The Fast Lane Truck and FCA both announced today the results of a recent competition. Winners of the awards receive a gold winch award. In a press release this morning, FCA announced that the 2020 Jeep Gladiator and 2020 Ram Power Wagon both took home Gold Winch Awards.

Award: Best Mid-Size Off-Road Truck

Gold winch reviews were performed in paths with varying degrees of elevation, loose gravel, rocks crawling, snow, and mud. Contestants for the Best Mid-Size Off-Road truck included,

• 2020 Chevy Colorado ZR2/Bison
• 2020 Ford Ranger FX4
• 2020 Honda Ridgeline AWD
• 2020 Jeep Gladiator Rubicon
• 2020 Nissan Frontier Pro-4x
• 2020 Toyota Tacoma TRD Pro

The 2020 Jeep Gladiator Rubicon took home the award from this category. 

“The competition was very tough this year. In the end, the Jeep Gladiator Rubicon stood above the rest based on its raw off-road capability and the fun aspect of top-down doors-off adventure driving. The final decision was unanimous,” said Andre Smirnov, managing editor at TFLtruck.com.”

Award: Best Heavy Duty Off-Road Truck

Another gold winch award goes home with the 2020 Ram Power Wagon, winner of the Best Heavy Duty Off-Road truck distinction. Its competitors were,

• 2020 Ford F-250 Tremor
• 2020 GMC Sierra HD AT4
• 2020 Ram Power Wagon

Andre Smirnov, managing editor at TFLtruck.com said,

“There is more competition than ever in the heavy duty off-road truck segment. The team was split in half between the Ford Tremor and Ram Power Wagon. The Ram won with a tie-breaker due to its laser focus on off-road capability and equipment.”

He continued to expound on the thought,

“The Ram Power Wagon won the 2020 Gold Winch award due to its laser focus on off-road capability and equipment. It still has the best suspension flex, many trim options and an included winch to boot.”

The judges and the criteria

The judges formed a panel from the United States and Canada. They gave consideration to an off-road index developed by Fast Lane Truck, based on a one hundred point evaluation. Consideration was also given to personal experience from in-seat time. The contestant vehicles had to be tested prior to March 2020. The full deliberations on the contestants can be found in the video below.

Not the popular vote

Interestingly enough, The Fast Lane Truck also asked its readers and watchers of its videos to vote on the contestants. The results of the voting came up differently than those of the reviewers. The popular vote winner for the Best Mid-Size truck was the 2020 Chevrolet Colorado ZR2/Bison. The popular vote winner for the Best Heavy Duty Truck was the 2020 Ford F-250 Tremor. Granted, those taking part in the popular vote may not have actually driven the vehicles tested. However, it is still, nonetheless, an interesting disparity. 

Searching for the right vehicle to purchase can be a daunting task. Researching vehicles ahead of time can take a lot of the guesswork out of the stressful equation. One of the things buyers look to in their research is what awards have been won by the vehicle of interest. The announcement today of the Gold Winch Awards winners in the 2020 Jeep Gladiator Rubicon and the 2020 Ram Power Wagon now can add these accolades to their trophy shelf and maybe even lure those buyers in with more certainty.