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A few years ago, when I worked at GM-Trucks.com, Chevrolet introduced an advanced off-road version of the Colorado. I was convinced it would be a low-profile, low-volume production version, but I was only half right. This truck is the real deal, and it's every bit as good as Chevrolet promised, and it far exceeded expectations in several key ways. Here are my thoughts after a week of testing it on paved and unpaved roads:
2024 Chevrolet Colorado ZR2 Bison – Best Powertrain
I've become a big fan of the 2.7-liter TurboMax engine. It gives you a diesel-like experience. There's loads of torque, even very low in the rev band. And it feels like it can tackle anything you want to tackle off-road. During testing on normal roads and while driving like an adult, the engine rarely got above 1,500 RPM. The engine runs quietly, and the eight-speed automatic with paddles keeps you in the most reasonable gears.
2024 Chevrolet Colorado ZR2 Bison – EPA and Real-World Fuel Economy
After driving about 250 miles in suburban, urban and rural conditions, plus about 50 miles on the highway, this particular Colorado achieved about 25 percent better fuel economy than the EPA-estimated 16 MPG. Our average fuel economy over the week was just over 20 MPG, which is pretty impressive considering the shape of this truck and the style of tires. This truck uses regular unleaded gasoline and has an EPA range of 342 miles, but with our driving, we'll be going well over 400 miles between fill-ups.
2024 Chevrolet Colorado ZR2 Bison – Perfect Infotainment
Our tester came with GM's older system, which combines Google's built-in with Android Auto. You can use it either way. We used wireless Android Auto, which loaded quickly, had no issues navigating, and was perfect in every way with our Samsung Galaxy S24. The screen is big and crystal clear, and the folks at GM took many of the HVAC controls out of the screen and put them where you actually touch them. There's also a large and very handy volume knob that complements the volume control at 3 o'clock on the steering wheel. The perfectly shaped wireless charger held my phone while I drove. Perfect is available at your local Chevy dealer.
2024 Chevrolet Colorado ZR2 Bison – The lack of digital mirrors is funny.
Our test truck had a fifth full-size matching wheel behind the cab for quicker direction changes on the trail. This almost completely blocked rear visibility, and the truck didn't have digital mirrors. We think that's interesting.
2024 Chevrolet Colorado ZR2 Bison – Tires work amazingly well
The huge Goodyear Wrangler Territory MT off-road tires look great, but they're also very practical: The truck handles extremely well on twisty mountain roads, tracks straight on the highway, and you can clearly hear the tires above 65 mph (though they're not too loud).
2024 Chevrolet Colorado ZR2 Bison – Prices
The truck we tested was priced at $65,175 including delivery, which is about $2,300 less than the similar GMC Canyon we were lucky enough to test drive last month.
2024 Chevrolet Colorado ZR2 Bison – Final Verdict
The 2024 Chevrolet Colorado ZR2 Bison is real. This truck is like Batman or Bruce Wayne. It has superpowers and can be a sophisticated gentleman if you want to. If you've read about the Bison and wondered if it's as good as it looks, trust us when we say it is, it's even better.
All images by John Goreham Notice the bison behind the bison in the image at the top of the page?
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John Goreham is a seasoned member of the New England Motor Press Association and expert automotive tester. John graduated from an engineering program focused on electric vehicles and then worked in high tech, biopharmaceutical and automotive supply chain for 20 years before becoming a news contributor. In addition to his 11 years with Torque News, John has written thousands of articles and reviews for American news outlets. He is known for his outspoken opinions on automotive topics. You can connect with John and follow his work on Linkedin. X-ChannelPlease note that articles with John's byline are not AI-generated, but we do use the grammar and punctuation software Grammarly when proofreading.
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