This thing is going to sell well, especially in places like California, Florida, Atlanta, Vegas and even here in Michigan. You can take the top off and make it a convertible, tow a boat and throw crap in the bed for going out on the lake like coolers, water skis, inflatable tube etc. I have a feeling this will sell way better than even they anticipate. I was in Chicago last week and there was a guy with an all black Wrangler that was kitted out to the poser max, it even had jerry cans mounted all over the outside, all it was missing was a gun turret on the roof. Guys like him are going to go nuts with the Gladiator. LOL
It's also going to make a great stock overlanding vehicle. A lot of JK/JLs and overland trailers might end up flooding the market and replaced with Gladiators lol.
Gladiator is going to fly off dealer lots even with its high cost and markup's above MSRP. - Dad, all my friends and me love your Rubicon Gladiator, son you're going to a community college.
Give FCA/Jeep credit where's it's due...the public asked them to make this vehicle and they actually did it. And apparently from Tom's excellent review, they did a proper job of it too. People love to hate on FCA but when was the last time ANY automaker built something specifically asked for by their customers?
Just bought my Gladiator Rubicon Memorial Day, worth every damn dime! Why? Removable top and doors, go anywhere drivetrain, and it's a Jeep! I can't go anywhere without someone stopping me wanting to talk about it. I have to add 10mins to go get a gallon of mik.
I saw you yesterday on tv on NESN when Narvaez hit a home run for the Mariners vs the Red Sox ! was watching the game live from Quebec City , Canada...when I saw you I recognized your hairstyle ! ;-) Great video , as always , by the way !
Yup, that was me. And it was very hard to edit this video today with all of my friends and family emailing and texting me. It was his first hit as a Mariner. I think I'm going to give him the ball.
one of your better reviews by far... they way you remind everyone , " who what where an whys of trucks an jeeps...the short comings are what they are while conveying a sense of the Niche market The jeep pickup is without belittlement .. well done sir. Cheer's Allan " Deluxe Trabants with the astray"..
That's what I wanted, but you can't get the front lockers and disconnecting sway bar. I settled for a slightly used granite grey rubicon. Really wanted the sarge green with the Manuel transmission, but in the end I'm really happy with it.
Well Done (as usual) Tom! Looks like this event had some inner kid fun moments ;-) The Ecodiesel will be a great addition! Should bring up the mpg considerably. Betting Towing limit will be similar with the 3.0 diesel.
Great video as always. Thank you. It bugs me when products are given a year designation and are then sold the year before, at time long ago it made sense because the new models wasn't really available until the year which was stated or just before. Now as with pretty much everything it is marketing and not engineering/production that calls the shots and the year thing is getting worse, eventually we will start getting stuff in the shops which are made out to be for two years in the future.
So damn expensive. Looks fun but may be pricing yourselves out of quite a bit of sales markets. For example if it were priced the same as a wrangler rubicon at $50k I’d try to swing it. But that extra $10k is a deal breaker for me. And it will be for a lot of hard working middle class enthusiasts. Just my opinion.
Thanks for the great review Tom. They are pricey and I bet the Rubicon will be 70 k by the time dealers get down with the mark ups. I imagine there will be a glut of Jeep trade ins when this hits the dealer lots.
Great review love the drive you did off road excellent but the price for fully equipped Rubicon way too expensive but it is about right for what you get
jeep is like no other its the ultimate go anywhere do anything vehicle out there thats why they make more custom accessorys for jeeps than any other vehicles period. u can't compare any other vehicle to a jeep
Were those USB-C charging ports? They're rare enough that it would be great to note which cars have them. They can offer faster charging, and can (potentially) charge computers as well as phones/tablets.
There are reasons they did not do another Comanche. And that is because realistically they know they will never compete and or get the following that the F150 has. And from a production cost point of view, their factory that is already producing the JL does not have to make much of a tool change over to add on the cargo box. This Gladiator fad will come full circle and people that are not the fanatics will fall away and the fanatics will be a limited market. My prediction is in 5-10 years it will stop being made and they will be a collector item. And or a sought after item like the Comanche for enthusiasts to say they own one. The tech. in these machines are bad ass. There is no doubt they are very capable machines. Time will tell whether or not they will have the longevity of some their rivals.
I’d like a kingcab version, the slightly smaller cab would look better. Things I’d like on it: King Cab/4 seater Diesel engine Manual transmission Dana 60’s Soft top No carpet Aluminum Flatbed 37 tires Flush mount lights.
Just what I want to see in the parking lot next to REI at the mall, another 18' vehicle parked in two compact spots with one end hanging over the end of the spots in the lane behind it. :)
In a different video they talked about cooling was a big factor in getting higher towing ability. I wonder why they only put the heat extractors on the hood of the Rubicon model? Maybe they only are good at slow speeds so they would not make a difference in towing at freeway speeds?
@@DrivenCarReviews I believe that was mentioned in the video about the bigger fan. It would be interesting to hear what the engineers have to say. I liked your review!
@@bikeryder757 I mentioned the larger grille slats, but left out the fan due to geek factor. My guess is the Rubicon gets hood vents because of the slow intense crawling it's designed for.
Great review. When I was a young man I desperately wanted a Jeep. Never got one. Now comes the Gladiator, which comes close to fulfilling that dream. But today I'm much older (and only slightly wiser). I can't say I'd buy a car where i can remove the parts. And at the price? Makes it even more unlikely....
Mixed feeling about it. The styling is clunky looking where it doesn't have enough of the retro cool factor. We can all agree we hate the hefty price tag. The fully loaded cost the same as a Ford Raptor...let sink that in for a moment....
You handle that track very well !! Tom. Did they really have to join the pickup truck segment though??. The design seems a little awkward only because of just seeing the wrangler body style forever now
I’m disappointed that the elephant in the room wasn’t mentioned. Abysmal 1 star NCAAP crash rating....yes it’s an off road vehicle but like you said most miles will be driven on the road. In today’s world 1 star is simply unacceptable.
Should have almost zero impact on Jeep sales as that’s not the buyer that buys something with a removable top and doors anyways. It’s more than safe enough.
You made a comment about how ancient the Tacoma and Tundra are. The engine in the Gladiator is as old as dirt. Fiat wiring design and built cheap. I am a Toyota fan,but I would buy a Ford before any Jeep. I love how Jeeps look. I want a truck/suv for long term. I was hoping for more. I will keep my Tundra TRD Pro.
Jeep is not known for quality, I simply can't wrap my head around charging $60,000 for a Jeep (pickup or not). You can get a fully loaded Toyota TRD for $50,000. It's a much much better pickup overall, and the quality is light years ahead. To bad...
@@bikebudha01 Sorry, I'm a huge Toyota fan but let's be honest, Toyota reliability applies to older land cruisers, trucks and maybe up to 4th gen 4runners, they aren't what they once were. In the northeast, both of all ages are going to have frame rot. Then again A TRD doesn't come with front and rear lockers either, might fit 35s stock but probably with rubbing and it's an IFS which not everyone likes. Add in the fact that the gladiator will be getting a diesel variant, and we will never see a Hilux/Surf in the US that isn't over 20 years ago and it becomes harder to logically argue for a Toyota over it and sounds more like blind fanboyism. (Which is fine, like I said I love yotas as well.)
Great review Tom! Just a thought about your Roku app; could you make the videos come up from newest to oldest? It's kinda jarring to go into a subsection and the reviews seem to be completely randomly dated. Otherwise, the app is well done!
It's just starting so I'll see what the developers can do. Frankly, I didn't know it was live yet! Thanks for the heads up. I don't have a Roku. How many episodes are up?
@@DrivenCarReviews There are quite a few episodes, broken up by type of auto such as truck, sedan, electric, etc. The thing is that the videos don't come up latest to oldest, but with some random video. I think the truck video that first comes up is from 2015. As a viewer, I'd like to see the newest come up first and not have to search around for it. Hope that helps!
If I were in the market for a pickup truck at this price range, I'd probably rather have the Raptor. I'm not sure I'd even test drive the Jeep. Aren't the crash tests expected to be horrible? And Fiat-Chrysler quality is questionable, too.
I would like to know where you’re finding a “well equipped” raptor for 60k lol. Your head was getting thrown around like a rag doll off-roading in this thing haha. Bronco seems better
Pretty sure they just pay the fines. Anyone who thinks a wrangler is worth $45000 and is paying for Jeep "quality" is paying for their carbon foot print
@@rightlanehog3151 yeah you're probably right but I also think you're paying the fines when you pay that much for a vehicle you know that the business execs aren't footing those fines themselves
The area you were doing the test drive in looks like the foothills just above Sacramento which is where I live. I would have joined your rabid fan club at the event had I known you were in town. Seriously though- that looked like it had to be the most serious off road course ever at a press event- the way you were sliding down those rocks. While I'm no Chrysler fan if I could invest in a specific model- I'd bet quite a bit on this one. It checks a lot of boxes!
@@DrivenCarReviews Nice. I go through Cool often. That's crazy they sent you through an even tougher course with the Wrangler. The one in this video had me um... tightened up- just watching it.
Hey Tom may I know whatever happened between you and New York Times? I always thought it was such an amazing collaboration. Why did you decide to go separate ways?
