Test drove a 2021 Gladiator and ...

Soup bowl obstacle Rubicon trail

https://youtu.be/8A33uJXOPV8

 

Yeah, that dog will hunt.

 

The Tacoma is expensive, but the equivalent gladiator is out of this world.

 

After the 2018 Grand Cherokee I had I will never own anything from Jeep or FCA again. Ever.

 

eh my 2012 is still going strong, they all have their things

 

I know. Not the kind of lottery that's fun to win though. Had to have a head replaced at 250 miles and it was downhill from there.

 

My stock Tacoma is averaging 16.9 mpg. I'd say it's probably a draw between the two. At least the Gladiator has an 8-speed transmission which might help.

 

Does Mopar still offer Lifetime Maxcare?

When my wife and I replaced her totaled CX-5 with a Grand Cherokee we negotiated Lifetime Maxcare into the deal for somewhere south of $2,000. It’s effectively a bumper to bumper warranty for the life of the vehicle until the cost of the repair exceeds the book value of the vehicle, and then they give you book value and the warranty is gone. It’s a $200 deductible for each visit, but not for each repair. So theoretically if the transmission was failing and then on the way to the dealer the motor let go, they’d replace both for $200.

Given Jeep’s troublesome reputation, for the price point it was a no brainer (my wife had wanted a JGC since she was 16 and with residual values what they were at the time it worked out fair enough). We’ve got just over 50,000 miles and knock on wood we’ve had zero issues.

Granted, if they don’t offer than anymore, or if you plan on modifying a Gladiator (why wouldn’t you) it’s a mood point. Since the most modifications my wife’s Jeep will see are floor mats, it made sense and there was a lot of money on the hood for a leftover 2016.

 

Congrats on the gladiator. I had a rubicon and it was great. Thought about the gladiator but wife does not like it's looks. The Taco gets better mileage than my old rubicon so there is no doubt it will get better mileage than the gladiator. But for pure off road, it would be hard to beat a stock rubi gladiator

 

My 2 cent's, when I worked at the dodge Chrysler jeep dealer. I learned even though they seemed like a nice car truck I would never own a Chrysler product that pentastar engine was crap when it came out.at one time we had 26 with the heads off waiting for new cam phasers. They also put stop leak in the cooling system from that engine.

 

I'm always going to point this out because in real-world sitiuations, its simply not true. I wheel with a gladiator on 37s and he gets stuck more often than I do because of breakover and wheelbase. He's not doing any trails that I cant with 35s and an open front.

Side note: I find it funny that people pay extra to have a less insulated roof and leaky door panels. Can you believe it was considered a cheaper option to have removable doors and that's now considered premium haha

 

You couldn't give me a new jeep or Chrysler product in general for free, I'd give it back. I loved Jeep still love older ones.

Their 3.6L has always been and continues to be total garbage. Can't get the oil filter/heat exchanger housing not to leak, often mixing coolant and oil not counting a long list of other issues with that engine. Chrysler electrical gremlins haven't changed in 10+years. Ive gotten to the point I can tear down and assemble the tops of those engines whole stoned and drunk purely off muscle memory.

they used to make good reliable engines for American brands (old 3.8L they started using in wranglers after getting rid of 4.0L was decently solid). That 3.6 need to be put in the trash can after the 1st year and to date, still don't have it right.

 

Whenever I see one on the road I know the person driving it either has more money than brains or they’re paying through the nose per month.

 

I would never spend that kind of money on anything Dodge/Chrysler/Jeep/Fiat.

There are a few Gladiators around here. One guy took the top and doors off, looks worse than a 4-door Jeep.

 

Lol I think the same. For the same kind of money you could deck out a Tacoma or Rubicon.

 

Pre-Covid, I was traveling a lot for work. I have rented a few Gladiators for a week at a time. They're fun to drive for quick trips around town and offroad but anyone who says they are as quiet as a Taco is flat-out lying to you. They're loud AF on the freeway! If I was working somewhere and had to drive more than 10 minutes or so, I wouldn't rent a Gladiator because they're so miserable on the freeway. BUT, I have taken the ones I've rented offroad (nothing serious but anywhere I could find to play around), and they're a blast! So, I can see why people want them - I just would hate the drive until I got offroad to be able to enjoy it.

 

Every time I contemplate buying a Jeep, I see something like this and I change my mind; this was twenty minutes ago when I went around the block for gas. Driver told me he was tooling down the road and it just quit.

 

Nothing like the reliability of a Tacoma

 

Neighbor down the street sold his built-up Wrangler to buy a brand new Gladiator the other year.

Just over a year later, the Gladiator is gone and new Wrangler is in it's place.