This is the long-awaited Jeep Gladiator! It's here! It's really here. It has been
raining for 12 hours solid in Napa, and it's supposed to rain for the next 12, so
we're gonna have a lot of fun in the mud seeing if this is more than just a
novelty item with a bed in the back or if the Gladiator is a real pickup truck.
The folks at Jeep definitely have something unique looking on their hands,
but as you would expect, this is also a highly capable tool. No we did not
eliminate the rain in post, but we decided to use some fancy b-roll footage
from Jeep so you can actually see the gladiator not in this deluge. According
to press materials towing capacity and payload capacity boasts best-in-class
numbers. That's a 150 more pounds of towing than competitor Ford
Ranger and almost 800 pounds more than the Toyota Tacoma. The Nissan Frontier
carries a payload about 100 pounds less, but the Ford Ranger claims to be
able to hold up to 1,860, which is a little bit more
than the Gladiator. That's around 6,000 pounds of boat and trailer back there, so
this can definitely tow. Now that's thanks in part to a slightly wider
grille than that is on the Wrangler. It's more open so more air intake equals
better engine cooling equals better towing capacity.
Another thing that those competitors do not have is Jeep's
legendary off-road capabilities.
On the sport and Overland models Jeep's Command-Trac
4x4 system comes standard and features a two-speed transfer case and heavy duty
Dana 44 front and rear axles with a 10- millimeter thicker tube to do more truck
like things. The Rubicon, yes there is a Rubicon Gladiator, of course there is,
that's what we're driving here, comes standard with the Rock Track 4x4 system,
which includes those Dana 44 axles but also locking differentials and an
electronic sway bar disconnect feature for getting over tougher terrain.
Now the gladiator has an 11.1-inch ground clearance and can
ford through 30 inches of water, which today I feel like we're going through
more like 30 inches of mud. I'm actually driving this off-road course with a
manual transmission which is a little bit more challenging in all of this dirt.
Normally I would love to be doing some left-foot braking, but I'm doing left
foot clutching, oh my gosh, so I think the biggest question on the off-roading
capability of the Gladiator comes down to that extended length in the back and
specifically the breakover angle and how much you can get over obstacles because
of that extended wheelbase. The only place that I've really seen that
wheelbase make a huge difference is in the turning.
It has a tendency to kind of turn sideways. It doesn't turn as sharply as a
shorter vehicle would. Man this is still surprisingly capable. So the
Rubicon version of the Gladiator comes with something called Select Speed
control, which is basically like a cruise control for off-roading and it controls
speed within one and five miles an hour. I'm personally not a huge fan of those
kinds of systems but if you are driving downhill especially on loose stuff it
can help prevent slippage so it can be a really helpful system.
There's actually a tire pressure feature that will allow you to set the psi where
you want it and then when you're airing down or airing up it will set off a
chime and a chirp to let you know when you have achieved the desired psi. You
guys, I wish that you could do this while it's raining. This is gnarly. You can also
get front off-road cameras, which we love but they never take the place of getting
out and seeing obstacles for yourself, so safety first when off-roading, or maybe
safety second today. Whichever trim you choose skid plates come standard as well
as front and rear tow hooks presumably for getting everyone else out of trouble.
The Rubicon's front bumper is winch ready. If adding more aftermarket
equipment is interesting to you then you're in luck. Mopar's got 200 products
coming for the Gladiator that you can customize your rig with. Are you not
entertained? Sorry I couldn't help it. Initially there's a single-engine option
available on the Gladiator, a 3.6 liter V6 engine mated to a six-speed automatic
transmission. An 8-speed automatic transmission is available if you choose.
Coming later will be a 3-liter EcoDiesel. The 8-speed automatic will be the diesel engines
only transmission option. Gladiators' body-on-frame construction
uses a new lightweight high-strength steel frame, so it's still tough. This is a Jeep
and it is a truck, it's never going to drive like a Bentley Mulsanne,
on the road, but I have to say they do a really nice job keeping things
smooth. I'm not feeling a ton of vibration. You do hear a little bit of
road noise and again that's expected. On both the Sport and the Overland that's
gonna come with 32-inch tires standard and those are all season Bridgestones,
so you're gonna have a little bit of a smoother ride than you would on the
Rubicon which comes with 33-inch all-terrain tires or mud tires and
you're gonna feel the road a little bit more on those. The steering is responsive
and I'm not feeling a lot of body roll through turns. Over all the Gladiator's a
comfortable ride. All the Gladiator's off-road capability also comes with
available on road safety features like blind spot warnings, rear cross-traffic
alerts, and adaptive cruise control. Jeeps UConnect system comes standard with a
5-inch touchscreen that's upgradeable to a seven- or 8.4-inch version
with navigation. Okay, I have to admit, the first time I saw this I thought holy
moly that thing is ginormous, and it is, but it is so unique looking, and so cool
that I absolutely love it. You guys it is a convertible truck let
that sink in for a second. There are hard and soft top options. The doors actually
come off really easily now and there's this incredibly handy tool kit that's
right under the seat right there so that you can figure it out what kind
of like IKEA instructions. The interior looks and feels familiar with the
similar center stack and console of the latest JK Wrangler generation. The circle
gauges look like Jeeps of the past which is a nice historical touch. It's rugged
but it still has some leather-wrapped surfaces but doesn't feel like it's
gonna be a problem when it gets dirty. Notice I said when. Okay so the great
thing about the rear is there are three different positions that you can put the
seats in. Obviously regular for when you have passengers, but you can put the
seats up stadium seating and there's great storage underneath the seats,
lockboxes that are optional, but you can also put this down and put this seat
flat here, and there's also an optional wireless speaker for those romantic
sunset afternoons. All right Jeep. In addition to a lot of the visual internal
and external cues of the Wrangler JL there is an obvious difference. Okay so
this is a truck, so we're gonna talk about the bed for a second. Now ooh
it is a damped tailgate, so that's actually really nice, and it has the
ability to be put in a second position here, so if you want to purchase things
like drywall or two by fours they can extend out beyond the tailgate the bed.
It is a high-strength steel. It's not made out of composite because Jeep
wanted to make sure that everything was really nice and strong. It's got four
tie-downs back here. The ones that are here are fixed and these are foldable
and movable. The other really nice thing about this, at least for people of my
size, is I can actually reach into the bed which on most midsize trucks I
actually can't do that. The spray-in liner is an option,
personally I think it actually looks better with the liner in here and
obviously it's more heavy-duty. There's some lighting in here that comes
standard across all of the trims. There are also, if you want as an option, there
are some storage management systems that can can be put in here, as well as these
cleats which are movable, so you got a lot of options back here. There's a
trailer hitch here as well as this third brake light, which they actually had to
integrate into the tailgate because of course when the top is off on your
convertible Jeep you're not gonna have it up there. Base price on the Sport trim
starts around $35,000 including destination charges. For the Rubicon add
about ten thousand dollars to that number.
As for EPA estimates, feast your eyes.
And now for my windblown and barely audible wrap-up.
Hey, thanks mother nature. With so few midsize truck on the market
the Gladiator is a breath of fresh air. It doesn't look like anything else in
this segment but it stays true to it's Jeep roots and like its cousin the Wrangler it is capable plus. So did
we answer the question? Is it just a Wrangler with a bed on the back? Yes and
no, and I have to say that yes is actually a high compliment. Yeah I love
the way this thing looks. Okay I'm so waterlogged, I got to get out of here.