Chevrolet Colorado

For a long time, the easiest route to owning a factory-backed off-road-ready vehicle was to simply buy a Jeep Wrangler. It's body-on-frame, has locking differentials, its approach and departure angles are excellent, and it's as simple as a wood-burning stove. That's a recipe for off-road success.

Rocky Mountain Pickup:

2017 Chevy Colorado Review: All You Need From A Truck, Scaled Down

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But have you ever tried living with a Wrangler? I regularly joke that I look forward to every Wrangler I test… until I've spent about 10 minutes driving it. Between the uncouth ride and the noisy cabin – even in the more refined Wrangler JL – Jeep's iconic off-roader is hard to live with.

And that's why I was so excited to sample an off-road alternative. The 2018 Chevrolet Colorado Colorado ZR2, particularly in the Crew Cab body, takes the inoffensive Colorado and amps it up, resulting in a vehicle that blends the best aspects of the Ford F-150 Raptor and the legendary Wrangler into a package that's more manageable than the former and more versatile than the latter.