Jeep Gladiator 2020 Review

If you’re thinking this isn’t the first overseas drive you’ve read of the new Jeep Gladiator you would be right. Carsalaes.com.au attended the launch of the US-spec version of the highly-anticipated utility in California last April.

Back then we sampled the Rubicon version of the Gladiator powered by a 3.6-litre petrol V6 with eight-speed auto and our road test editor came away pretty impressed.

Just before Christmas carsales.com.au headed across the ditch to New Zealand’s south island for another crack at the Jeep Gladiator.

We’d hoped to drive a diesel-powered Australian-spec version, get confirmation of the local model line-up (Overland and Rubicon are the two variants expected here) and maybe even get the guff on local equipment and pricing levels ahead of the Aussie launch in the second quarter of this year.

But there was none of that. We were still in US-spec left-hand drive petrol Rubicons and there was no sign of local information – bar a couple of disappointing key numbers which we’ll get to in a sec.

Hey, it was an illuminating drive, in part because the Gladiator again showed its on- and off-road character and also because of some pretty spectacular scenery we toured through (as the still and video images that go with this story hopefully illustrate).

So what is the Jeep Gladiator, I don’t hear you ask – because just about everyone who has any interest in the dual-cab ute segment has already read everything they can about it.

In terms of importance, the Gladiator is another player adding diversity to a segment that was once pretty straight forward.

Dual-cabs are now big business in Australia, which is why we have luxury models like the Mercedes-Benz X-Class, performance models such as the Ford Ranger Raptor and the escalation of pricing to $80,000 and beyond.

The Gladiator takes the unquestioned 4x4 capability of Jeep’s latest JL Wrangler Unlimited (four-door), stretches the wheelbase to 3487mm, the overall length beyond 5.5m and adds a steel tray on the back that measures 1531mm long by 1442mm wide (1137mm between the arches) by 861mm high.

Some people will note the tray’s too narrow for an Aussie pallet, but then the way Jeep envisages it, the Gladiator isn’t going to be used as a worksite workhorse anyway.

But there are a couple of other numbers that work more fundamentally against Gladiator and they are its limited payload and braked towing capacity.

Back in April, Jeep said the Gladiator could tow up to 3470kg – which is close enough to the 3500kg maximum to be competitive. The payload was as much as 770kg, which was well short of the metric tonne, but still OK.

But as of NZ last December both those numbers had been lowered for Australia and other international markets; to 620kg for payload – not great – and 2721kg for the towing – not good.

Add to that the Jeep Gladiator will initially only be available with the petrol V6 (a 194kW/600Nm 3.0-litre diesel V6 is scheduled for 2020 introduction in North America according to the press material, but isn’t being confirmed by Jeep people) and no wonder Jeep is forecasting only 1000-1500 sales per annum here. Ford Australia sells that many Rangers 4x4s every 10 days.

We should mention the price range too while discussing numbers. Our guesstimate is $60,000-$70,000 and beyond plus on-road costs, so it won’t be cheap. But nor is a Raptor or an X 350, so that’s less of an issue.

Alright, enough of that stuff, let’s go for a drive. And what a drive it was.

From Queenstown it was west and then north alongside spectacular Lake Wakatipu on a really enjoyable bitumen road to Glenorchy. Then the transition to good quality dirt to follow the Rees River.

We then headed back to Queenstown and on up to Wanaka via the spectacular Cadrona Valley Road. From there it was back on to the dirt for the drive toward Mount Aspiring.

We camped overnight close to Mount Avalanche and then spent the next morning clambering over boulders, down rock chutes and over fast-running creeks to test the Gladiator’s off-road ability.

By the way, all this was happening immediately after a week of heavy rain, so things were a bit squelchy in places – and there was water over the road in other places as well! So plaudits to the Jeep crew for ensuring we had a drive route to sample the vehicle on at all.

Through all that the Jeep Gladiator proved itself a prime candidate for backroads driving. No surprise there.

We did learn a few things as we went along. For instance; narrow and crowded roads and car parks are not the Gladiator’s natural environment. There’s a lot car hanging out behind you. That standard reversing camera is truly appreciated.

Off-road that length also means you have to plan ahead a little more. There was one tight turn on the off-road course that required a laborious three-point turn. Mountain hairpins are going to be interesting…

The Jeep Gladiator rides better than the Wrangler. That stretched wheelbase and softly sprung long-travel suspension make for a relaxed progress on the open road. The Gladiator deals with potholes, broken edges and other corruptions with great aplomb.

The downside is there’s a fair sense of wallowing and the rear-end can oscillate a few times before it settles down. We were driving without a load in the tray though.

That suspension compliance is also a great help off-road of course, although it isn’t that hard to touch down the rock rails because of the long wheelbase. Ramp-over angle is 18.4 degrees for Overland and 20.3 degrees for Rubicon, which is hardly disastrous but indicative of that issue.

The Jeep Gladiator rides on a ladder frame chassis with solid axles and coil springs at both ends – the five-link rear-end set-up sourced from the RAM 1500 truck rather than Wrangler – and it steers via an electro-hydraulic assisted recirculating ball system.

On road our Rubicon, shod with Falken M/T 17-inch rubber, pointed approximately and rolled and lolled about. Off-road it had the built-in slack to help you manoeuvre over and around rough stuff at ultra-low speed.

And the drivetrain? Yes, that Pentastar V6 is a bit old-school. It’s big on cubes but lacking in low-down pulling power, so you have to rev it to keep cracking along on the highway. It’s not so much uninspiring as just sitting there. There’s no doubt a turbo-diesel would make more sense.

The eight-speed auto does its job to ameliorate fuel consumption, as does the idle-stop system, but even the US EPA claim of 12.4L/100km looks a bit optimistic when you take into account a kerb weight that will be somewhere north of 2300kg in Aussie spec.

The 4x4 system we sampled in the Rubicon was the part-time Rock-Trac, but the full-time Selec-Trac system will also be on offer in Australia.

Anyway, stick Rock-Trac in its ultra-low low range – a fairly hard task thanks to the stiff action of the lever – and disconnect the front sway bar (30 per cent more articulation comes with that) and just about anything felt conquerable.

On the flipside, it’s amazing what it can do in 2H when you forget to make the change!

The Gladiator aligns traditional Jeep capability with more interior refinement than you might expect.

The cabin is quiet with gravel splash and engine roar never becoming annoying. Four adults are offered space and excellent views from on-high thanks to a large glass area. There are even adjustable air-con vents in the rear.

OK, like Wrangler, there’s a still a wall of buttons and dials, the switches for the power windows are located in the upright centre stack (the doors are removable, remember), there are no overhead grabs and there’s just not enough sizable storage options in the cabin to fit the debris of modern life.

The glovebox and centre lidded bin are small and there are only string nets in the door, presumably to make them lighter so they can be removed, as the roof panels can be (they are called freedom panels by the way…), unless you have the ‘Sunrider’ soft-top. As per Jeep tradition the windscreen also folds flat.

The interior surfaces are hard to the touch, but our test vehicles seemed well bolted together and had no squeaks and rattles. The Gladiator is assembled in Ohio.

The bucket seats up front aren’t great but aren’t bad and while the bench in the rear is upright, it also gets a pass mark. Storage is available under the cushion.

The driver gets a digital speedo as part of a trip computer set between the traditional analogue dials, and there’s reach and rake adjustment for the steering column but no left footrest. And it’s noticeable how much the transmission tunnel encroaches on the cramped driver’s footwell.

Also as in the Wrangler, the Uconnect infotainment system has a high-set touch-screen and is one of the easiest systems of this type to access and understand. It includes a specific off-road page with info on stuff like pitch and roll. Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are also standard, along with charge ports for phones et al.

Much else about equipment remained unconfirmed as this was written, but we do know the Australian-spec Gladiator will be the first in the world to get standard autonomous emergency braking.

But that’s unlikely to lift it out of the three-star ANCAP safety range, which is better than the one star Wrangler copped at launch, before it was recently boosted to three.

The Jeep Gladiator is a much-anticipated novelty. At launch it’s going to have the wrong engine and less braked towing capacity than its obvious opposition. Its sheer size is also going to put some people off.

But for ultimate off-roading there’s little doubt it’s going to be right up there for capability. And for some people that’s all the incentive they’ll need to slap down their dollars, load up their new Gladiator and head for the hills.

How much does the 2020 Jeep Gladiator Rubicon cost?
Price: From $70,000 (estimate)
Engine: 3.6-litre V6 petrol
Output: 209kW/353Nm
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
Fuel: 12.4L/100km (US EPA Combined)
CO2: 284g/km (US EPA Combined)
Safety rating: N/A