So you're right. On paper, the Bison is the perfect for my needs, it would require almost no aftermarket (just a rack and eventually maybe another rear bumper), people love it, but honestly I'm a bit put out by the poor predicted reliability and only mediocre safety ratings. I know a few owners of some of the lower tier trims that are mixed on it. THAT SAID, it's hard to tell if those reliability ratings will hold for the higher trims. I also grew up when American cars were just a total joke and have never fully been able to shake that view. FWIW I have the same worries with Ram (Hemi tick and all the doodads falling apart are common complaints). Ford Ranger also doesn't do great in predicted reliability either. To further confuse matters, JD and CR often give opposite scores (Gladiator gets high praise from CR and JD says avoid).
Additionally, I set up a simulated midsize long bed in my living room with a bunch of cardboard that I was going to dispose of anyway. I really don't see myself being comfortable in there, and if I want to fit a second person, forget it. So if I want to sleep in the back, it's full size all the way. That said, there seem to be a lot of great RTT options out now, and I'm not against that at all (would consider even on full size).
Edit: did a little more looking into CR vs JD and it seems like CR sends out surveys to owners as well as uses passed performance to assess the reliability. JD seems to use a mix of this plus having experts look over the cars built and materials as well as past performance of powertrain. Seems like the Colorado specifically had an issue with the fluid in their 8 speed that's resolved but CR still penializes them for (for example).
Yeah, the 8-speed behind the v6 had problems with the wrong fluid killing torque converters. The new fluid seems to be working well for those with the 8-speed. With the diesel you'd get the 6-speed (6L50) which is a proven trans. The early V6 trucks (2015-2016) also had the 6L50 6-speed but there were complaints about "chuggle" which ended up not being a problem with the trans but rather the trans tuning and engine lugging at low speed. A software update fixed that problem.
Another complaint that pops up is the sound of rushing water in the dash just after cold start, fixed by adding maybe a pint of coolant to the surge tank to prevent air from being sucked into the system since there are chambers and such in the surge tank don't provide enough leeway should the coolant level just barely be below the mark.
CR doesn't deserve a second of anyone's time, while they claim to be basing things on survey results I don't think I've ever had a vehicle or product live up to what they claimed, good OR bad.
I'm only one example, but I bought my truck new in November of 2017. At 16k miles a sensor in the exhaust failed and was replaced under warranty. I'm now at 3.25 years and just over 57k miles with no problems. Solid truck, runs great, no mysterious leaks, rattles, or other noises, and has been one of the best built, problem-free vehicles I've owned (which at this point is 2 dozen vehicles and somewhere around 9 of those 24 were bought new). The only vehicle that has been as good or better was the 2012 Honda Pilot we bought new for my wife. The only problems were a defective sun visor early on and covered under warranty and then a wheel bearing starting to grumble with just over 100k miles. We traded it in once it hit roughly 126k miles. Did regular maintenance by the book and it served us well.
I'm hoping my Canyon will do just as well.
Anyway, just wanting to relay first hand experience as well as the issues that contributed to some low rankings. I don't think you can go wrong with any mid-size truck these days as long as it fits you and your needs/wants. Finding the Goldilocks vehicle can be tough, but I'm sure you'll do fine since you're not rushing into it. Just remember that nobody makes a perfect vehicle otherwise we'd all be owning it. :) I'd rank how the vehicle feels to you and your wants/needs higher than what CR, JD, etc say. If you bought a Taco because it was the "gold standard" in reliability and compromised on comfort (A common complaint I hear but can't comment on it myself) and find it rather uncomfortable for long drives do you think you'd be happy with your purchase? Probably not. A random warranty issue is temporary, the comfort level is reasonably permanent.
Also, not knowing exactly what you're going to put in or on the truck, you'll want to check the payload sticker on each truck you look at. It'll tell you the factory payload capacity as built from the factory, a lot of the more off-road spec'd trucks have much less payload due to the suspension. There are also full-size trucks that will have less payload capacity than a mid-size truck. Payload is all people, including the driver, stuff in the cab, stuff in/on the bed, and any hitch weight on the hitch. It's really easy to go over the payload capacity when outfitting for overlanding, especially if you have a wife and kids/family that go with you. Would suck to find the truck you want only to find it's not rated to haul everything you want, just something to keep in mind. Good luck!
