2024 Chevrolet Colorado ZR2 Bison & Silverado 1500 ZR2 Review: Tackling the ZR2 Off-Road Academy
Oliver, BC – This fall, we were given the opportunity to test Chevrolet’s toughest ZR2 off-road trucks - the Colorado ZR2 Bison and the Silverado 1500 ZR2 - at the new ZR2 Off-Road Academy at the Area 27 Motorsports Park, on an off-road track developed in partnership with General Motors itself. Many of the tests we would be carrying out reflect what GM itself puts these trucks through during their development.
2024 Chevrolet Silverado ZR2 test drive
Don’t think that just because these two trucks are rooted in mass-market popularity and appeal that their transitions to off-road spec are all show and no go. There’s a lot to them that makes them properly suited for this kind of work.
Of the two trucks we tested, the larger Silverado ZR2 actually undergoes a somewhat less intense transition, though the functional adds are present. It gets 33-inch off-road tires, Multimatic spool-valve dampers that offer a wider range of motion and response to deliver better performance over a multitude of surfaces and environments, two-speed transfer case and electronic-locking front and rear differentials.
The Silverado ZR2 also gets redesigned bumpers for better approach and departure angles as well as underbody skidplates for better protection.
The Silverado ZR2 is hardcore, surpassed only a Bison version that adds even more off-road tech, courtesy of American Expedition Vehicles, or “AEV”). But it doesn’t look as different from the standard Silverado as the Ford F-150 Raptor and Ram TRX do from their more pedestrian counterparts.
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