2019 Chevrolet Colorado Crew Cab

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Chevy Colorado ZR2 vs. Jeep Gladiator Rubicon: 2019 Off-Road Truck Comparison Test

[MUSIC PLAYING] DAN EDMUNDS: In an Edmund's exclusive test, we're pitting the new Jeep Gladiator Rubicon against the Chevrolet Colorado ZR2 on the road, on the trails, over obstacles, and in the dunes. We're here in Ocotillo Wells, California, which is a beautiful wide open desert landscape that has trails that run everywhere. I really like coming here, and I've seen a lot of it. But I've never seen this place. But what I do know about coming here is that you need a truck that can handle just about anything. CALVIN KIM: That's right. That's why we brought out the Chevrolet Colorado ZR2. It's a truck that we're intimately familiar with. We've had it on numerous comparison tests. We've driven it all over the place. We even have one in our long-term fleet. DAN EDMUNDS: Exactly. And while we know what the Colorado can and can't do, we don't know anything about the new Jeep Gladiator. I mean, they've been teasing us for years at places like Moab with concept vehicles, but now we finally got one, and we can find out once and for all if this is a Jeepy truck or a trucky Jeep. CALVIN KIM: That's right, and we can't wait to test the metal-- DAN EDMUNDS: I see we did there. CALVIN KIM: --and find out the good, bad, and the ugly of these two platforms by getting them out there. DAN EDMUNDS: Exactly. Let's hit the trail. But before we hit the trail, you hit Subscribe, and also remember to use Edmunds for all your truck shopping needs. [MUSIC PLAYING] Right now we're on one of the main thoroughfares here in Ocotillo Wells. We can get some speed up. This section is covered with whoop-de-doos which you get where there's motorcycle and side-by-side traffic. They really chop up the surface here, and the suspension on the Gladiator seems to be dealing with it really well. The FOX shocks are nicely tuned and the wheelbase seems to be helping settle out the motions. [MUSIC PLAYING] CALVIN KIM: If you don't have the right suspension, it can ruin your day. Thankfully, the Colorado ZR2 has these trick dampers from a company called Multimatic that kind of is speed sensitive, if you will, and keeps the truck pretty stable even on these wash boards. Now, an interesting fact is that sometimes going slow is bad, and for the Colorado, it really likes a little bit of speed so that it's just skimming the tops of these washboard bumps. [MUSIC PLAYING] DAN EDMUNDS: Wrangler is what this is based on. The Wrangler is known for being a vehicle that can pretty much do anything and go anywhere. And they've had a two-door version, and then they introduced the four-door version, of course. There doesn't seem to be any limit to the appetite for variants of this vehicle. So now we have a Jeep pickup, and they call it a Gladiator. The thing about a Jeep is it can go anywhere. On trails you might not even feel comfortable walking up, you can crawl up in a Jeep. The other thing is the top comes off, the doors come off, the windshield folds. I mean nothing puts you in the middle of the action like a Jeep. And now, the Jeep truck just gives the person who kind of needs a truck but wants a Jeep a way to have both at the same time. [MUSIC PLAYING] CALVIN KIM: Chevrolet has been making trucks for quite possibly a billion years, but the Colorado is actually fairly new. This second generation was only introduced about four or five years ago. But the ZR2 is a little bit different. Chevrolet saw people buying other trucks that were more enthusiast oriented, not so much for the 9:00 to 5:00, hence the ZR2. It's a little bit wider. It's got better suspension, and it's more meant for the weekend than the weekday. DAN EDMUNDS: Customization is almost expected. There's so many different aftermarket parts that Mopar sells, and independent companies sell. If you can dream it, they make it for a Jeep. I mean, the first thing people do is they usually lift it up and they add bigger tires. And the thing about the Gladiator is the Rubicon comes with 33-inch tires, but they say 35s will fit without any modification. Even the spare tire compartment, in the back, underneath the frame, will hold a 35-inch tire without any modifications. So right there they've even designed in the knowledge that people are going to want to mod this thing. CALVIN KIM: Enthusiasts like tinkering with their stuff, you know, upgrading. They've provided a catalog of parts. For example, the new Bison model with upgraded armor and underbody protection, and even performance parts from the GM Performance Parts catalog. And you can upgrade suspension, upgrade the power, so you can go a little bit faster than you're going now. [MUSIC PLAYING] DAN EDMUNDS: Yeah, these whoop-de-doos are really deep. I generally just have to tolerate them until I get where I'm going, but certainly this is easier in the Gladiator than it is in, say, my two-door Jeep Wrangler which really gets tossed around because it's so short. [MUSIC PLAYING] CALVIN KIM: I just turned off the stability control system because as we're skimming the tops of these bumps, the computer's kind of flipping out a little bit and kind of directing me, giving me inputs that I don't really want. So by turning it off, it's giving me a little bit more control over how we're going down the road. Whee. DAN EDMUNDS: Calvin in the Colorado is probably saying that the ride's pretty good, but the Multimatic dampers don't seem to be as well suited to the terrain as you think they might be. My impression is they're tuned really well for the pavement, and they could stand to have another tuning session out here on this type of terrain. CALVIN KIM: The Colorado's independent front suspension pays dividends on these flatter washboard roads. It's not that great on rock crawling because of the lack of articulation, but out here the dampers can really control each wheel individually. And on top of that, the rack-and-pinion steering gives me fingertip control and pointability. The Gladiator's front suspension, on the other hand, has to do a lot more work simply because the solid front axle is a lot heavier. On top of that, the Gladiator's recirculating ball steering system just isn't as precise as the ZR2s rack and pinion. Let's take it somewhere where it can really flex its muscles. [MUSIC PLAYING] CALVIN KIM: We're here at the off-road training area here at Ocotillo Wells, and there's a lot of obstacles designed to test the agility and capability of both modified trucks and side-by-sides. DAN EDMUNDS: Right, and modified is the key word here because have you seen some of this stuff? I mean, it's really difficult. I can't imagine an unmodified vehicle, even attempting some of it. That's why we're here at a fairly simple obstacle that's meant to test approach, departure, ground clearance, and break-over angle. CALVIN KIM: These are all things that we don't know about on the Gladiator. DAN EDMUNDS: Exactly. So, I think we're going to know a little bit more in a few minutes. I'm lined up with the tubular obstacle. The Gladiator has a longer wheelbase, not only than a Wrangler Unlimited, but also a mid-sized pickup with a 5-foot bed and a crew cab which is what this is. So let's see how it does. Do I look like I'm lined up OK? CALVIN KIM: Looks good from here. DAN EDMUNDS: I can actually see pretty well over the hood of this vehicle. The fenders drop away, and it's pretty easy to see. It's got a good crawl ratio so I don't have to go very fast. CALVIN KIM: It's pretty good. No problems with approach, and now the first breakover. DAN EDMUNDS: Whoa. Whoa. CALVIN KIM: Oh just barely. DAN EDMUNDS: Oh yeah. CALVIN KIM: Oh he's on there. DAN EDMUNDS: That felt important. It's still touching. Yep. Is that anything important sounding underneath there? CALVIN KIM: Oh no, no. It's just your frame rail and maybe a drive shaft? DAN EDMUNDS: Drive shaft? CALVIN KIM: No, I'm just kidding. It's just the skid plate. DAN EDMUNDS: I'm riding the brakes a little bit to control my speed because I don't want to go over one of these things too quickly. CALVIN KIM: The good thing is the approach angle is nothing to worry about. Just a little drag on the-- on the hitch. DAN EDMUNDS: Oh. Oh. CALVIN KIM: Oh, but it's that breakover. DAN EDMUNDS: Another drag. CALVIN KIM: Yeah, you're just laying on that skid plate, but thank goodness it's there. DAN EDMUNDS: Oh, it's just a skid plate. I feel much better. CALVIN KIM: One of the benefits of a skid plate is it helps you slide right off obstacles like that. So far, departure doesn't seem to be an issue. So it's just the breakover height. DAN EDMUNDS: Almost done. CALVIN KIM: So close. No, looks good. Good job. Good job, Gladiator. DAN EDMUNDS: I rub-a-dub-dubbed a little bit more than I thought I might there. [MUSIC PLAYING] CALVIN KIM: We're about to do tubular, so I'm going to go ahead and put it 4 low. DAN EDMUNDS: If you keep it slow, you probably won't kill it. CALVIN KIM: Dan, I don't have a lot of visibility out the front. You think you can tell me and let me know if I'm OK laterally? DAN EDMUNDS: Yeah, you're pretty well centered. You might cheat it just to the right a little tiny bit, but not much. CALVIN KIM: Approach angle is really good. First breakover angle test was good. Let's see the first departure angle test out for the back. Now, Dan, was a little bit of a rub on the exhaust? DAN EDMUNDS: No harm, no foul. CALVIN KIM: Well, all right. DAN EDMUNDS: That was pretty good. Couple of light taps, but nothing major. [MUSIC PLAYING] We just left the training area, and we drove on an obstacle that we picked because it highlighted the approach, departure, and breakover angle of these two vehicles. This truck has a very long wheelbase. I was worried about it, departure angle a little bit as well, because you know the rear end does hang out there a little bit. But it performed much better than I thought, especially departure. The spare is tucked up nice and tight, and it's got a little rub rails to protect the bed corners, which we didn't need because it didn't rub. And the skid plate that they have is right where it needs to be. And that's the only thing that touched. And it didn't touch that bad. I crawled underneath there. Not even that many detectable scratches. So, it did pretty well. I'm less worried about that aspect of this vehicle than I was going into this test. CALVIN KIM: We were surprised at the ground clearance that the ZR2 had. I honestly thought it dragged body parts a little bit more than it did, but all things considered, the built-in skid plate did its job, and you know that's what it's there for. The exhaust tip did touch down, as well as the spare tire. And while we'd like to see both of those items higher up in the body, not too bad. DAN EDMUNDS: Before we came here, I put both these trucks on a RTI ramp, that's Ramp Travel Index. It measures the articulation of the suspension, the amount it can flex. And the Gladiator really did a great job. It has an advantage though because the stabilizer bar can be disconnected. But even when it was connected, it matched the ZR2. When it was disconnected, it added a significant advantage, and that didn't really come into play on the obstacle we just drove, but it came into play on the way to that obstacle. CALVIN KIM: Out here on the road, the ZR2s independent-foot suspension is not magical, but compared to the Gladiator's, it is. See, the Gladiator's heavy solid front axle has a lot of joints and stuff to make it turn and articulate, whereas ZR2s does not what that means is, yeah I lose a little bit of flex on the rocks, but I get absolutely straight precise tracking on the road. Now normally, big knobby tires don't ride so well. But surprisingly, the ones on the ZR2 are pretty good. And combined with the Multimatic dampers that I mentioned earlier, it's actually a pretty good ride. In fact, it's better than some trucks that are specifically just meant for the street. DAN EDMUNDS: The highway ride of the Gladiator is a little bit better than the Wrangler because of the longer wheelbase, but it's not quite as settled and poised as the ZR2 and other trucks that have independent front suspension. It's pretty smooth over the wavy stuff, but when you hit individual single wheel bumps, the front axle can shudder just a little bit. The other thing you notice, when on the highway, is this is a boxy vehicle and there's a fair bit of wind noise because of it. The other thing that's kind of interesting though is the Gladiator has adaptive cruise control right up here by the mirror. They've actually built a sensor to enable that, and what's neat about that location is you can put on a winch or another bumper, and it'll still work. And you can even fold the windshield down and it'll still work. CALVIN KIM: ZR2 is powered by a V6 engine that makes a little over 300 horsepower, and it's made it to an 8-speed automatic transmission We like this setup because it's very responsive and does what you want. When you want it to go a little bit faster, the downshifts are crisp and quick. And when you're done, it upshifts back to save gas. In fact, it even has a cylinder deactivation mode. Not much to dislike here. DAN EDMUNDS: Both of these trucks have the same displacement engine. They're both 3.6 liter [? V6es, ?] And they both have the same transmission in terms of gears. The ZR2 makes a little bit more horsepower and torque. It's not a significant amount, but the Jeep makes up for it off road because in low range, the transfer case has a 4 to 1 ratio. So if you're crawling in low-low this is going to feel a lot more torquey, and it's going to be easier to control speed, like we saw on the tube obstacle. The Gladiator has the highest tow-rating in the segment. Now, there is an asterisk there. That applies to the Sport which is the entry-level model. If you get a Rubicon like this one, the maximum tow rating is 7,000 pounds. That's still pretty darn good. CALVIN KIM: The same trick suspension that gives the ZR2 its immense capability, both on and off the road, is also its Achilles heel for both payload capacity and towing capacity. For payload it's 1,100 pounds. For towing it's only 5,000 pounds. That doesn't even hold a candle to the Z71 model and certainly not to the Gladiator. While realistically speaking, it's more than enough for most people, if you're looking for the ultimate in towing and payload, ZR2 isn't it. DAN EDMUNDS: One thing that Jeep wanted to make sure of was that the Gladiator had a bed that was useful. So it has a five-foot bed just like the crew cab versions of its competition. It's got four tie downs that come with it. Front two are D rings that pivot. There are a system of three rails and sliding tie downs that is a factory option, not an accessory. You can get a 110 volt outlet in the bed. It's not terribly deep, which I think in my mind a positive. Because let's face it, the Colorado ZR2s bedsides are comically high. What is it going to be? A Jacuzzi? You're not going to fill it up to the brim with anything anyway. CALVIN KIM: I hope you've been doing your CrossFit because you're going to need it to get into the bed. The Cargo bed in a Colorado pickup truck has a high-load floor and high bed sides. Great for loose stuff, but not so good for anything else. ZR2 makes it even worse because it has two more additional inches of ground clearance, which means the load floor and the bedsides are that much higher. DAN EDMUNDS: So two things that I like about this tailgate is one, it's tied into the central locking. So if you lock the truck, you lock the tailgate. The other thing that's really cool is it's got a 45-degree open position by just taking the cables that hold it open and looping them around a stay that they have there. What's neat about that is the 45-degree tailgate, the edge of it is lined up with the Fender top. So you can stack plywood flat. It's kind of a neat setup, and it's real simple. This weekend something happened. I have four orange trees in my backyard, and we had to pick the oranges and take them to a donation center. And that ended up being about 700 pounds in the back of the bed, and one thing you notice about this truck is the rear axle kind of crowds the cab a little bit more than some of its competition. The effect of that is the center of gravity of your payload is going to be a little bit further behind the rear axle, which will unweight the front a little bit more and make the ride a little bit less flat. And I certainly did observe that. It wasn't bad but certainly something to be aware of. [MUSIC PLAYING] The thing about the Gladiator that's really nice is it is, for all intents and purposes, a Wrangler pickup truck. Doors come off, windshield folds. It just happens to have a five-foot bed back there. If you want a Jeep and you don't really need a truck, well you might as well get a Wrangler. But if you're the kind of person that, yeah you want a truck, but you want to be able to take it off-road, it's going to be hard to recommend against this one. CALVIN KIM: We've done tight trails and the street. So now we're going to do something completely different. We're going to go out to the dunes where we can open these trucks up and see what they can do when it's soft but hopefully fast. [MUSIC PLAYING] So we made it to the dunes. DAN EDMUNDS: Absolutely. Look at them. They go for miles. CALVIN KIM: It's pretty gnarly out here. DAN EDMUNDS: Yeah, and I think it's going to be a lot of fun. CALVIN KIM: That's right. And you know what? That's what these trucks are all about, aren't they? DAN EDMUNDS: Absolutely. I mean, we don't have to do this. But we want to. CALVIN KIM: [LAUGHING] Let's get out there then. DAN EDMUNDS: All right. [MUSIC PLAYING] [LAUGHING] It's fun, but I don't want to get stuck. [MUSIC PLAYING] CALVIN KIM: This is awesome. Super fun way to test out the whole drive system. Multimatic dampers don't mind this sort of abuse. In fact, they like this. [MUSIC PLAYING] DAN EDMUNDS: So this is Tectonic Wash, which is a really cool formation. It looks like they could have filmed Star Wars here. The Gladiator is longer than a Wrangler or compact pickups that are similar, and so I'm just watching the rear corner when I go around some of these tighter corners. But it's not that bad because a Jeep is narrower than a regular compact pickup or midsize, I should say. This also has protection on the lower corner of the bed, so I don't really feel like I'm going to tear anything up if I rub the side of the bank as I go around one of these tight corners. And even if it gets really bad and I rip off a fender, well it's not like a trip to the body shop necessarily. The black plastic fender that sticks out this far is something you can buy and bolt on another one or not. You see people with Jeeps where they have removed the fenders to give them that much more clearance. I guess you could do that if you wanted to. And the interior here is utterly familiar. It's just like the Wrangler's, which is good because the new Wrangler that they just introduced last year has some great improvements and they're all here, as far as the organization of all the controls, the seats, the dashboard, just the way it all looks and operates. It has a real nice quality feel to it. All these controls are really fantastic. CALVIN KIM: The Colorado is fundamentally a work truck, and the ZR2 shares a lot of the benefits that that brings, such as a very usable interior with buttons that are large and easy to access. All the switch gear falls right in hand. DAN EDMUNDS: Got an Apple CarPlay, Android Auto built into that 8.4-inch Uconnect system. It's a touch screen, but there's also some fixed buttons that are really prominent, some virtual buttons that are always in the same place, that are easy to find. And it's really easy to operate the system. Navigation is available. It doesn't cost a lot to add it to the system. So I can use the maps on my phone if I have signal, but since we're out here. I don't have signal. So the built in native maps are really nice to have because I wouldn't have maps otherwise. CALVIN KIM: The navigation system is not quite as detailed as the Gladiator's. In particular to showing trail detail when you're going off-road. Having said that, Chevrolet's Link III is very responsive and has all the smartphone connectivity that anybody that's into tech would want. The screen's big, colorful, and very responsive. There's a 4G LTE Wi-Fi hotspot connection available with it, and an induction charging pad although the induction pad is a little too small for any of today's larger phones. [MUSIC PLAYING] DAN EDMUNDS: The interesting thing about the audio system here in Gladiator is it sounds better than the same system in a Wrangler Unlimited, and that's because the cab is smaller. I mean, it's got the same size back seat, but because there's a rear window there and you don't have-- the storage is outside the cab, not inside the cab, there is a smaller volume. And so the sound just sounds better. It's also quieter background noise because there's less resonance of just road noise and the other stuff. So the sound just is that much clearer. The audio system can be upgraded with an optional Bluetooth speaker, and the speaker has a dock that is behind the rear seat back that keeps it out of sight, and it keeps it from rattling around, and it keeps it fully charged. So when we stop and I pair it to my phone, I can listen to my tunes in the campground. CALVIN KIM: The Colorado's back seat is roomy and perfectly suited for two full-size adults or three kids. The seat backs fold 60-40, and the seat bottom is fold up 60-40. So you've got some flexibility in cargo. Now, behind the seat backs there's really not much there, only the attachment points for child seats. Of course, you can fold the seat backs down for additional cargo space, but the ZR2's right height becomes its curse yet again. When the seat backs are down, the cargo floor is really high. So it'll make getting bulky or heavy cargo in and out a real pain in the back. DAN EDMUNDS: The back seat of the Gladiator is really nice. It's got the most leg room of anything else in the class except for the Ridgeline, which wouldn't be caught dead out here. It's also great for storage. You know, if you're just two people here and you're out somewhere exploring and you want to have a cooler and some other stuff inside the cab with you, the seat bottoms flip up. The seat backs flip down. They give you a platform to put things on. There's a couple of places to store things behind the rear seat backs when they're folded up, and they're lockable. And the lockable feature is really important because this is a convertible. You might be out here with the top off and you might want to have that stuff that you've got in those storage compartments under the seat or behind the seat locked away where people can't take them. CALVIN KIM: The seats are comfortable, and they're covered in a leather like surface that makes long road trips a breeze. Getting in and out is going to be a little bit harder, and you're going to have to do that a lot because the visibility in the Colorado is not that great. [MUSIC PLAYING] How's the visibility out of that Gladiator, Dan? DAN EDMUNDS: It's really, really good. I mean, there's a rock at the apex of this corner, and I've been able to keep my eye on it. I'm not worried about it at all. The hood falls away. It's not very long to begin with. The windshield's nice and vertical up close, so no A-pillar problems. And then the fenders drop away, so yeah. No problem at all. CALVIN KIM: Yeah that's one area where I'm definitely envious. The ZR2 is remarkable in many ways, but exterior visibility is not one of them. Where they A-pillar meets the dash in particular, is a huge blind spot, and that huge hood protrusion looks great. But man, it's not doing me any favors out here on this tight trail. DAN EDMUNDS: Yeah, and I remember that the hood's really wide out towards the headlight, so it sticks way out there in the corners or-- you know, I can't imagine you're seeing half of what I can see. CALVIN KIM: I'm just thankful for the cutaway bumper letting me crawl over anything that I miss. DAN EDMUNDS: Yeah, but you're fenders really stick out wide. Are you rubbing around any of these corners? The rear fender? CALVIN KIM: Thankfully, no. But I've been playing it pretty safe and taking the high line. Having said that, I have scraped some of the tops of the rocks. But nothing enough to cause any damage, thankfully. DAN EDMUNDS: Yeah, that's the thing about the Colorado, and it applies to the ZR2 as well is the rear shocks are kind of exposed at the bottom. They're lower than the [? pumpkin ?] of the differential, in fact. CALVIN KIM: Yeah, that's a good point. I mean when you're just going straight or doing broader, wider turns, your wheels kind of follow the same track. But out here in this little tight wash, each tire is just going its own place. So you know, rocks that I miss with the front end, the rear end stuff, they're pegging them. DAN EDMUNDS: Yeah, that's the thing. This trail is so tight you don't really have the option to steer around some things. Ground clearance is your only friend. CALVIN KIM: Yeah, at the end of the day, the ZR2 just has more things dangling down. DAN EDMUNDS: What's the Colorado done well out here? CALVIN KIM: Well, definitely I like the ZR2's power train. It's super accurate and responsive, and the steering too. While the rear end, I've been kind of just letting it go wherever it wants to go. The front end I can point just with inch precision, and with the very accurate throttle I can use the exact amount of throttle without upsetting the chassis. DAN EDMUNDS: I'm actually in the same boat back here. You know, the steering that goes along with a solid axle may not be the most accurate out on the highway. But here, I'm having no problems at all, and you know, it doesn't kick back violently if I hit a big rock. It's pretty stable and steady in that regard. CALVIN KIM: Normally, I would think the ZR2 would be better out in the open, but aside from the ground clearance issues, it's doing really well. [MUSIC PLAYING] DAN EDMUNDS: We're here on a trail through the mud hills, and the thing about this trail is every time you come here, you never know what you're going to get because every time it rains, it changes. Every time somebody in a [? razor ?] throws up a roost of mud, it changes. CALVIN KIM: It's a perfect place to try out trucks that have a lot of articulation, a lot of ground clearance, and really good driveability. Wouldn't you say? DAN EDMUNDS: Yeah, you need traction and you need clearance, for sure. And we're going to need a lot of it here pretty soon if we don't get going because it looks like it's going to rain right away. CALVIN KIM: It's been pretty even, although rough, terrain but I heard over the radio that up ahead is something a little bit gnarlier, so I'm going to go ahead and put it in 4 low just to get it ready. All you-- all you've gotta do is put a neutral and put the knob and literally in that amount of time it's low. And what that lets me do is not use the brakes so I can maximize traction on this loose surface. It's pretty steep and rocky, but ZR2 doesn't care. Right now we have a steep climb out of this little gully, and the gear reduction that we get gives us all that extra torque and modulation so we pop out without any problems. Ta dah. DAN EDMUNDS: Hey Calvin how was that? It looks a lot worse than it is. You gotta watch out at the very bottom. There's a little bit of a divot. DAN EDMUNDS: All right. I'll keep an eye out. I don't think I'm going to pop it into 4 low. I've got a secret weapon, my stabilizer bars are disconnected. I do that a lot because it makes for a nicer ride. You don't have as much jostling left or right, but that will also give me a little bit more articulation than he's got. And I know I've got better approach clearance than he does. So I don't think I'm going to have as much trouble at the bottom. But we'll see. Famous last words, right? [MUSIC PLAYING] OK. Here's what he was talking about. This doesn't look too bad. Just ease through. I'm still in 4 high, Oh I touched my trailer hitch which is what they're for, right? I probably took a little bit deeper line than I needed to. CALVIN KIM: Looks like it wasn't a problem regardless. DAN EDMUNDS: Man, that was in 4 high the whole time. [MUSIC PLAYING] Well that was fun. CALVIN KIM: Yeah, I mean overall we learned a lot, right? DAN EDMUNDS: Exactly. CALVIN KIM: What was the biggest surprise? DAN EDMUNDS: Well, you know I came into this really suspicious of the Gladiator's long wheelbase. It's quite a bit longer than the ZR2, but that didn't turn out to be an issue at all. CALVIN KIM: I got to drive it a little bit too, and I was really impressed with the ride comfort especially over all that washboard. DAN EDMUNDS: Yeah, but the ZR2 was way better on the highway on the way here. CALVIN KIM: Yeah, and I actually really liked it on the washboard, on the faster stuff. DAN EDMUNDS: Uh huh. CALVIN KIM: I really like the pointability, and honestly it's handling surprisingly in the tight stuff. DAN EDMUNDS: Oh absolutely. But in the tight stuff, I had a couple of problems with it. Namely visibility. The hood is really wide. It's hard to find out where the corners are, and then in the back, that spare tire hangs down a lot. And I remember taking a really hard hit when I dropped into a gully. I thought I broke something, but actually it was just the spare grounding out. CALVIN KIM: Now, the most important question for a lot of people is going to be price. DAN EDMUNDS: Yeah, well that's the thing the. Rubicon is typically pretty pricey, and that hasn't stopped Jeep people from buying it. So we'll see. But certainly the ZR2 is a lot cheaper. CALVIN KIM: It is. I mean, I guess if you want to spend more money, you can get the Bison with its additional protection. DAN EDMUNDS: Yeah? CALVIN KIM: But honestly, the capability between the two is the same. DAN EDMUNDS: So, Yeah. I got some friends here, and I'm coming back in a couple of weeks. I think this is the one I'll bring back because I've got some more canyons to explore, and I've seen how this maneuvers through the tight stuff, and I just-- I just like it. CALVIN KIM: For me, while I love the Wrangler and now the Gladiator, the ZR2. Just because it's so much fun to play in the open desert floor, and man it's almost three hours back home. I really like being comfortable on the highway. DAN EDMUNDS: Yeah, that's for sure. I can't argue with that. [MUSIC PLAYING] DAN EDMUNDS: When all was said and done, we compiled everything we learned about the entire Gladiator lineup, and compared it to the full range of its competition. Setting aside the Honda Ridgeline, which is more of a pavement specialist, the Gladiator is now our highest ranked 4-wheel-drive midsize truck. If off-road capability is remotely important to your next truck purchase, the Gladiator is worth a hard look. [MUSIC PLAYING] You know I really enjoyed this trip, but I'm almost disappointed that we're leaving now just as it's starting to rain here and snow in the higher elevations. You know, it's not just about perfect weather. It's about all the different kinds of weather and all the different kinds of terrain, the wildflowers that come out at certain times a year, hot weather, the cold weather. I love it all. I'm one of those people, I see a line on the map, I want to know where it goes. I want to be there. I want to see what it's all about. And that's what's really neat about the Gladiator is it can go off-road exploring in its own right. But if you want to go deeper, you could bring a side-by-side on a trailer and tow it out there with this. CALVIN KIM: You know, a lot of people will say, hey, how come you're out there when it's raining and miserable? Well frankly, because it's fun, right? I draw a lot of parallels to the original American settlers that went out and explored the countryside in horse-drawn carriages. You know that feeling of going up a rise and seeing the valley floor below for the first time must have been exhilarating. And while I know that sounds a little bit silly, I can kind of experience a little piece of that in this truck, and you know the ability to just look out at a mountain, see a trail, and go I want to do that trail, and then go and do it. That's pretty amazing. And you know what? I haven't found an experience that beats that. If you like videos of adventures like these, click Subscribe. And don't forget to go to Edmunds for all your truck buying needs. [MUSIC PLAYING]

This video chronicles an off-road truck comparison test of the 2020 Jeep Gladiator Rubicon and the 2019 Chevrolet Colorado ZR2. The Gladiator is by far the most anticipated new vehicle of the year. This all-new crew-cab 4WD midsize pickup is basically a four-door Wrangler with a 5-foot truck bed instead of an enclosed cargo area. The Chevy Colorado ZR2 is a more traditional crew-cab pickup that has been around a few years.

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