[MUSIC PLAYING]
DAN EDMUNDS: You may have seen a recent video
we made which featured a Jeep Gladiator and a Chevrolet
Colorado ZR2.
That one was all about trucks.
This one's all about Jeeps.
We realized that we had our Jeep Wrangler Unlimited
along for the ride, and we thought, wow,
they're both Rubicons.
This is the perfect opportunity to show
the difference between a Wrangler and a Gladiator.
If you think the Jeep Gladiator looks a lot like a Wrangler,
that's because it pretty much is the same vehicle from here
forward.
Same doors even, same power train, same transmission--
3.6 liter V6 with an 8-speed automatic.
You can't get the 2 liter turbo in this, though.
The tires, the lift, the Rubicon equipment,
disconnecting stabilizer bars, front and rear lockers--
all of that is the same.
The front approach angle is the same.
You have your choice between two different front bumpers.
That's all the same.
Really, there's no difference except stickers up here.
The differences come in when you start looking at the suspension
up close.
For one, the shock absorbers on a Gladiator Rubicon
are Fox aluminum body shocks.
On a Wrangler Rubicon, they're monotube shocks,
but they're not aluminum body, and we
don't know who makes them.
Well, you can probably find out.
But let's talk tires.
The Wrangler Rubicon is fitted with BFG KO2s,
while the Gladiator Rubicon has Falcon Wildpeak.
They come with all terrains, but you can also get mud terrains.
And also, the wheels that they're mounted on
are different.
They're stronger because this vehicle can tow a lot more
and haul more payload.
The rear brakes have been made larger
so they have more stopping power.
The maximum for a Gladiator is 1,600 pounds of payload
and 7,650 pounds of towing.
Now, that's for the Sport.
For the Rubicon, those numbers are 1,160 pounds of payload
and 7,000 pounds of towing.
A Wrangler Rubicon?
It can tow 3,500 pounds-- half as much.
Because this has a longer wheelbase because they needed
to put a truck bed back here, they
have room to alter the rear suspension
and change the way the rear shocks are mounted.
On the Wrangler, they point to the rear.
Here on the Gladiator, they point forward,
which is a better way to go because you
can put the load into the strongest part of the frame.
Now the rear axle itself is the same,
but the brackets that hold the links
are different because these links are longer.
They're more like the back end of a Ram 1500.
Not exactly, but more like that, which we really like.
That delivers a smooth ride in the Ram,
and it delivers a smooth ride here.
So what about the departure angle?
Well, one, you need the five foot bed,
but also, there's got to be a place for the spare tire, which
isn't on the rear bumper like it usually is.
This is a 33-inch tire on a Rubicon,
but they actually made enough room for a 35 spare tire
to fit in the back.
So that defined what the departure angle
was going to be.
The four-door Wrangler's departure
angle-- it's 37 degrees.
The Gladiator is 26.
So that's quite a difference.
We also put both of these vehicles
on our ramp to measure the suspension articulation,
and there we saw a difference.
Both of them climbed up the ramp nearly as far,
but because of the Gladiator's longer wheelbase,
the score isn't quite as good.
And of course, both of them have disconnecting front stabilizer
bars, so we measured them twice.
With the bar connected, the four-door Wrangler
was 523 points, the Gladiator, 449.
With it disconnected, the four-door Wrangler Rubicon
became 718 and the Gladiator, 607.
Not as good as the Wrangler four-door, but still,
607 is a nice, healthy number to play with.
Both the Wrangler Rubicon and the Gladiator Rubicon
come with rock rails in the middle.
But the Gladiator Rubicon also has a rock rail
behind the rear fender, and that's really cool
because that prevents damage if you drag the rear end
through a low spot in the trail, which
we've done a couple of times.
But it's also strong enough that you can put a high lift
jack underneath there and raise the vehicle up enough
to change a tire.
Because the Wrangler has such a short rear overhang,
it really wasn't necessary to go to great lengths
to hide the exhaust pipe.
But here in the Gladiator, because of the truck bed,
they tuck the muffler up really high.
If you walk around this thing, you can't even really see it.
And that's a good thing because if you can't see it,
neither can the rocks.
So right now, I'm in a Wrangler Unlimited,
which is the four-door Wrangler Rubicon.
It's our long-term test vehicle.
And I'm going to go over this fairly--
well, it's marked easy, but I think it's
intended for modified vehicles.
Let's see if a stock four-door Wrangler Unlimited Rubicon can
make it.
Here we go.
Haven't touched anything yet.
Ooh.
In my low range.
Trying to just pick my way over these things.
Play Operation and not touch anything.
I have to trust that I'm pointed in the right direction
because I can't see the course in front of me.
I can just feel it.
Ooh, I felt it there.
I think I touched just a little bit.
Trying to be as gentle on the throttle as I can.
So far, so good.
I think I might make it, but of course that
sounds like famous last words, right?
Ooh.
I think that was just the muffler or the tailpipe.
Very light touch.
That's a heavier touch, but nothing too bad.
I think I just ran over a camera.
I think it was intentional, too.
I think this is almost it.
Done.
Couple of light touches, nothing really serious.
No damage, I'm sure.
Maybe a little paint left on one of the tubes?
But that's about it.
I can actually see pretty well over the hood of this vehicle.
The fenders drop away, and it's pretty easy to see.
It's got a good crawl ratio, so I don't have to go very fast.
I just don't know when it's going to touch.
Ooh.
That felt important.
It's still touching.
Is that anything important sounding underneath there?
SPEAKER: Oh, no, that's just your frame rail and maybe
drive shaft?
No, I'm just kidding.
It's just a skip plate.
DAN EDMUNDS: Drive shaft?
I'm riding the brakes a little bit
to control my speed because I don't
want to go over one of these things too quickly.
You end up impacting the surface.
Ooh, this is another tight spot.
The center's pretty low.
Oh boy.
OK.
Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh.
Another drag.
SPEAKER: Yeah.
You're just laying off that skid plate, but thank goodness
it's there.
DAN EDMUNDS: Oh, it's just a skid plate.
I feel much better.
Yeah.
Careful.
Almost done.
Rear bumper.
I think I'm away.
Wow.
I rub-a-dub-dubbed a little bit more than I thought I might
there.
I think we found a difference.
If you'll remember, when the Wrangler Unlimited came out--
the four-door-- certain Jeep people were up in arms
because it was so long, and it was a station wagon,
and why would Jeep do that?
But actually, it opened up the Wrangler line
to a whole lot more families and other people
that just needed four doors.
And it's still really capable.
I think the same thing's going to happen here
with the Gladiator.
It's got four-door cab that all the truck owners want,
and it's a truck.
So I mean if you were a person who was on the sidelines,
you needed a truck but you wanted a Jeep,
here's your vehicle.
Yeah, the Gladiator is a truck, but it's still a Jeep,
and it does Jeep things really well.
I mean, the more time I spend in it, the more I like it,
and the less I'm concerned about what I thought
might be drawbacks.
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