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With a slew of components enhancing the off-road dynamics, the Chevrolet Silverado ZR2 Bison poses a more severe threat to the Ford F-150 Raptor.

Chevrolet has spruced up the appeal of its flagship pickup truck, the Silverado, with an all-new range-topping ZR2 Bison variant. Designed in collaboration with American Expedition Vehicles (AEV), the new Chevrolet Silverado ZR2 Bison addresses some of the shortcomings of the ZR2 variant. Chevrolet experienced some success with the ZR2 Bison variant for the smaller Colorado, and it hopes to do the same with the Silverado.

The revisions in the new Chevrolet Silverado ZR2 Bison are limited to cosmetic updates and feature additions over the ZR2 variant, all of which have contributed to making it more off-road ready. And with all these changes making the Silverado more rugged and macho than ever, its rivalry with its traditional arch nemesis, the Ford F-150 Raptor, has become fiercer. The CEO and Founder of AEV, Dave Harriton, has claimed that the new Silverado ZR2 Bison is the ultimate half-ton truck for outdoor adventures. Is it really that good to give the F150 Raptor some severe nightmares? Let’s find out.

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Design is a purely subjective matter, but when it comes to the exterior design and stance, the new Chevrolet Silverado ZR2 Bison goes neck-to-neck with the Ford F-150 Raptor. With the new ZR2 Bison variant, Chevrolet has made the Silverado look more rugged than ever before.

The front look of both the pickup trucks look imposing with the much-required in-your-face attitude. It gets the same blacked split grille with a body-colored bar in the middle and C-shaped daytime running LEDs and LED headlamps. The blacked-out Chevy bowtie logo with red accents denotes that this pickup has an exclusive feel. The elements which have uplifted the attitude of the Chevrolet Silverado ZR2 Bison are unique off-road ready front and rear bumpers and five hardened-steel skid plates for protecting the front and rear differentials, transfer case, and fuel tank. The new Chevrolet Silverado ZR2 Bison also gets unique wheels designed by AEV with 33-inch Goodyear off-road tires. With the new bumpers, the already excellent approach and departure angles of the Silverado ZR2 variant are even better in this new ZR2 Bison variant. Other new features include steel rocker side panels and a matte black finish on the tailgate.

With the Raptor, Ford has somehow executed the same job for the F-150 as the ZR2 Bison is for the Silverado – giving it an out-and-out sporty and rugged appeal. The front fascia and the silver skid plate at the front of the F-150 Raptor look massive and more butch-looking. Even the all-LED headlamps look bigger in the F-150 Raptor, thus complementing the boldness of the rest of the fascia.

The only add-ons that the new Chevrolet Silverado ZR Bison variant gets over the ZR2 variant are all-weather floor mats and AEV badges on the front headrests. Other than these, it retains the thoughtfully-laid cabin of the ZR2 variant, with elements like 12.3-inch fully-digital instrument console, a 13.4-inch touchscreen infotainment system, and an electronic shifter in the center console.

In comparison, the Ford F-150 Raptor is not much behind with a similarly futuristic-looking 12-inch full-TFT instrument console and a vertically-laid 12-inch touchscreen infotainment screen. Though, it feels more practical with dual glove boxes, deeper holes behind the inner door handles, and a lockable storage compartment below the rear seats.

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With the ZR2 Bison variant, the Chevrolet Silverado features suspension upgrades and a one-pedal rock crawling mode. All these upgrades go well with the external changes and electronically-locking front and rear differentials in the pickup to make it more suitable for the more challenging terrains. However, under that massive front hood, it continues to get a 6.2-liter V8 gas engine, which churns out 420 hp of power and 460 lb-ft of torque and comes paired to a 10-speed automatic gearbox.

On the other hand, the Ford F-150 Raptor offers a choice of five different powertrains compared to the sole powertrain of the Silverado ZR2 Bison, including a diesel and a new hybrid engine. The 3.5-liter V6 full-hybrid powertrain is the talk of the town for the F-150 Raptor, which also includes a 35 kW electric motor and a 1.5 kW lithium-ion battery. The additional setup of the battery and motor provides a boost of 47 hp in the power output. In the combined mode, the powertrain claims 430 hp of power and 570 lb-ft of torque, significantly higher than the Silverado ZR2 Bison. Also, compared to the 8,900 lbs of towing capacity of the Silverado ZR2 Bison, the F-150 Raptor offers a much higher 12,700 lbs of towing capacity.

Hailing from India, Jeo has grown up dreaming about a red-colored Porsche 911. This fascination led him to study more about cars and their functionality in his automotive engineering days from the past. His passion for writing about cars directed him towards blogging, which he has been doing for almost a decade.