Bonanza
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- Sport S Max Tow Punk'n
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Master Edit-- I have been talked out of it. 
https://www.roadandtrack.com/reviews/a45434346/2024-chevy-colorado-zr2-test-drive/
What I like:
I can get this straight from the factory with rock rails, nice suspension, driving a vehicle it feels like I haven't been driving since 2013 (I've had 2 JKs and this gladiator); the engine is more powerful, looks cool, tows enough, IFS for daily driver and everything but rock crawling; not worrying about death wobble;
What I don't like:
2024 interest rates, making payments again, losing SAS for the rocks, less tow capacity; MPG isn't great; reliability of engine is unknown at this point; spending 3 years to fix death wobble only to trade for IFS; not a big Chevy fan; losing all the money I've spent in mods.
I like the reliability of my gladiator, but I don't like how it drives. I'm tired of it (sometimes). It tows well. It crawls well. It's done every single thing I've ever asked it to do. It is truly a jack of all trades. But 99% of the time, it's my daily driver, and it's a punishing one at that. I wouldn't call it fun to daily, at all. I'm on 37s, I'm regeared to 4.88s, and it's modded as far as it'll go. But I'm losing the spark.
Let's discuss.
Area of use: socal
Rockcrawling: yes, extreme trails
Towing: yes, 4k lb camper
Kids: yes x2
1/17/24 Edit--
So I was curious, and couldn't help myself. My local dealer is less than a mile so I went in for a few laps around the block. Overall, once again in life I'm reminded that the grass is never greener, and I'm grateful for what I have. Here are the key takeaways:
-The interior didn't feel "cheap" to me; It felt fine. The seats felt... fine. Material quality was fine. I wasn't wowed nor was I disappointed. It was simply different.
-The drive is what I was curious in, and once again-- it felt fine. Not amazingly compliant, not harsh. It wasn't fast/quick, and it wasn't slow. Off the line it didn't feel fast at all; it felt like a 4cyl truck. Once the turbo got there, it was faster than my gladiator for sure, but it wasn't the "upgrade" I was expecting to feel. The most important sensation for me is off the line torque and effortlessness of the acceleration, and it wasn't there for me.
-The suspension was nice, but also not the upgrade I was looking for. There were times when it was an upgrade to the gladiator, but then at other times it felt rougher than my gladiator. The weight balance was a bit off, and the rear end had a lot of chatter and skittering to it that is not present in the gladiator, but is present in other trucks I've owned. To be sure I naturally have more weight in the back of my gladiator (Bed cover, hard/thick rubber bedliner, 35" spare, metal bumper) so I'm not sure this is the fault of the ZR2.
-The rear seats' buttpad was a lot longer than the Jeeps'. My kids' legs would come off their booster seats and be at around a 45 degree perpendicular angle to the seat cushions, rather than hanging straight down. The rear seats felt cramped for this reason. I'm sure its comparable to the Gladiator's, but it felt cramped. The inability of the seats to fold down, nor easily up was a strange (read- not good) choice. Otherwise it was fine.
-The rear window seal was not glued on the bottom edges. I'm not sure if this makes a difference in the ability to keep water out, but dust will certainly get in there, and that "not finished right" defect made me wonder what else had their corners cut. The seal was noticeably raised off of the metal of the cab.
-Underneath, a ZR2 has NO proper skidplates. Bare gas tank, exposed plastic buttressing right at the break over, a thin aluminum "skid" in the front, and Russian-steel thin plate over the Xfer case. Woefully unprepared for any amount of time offroad. I know the AEV version fixes this, but for an extra 12k.
-My driving experience felt like I was in the cabin of a car, inside a truck-- if that makes sense. The shifter and middle tunnel rise up quite a bit. This isn't a "con", but the Jeep feels more trucklike inside, which I prefer.
-Manual T-case inspires a lot more confidence than the electric switches. This may be purely mental, but I just am not comfortable with the computer controlling the T-case so much.
-I liked the Chevy steering wheel, if just to be able to rest my entire 4 fingers on the bottom of the wheel and grip it lazily.
-The bedsides of the Chevy are very tall, as is the load floor. I believe it was actually higher up than my gladiator on 37s.
In sum, I'm glad I went for the test drive. The ZR2 is a perfectly fine truck for the price, but apparently I didn't give my Jeep enough credit. My gladiator, having driving them back to back, has a perfectly fine suspension. There is no chance I'm trading it in.
https://www.roadandtrack.com/reviews/a45434346/2024-chevy-colorado-zr2-test-drive/
What I like:
I can get this straight from the factory with rock rails, nice suspension, driving a vehicle it feels like I haven't been driving since 2013 (I've had 2 JKs and this gladiator); the engine is more powerful, looks cool, tows enough, IFS for daily driver and everything but rock crawling; not worrying about death wobble;
What I don't like:
2024 interest rates, making payments again, losing SAS for the rocks, less tow capacity; MPG isn't great; reliability of engine is unknown at this point; spending 3 years to fix death wobble only to trade for IFS; not a big Chevy fan; losing all the money I've spent in mods.
I like the reliability of my gladiator, but I don't like how it drives. I'm tired of it (sometimes). It tows well. It crawls well. It's done every single thing I've ever asked it to do. It is truly a jack of all trades. But 99% of the time, it's my daily driver, and it's a punishing one at that. I wouldn't call it fun to daily, at all. I'm on 37s, I'm regeared to 4.88s, and it's modded as far as it'll go. But I'm losing the spark.
Let's discuss.
Area of use: socal
Rockcrawling: yes, extreme trails
Towing: yes, 4k lb camper
Kids: yes x2
1/17/24 Edit--
So I was curious, and couldn't help myself. My local dealer is less than a mile so I went in for a few laps around the block. Overall, once again in life I'm reminded that the grass is never greener, and I'm grateful for what I have. Here are the key takeaways:
-The interior didn't feel "cheap" to me; It felt fine. The seats felt... fine. Material quality was fine. I wasn't wowed nor was I disappointed. It was simply different.
-The drive is what I was curious in, and once again-- it felt fine. Not amazingly compliant, not harsh. It wasn't fast/quick, and it wasn't slow. Off the line it didn't feel fast at all; it felt like a 4cyl truck. Once the turbo got there, it was faster than my gladiator for sure, but it wasn't the "upgrade" I was expecting to feel. The most important sensation for me is off the line torque and effortlessness of the acceleration, and it wasn't there for me.
-The suspension was nice, but also not the upgrade I was looking for. There were times when it was an upgrade to the gladiator, but then at other times it felt rougher than my gladiator. The weight balance was a bit off, and the rear end had a lot of chatter and skittering to it that is not present in the gladiator, but is present in other trucks I've owned. To be sure I naturally have more weight in the back of my gladiator (Bed cover, hard/thick rubber bedliner, 35" spare, metal bumper) so I'm not sure this is the fault of the ZR2.
-The rear seats' buttpad was a lot longer than the Jeeps'. My kids' legs would come off their booster seats and be at around a 45 degree perpendicular angle to the seat cushions, rather than hanging straight down. The rear seats felt cramped for this reason. I'm sure its comparable to the Gladiator's, but it felt cramped. The inability of the seats to fold down, nor easily up was a strange (read- not good) choice. Otherwise it was fine.
-The rear window seal was not glued on the bottom edges. I'm not sure if this makes a difference in the ability to keep water out, but dust will certainly get in there, and that "not finished right" defect made me wonder what else had their corners cut. The seal was noticeably raised off of the metal of the cab.
-Underneath, a ZR2 has NO proper skidplates. Bare gas tank, exposed plastic buttressing right at the break over, a thin aluminum "skid" in the front, and Russian-steel thin plate over the Xfer case. Woefully unprepared for any amount of time offroad. I know the AEV version fixes this, but for an extra 12k.
-My driving experience felt like I was in the cabin of a car, inside a truck-- if that makes sense. The shifter and middle tunnel rise up quite a bit. This isn't a "con", but the Jeep feels more trucklike inside, which I prefer.
-Manual T-case inspires a lot more confidence than the electric switches. This may be purely mental, but I just am not comfortable with the computer controlling the T-case so much.
-I liked the Chevy steering wheel, if just to be able to rest my entire 4 fingers on the bottom of the wheel and grip it lazily.
-The bedsides of the Chevy are very tall, as is the load floor. I believe it was actually higher up than my gladiator on 37s.
In sum, I'm glad I went for the test drive. The ZR2 is a perfectly fine truck for the price, but apparently I didn't give my Jeep enough credit. My gladiator, having driving them back to back, has a perfectly fine suspension. There is no chance I'm trading it in.
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Last edited:
Built in a way that prioritizes on road manners as much as off, these can be amazing. Mine is. 37’s, 3.5” lift front, 5” lift rear, replacement driveshafts, 5.13’s, rock slide steps, 8 teraflex adjustable control arms, and a hundred more things. It’s the most fun thing I’ve ever driven. And I drive it every day. And my kids are 7 and 8.
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