Test drove a 2021 Gladiator and ...

Pretty sure they are made under license by Chrysler but the rest of the things you stated are correct

 

It's cool bro, if Jeep would pull their head out of their ass an get rid of their solid front axle then I would certainly have one. But, since their fanboys are so rapid (remember when they tried to make square head lights?) they would never make such a dramatic move since they know that Jeep owners need to scale 6 foot walls on the way to the mall.

At least Ford, Mercedes, and Land Rover got smart and ditched their solid front axles. But hey, you can enjoy death wobble with the rest of the cool kids.

 

I’m not a Jeep guy, but I do like the way they look and love their off road capabilities. I have a Brother who is considerably older than me. Through the years he has bought himself a few of Jeeps but they’ve all turned out to be POS money pits. Thinking maybe he just had bad luck with one he’d try another and invariably the mechanical issues would ruin the fun. Not just him but have several friends with basically the same experience.

This is why I’ve never personally owned one. I’ve been pretty tempted many times but never pulled the trigger. Is that I’m retired with more time and a little money I’ve thought about finding one to have just as a second play vehicle. If it shits the bed, not really a big deal as it won’t be my DD.

The thing I’m really confused by though is all the different designations, JK, JL, TJ, BJ, Yada, yada… are those just different gen designations by year, or are they actual different model configurations?

 

Juuuuust a bit closer, when "equally" equipped. These screen shots are directly from Jeep/ Toyota. Hard to gauge pricing at dealerships since some discount heavily and others add "market" increases (such bull shit). I added upgraded tires to the Tacoma, nothing else. Can't make it a "soft top".

Had to add a bit to the Gladiator for the spec sheets to be even:

Forward-Facing TrailCam
Black Freedom Top® 3-Piece Hard Top
8-Speed Automatic 850RE Transmission
Premium LED Lighting Group
Jeep® Active Safety Group
Cargo Management Group with Trail Rail™ System
Adaptive Cruise Control/Fwd Collision Warning Plus
Trailer-Tow Package

On paper, about $8K more before discounts & haggling. I'll take a TRD Pro and $8K worth of upgrades over the Gladiator ANY day.

 

The CJ(45-86) YJ(87-95), TJ(96-06), JK(07-18), JL(18-Present). It's basically like the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd gen for Tacomas. The TJ and prior had what some would consider one of the most reliable motors of all time. The inline 6cyl. It changed from a 4,2 to a 4.0 in 93ish(not 100% sure). I'm not much of a JK and newer Jeep fan, but I can tell you I drove my TJ for 215K miles and would still be driving it had it not been totaled while sitting at a red light.

The CJ had some variations(CJ 2a, 3b, 5, 6, 7, and 8). The TJ had the LJ(04-06). It was basically the Scrambler version for the TJ's.

 

Did you add Leather too?

 

SUMBICTH! NOPE!! So tack on another $1750 - good catch. Yeah - $10K on a TRD Pro and Jeep better pack a lunch - it's all over but the crying.

 

Some will go back and say... ZOMG but FRONT LOCKER... But it really depends. I think the Mojave trim is a more comparable one to be honest... But it is pretty much Rubicon pricing.

There are a few other options that most dealers add... so I have seen them well above 60k frequently. Granted it is easier to "order" a Gladiator and get SOME discount... but the discounts are more difficult to get on the "special" models.

The "overland" trim is super easy get discounts on however.

I exclusively cross shopped JL and TRD pro, but ended up with the Pro for multiple reasons. Wind noise/wandering on the freeway, ride quality, and price are the main.

 

Good job man, always pays to shop around.

 

Ughh, the damn seller did me dirty. :/ Went to go look at it Sunday and I agreed to pay him his asking price. I told him I would have the money by Tuesday, which I did. He said no problem, he will hold it for me. Contacted him on Tuesday telling him I'm ready to meet up and he never answered my texts/calls. I figured I'd give him one more day and still nothing. My friend at work contacted him via email and he said that it was being sold today at 3:00pm.

I guess it's just not meant to be.

 

boooooo

 

But as I said before, you can easily get $5K off the Jeep, and can even do $10K off, but you'd have to order and travel. If you can find a Taco TRD Pro and not have to pay $5K-$10K over MSRP or wait 6 months, or both, then you'll probably also hit the jackpot the next day, and cost would be a moot point

But even if you forget the previous paragraph, I wonder what it would cost to make the Taco up to the level of the Gladiator: Replace milk container plastics with soft stitched materials, solid front axle, make the Taco convertible, replace that ____ 6 speed auto with the ZF 8 speed, replace the electric transfer case with a mechanical one like in the Gladiator, replace the 90's climate control console in the Taco with one from this century, make the Taco's seating position in the front to be comfortable (higher cabin maybe?), stretch the cabin in the Taco to increase the leg room in the back seat, increase the mid-range torque on the Tacos' engine, so that you don't have floor it to pass on the freeway, replace the frame with one that doesn't rust. That's all I can think of right now.

Edit: I just remembered: Front locker, rear disk brakes, foldable windshield and removable doors. I hate auto-stop-start engine, so I left that out on purpose.

 

you forgot to add a diesel option!?!?!

 

(and possible hybrid next year) My bad, I also forgot the front locker, rear disk brakes, foldable windshield and removable doors. I hate auto-stop-start engine, so I left that out on purpose I'll edit my post.

 

Yea, like when Porsche went to water cooled engines and BMWs got huge and heavy (and expensive). All survival moves by the corporations. I heard, not sure how truth this is, but someone posted that BMWs are all going to be fully loaded, but you'll have to pay a monthly fee to use the features. E.g. Toyotas and Jeeps are now that way for some things, like connected services etc., but BMW would be for most features (again, it could be BS). That'd be crappy, do you want AC? That's $5 a month, do you want to use the sound system, that's $7 a month. Or you can bundle both for $10 a month!!

 

Can your Tacoma do this

Idling up this hill in 1rst gear low range and get both front tires 3 -4ft off the ground . This is my old Jeep showing off at Corral canyon in East County San Diego

 

I don't see BMW selling a lot of cars in North America over the next 10 years, or no where near as many as they did in the last 10 years. Overseas BMW will probably do very well.

 

Where are u gonna get $5000 or more off of a Jeep right now? There is currently a $1500 rebate and from what Ive seen on a Ram forum, dealers arent accepting the affliate member 1% below invoice pricing with the current situation. Ram/Jeep are all part of the same program.

 

i did

was like driving a cinder block on wheels (B I G / H E A V Y )

if i needed a almost full sized pick up ( it AINT )

i might consider it

there are other better full sized available

the comparison is biased................they are 2 totally different trucks

the gladiator for its size is NOT versatile

for the $$$$$$ the Taco win out