2024 Silverado HD ZR2 Bison

Chevrolet is bolstering their line of ZR2 off-road pickups, and fresh off our recent Road Test of the Silverado 1500 ZR2 Bison is our First Drive of this 2024 Silverado HD ZR2 Bison.

It was Palm Springs, California, where we came face-to-face with this heavy-duty behemoth, along with two of its smaller siblings: the full-size 1500 ZR2 Bison and mid-size Colorado ZR2 Bison.

This is the first-ever Silverado HD ZR2, including the Bison treatment provided by American Expedition Vehicles, or AEV. The HD’s lack of grace is more than made up for in power. Our beast came packed with a hearty Duramax 6.6-liter turbo diesel V8, producing 470 horsepower and a staggering 975 lb-ft of torque. A 6.6-liter gasoline V8 is standard.

Trail performance is further aided by 35-inch Goodyear mud-terrain tires. Other ZR2 add-ons include Multimatic dampers, a rear e-locker, special skid plates and suspension components. The Bison adds 18-inch AEV wheels, stamped-steel bumpers with recovery points, and additional underbody plating.

The HD ZR2 is only available in the 2500 Crew Cab configuration with a standard seven-foot bed. If that’s still a bit much, there’s always the Silverado 1500 ZR2 and ZR2 Bison; crew cab flanked by a short bed. Smaller still, the Colorado ZR2 Bison. We’ve spent time with GM’s mid-size offerings, and they continue to impress us both off- and on-road.

KYLE SCANLON: “One of the things that has really surprised me about this vehicle in particular is the lack of road noise. I thought with the knobby tires and all that that this thing would be screaming while going down the highway. And I’m not hearing much of anything. I don’t know about you guys but I’m not.”

The 2023 Chevrolet Colorado ZR2 starts near $50,000; the 2024 Silverado ZR2 just over $70,000, and the HD ZR2 around the same. The Bison package adds about 9-grand onto the HD ZR2’s price tag.

And we’ll have more Quick Spins…soon!