1- key in the ignition and separate FOB (I know, first world problems).
2- The wireless phone charger is useless (and I still have an older iPhone 5, but it won't charge through the case - serious question, does anyone use a phone without a protective case?)
3- T-case selector knob on the left of the steering wheel placement is poorly thought out.
4- No fore-thought on future electronics with blank button placements - but there is this cool little cubby front and centre you or your significant other can use for a tube of chap-stick or lipstick or something.
5- Center consol has no tray - (although they are found on amazon cheaply enough).
6- Rear seat storage - very little innovative thinking went into this.
7- Exhaust termination on the ZR2 diesels is simply not acceptable. There are good aftermarket solutions, but they can be expensive and really this truck with what they are trying to bill it to be, it shouldn't come this way.
8- Fender flare and mud flap designs don't really protect this truck from spraying mud and debris all over the sides and as luck would have it, the door handles get covered.
9- Approach and departure angles overall
1- I was actually working on developing an aftermarket switchblade keyfob before the pandemic broke out. All the Chinese suppliers completely disappeared while they were dealing with it initially, then everything shut down everywhere else. It's been moved to a back burner, but will probably be picked up again at some point if someone doesn't beat me to it. I definitely agree with this though. Not a fan of the key situation (beats Toyota's outdated tech problems by a mile though).
2- I have my phone in a case, and it works just fine with the wireless charger. iPhone 8 in a Spigen case.
3- If you have to look at it, yes. Terrible placement. Once you get used to it, it's just like any other control; you reach down and turn it when you need to a notch in the direction you need it to go. 2wd, then drop to auto if things start getting dicey, then 4wd when things are genuinely bad or if you're fully off road, then 4low. I feel like there may be people of certain dimensions (height) where it's in a fine place, but for me, I have to duck around the steering wheel to see it. I just don't need to see it really.
4- I think you're talking about the unused button blanks. With a Bison, you just have all the buttons, so there were none left to blank. I agree that the chapstick holder is dumb. Great opportunity for the aftermarket to step up.
5- This has not been an issue for me, but I have yet to put anything in the center console at all. I just don't keep things in my truck ever.
6- Agreed 100%. Between the folding and the under seat storage, it's just subpar. I do like the little cubbies right at the very outside though. I think I took them out, but I had been keeping a pair of gloves there. Perfect access in that they're totally out of the way of everything, but when I need them, just open the back door, reach down, and keep going.
7- I got the exhaust relocation kit from GM (I don't think it was available for 2019). Solved.
8- THIS!!!! If you're driving around in icy stuff, god forbid you need fuel! The fuel filler door ends up under thick ice, and I'm convinced I'm going to break the filler door trying to break the ice sheet on top of it. Last I checked, there are still precisely ZERO mudflap options for the Bison outside the universal ones that never quite fit right. I ended up getting some factory mud flap take offs from another Colorado owner in the area, and I'll use them as templates to make some. This is an absolute must for me before snow flies this winter.
9- Meh... I agree with this and I don't... Yes, there are particular geometrical attributes that are better on other trucks. The Tacoma has better breakover, Gladiator better approach, etc. (I'm not looking at any specs, just going on memory). If you consider that it's a truck before it's an off road machine, I think this is forgivable. The geometry isn't all that bad, and tires and such fix a lot. A big part of the Gladiator's geometry is down to just coming with 35s from the factory. Take that away and all the class leading this and that falls to mid pack. Same with the Bronco.
Addendum to my previous post:
One thing that adds to the awesomeness is the auto transfer case on the ZR2s (I don't know if it's available on lower trims). One of the big problems we have up here is transitional weather. The temperature drops 5° or so per 1K' gained altitude. In spring and fall, there are frequently times when we'll get snow up in the mountains, but down in the flats it's just rain. That means that somewhere on the drive down, there's a sheet of ice on a section of windy road with a rock face on one side and a creek/stream on the other. Additionally on those windy mountain roads, as the snow/ice thaw, there are sections of the canyon that get sun and some that don't; that means you go from clear asphalt, to wet asphalt, to icy asphalt, to snow, and back... over and over and over again. I my last truck I had a transfer case that could shift on the fly, and I just kept one hand on the knob. In my wife's jeep, you have to weigh the ability to shift with the damage/wear of just keeping it in 4wd. With the ZR2, you put it in auto 4wd, and relax. There's a clutch on the front output shaft that releases to prevent bind. Nothing really all that novel if we're honest, but it's pretty great to have on a truck like this from a day to day perspective if you live someplace with weather.
