The Gladiator is cool

"Nauraushaun" (nauraushaun12) 04/02/2019 at 15:16 • Filed to: None

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In a world where French cars are becoming less French and coupes are becoming SUVs and sports cars are also becoming SUVs and everything is becoming SUVs...It feels like cars are all melding into a samey mass of boring but efficient appliances. Like if you blend a bag of fun colorful jellybeans and you’re left with un-fun colorless goop.

The Gladiator bucks that trend. It’s great to see something so fully designed for purpose, in the way that Citroens of old were. Even if heaps of people will only ever use them to do boring-ass SUV duties - that’s incidental. Jeep want it to be used for lifestyle y outdoors y type stuff, and the design wholly caters to that.

I’m talking about the lack of a proper fixed roof option, that optional rugged bluetooth speaker, the big tyres (but not big wheels), the removable bits, the optional bar doors, and especially the rubber surround around the infotainment system. The G-Wagen may still be a fairly capable vehicle (at least in some trims), but by and large it’s a poser’s car. It doesn’t have the focused purpose of this thing.

I’m not a Jeep guy. Jeeps aren’t as big in Australia. You see them around, but we don’t have the patriotism aspect driving those sales. I’ve never much fancied them, I prefer sports cars. But the Gladiator is cool.

Disclaimer: Perhaps the same could be said about other Wrangler models too. I’m not really sure. I just watched Doug’s vid alright, thought it was worth commenting on.

BigBlock440 > Nauraushaun 04/02/2019 at 15:32

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I’d argue that it’s also becoming an SUV, because it’s a truck with a tiny bed and big cab. Yes, it’s not another boring appliance, but it is certainly more SUV than trucks used to be.

HammerheadFistpunch > Nauraushaun 04/02/2019 at 15:32

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I wouldn’t say that the Jeep was designed for a purpose, I would say it was willed into existence from consumer demand for a more bigger wrangler.  

DipodomysDeserti > Nauraushaun 04/02/2019 at 15:34

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For all their faults, FCA has been giving  us some awesome stuff over the years.

Honeybunchesofgoats > DipodomysDeserti 04/02/2019 at 15:39

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FCA is to styling what Mazda is to making fun cars, but also what Mazda was to making reliable cars.

MonkeePuzzle > Nauraushaun 04/02/2019 at 15:39

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its an offroad limousine ! that thing is LOOOOOOOOOOOONG

DAWRX - The Herb Strikes Back > HammerheadFistpunch 04/02/2019 at 15:42

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3-row wrangler based on the longer gladiator wheelbase next?

I mean it sounds silly, but...

KingT- 60% of the time, it works every time > Nauraushaun 04/02/2019 at 15:43

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It’s cool alright, given every second “SUV” is a FWD-based, CVT unibody crossover in reality.

But MAN is everything anything Wrangler So freaking expensive!

Nothing > Nauraushaun 04/02/2019 at 15:45

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A business case said build it, and they will come. They’d have been stupid to not build it. I seriously considered an Unlimited Rubicon before I bought my 4Runner. The occasional need for a third row, and the fact that the damn mounted  sound bar whacks me in the head made it a no go.

OPPOsaurus WRX > Nauraushaun 04/02/2019 at 15:46

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the rear wheels look like they could move up 6" and you could take a foot off the bed and it would still be fine

MasterMario - Keeper of the V8s > DAWRX - The Herb Strikes Back 04/02/2019 at 15:54

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If they made the Grand Wagoneer on this platform instead of a shared one with the Dodge Durango that would be amazing

MasterMario - Keeper of the V8s > KingT- 60% of the time, it works every time 04/02/2019 at 15:57

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It’s not bad all things considered. You can option it up the wazoo, but I built one how I would order it and it still came in under $40k MSRP. Ad d in the way Jeeps hold their value and as long as someone can afford it I wouldn’t consider it a bad value at all .

HammerheadFistpunch > Nauraushaun 04/02/2019 at 16:02

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Something that just occurred to me: The hardtop weighs about 100 lbs and it isn’t included in the base weight s for payload and GVWR. that puts a hardtop rubicon auto like D oug’ s would only have a payload of 1060 lbs. That worse than the already sad Tacoma TRD pro at 1175

Ssfancyfresh > Nauraushaun 04/02/2019 at 16:04

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I would say the purpose of any Jeep is to be fun and this appears to deliver tons of fun in a segment that has gotten soft.

Cross shopping this versus Colorado (boring), Ranger (snooze), or Tacoma (totes lame), I would buy this in a heartbeat. It just looks like a hilarious good time on 4 wheels.

Yeah, I know it can be stupid pricey. Yeah, I know that those other trucklets can do more truckier truck things. Ain’t care. I’d get the Gladiator.   

415s30 W123TSXWaggoIIIIIIo ( •_•))°) > Nauraushaun 04/02/2019 at 16:37

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If I was in Oz I would have a diesel Land Cruiser, or a Mitsubishi Delica. 

SilentButNotReallyDeadly...killed by G/O Media > Nauraushaun 04/02/2019 at 17:30

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And yet Jeep have fallen into the ‘cool’ trap and made it almost completely impractical for any of its normal day to day purposes (except the one about looking cool in urban traffic congestion).

And they didn't have to...

Nauraushaun > SilentButNotReallyDeadly...killed by G/O Media 04/02/2019 at 17:34

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I’d almost take that! Given that everything else on the market is perfectly good at normal day purposes to the detriment of all fun, I’m glad there’s something out there that’s compromised

Nauraushaun > 415s30 W123TSXWaggoIIIIIIo ( •_•))°) 04/02/2019 at 17:34

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70 series? 70 series.

Delicas are cool as they come

Nauraushaun > Ssfancyfresh 04/02/2019 at 17:35

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Completely with you. I don’t expect to ever be looking for such a vehicle, but if I was this would surely be the one.

The others do the job, but you wan’t WANT the others like you want this.

Nauraushaun > HammerheadFistpunch 04/02/2019 at 17:36

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That’s a bit sad. But oh well :)

Nauraushaun > Nothing 04/02/2019 at 17:37

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So then how long have they been stupid for?! It’s taken as long as it has, be happy. I’d say it was far from a sure thing. It’s competitive market in America, as I understand. Mayhaps that means profits are thin and Jeep were hesitant to get involved.

Nauraushaun > KingT- 60% of the time, it works every time 04/02/2019 at 17:38

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That’s RIGHT

Nauraushaun > MonkeePuzzle 04/02/2019 at 17:38

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It is, it is. But is it longer than a Ranger? Perhaps not

Nauraushaun > DipodomysDeserti 04/02/2019 at 17:40

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Funnily enough: Dodge, Fiat, Chrysler, Ram. Each of these only have like 1 model in the Australian market if any at all.

FCA’s volume sellers in Aus are Jeep...and Alfa Romeo. Plenty of them around.

Nauraushaun > DAWRX - The Herb Strikes Back 04/02/2019 at 17:40

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Hey, given how the SUV market is, that could just happen.

Nauraushaun > BigBlock440 04/02/2019 at 17:41

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Certainly more SUV than the Wrangler used to be, when it was 2 door only. But still far from most SUVs, it’s fine :)

Nauraushaun > HammerheadFistpunch 04/02/2019 at 17:42

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I think they could’ve softened it a lot more, and removed a lot more of the weird shit, and still hit that target. They went for it and I respect that.

HammerheadFistpunch > Nauraushaun 04/02/2019 at 17:43

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hey, they weren’t even going to give us unique rear doors, lets be real and realize this is a wrangler from the b pillar forwards because its easier to make then doing a whole new truck.  

415s30 W123TSXWaggoIIIIIIo ( •_•))°) > Nauraushaun 04/02/2019 at 18:27

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Yeah probably a 70 in some configuration. 

Nothing > Nauraushaun 04/02/2019 at 18:30

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I’d say it was developed along with the JL chassis. It’s easy to forget that the JK was a test of a 4 door Wrangler that was wildly successful.   The JK proved that people were willing to pay $50k for a Jeep. They weren’t going to develop a pickup off of that chassis when the JL was already in development. Build up the excitement and desire by bringing various Wrangler based pickups to Easter Safari then finally produce one to satiate all of the pend up demand.

People aren’t buying it because it’s a pickup, they’ll be buying it because it’s a Wrangler with a bed.

SilentButNotReallyDeadly...killed by G/O Media > Nauraushaun 04/02/2019 at 18:42

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Yeah...nah. There are plenty of compromised new vehicles (most every dual cab ute for example) and there are plenty of fun new vehicles.

But the Gladiator is way too compromised and above all too expensive to be fun in thine eyes. It almost makes the Wrangler seem sensible!

Tristan > Nauraushaun 04/02/2019 at 19:11

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I couldn't agree with you more.

Nauraushaun > Tristan 04/02/2019 at 23:24

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:)

Nauraushaun > SilentButNotReallyDeadly...killed by G/O Media 04/02/2019 at 23:24

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FUN LIKE THE NEW MITSUBISHI ECLIPSE?!

SilentButNotReallyDeadly...killed by G/O Media > Nauraushaun 04/03/2019 at 06:36

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Yeah...that sort of fun. Still an improvement on the ASX...so there is a bright side.

i86hotdogs > Nauraushaun 04/03/2019 at 08:12

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IIRC, Chrysler sold the 300 SRT in Australia for a good amount of time after the US spec was killed.

i86hotdogs > Nauraushaun 04/03/2019 at 08:14

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They’re awesome vehicles. I would never own one, but I can’t wait to see these pop up all over Turo. I’ ll rent one so hard on my next vacation.

Nauraushaun > i86hotdogs 04/03/2019 at 16:42

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Perhaps it was just...lingering stock... :(

i86hotdogs > Nauraushaun 04/04/2019 at 07:45

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It could be, but these had the 6.4 the current Scat Packs have. There was an article somewhere either on Jalopnik or Oppo talking about it