There has never been a mass produced truck on US soil that is more off road capable than the 2020 Jeep Gladiator. The Gladiator also offers open-air motoring that just isn’t available in any other vehicle on the road today.
Fold the windshield down, remove the doors and remove or fold back the top and you can be fully exposed to the environment around you. You still do get the protection of an integrated roll cage though. Safety first!
I got a chance to drive the Gladiator at the press launch in Sacramento, CA. The truck is everything you’d expect it to be. It is SUPER capable off road, has more wind noise on road than any other truck and feels like a Jeep. On road it works, but off road it excels. The long wheelbase being the only glaring negative to this Jeep pickup.
Gladiator Drivetrain
The 3.6L V6 Pentastar (285 hp, 260 lb-ft) is a fine motor, but it isn’t exactly inspiring. Next year we’ll get a 3.0L EcoDiesel V6 (260 HP 442 lb-ft) that has promise, but we’ll have to wait and see how good it is in this chassis. What we all really want, and AEV gave us with the Brute already, is a Hemi V8 under the hood. While we’re dreaming, lets make that the new 1,000+ HP Helliphant crate motor.
The 6-speed manual in the Jeep Gladiator is a bit clunky and really doesn’t seem to play all that well with the V6 Pentastar. The clutch pedal also allows little room for your left foot to rest in the footwell.
On the flip side of the coin, the 8-speed automatic is a superb transmission. I love to drive a manual, and am stoked you can in a Gladiator, but I would for sure get the automatic in this truck.
Life Inside A Jeep Gladiator
The biggest interior upgrade, that would be super easy and inexpensive, would be the addition of a dead pedal. This would allow the driver to rest his/her left foot, without it being at an odd angle flat on the floor. This is a big aftermarket opportunity for sure.
The only real difference inside the Gladiator from a Wrangler is the storage under and behind the rear seats. These storage areas are lockable, have dividers and are quite useful. There is even a specific bin for the hardware and tools required to take the doors and top off, as well as drop the windshield.
The rest of the interior is the rugged Jeep Wrangler JL that we’re use to. The seats are pretty comfortable, the driving position works and the vertical dash has presence. The rear seat is super snug for three adults, as you’d expect out of this relatively narrow interior. You know you’re in a Jeep inside the Gladiator.
Gladiator Performance
The Jeep Gladiator isn’t a lightweight vehicle, ranging from 4,650 to 5,050 lbs, depending on trim level and options. You can’t expect it to be all that light however, as it is fully armored, has beefty Dana 44 solid axles and the Rubicon comes with 33” Falken Wildpeak off road tries.
Because of the weight, squared off iconic design and big aggressive tires you can’t expect a whole lot in terms of fuel economy from this truck. The automatic transmission will get you 17 city, 22 hwy and 19 combined, while the manual will see 16, 23 and 19 MPG. Those are actually really impressive numbers when you compared them to other mid-sized pickups.
Gladiator Truck Duty
The tiny steel truck bed on the Jeep Gladiator is a pathetic in size honestly. It is shallow, relatively narrow and at 5′ long isn’t going to hold much. It is however durable, even can be bed lined from the factory, and extremely well thought out. The four tie down points swivel and lay flat. The tailgate can be dropped half way to better support large loads that rest on top of the wheel wells, like plywood and drywall. All in, it’s a well thought out package, but small.
Because the Gladiator is a truck it will be expected to haul a lot of gear and be used for towing. You can load up a base Gladiator with up to 1,600 lbs of gear and spec one out to haul an impressive 7,650 lbs.
The V6 Pentastar does feel a bit weak to tow a load over 5,000 lbs, but it works. The big issue with towing is the inadequate tiny side mirrors on the truck. Jeep and Mopar offer no solutions to this major issue.
Jeep Gladiator Pricing
The reality is that the Jeep Gladiator is a pretty expensive truck. With that said, you get a lot for your money. That is especially true if you value off road capability and the ability to enjoy open air motoring.
Pricing starts at $33,545, but in reality the Rubicon you’ll want starts at $43,545 and goes up to a bit over $60,000.
More Gladiator Goodness
For an even more in-depth look at this truck check out my first drive piece on GearJunkie.com.
