CHEVROLET MIGHT INCREASE COLORADO ZR2 BISON PRODUCTION NEXT YEAR

Output Dependent On Demand

by Zac Quinn October 5, 2023, 11:30 am

2024 Chevrolet Colorado ZR2 Bison First Drive Review

When people decide to purchase a heavy-duty truck, more often than not, their goal is to tow some hefty items. Generally, we don't see heavy-duty vehicles making their way up an off-road trail or down one, but instead bringing one or even two UTVs (Utility Side by Sides) to the trail to spend the day racing up rugged terrain. However, instead of investing in a trailer, then the UTV, and the truck, why not put it all into one beautiful vehicle that can get you where you need to go even if it isn't on the pavement and can pull up to 18,500 pounds (with the 6.6L Duramax L5P diesel) when needed. Enter the 2024 Chevrolet Silverado HD ZR2 Bison, a heavy-duty truck that is purpose-built to perform wild things whenever and wherever the pavement ends. To prove that, Chevrolet invited us to Johnson Valley, California, to see just what the Silverado's answer to the Ram Power Wagon can do. Image copyright Steven Pham, Muscle Cars and Trucks. Par for course these days (more millionaires buy large pickup trucks than anything else), the 2024 Chevrolet Silverado HD ZR2 Bison offers an assortment of comfort features, such as a massive infotainment screen with easy-to-understand icons that are big enough to press, even with bobbing fingers over bumpy terrain. There's an assortment of cameras around the truck, making spatial awareness a breeze. If you're towing, a camera faces the hitch for easier alignment, and a 360-degree view ensures that even those not used to driving wider vehicles won't scrape against anything. The front-facing camera truly makes off-roading a breeze. As far as road noise, it's almost entirely nonexistent. The truck is extremely quiet, even with the aggressive tread of its 35-inch Goodyear Wrangler tires. One might say that full-sized luxury sedans morphed into these big bodied crew cab pickups. Image copyright Steven Pham, Muscle Cars and Trucks. 2024 Chevrolet Silverado HD ZR2 Bison: Power Wagon Who? The 2024 Chevrolet Silverado HD ZR2 Bison features a suite of AEV hardware to provide a factory package for the most avid off-roaders, building on the HD ZR2's standard features and adding even more goodies to further boost confidence on the more challenging terrain. However, be prepared to climb if you aim to get into the vehicle due to its tall stature. Luckily, Chevrolet offers optional side steps for the truck, making climbing in and out significantly less of a challenge. You'll want to remember that those can be ripped off if you're going over tougher terrain, so maybe bring a step stool and remove the side steps when going off-road. Or, learn how to jump. Image copyright Steven Pham, Muscle Cars and Trucks. Perhaps the one true vulnerability of the 2024 Chevrolet Silverado HD ZR2 Bison is its lack of a locking front differential. Yes, you can have it in both gasoline and diesel, yes it has the signature Multimatics. And things will only get more interesting when American Expedition Vehicles inevitably debuts an upgrade package of its own. Maybe AEV will find a way to incorporate one. Image copyright Steven Pham, Muscle Cars and Trucks. So, you can either have a full-sized diesel off-road truck with no front locker in the Silverado HD ZR2, or you can have a front-locking truck with no diesel in the Ram HD Power Wagon. One has the delicious diesel torque and the tenacity to will itself out of predicaments, while the Hemi-powered bruiser from Auburn Hills other can do one-arm chin-ups with the front wheels. Tough call. In any case, with a price tag of around $95,000 and the wide body of the pickup, you'll probably think twice about putting the Chevrolet Silverado HD ZR2 Bison in the kind of space where you might regret it. Because, even if the truck can do something, could you? Just like the Corvette setting a lap time. It takes both the machine and one with the skill to properly operate it. Image copyright Steven Pham, Muscle Cars and Trucks. Making up for lack of ability, however, is an off-road technology suite of many things. Hill Decent control on the 2024 Chevrolet Silverado HD ZR2 Bison allows drivers to select their desired speed via the + and - buttons (the same used for for the cruise control) to set the pace, and the truck will do the rest. It'll apply brakes when needed and essentially take itself down the steep terrain while you focus on putting your tires exactly where they need to be to avoid any unwanted obstacles. In all, the Silverado HD ZR2 Bison has 12 different drive modes when accounting for low and high gears, and terrain settings. But you'll probably end up only using maybe four of them. Indeed, the 2024 Chevrolet Silverado HD ZR2 and ZR2 Bison have DNA to do proper hauling and towing work, but they can do much more. You'd be remiss if were not to experience that for yourself. Image copyright Steven Pham, Muscle Cars and Trucks.

When the Chevrolet Colorado ZR2 Bison was first introduced to the market in 2018, the off-road-ready truck sold out its 2,000 unit order book for the year in a concise amount of time. Over the years, the truck has kept its standing as the ultimate off-road truck, ready to play straight from the factory. With the introduction of the next-generation version for 2024, that status is cranked to 11, and Chevrolet is anticipating the high demand again. Still, now, it intends to double the allocated trucks. That means Chevrolet will produce around 4,000 Colorado ZR2 Bison pickup trucks for the 2024 model year, but that number could increase in 2025 if demand is high.

2024 Chevrolet Colorado ZR2 Bison Production: Details

During a conversation with Amy Masica at the Chevrolet ZR2 Performance Drive attended by MC&T, Masica revealed that since the Colorado ZR2 Bison is for a more “niche market,” but Chevrolet will gauge production output based on how high demand is. That means we can expect 4,000 Colorado Bison units for the 2024 model year, and if the demand is there, production could be increased on the legendary off-road pickups. Previously, we learned that Chevy was doubling the output of the Bison due to the demand it saw for the previous generation. However, they will continue to test the waters and see how customers respond.

2024 Chevrolet Colorado ZR2 Bison Production Price Sales Off Road Truck First Drive Review — Image copyright Steven Pham, Muscle Cars & Trucks.

Luckily, if someone isn’t able to obtain one of the 4,000 2024 Colorado ZR2 Bison that Chevrolet will produce, customers will also have the GMC Canyon AT4X AEV, The 2024 Ford Ranger Raptor, and the 2024 Toyota Tacoma TRD Pro and Trailhunter to choose from, so there are plenty of options out there. But, if you’re looking for another truck created in collaboration with a legendary aftermarket company, the Trailhunter may be your choice, as it has been built in partnership with Australian-based aftermarket company ARB.

As for the 2024 Chevrolet Colorado ZR2 Bison, the truck features Mutlimatic DSSV dampers like the standard ZR2, though, with the addition of the first-ever Mutlimatic Jounce Control Dampers, ride quality is improved for both off and on-road performance, making the truck fantastic to drive on the pavement and still comfortably on rougher terrain. As for pricing, expect to pay about $60,000 for the off-road focused truck.

Affecting Chevrolet Colorado production currently is the ongoing 2023 UAW strike, with the union picketing all Detroit 3 automakers at once in a targeted fashion. Since the beginning of the strike, the UAW has brought the GM Wentzville Assembly plant, where the Colorado and GMC Canyon are built, to a standstill. It may be weeks before the UAW strike is resolved, and customers can get their GM midsize truck orders fulfilled.

2024 Chevrolet Colorado ZR2 Bison Production First Drive — Image copyright Steven Pham, Muscle Cars & Trucks

Written by Zac Quinn

Zac's love for cars started at a young age, after seeing the popular Eleanor from Gone In 60 Seconds. From there, fascination and enthusiasm blossomed and to this day the Ford Mustang remains a favorite. His first job started out detailing cars, but also provided the opportunity to work on restoration including an 1968 Ford Mustang, Ford Firebird, and a C3 Corvette, though he left that job before further work and experience could be had. From there, he was a detailer at a car dealership before quitting that job to try and finish college.

Much of his free time while studying was spent watching YouTube videos regarding new cars, or off-roading. 4WD247 is a personal favorite channel which rekindled a dying flame in car enthusiasm, now tailored towards trucks and SUVs and the fun that can be had building up an overlanding rig, and going on adventures, though, that chapter remains unwritten for the time being.

2024 Chevrolet Colorado ZR2 Bison Production: Details

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