Meet the Gladiator: the Jeep ute you have always wanted

Thursday, 29 November 2018

The Gladiator is the long-awaited Wrangler-based pick up from Jeep. Here are the vehicles that inspired it.

It has taken more than 25 years, but the vehicle Jeep fans have been demanding since the company killed off the Cherokee-based Comanche pick up in 1992 has finally surfaced - the Wrangler-based Jeep Gladiator pick up has finally been revealed, and it is magnificent.

Magnificent, but not at all surprising, because it looks exactly how you would imagine (and want) a Wrangler-based pick up to look - Wrangler out front, pick up out back.

Equally unsurprising it looks quite similar to the aftermarket ute conversion of the last-generation Wrangler by AEV that we saw here as the Wrangler Brute back in 2016 because, after all, there are only so many ways you can make a Wrangler ute. Well, one really.

The Gladiator is pretty much exactly what you would expect - and want - a Jeep pick up to look like.

Leaked pictures and brief specifications first appeared on Fiat Chrysler's US media website a while back, but were quickly removed, before appearing online again in a since-deleted post on US website Truck Trend.

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While the Gladiator's 725kg payload may be down on what we in NZ expect a ute to haul, it can still tow 3,500kg.

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But since then Fiat Chrysler has released official pics and specs after its reveal at the Los Angeles motor show so here they are!

The Gladiator's chassis is 790mm longer than the JL Wrangler Unlimited's, while the wheelbase is up by 490mm, while the larger axles, brakes and the suspension are unique to the Gladiator, and it will be able to haul 725kg in the tray and tow 3,470kg.

Up the front the Jeep pick up will get the same upgraded 3.6-litre Pentastar petrol V6 as the latest Wrangler (again, no surprises there) that produces 212kW of power and 352Nm of torque and is available with either a six-speed manual or eight-speed automatic transmission. A 194kW/600Nm 3.0-litre diesel V6 is coming in 2020, and this will only be available with the 8-speed auto.

And, yes, there will of course be a hard-core off road Rubicon version of the Gladiator, after all, what would be the point otherwise?

The Rubicon will get Fox aluminium-bodied 2-inch-diameter shocks, lockers, a disconnecting front sway bar, a 4:1 low range transfer case ratio and 33-inch mud tyres. All of this, allied to the claimed approach angle of 43.6 degrees, breakover angle of 20.3 degrees, a 26 degree departure angle and 282mm of ground clearance should make the Gladiator Rubicon a rather formidable off road beast.

Like the Wrangler the Gladiator's windscreen can lie flat on the bonnet and the roof and doors are removable, making for a unique open-air experience in the medium pick up segment. Your Ranger can't do that.

The Gladiator will be available in Sport, Sport S, Overland and the aforementioned Rubicon versions and is confirmed to arrive in New Zealand showrooms in 2020, with local prices and specifications announced nearer the launch.