The acceleration from the 285-horsepower, 3.6-liter Pentastar V-6 is adequate, but not what one would classify as rapid. That floaty handling is something you accept in a Jeep Wrangler, but it’s less acceptable in a pickup, regardless of the brand badge. This is one of the main reasons that it didn’t place higher in our comparison of the Gladiator Overland versus other on-road-oriented mid-size pickups. It’s largely isolated and fairly numb, which is exactly what you want on an off-roader that might throw some violent steering wheel motions back at you if you put a wheel wrong and hit a rock or rut, but which isn’t all that pleasant when you’re trying to hustle the Gladiator along a winding valley two-lane road. The steering feel is exactly like that of a Wrangler JL - light on effort, but light on feedback. The Gladiator is longer and heavier than the Wrangler, which - combined with the solid front axle - translates into a big, high-riding truck that isn’t all that thrilled being pushed quickly on tight, twisty mountain roads. The second main sensation is one of heft. Do it in a Rubicon trim Gladiator and it’s less enjoyable, but not much less. Of course, this on-road evaluation was made in the Overland trim, the most luxurious and on-road-friendly version of the Gladiator, with large, pavement-oriented tires that still performed beautifully in the deep, slippery, muddy two-track ruts along our drive route. The long wheelbase and the heavier-duty suspension smooth out just about everything without the bouncy feel that plagues the Ford Ranger FX4 or Chevrolet Colorado Z71. No Wrangler rides this smoothly, with this level of bump-absorbing skill. On-Road AdequacyĪll of this adds up to two notable sensations - first, this is the best-riding Wrangler-derived vehicle ever made. The rear brakes are 5 percent bigger than the Wrangler’s, it has Dana 44 heavy-duty axles front and rear like the Wrangler Rubicon (every other Wrangler trim has a Dana 30 front axle), and the wheels are chunkier to support the Gladiator’s higher weight rating. It has a different rear suspension entirely, a five-link coil-spring setup that borrows liberally from the Ram 1500 pickup. It’s heavier than the Wrangler, from 350 pounds on the base model to 590 pounds on the Rubicon, due to the extra structural reinforcement and beefier components required to boost the payload and tow ratings. It’s longer than the Wrangler JL, thanks to a slightly stretched wheelbase that allows it to keep the Wrangler cab while still adding a 5-foot cargo bed. Regardless of how it looks, the driving experience is at once familiar and a little bit surprising. It’s by no means a deal-killer - everybody thought that the first four-door Wrangler Unlimited looked bizarre, too, when the JK was introduced in 2006. But when you look at the Gladiator’s profile, it’s obvious that Jeep engineers and stylists had a challenge making the Wrangler work on a pickup frame. In fact, from the front, the Gladiator doesn’t look any different from the Wrangler, but it is the grille features larger slat openings for better cooling, necessitated by the Gladiator’s higher tow rating. From the front, back or even quarter view, this isn’t apparent. Theproportions are just not quite right, are they? Like the bed is a little too short, or the four-door cab is just a bit too long, or maybe the rear axle isn’t quite in the right place. Let’s get one thing out of the way right off the bat: Yes, it looks a little odd. Related: 2020 Pickup Truck of the Year Don’t Worry About How It Looks ![]() Given the truck’s increased capabilities over Jeep’s iconic four-wheel-drive SUV, it’s safe to say that the Gladiator is much more a pickup truck than simply a modified SUV. The new 2020 Jeep Gladiator, the Jeep brand’s return to the pickup truck market after an absence of 27 years, might look like a Wrangler with a pickup bed, but Jeep insists that it’s so much more than that: Less than half of the parts in the Gladiator (“JT” platform) are shared with the latest Wrangler (“JL”), and we can now state that it doesn’t really drive like a Wrangler either. Versus the competition: If you need a capable mid-size pickup that goes off-road or a four-season convertible with a utility bed, the Gladiator is hard to beat - but unless you want those things, other trucks are more comfortable on-road, handle better, are quieter and are far less expensive. The verdict: As a Jeep that’s also a pickup truck, the Gladiator works beautifully.
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