By Clayton Seams and Jil McIntosh
Clayton Seams: My colleague Jil McIntosh constantly says modern pickup trucks are TFB, for “Too Friggin’ Big,” and frankly I agree. Sure, you can go and buy any full-size pickup truck you desire in 4×4 trim with knobby tires, but you’ll find precious few real trails large enough to fit it! One row back from the front lines of model bloat is where this week’s comparison begins.
Both our Jeep Gladiator and Chevy Colorado ZR2 are midsize 4×4 pickup trucks. Both have four doors, and short beds measuring roughly 5.5 feet. Both are represented in their most off-road-ready packages and both have 3.6L V6 engines. But they aren’t as similar as you might think.
Jil McIntosh: Indeed, they are not, and Clayton, you nailed it when you said that “the Gladiator is an off-roader turned into a pickup truck, and the Colorado is a pickup truck turned into an off-roader.” We bogged these things pretty good, and they both handled the tough stuff exactly as they should, but we took their differences into account, to be fair to each.
Despite their equal-displacement engines, the Chevy is more powerful. Our Colorado had an eight-speed automatic, while the Jeep had a six-speed manual instead of its optional autobox. The huge difference was price. The Chevy starts at $47,998 and ours was $52,588 with optional wheels, extra-charge paint, and light bar. The Jeep starts at $54,845 and had items piled on to $68,065.
And even then, the Chevy had stuff the Jeep didn’t, including standard spray-in bedliner, power-adjustable leather seats, wireless charging, integrated trailer brake controller, WiFi hotspot, a 4×4-automatic setting, and locking front and rear axles to the Mohave’s rear-only.
CS: Out of the gate, the Chevy seems to dominate with its long list of features. But some of the Jeep’s best features aren’t as left-brain. For example, the Gladiator is still a real Jeep, meaning the doors and roof are fully-removable if you have a few Torx wrenches, plenty of time, and plenty of storage space for the removed panels. Heck, the windshield will even fold down if you are truly motivated. The Jeep is also arguably better-looking than the ZR2. The shape is rugged, and the closer you look, the more evidence of smart detail-design work you will find.
Mechanically, the ZR2 has a locking front hub, while the Gladiator Mojave makes do with a quasi-locking system that uses the front brakes individually to mimic a locker. It’s worth noting that a true locking hub is available on the rock-crawling Rubicon trim. And that’s because the Mojave is basically Jeep’s Raptor; it’s designed for high-speed trail running and not so much creeping over craggy rocks, although it can handle that quite easily, too.
JM: I would have loved to do some higher-speed desert stuff with the Mojave. Unfortunately, that kind of terrain is difficult to find in our corner of southern Ontario, and we had to make do with a rough stretch of back-road that’s more commonly populated by dirt bikes and snowmobiles than a combined $120,600-worth pair of new trucks.
Both got through deep water, and that’s where the ZR2 really impressed me. I expected it of the Jeep, but wasn’t sure what the Chevy would do. Each time, there was just a split-second of lag where I figured I’d be wading back out on foot, but then the Colorado dug in and came out the other side. And it did it each time solely in 4×4 Auto, so we never really found the bottom of what the ZR2 can potentially do. That said, when travelling at higher speeds, the Chevy bounced and bumped hard over the tough stuff, but the Mojave was much smoother, like it was gliding over it.
CS: The Mojave glides where the ZR2 bumps because of its very trick suspension. It’s still front and rear live axles, like all Gladiators, but the Mojave is suspended by special remote reservoir Fox shock absorbers at each end, and the front ride height is one inch taller than normal. In addition to that, the Mojave has hydraulic bump-stops up front to further cushion your landing. When driving the Jeep over rough terrain I found myself seeing a pothole, and bracing for an impact that just never came.
The interior of the Jeep is a fairly comfortable place to be no matter what you’re driving over. The cloth seats are soft and supportive, the heated steering wheel was very welcome on cold days, and the central touchscreen is equipped with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay for easy interfacing with phones. The Jeep interior is exceptionally well detailed. I liked the various orange metallic accents, pleasing textures, and variety of high sheen and matte surfaces. Ergonomics are slightly hindered by the flat and vertical layout of most surfaces, but overall, the interior is very nice.
JM: The Gladiator has larger side windows, but I still found it claustrophobic compared with the Colorado. The Chevy’s interior is way behind the Jeep for looks, but its simple design also makes it easier to quickly find a control. It’s easier to get into the Jeep, because the Chevy’s seats are more inbound and there’s no driver’s grab handle. And as you say, the Jeep’s seats are also much more comfortable.
Of course, these are all minor details for off-road fans, and that’s why it’s tough to compare, because there are so many factors to a decision. In its favour, Jeep has its reputation, and that’s huge in this niche segment. It’s better-looking inside and out, and its roof and doors come off. In the ZR2’s corner, it’s a lot less money for more standard features, and it went everywhere the Jeep did and really impressed me with its capability. I love ‘em both, but if we have to pick one, I’m giving the edge to the Colorado. And you?
CS: While the Colorado handily leads in features, there’s a lot to love about the Mojave. It’s rugged, looks great, and excels off-road. The only problem is that all those attributes also apply to the Colorado ZR2, and the Chevy costs $15,477 less as these two were configured. So, while I think the Gladiator Mojave is the better truck of the two, I can’t help but agree with Jil that it’s not $15,477 better than the Colorado. If you asked me which one I would like to magically appear in my driveway, I would say Gladiator. But if it has to come out of my own wallet, I would have to say Colorado. And for that reason, the Chevy Colorado wins this pickup comparison.
We loved its off-road chops, we liked its standard features, and we tolerated its less-than-exciting interior. But both these trucks are commendable for their ability to get you out to the boonies and back, while remaining small enough to use as everyday vehicles around town. When it comes to truck sizes, these two are just right.