar stats, meaning adding an AEV 2.5 lift and 35¨ tires.

He ordered it in blue, which looks very similar to my Hydro Blue JT. I can´t wait to hit some trails with him and see how it does compared to the Gladiator. I think it will be a great truck. Can´t wait to drive it!

Some observations and thoughts about the ZR2 Bison vs the Gladiator.

• Love that the Bison comes with the lift and 35´s straight from the factory. The factory manumatic shocks on it are supposed to be just incredible in all kinds of driving, on and off road.
• Love the instrument displays. Very versatile and HUGE.
• Something like 10 cameras, including two underneath that wash themselves! I tried a Garmin Overlander camera setup under my JLUR and it was amazing. I thought it was well tucked and protected until just the right rock crushed the shit out of it. Experiment over.
• The spare tire mount is a complete joke on the Bison. No tonneau, takes up cargo room, and ruin s rear visibility. Love that the JT can hold up to a 37 in the spare slot underneath.
• Gas mileage is horrible. I can easily get 21mpg on the highway. The Bison is rated at 16. It has more power, sure, but I have no complaints about the power in my 3.6. I will take the gas mileage and track record of the 3.6 any day.
• Bison comes with a rear diff skid (AEV). NICE.
• I would never trade the solid front axle with sway bar disco for the IFS of the Bison, nice as it is on-road.
• Rear lower shock mounts have been re-designed. The previous gen ZR2 had those things hanging down and waiting to hook every obstacle. These are tucked up nicely and fix a major issue, in my opinion.

We will probably hit Turkey Bay in Western KY or the Daniel Boone National Forest pretty quickly after he gets it to break it in.

Overall, from what I read and have seen on Youtube, Chevy did a helluva job on this truck, with AEV´s help, of course, to take it to a new level.

I will post some pics and hopefully video, eventually, when he gets it and when we get it on a trail. My brother´s analysis will be interesting. He had a 2020 JT Rubi with a Mopar lift and 35´s and ran it to Moab and all over the place, off-road. He adored that truck and kicked himself ever since for selling it. It never gave him a lick of trouble, and he ran it HARD.

You do realize that a Bison is built by AEV and sold through Chevy and GMC dealerships right? I have an AEV spacer lift on my 21 Mojave and 35" tires which cost me a lot less than $63K. It would be nice of Jeep sold an AEV built Gladiator and Wrangler as factory built but they don't. Some dealers do sell AEV products through their parts department but that is not the same thing.

 

[Zachanadandy]

You do realize that a Bison is built by AEV and sold through Chevy and GMC dealerships right? I have an AEV spacer lift on my 21 Mojave and 35" tires which cost me a lot less than $63K. It would be nice of Jeep sold an AEV built Gladiator and Wrangler as factory built but they don't. Some dealers do sell AEV products through their parts department but that is not the same thing.

It is the same thing, you can order through Jeep/AEV fully built. Sure you won't see many/any sitting on lots, but that's more because they sell nearly instantly.

 

[Zachanadandy]

HEY! They are 35.75!!

And you'll never find a 37 that's actually 37". BFGs run a little smaller than some other manufacturers but you'd be hard pressed to find a 37 that is larger than 36.25" in my experience. You won't find a 35 that's 35" either which is why I think it's silly when people make the comment that they are 35s, then 35s are 33.5-34.25s, my 39s are 38s and so on.

 

[MudderNuker]

It's a cool truck with a mighty engine but at the price range you could get a badass Ram RHO for just a little more.

 

[AmosMoses]

If I wanted to buy an ifs 4x4 it would have to be a Grenadier. Way more unique, better powerplant, etc.

 

[SaiintNick]

And you'll never find a 37 that's actually 37". BFGs run a little smaller than some other manufacturers but you'd be hard pressed to find a 37 that is larger than 36.25" in my experience. You won't find a 35 that's 35" either which is why I think it's silly when people make the comment that they are 35s, then 35s are 33.5-34.25s, my 39s are 38s and so on.

I chose the KO2's because they were almost the identical weight as my 285 Falken AT3's.

 

[Boogerman]

My brother just ordered a ZR2 Bison and it enters production this week. It sounds like a badass truck right out of the box, with nothing needed to hit the trail. I had to put tons of elbow grease and thought into my JT to get it to similar stats, meaning adding an AEV 2.5 lift and 35¨ tires.

He ordered it in blue, which looks very similar to my Hydro Blue JT. I can´t wait to hit some trails with him and see how it does compared to the Gladiator. I think it will be a great truck. Can´t wait to drive it!

Some observations and thoughts about the ZR2 Bison vs the Gladiator.

• Love that the Bison comes with the lift and 35´s straight from the factory. The factory manumatic shocks on it are supposed to be just incredible in all kinds of driving, on and off road.
• Love the instrument displays. Very versatile and HUGE.
• Something like 10 cameras, including two underneath that wash themselves! I tried a Garmin Overlander camera setup under my JLUR and it was amazing. I thought it was well tucked and protected until just the right rock crushed the shit out of it. Experiment over.
• The spare tire mount is a complete joke on the Bison. No tonneau, takes up cargo room, and ruin s rear visibility. Love that the JT can hold up to a 37 in the spare slot underneath.
• Gas mileage is horrible. I can easily get 21mpg on the highway. The Bison is rated at 16. It has more power, sure, but I have no complaints about the power in my 3.6. I will take the gas mileage and track record of the 3.6 any day.
• Bison comes with a rear diff skid (AEV). NICE.
• I would never trade the solid front axle with sway bar disco for the IFS of the Bison, nice as it is on-road.
• Rear lower shock mounts have been re-designed. The previous gen ZR2 had those things hanging down and waiting to hook every obstacle. These are tucked up nicely and fix a major issue, in my opinion.

We will probably hit Turkey Bay in Western KY or the Daniel Boone National Forest pretty quickly after he gets it to break it in.

Overall, from what I read and have seen on Youtube, Chevy did a helluva job on this truck, with AEV´s help, of course, to take it to a new level.

I will post some pics and hopefully video, eventually, when he gets it and when we get it on a trail. My brother´s analysis will be interesting. He had a 2020 JT Rubi with a Mopar lift and 35´s and ran it to Moab and all over the place, off-road. He adored that truck and kicked himself ever since for selling it. It never gave him a lick of trouble, and he ran it HARD.

This post completely ignores pricing. What are you getting a bison for? 65? I’m in a new rubicon over 20k less than that.

20k of upgrades on the Rubi and you wouldn’t touch it with a zr2 from a performance standpoint.

 

['51WillysCJ3a]

I'm a GM retiree and I get an employee discount, if they added that 3L Duramax Diesel to the ZR2/AT4X I would get it, in the 1500 it gets 30mpg

 

[Zachanadandy]

If I wanted to buy an ifs 4x4 it would have to be a Grenadier. Way more unique, better powerplant, etc.

The grenadier has solid axles...

 

[Stormtroopin]

I feel like people are looking at the power plant numbers and assuming it’s a beast….go drive one I did and I was not impressed. For what it claims to produce torque/HP wise it felt gutless. I would go for the ranger raptor over all the current 2025 midsize IFS trucks available.

 

[AmosMoses]

The grenadier has solid axles...

Wow, even better.

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