I lurk more than post here, but I reckon the Gladiator is a significant enough vehicle (due to its looks and it being “The Jeep Truck”) that it’s worth letting y’all know I got one two Saturdays ago on the 6th.
It is a 2020 Sport S automatic. Options are the 7-inch radio, trailer-tow (not max tow), limited slip rear, remote start, and the premium soft top.
Backstory (skip to next pic if you don’t care): My (former) WJ has the 4.7L HO V8 that is known for not lasting a long time, mainly due to dropping valves. But I was at 160k miles and doing fine. It had always had a small a gurgle in the heater core and the occasional rough idle on startup (especially if it had sat a few days), so I knew I had slight head gasket issues but not severe. But just recently, the issues got worse—more, rougher idles at startup and bubbling in the coolant reservoir. I figure this is because it’s getting hot and I tow a boat. I just got the boat in October, so this is the first time I’ve towed it in heat. The boat is small (~1600lbs boat + trailer) and well within the WJ’s towing capacity (6500lbs), but it’s not nothing, either.
I told my wife what was going on and that I’d probably call her from the side of the road someday. It’d be a bit of an inconvenience and then I’d go get another vehicle. She suggested, though, why wait until I’m forced to find a vehicle? Why not go ahead and find something I like?
So the search was on, and I was hunting Wrangler Unlimiteds. Long story short, there weren’t many deals to be had on any in my area. In the process, I got a quote on this Gladiator that was far better than anything I got on any Wrangler. But the looks (specifically the proportioning of the bed) were still a hangup for me (and my wife). Now obviously this is confirmation bias, but it looks far better in person than in photos to me (and my wife). So I made an offer on the truck with trading in my WJ, stupidly saying, “If you’ll do [this much] more off the price and [this much] on my trade to get the out-the-door to [here] and the payment to [here], I’ll do it.” I thought I was reaching, but in like 90 seconds they said ok, so I wonder if I left money on the table. Oh well, I’ve never had a vehicle newer than 8 years old before, so I was excited!
Initially I didn’t think a truck bed would do much for me, but I carry yard-mowing stuff to my mom’s once a week, and we just got a pair of kayaks, so it has been immediately useful. Also, with a bed cover, the bed is a huge doors-off top-off secure storage area the Wrangler can’t do. As a side note, I also don’t really consider myself a “pickup man,” especially here in Alabama, but it is still 50% Wrangler after all.
And speaking of being 50% Wrangler, while this is my third Jeep, my first two were a Cherokee and Grand Cherokee, so doors-off and top-off is new to me. And I gotta say, it is pretty darn cool. The pic above is really enjoyable: doors off, back window removed, but main top left on as a sun bonnet. The top flips open over both rows of seats and stays accordion-ed up at the top. It can be totally removed, of course.
Cab fully enclosed, wind noise with the soft top is no louder at 75 mph than at 45 mph. The only buffeting I’ve experienced was when doing 70-75 mph with a 25 mph crosswind in the remnants of Tropical Storm Cristobal last week. Conversely, though wind noise isn’t bad, noise from other vehicles is very noticeable.
Now y’all know steering performance has been an issue with the new JL Wranglers and the Gladiator. Main symptoms are wandering at speed and death wobble. Several folks on the forums attribute it to tires being overinflated at the lot. I checked before my first test drive, and the dealer had my pressures spot-on to what the door sticker recommends. Like I said above, I’ve had a Cherokee and Grand Cherokee; other than a three-year stint in a Corolla, front and rear solid axles is all I’ve ever known, so I knew what to expect. And I experience nothing weird or wrong with the steering in my Gladiator. It tracks straight and can be kept in the lane at highway speeds with as little grip as it takes to hold a fork. It handles bumps, ruts, and potholes as well as a solid-axle vehicle can. No death wobble or weird darting when those things are encountered.
The Pentastar V6 is plenty powerful. In regards to my boat, I’ve only pulled it once and it was a short drive, but part of it is at 60 mph and that was no problem at all. The hp/torque stats on the Pentastar V6 (285/260) are similar to the 4.7L HO V8 in the WJ (265/325), but since the Pentastar gets 17 mpg city on regular gas and the V8 got 13 mpg city on the recommended premium, I’ll save $30/month in gas just on my commute.
I loved my WJ Grand Cherokee. I got the Utility out of the SUV, hauling and towing all sorts of things, and it never let me down. As long as the Gladiator can do the same, I’ll be totally satisfied.