JEEP. Say the word to virtually anyone in the world, no matter the language they speak, and instantly they generate a mental image; usually of the tough little buggy that eventually got the name Wrangler hopping over a dirt surface with a load of G.I.s or crawling through a mud pit or climbing a rock face. Or, in my own case, fulfilling my daughter’s fondest wish when I gave her the keys to ours last week after she got her license at 8am on her birthday, first in line at the DMV. That (last week) was the last time I drove a Jeep as she immediately added a Jeep “Daisy” spare tire cover and a flower lei around the mirror as Dad repellent. But today I drove a part of Jeep’s future and the biggest thing that’s happened to the brand in years.
Yes, the white truck above is the new 2020 Jeep Gladiator, Jeep’s first foray into the pickup truck market in 27 years. That’s longer than some of our contributors and quite a few of our readers have been alive. As car guys (and gals), even if not interested in Jeeps per se, I doubt any of you are unaware of this new development, it’s been shown in various places and is now for sale across the country. The first public sale was to a resident of Virginia just last week, he selected a Rubicon version like the one above, but in silver.
Anyway, we (yes I really mean “I” but I like saying “we”, it makes us sound like big shots) got to drive it (albeit briefly) yesterday along with a relatively new member of the Wrangler family, in this case a 2019 2-door Rubicon model powered by Jeep’s new 2.0l turbocharged 4-cylinder engine with their e-Torque system; more on that one later down the post. First, the Gladiator!
The Gladiator is based on the JL-platform Wrangler. In a nutshell, the frame is lengthened and the bed is longer than the rear portion of the 4door Wrangler was but if you think it’s the same cabin, you’d be mistaken. The doors are the same but look just behind the doors, there is room added for the seats to sit further back and also to still have some storage room behind them, including locking (and removable) bins for security.
All Gladiators (for now) are powered by FCA’s familiar and well regarded 3.6l V-6 “PentaStar” engine (285hp, 260lb-ft), backed by either an 8-speed automatic or a 6-speed manual. All Gladiators are 4WD, and all come in the same crew cab with 5-foot bed configuration. Next year a 3.0l turbo-diesel will become available as well.
Jeep considers the Gladiator to be the most off-road capable mid-size trucks ever made by any manufacturer and the specs seem to bear that out. 4WD only. Dana 44 axles front and rear. Largest brakes of any mid-size. 5-link coil rear suspension similar to that of the RAM 1500 along with some direct carryover parts from RAM (Jeep borrowed some of the RAM engineers for their new pickup foray).
The Rubicon has the disconnecting sway bars as well as optional 33″ Falken WildPeak AT tires. Rock rails not just on the sides but also on the back end to protect the body. It also has 2″ diameter aluminum Fox brand shocks standard. Will the aftermarket supply more items and will buyers remove some of that standard stuff and add their own? No doubt. But it’s immensely capable right out of the box.
I spoke with one of the engineers in charge of the project over lunch and asked him about plant capacity. While he wouldn’t give a concrete answer as to production numbers, note that the Toledo plant built a brand new assembly line for the new JL-platform 2door and 4door Wranglers and then scrapped the old line for the previous generation Wrangler (JK version) and built a new line for just the pickup (internal code JT) in its place.
So by my guess that puts their capacity at close to 250k per year for the pickup alone based on old JK production numbers in its most popular years. That’s pretty impressive for a mid-size (and more than Toyota can produce of Tacoma and Tundra combined at their San Antonio plant, btw) but obviously no match for the full-sizers, although all of them use more than one production line per model.
The one potential fly in the ointment that I see is that according to what I understood from the engineer the lines are not currently compatible with each other’s products, i.e. if pickup sales are less or more than anticipated, they can’t move overflow production to the other line (or vice versa for that matter). Still, capacity is capacity and if they get anywhere close to it as they have been, it should be a total money press.
So how is it in person? It looks and feels long at first. But it drives good and is a very nice place to be as soon as you open the door.
The example we had was extremely loaded with all the toys and extra features: leather, heated seats and steering wheel (much appreciated on a late spring snowy day), painted hardtop with removable top panels (full soft top convertibles are available as well), all the safety nannies, the large 8.4″ touch screen, navigation, tow package, cargo management system for the pickup bed and on and on and on…Including a nifty front facing camera that has a system showing you where your tires are going depending on how the wheel is turned (useful when cresting, uh, crests with drop-offs, along with a squirter for removing the mud from the lens which beats convincing your passenger to crawl over the hood to clean it with a spit-finger or get out when cresting the muddy crest).
We tried the squirter, it worked, and caused my co-driver to giggle. So I pressed the button a few more times. Then it was my turn to giggle when we very briefly (and jokingly) discussed if we should try an actual crest – we quickly thought better of it when we looked at the sticker supplied in the Jeep and remembered the admonition of our drive handler to please stay on the road during this event. The base price for a Rubicon version is $43,545. As shown, this particular one stickered at a hair over, gulp, $60,000. Yeah that’s a hefty sum. Most people will likely pick and choose more selectively with their options but I don’t see many leaving the lot for under $50k, at least not Rubicons.
For that sum, the interior is significantly nicer than my 2015, and I didn’t think that was bad for a Jeep. This one is really good and not just “for a Jeep”. It seems durable where it needs to be but well thought out and attractive, both in design as well as material selection, for everyday commute duties (which, let’s be real, is probably where 95% of these will be most of the time, no matter if Rubicon or other version.) And then it has the truck part on top of the “Jeep” part to boot.
Turning onto our drive loop and mashing the throttle revealed the familiar Pentastar snarl but with smoother shifting from the new 8-speed. The tail is evident as extra weight “back there” and the larger tires with big tread blocks are soft and a bit squishy but not ill-handling. It’s no BMW but it isn’t meant to be. This is a very comfortable truck that can be used everyday.
It’s not “soft” either, while comfortable it also is able to tow 7650 pounds and haul 1600 pounds in the bed (not at the same time). Both are class-leading numbers. (The diesel may actually reduce those numbers a bit as the engine weighs more).
It feels (and is) larger than the other mid-sizers out there but it’s by no means huge or unwieldy, it just kind of “fits” a person; while there is enough space inside it doesn’t feel cramped nor does it feel overwhelmingly capacious. But in my opinion the price makes it compete less as a truck/tool and perhaps more as a truck as lifestyle item (I don’t think I’m diminishing its actual capabilities in any way by saying that though).
That’s not necessarily a bad thing, Jeep has spent a lot of time (and had some luck) in becoming very popular, they are taking full advantage of the situation as they should, a lot of other brands are no doubt quite jealous. And for those that love the idea of a Jeep and have some need for a pickup bed some of the time, this may be a very good solution/option.
It’s certainly not bland or vanilla, it is instantly recognizable and has a “swagger” that the other mid-sizers don’t really have. I can certainly picture the typical customer thinking of towing their boat to the lake over the gravel road with the top down or off and the doors off as they sign on the dotted line, can’t you?
The other Jeep we (ok, I) drove is the current Wrangler Rubicon in 2door form but with the 2.0liter turbo four with FCA’s mild-hybrid “e-torque” assist system (270hp, 295lb-ft, yes, more torque than the V6). Getting in I felt instantly comfortable, it’s basically the same as the Gladiator in the front (obviously, actually it’s the other way around, right?), and is sized pretty much like our own 2-door JK-platform version. Just a bit nicer.
Looking out over the hood you see the expanse of green (Mojito! is the color name with the exclamation mark) and reminded me again what a joy it is to get a fun color on a vehicle. Jeeps should only be sold in fun colors as far as I am concerned and for some reason it’s one of the few brands where the cool colors don’t cost extra AND dealers seem to stock the colors, so why not.
I wasn’t really sure what to expect from the engine but wow, it’s actually fast off the line. I was surprised, ours with the V6 is quick and plenty powerful in my opinion but this seemed to actually rear up a bit and you really felt it go. The 8-speed likely helped but the hybrid assist (which consists of a very small battery and a belt drive) gives it an extra shove off the line (before boost builds up) and during shifts (to smooth them more) from what I understand. I’m overly simplifying it but in a nutshell it seems to work, the thing scoots.
Part of the loop consisted of getting on a freeway and then continuing for a couple of miles uphill to the off-ramp with a long sweeping transition curve (all at over a mile of elevation) and while my 2015 Wrangler is fine on the freeway it doesn’t exactly love high speeds. This one had NO problem at well over 75mph with plenty more to give and the level of noise from the premium soft top was not much greater than from my (or the Gladiator’s) hardtop. Color me very impressed.
I looked it up later and found that while super unleaded is “recommended for best performance”, it apparently isn’t “required”, but at altitude and if giving it the beans is a frequent event then it would probably be best. However, if regular gas is OK for normal-ish driving then the 23/25 mpg ratings are pretty decent, noting that this example has the 4.10 gearing and rather large 285/70-17 tires (rather large for a stock Jeep, that is, the aftermarket supplies vastly larger sizes and gear ratios to match). Around town it was a joy, easy to see out of, responsive, turned on a dime, quick to go, powerful brakes, not really anything to nitpick in the admittedly brief opportunity we had.
When I first saw this new JL platform Wrangler in the showroom last year, I didn’t really think it was that big of a big step forward; after actually driving this one I’m quickly coming around on that. I still love the one we have way more than I ever thought I would (or could) but if it came time to replace it I would have to think long and hard about stepping up to a new JL vs another JK. And as much as I love the 3.6l PentaStar, the new 2.0T with the e-Torque assist really is a peach too.
Pricing? Well, this Rubicon starts at $38,045 but other more basic ones (Sport, Sport S, Overland) are less. In this case, the optional engine adds $1000 over the V6, the automatic adds another $2000, and then there were enough other options (leather, premium audio, premium soft-top, navigation, large screen, tow package, LED lighting, and much more) on this one to bring the total to $52,120. Cheap they are not. Jeep has a very good online configurator if you want to check out what you would really “want” vs “need”, check it out if you want (or need).
They do have some of the best resale values of any vehicle out there which is reassuring but at the end of the day there is nothing else remotely like it. The closest you can get to this is, well, a used Wrangler. If you want one, you want one, and it’s not really something you can cross-shop against much else. I dig it, and I’ll admit I’m not much of an off-roader. These Jeeps don’t require much compromise anymore and that’s likely a big part of the success they are having. Kudos to Jeep for two very interesting new products, you’ll see them all around you soon enough, I’m sure.
those prices are crazy
I perhaps should have included that the absolute base price for a 2door Wrangler is $27,945 and for the Gladiator it is $33,545. Both would have 4WD and a V6 and still be more capable off road than almost anything else off a showroom floor. And hold their value to boot. But yes, the absolute loaded up versions are quite expensive, as are many/most other vehicles compared to the entry level.
Holding their value is a key point. Pickups in general do very well, which can make them a better value than they first appear.
Cadillacs of the 1950s were the same way. Expensive to buy, but once a person could afford to buy the first one, the high resale value made purchasing the next one much easier on the wallet.
I’m not a fan of leasing, but there’s a great article over at TTAC on how leasing a strippo Gladiator would be the most economical way to go (provided you drive less than 10k miles a year). I’m not a Wrangler fan, either (to me, they’re in the same ‘lifestyle’ purchase category as a Harley) but wouldn’t mind trying a Gladiator via that route as a weekend toy.
That’s what makes the Gladiator so interesting. It’s targeting “lifestyle toy” type buyers with the removable doors and top but unlike the Wrangler it’s still very capable as an everyday truck. Spacious interior and best in class towing and payload.
Given the sales Jeep enjoys, these prices are far less crazy than the pricing Pontiac applied to the Aztek.
Because of the high price of entry I’m strictly a used car buyer, but it’s clear there are plenty of people willing to spend more than $ 50k on a new
carvehicle. More power to them- I’ll pick up their cast offs after 5-10 years of depreciation.The large number of people like you is (are?) actually a big part of why Jeep is so successful. People are willing to pay high prices for Jeeps because they know they will still be worth something in a few years at trade-in time.
Funnily enough, when I think of that magic four letter word, the iconic G.I. buggy is not what first springs to mind. The Kaiser-built ones do! This is fitting, given how the original Gladiator well fits into this category better than a cotter pin in a well-greased suspension linkage.
The last cool Jeep before they all became brodozers.
Yes, the new-ish Jeep Compass is a real Brodozer… 🙂 Just like the old Patriot, current Renegade, past and present Cherokee, Grand Cherokee, future Grand Wagoneer maybe etc.
https://www.curbsideclassic.com/blog/driving-impressions/cc-rental-review-2018-jeep-compass-limited-fwd-another-point-of-view/
“Every Jeep past [the one I personally like the most] is a brodozer!”
I would argue that no factory Jeep model is a brodozer, mostly because brodozer and factory are mutually exclusive, and also because applying the brodozer philosophy to a Jeep makes it a “Heep.”
Very interesting, nice that you got a drive. How do you so casually manage these big shot events?
The Gladiator looks absolutely huge, how can this be a mid-size?
And yes the pricing. I’m sure they’ll sell all the Gladiators they can crank out, but Dutch Canadian frugal children of immigrants are likely not the targeted demographic. 🙂
These are interesting pickups. They did a lot right, but the styling isn’t for everybody, the price is high when moderately equipped, and the Wrangler had a poor showing in European crash tests. This may hold it back from becoming a top seller in the segment. But it’s so unique it’s hard to say.
Thank you for the interesting write-up of your test drive.
Your point about the vivid color is interesting. At the Harrisburg Auto Show this past January, my two daughters (ages 7 and 9) were immediately drawn to these Jeeps. Part of it was the distinctive design and ability to move easily around the interiors, but they also mentioned the “pretty” colors!
There is definitely a young female demographic appeal to the Wrangler and I have no doubt it played a part in the wide color palette availability.
My sister has had a new JL Wrangler Rubicon for maybe six months and I have not gotten to drive it yet. She is very happy with it.
Most buyers (lessees?) will not need the full-on Rubicon package which is the Jeepiest of the Jeeps. These keep getting more civilized, even in the more butch versions.
Cheaper than a 2019 Ford GT!
Thanks for this review. I didn’t even know about the new 2.0 turbo option. I’m not surprised you found it good, especially at the higher elevation your way. It really makes a difference.
Yes, the Gladiator is expected to have the highest residual value after two years: 90%! That puts it just ahead of the Tundra and Tacoma. And means FCA can offer leases as low as $149/mo, although there are some serious caveats with that, as with most leases. I have a hard time with the idea of leasing a Wrangler, as I would definitely be taking it in rough country.
The turbo is offered in the Wrangler (both 2-door and 4-door) but not the Gladiator. It’s a compelling option for us at altitude as you said, and may be worthwhile down low too as it is more fuel efficient. The e-hybrid assist helps with the stop/start system as well, it makes it start much smoother than normal.
To be honest I wasn’t even aware of the stop/start system. Either it just worked very well or it was too cold as we were cranking the heat and seats and wheel etc and it never turned the engine off due to the draw, I’m not sure. Our drive routes were such that we never really hit any traffic lights, either very quick stop signs with zero traffic or just nice roads that went on and on.
The lack of a six foot bed in the gladiator means I cannot sleep in the bed due to my height nor throw in a matress and go to a drive in movie which is disappointing. If I ever need a truck I would like the bed to be at least six feet long.
Great write up indeed and thank you for sharing all this cool information. Back in the early 2000s I got help painting my dad’s 1987 Saab 900 into a quasi-tribute to Herbie from “Herbie Goes Bananas” and my Grandpa did not want to drive it anymore. The comment on the flowers reminded me of that occasion.
You could put the tailgate down, I’m sure someone (if not Mopar) will sell a bed extender very soon if they don’t already.
They also have this interesting feature for the tailgate where they call it 3-position – 1. Closed, 2. Open and 3. Halfway wherein you take the straps and loop them around a block in the side of the tailgate opening. This then takes up the correct amount of slack to angle the tailgate and put the top edge exactly on the same plane as the top of the wheel wells. (The floor between wheel wells is 44.8″ wide, by putting the tailgate in the halfway position a longer load like plywood or whatever could ride flat if you didn’t want it angling up and out for some reason. But a mattress would fit if the gate was open or halfway, it’d be like a slanted backrest (?).
That’s really the one compliant I’ve heard from Jeepers about the Gladiator, with some wanting a shorter extended cab (a small “+2” second row with rear-hinged doors that can be opened after the front doors), with a longer bed and the same overall length. But I think a bed-extender option like this one would work fine for the existing truck, which takes up little space when unused (or can fold 180° from the extended open position to provide a compartment inside the bed) but can enclose the open tailgate area when needed for a longer bed length.
….but can open up and fold down to enclose the open tailgate area when needed for a longer bed length.
If I’m not mistaken I believe the current 4door wrangler still outsells the 2door by about 3:1 and in fullsize and midsize trucks I’d guess CrewCabs outsell Extended cabs by at least about that as well (at least personal use variants as opposed to total fleet work trucks), so while perhaps they COULD do that relatively simply (i.e. make the bed 6 or 6.5 feet and shrink the cabin but then have to engineer yet three more top variants etc because everyone has their own favorite), that’s probably just some number of incremental sales and not another big chunk (like going to 4doors instead of 2 was on the Wrangler.)
. . . . but can open up and fold down to enclose the open tailgate area when needed for a longer bed length, as such.
https://assets.thiecommerce.com/production/3471-amp-bed-x-tender-hd-max/r/800×600/fff/80/c5173a471c8fa0c165ac7d7c4cd4f6dd.jpg
let’s see if that works (yay, it does – copy and paste it into the url field to bring up a truck with a useful bed extender that would work well for the Gladiator, and folds away compactly when not needed as i posted earlier.
Coincidentally, FCA released it’s April sales this morning, which were pretty ugly compared to what we have seen from FCA over the last few years. At Jeep, only the Compass and Grand Cherokee were up y/y. The Wrangler was down 25% y/y.
Without the 25% gain from FCA being in a pickup share war with Chevy, sales would be down in double digits.
wrt comments about the price. I have a theory about the big three and average transaction price, gross margin per vehicle, and volume.
FCA also announced this morning that, as of October 1, they will switch to only reporting sales quarterly, as GM and Ford have.
Here’s today’s report. The declines for April all extend the downtrend in the ytd numbers.
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/fca-us-reports-april-2019-133000287.html
YTD Wrangler is down 15% and to me, a more interesting metric than Y/Y simply due to being a longer term and thus smoothed out a bit, the same reason everyone is going to quarterly reporting instead of monthly, it will reduce the wailing when there is one bad month even if due to weather or whatever. But the same concept also makes the numbers carry more weight so if there are issues they are amplified.
Last May Jeep was still clearing out JK inventory if I am not mistaken. Do you happen to have numbers that break all that out? That could be part of the difference. JK was priced lower (which was brought up yesterday at my event) but much of the increases were considered justified based on added content, better materials, etc. and eleven more years of technology to incorporate.
Last May Jeep was still clearing out JK inventory if I am not mistaken. Do you happen to have numbers that break all that out?
According to Wiki, JK production ended April 27th of 18 while JL production started in November 17.
I only see what FCA releases to the public, which does not break out old vs new Wrangler. Nor do their sales reports break out old vs new Ram 1500.
The Wrangler started the year with an 11% gain over 18, in spite of JK production having ended and the inventory probably well depleted. The difference vs 18 has declined progressively every month since, though sales still exceed that of the JK only in 17: 72,400 ytd vs 60,152 in 17, for a 20% gain. It will be interesting to see if this advantage holds up.
On another note, how did you like the 2.0T? I took a look at dealer stock around metro Detroit a month or two back and there were very few Cherokees in stock with the old 2.4. The overwhelming majority had either the V6 or the 2.0T. I wonder what they will put in the Compass when the 2.4 finally takes it’s dirt nap? The 1.3T might be a bit too slow, but the Compass would be a screamer with the 2.0T.
The 2.0T was very good, if I were to buy a new Jeep I’d be hard pressed to choose between the two. I liked the e-Torque assist, it gave it a good boost right where it likely needed it, i.e. right off the line.
Yes, in a Compass it’d be a screamer, I wasn’t displeased with the regular 2.4 in the one I drove last year (at sea level anyway) it was very competent if not a rocket.
Fiat is 1.3T-ing everything in its own lineup, I could see the Compass perhaps getting that as well though, it’s likely cheaper than the 2.0T, especially with the e-Torque (although it wouldn’t have to have that).
Fiat is 1.3T-ing everything in its own lineup, I could see the Compass perhaps getting that as well though, it’s likely cheaper than the 2.0T, especially with the e-Torque (although it wouldn’t have to have that).
It amused me to consider that the 2.4 and 9 speed were both built in the US, shipped to Melfi, installed in Renegades, which were then shipped to the US. the 1.3T is built in Poland, so it, and it’s 1.0 3 cylinder version, are the logical choice to go into everything built at Melfi, including the Compass, which iirc is to start production at Melfi for the EU by the end of this year.
The 2.0T for the US is built in Trenton, MI, so would be the logical successor to the 2.4 for the Mexican built Compass. I have heard some sniveling about the Compass not being the friskiest car on the road, but, even without the extra cost and complexity of eTorque, the 2.0T would fix it right up.
I can see that pickup appealing to the kind of people who would have bought Hummers. Same kind of no-nonsense military/industrial type styling. On the surface it looks like a reaction to the overstyled, oversized modern American pickups. Could be a huge market for these.
That Gladiator is pretty sharp, I may not have a cult like devotion to the Wrangler and can’t fully understand the appeal myself, but it does have a following for a reason and one that I can understand on at least a surface level. The Gladiator to me works, because there’s something almost restrained about it. Compare it to say, the Mercedes G-Wagen 6X6, which followed a similar concept (Take a four door compact rock-crawler, turn it into a pickup), the Gladiator works because it feels like FCA wanted to genuinely make a product that would work beyond just a gimmick, whereas the 6X6 felt like a status symbol for people who felt the original G-Wagen didn’t make enough of a statement, despite the modifications. One things for sure though, if I wanted a modern pickup, this would be a choice I would consider.
I agree with your comments about colors. I think I am seeing more JLs now in bright colors but for years with the JK it’s been 80% black in the Boston area.
Very enjoyable review. Having followed the saga of Jeep since the early 60’s, from Kaiser, to AMC, to Chrysler, and now FCA, what has surprised me most is the move upmarket.
Having priced out new CJ-7s several times (though I didn’t buy), I just can’t see paying $60K for a Wrangler.
But I know there are younger folks out there who will, and the Jeep juggernaut will now doubt outlive FCA, just like it has all it’s previous owners.
Thank You! It is interesting how it went from very utilitarian to still being able to do that but really moving into the suburbs.
They do start around $27k or so, so no need to spend $60k. Same fun to drive. In fact it’s one of the rare vehicles where the base and the top of the line really have the same engine, transmission and 4WD hardware.
“…Jeep’s first foray into the pickup truck market in 27 years.” Since the 1992 MJ Comanche, which was basically a pickup version of the XJ Cherokee.
Give me a two door and a long bed please!
Yes, this! Or in old school speak, a real pickup truck.
Not a longbed unfortunately, but I remember seeing this at my local FCA dealer several years ago.
That with a 345 Hemi/NV4500 swap is the exact Jeep I want. Make it electric blue or Hemi orange. Having owned a Scrambler, it’s just enough pickup and a bit more practical than the standard 2-door Jeep while sacrificing nothing.
The Gladiator is a pretty awesome rig and I’m glad to see Jeep back in the pickup game. For me, it’s just too much money for too much people moving capacity and having to sacrifice the V8.
Great review of both products! I’ve never been a Wrangler fan, and haven driven so many of the prior two generation Wranglers, have become even less so of one. But just like fullsize pickups, fullsize SUVs, and EVs, there’s definitely a market for Wranglers, and I can respect Jeep’s latest efforts to improve and refine the Wrangler, while also broadening its range and appeal. As for me though, I’ll stick with my European cars.
You’ll come around. 🙂 I hate to pull out the “when I was your age” trope but I’ll do it anyway, so when I was your age I wasn’t a fan either. Not until my knees starting aching and my back hurts and I wanted to sit in a dining room chair did I see the light…And never mind off-road, I think a 2door Wrangler is the perfect city vehicle. Small, turns on a dime, quick, great visibility, and any parking lot incident is a couple of bolts away from being fixed/replaced by a replacement appendage part that likely is unpainted or already painted black anyway.
My cheepo LJ/pickup conversion is getting long in the tooth. I want one of these. I need one of these. But $60k+ to use one the way God intended Jeeps to be used?
Argh! Life can be so cruel.
The LJ
Wow! Nice rig. I love the half cab. That will take you almost anywhere!
Jeep floated this concept a dozen years ago, but today, anything that isn’t a crew cab appears to be a non-starter.
An extended cab/6′ bed Gladiator on the same WB as the crew cab model (like every other mid-size pickup) would be great, but there’s really not much of a market for extended cabs outside of fleet buyers.
I’ve been toying with the idea of scoring an LJ to do that same half cab conversion. A Magnum 360/318 swap is an affordable alternative to the 345 Hemi and will make a TJ into a hotrod.
Interesting developments. The Gladiator most reminds me of the Scrambler, made for a few years in the early 80s. The prices are stupid, and you’ll likely find few bare bones units sitting on lots. I’ve driven a few of our trade-ins, and I’m not impressed with the driving experience of a Wrangler, although I have no doubts regarding their off-road prowess. One major key to off-road capability that Wranglers possess, are the front and rear “angles of ascent/descent”, or lack of overhang. The Gladiator is going to have problems with the rear overhang. I seem to recall that was a weak point on the old Scrambler.
All in all, an interesting vehicle, just not my cup of tea. Especially being Chrysler Crap. Great beach vehicle. For serious off-roading, I’ll take a full-size, 1/2 ton, regular cab pickup, shortbed, with a 4” lift. Ford or Chevy. Same price point, with more capability and versatility.
Too many doors, not enough pickup, but they all suffer from that disease nowdays.
For the vast majority of buyers, a vehicle that can haul, tow, and carry passengers is infinitely more useful than a vehicle that can only haul and tow.
i’m a bit disappointed that the Gladiator doesn’t come in mojito green!