Jeep Gladiator: Great and Awful Things We Learned After 6 Months - Long-term Update 

Love what you guys did to the Rubicon, looks like a military vehicle

"My favorite part is this 8.4 inch uconnect screen...it's quick to respond". Screen "Please wait"

I can’t wait to buy a diesel gladiator in 15 years when they’ve depreciated enough to actually be worth the money 😍

I think I’ve needed to this type of content for the Gladiator. Seems like it’s still relegated to 3rd vehicle option and weekend fun. Thanks guys!

The only bad thing about Jeeps is that they won’t honour their own warranty. My 2020 JTR 3.6 sounds like a diesel and has done since 36k. They replaced the rockers, lifters and cams and the ticking persists. Now at 59k the ticking is worse and they told me to “baby the engine” and go away. The engine is disintegrating, throwing metal filings throughout. This was my “dream Jeep” that I was planning on keeping and modifying. Now I can’t trade it in or sell it without taking a huge loss. This engine will fail prematurely and FCA has known about this issue since 2013, with class-action law suits in both the US and Canada regarding the 3.6 “ticking issue”. I have had many FCA vehicles including Jeeps, but this is going to be my last due to way I was treated and the warranty not being worth the paper it’s written on!

What do you call a happy Roman???? A GLADIATOR! Get it?

Very thorough as per your usual. I really enjoy your videos, full of great information. The Gladiator, is certainly a specialized vehicle. Not really for towing, can't really haul a lot in the tiny bed, not built for speed, but it will rock crawl, and climb and off road... not really practical for urbanites, but we all still want one! Hahaha.

I like the look you all came up with. I am considering it because I want the best of both worlds. I want a jeep but I sometimes need a truck. I am willing to compromise on the breakover angles and hardcore offroad capability for towing capability and the bed. Thanks alot guys.

Y'all need to put led headlights and running lights on it. It looks odd as is with all those led pods

Looks awesome guys and thanks for your honest review. Though, with the longer wheel base, I’d be nervous to have the spare tire underneath while off roading on the tougher trails.

You need a Bestop Sunrider top, I use mine so often because it's so easy to open and enjoy the outside.

Still not bad for the first pass at this vehicle. I see it getting better as it matures.

Lol can’t say it’s a really reliable only after 5k miles

when you buy these things new they come with a cover for the freedom panels you can can store them safetly when taken off

Great video! surprised that at this price range you get crappy headlights since it’s built for off-road. You would think jeep would want you to have the best visibility at night while off roading especially at 55k+

Guys, awesome vids. Very thorough reviews on this truck. I want one so bad, and will have one as soon as I have the funds saved up. I'll be getting the diesel Rubicon for sure for the extra torque. I'm up in Greeley, so it's nice to see some local Colorado views in your videos!

Thanks for the review, I'm the same size as Andre and I really appreciate him showing how he fits in the back seat.

Reminds me of a model T Ford....i would lean towards Tacoma TRD pro

To fix the driver seat not going back far enough, there is a seat rail upgrade you can get for big and tall people. I wonder if a regular 2dr Wrangler also has the issue with drivers seat.

I’ve had mine and put thousands miles on it ! Love it ! Mine came with a luggage bag for two roofs ! I notice there’s a blind spot in passenger front window be careful !

great review as always! almost nobody will spend 55 grr and then actually be honest about the truck! keep it up guys!

Comparing the Gladiator (Rubicon) to the Power Wagon, you get front and rear locking diffs, sway bar disconnect. In the Power Wagon, you get a Warn Winch, more horsepower, better storage space, and just a monster of a truck...for near the same price as a Rubicon. And the PW is a highly capable off road truck!

Ridiculous price for what you get

I love my Grand Cherokee diesel. It's a beast and can tow like crazy while maintaining decent fuel economy. I've got it lifted with some off road goodies too. I'm excited to see how the Gladiator performs with the diesel.

You need to be rocking 42" tires just to deal with that break over angle once you start to really get into it.

Really enjoyed this review and Tommy hit the nail on the head with driver seat room. Ya just can't make a silk purse out of a damned good sow's ear!

Had mine for 7 months and 9,200 miles so far. I absolutely love the thing

Funny what you mentioned about the seats. Im 5'11¨ and my old 2001 Cherokee XJ had the same issue with leg room. I test drove a Wrangler a few years ago and again, not much leg room. Funny how things havent changed.

There’s a bag that comes for the panels which makes it easy to carry and transport both. The back part is super easy to take off. I pulled the Jeep challenge and took the hole thing off by myself. I know have the soft top. Super easy to install and looks great. I got my Gladiator on rollout last year and have been living it. I got the sport model and have put a few upgrades to it

A 2 door or a extended cab version would look awesome but the looks of that truck just leave me cold.

Digging my 21 Willys, love that you can still get manual everything, and the vast Jeep aftermarket. My only complaint is the 3.73 gears, makes 6th gear useless and doesn't really help mpg (will be getting 4.56s). 4.10s shouldve been standard, 4.56s optional.

It would be nice if Jeep actually would sell the “Available Trailer Brake Controller”. A soft top that would fully retract such as found on the JL/JLU would be nice too. Great review guys!

Agree with you on the driver seat (in my Wrangler) - but my problem is short legs. I ended up putting some nuts under the seat rail to get a little bit of tilt in the front because I felt there was no support for my legs and I kept wanting to slide forward. Power adjustable seats would be nice, if other offroad vehicles can have them, why not the Wrangler/Gladiator? I love my Wrangler, have a Gladiator on order. Wrangler will not tow the trailer I want to get, so decided to get a Gladiator.

I keep a moving blanket in the bed for the tops - separates and protects

The lack of safety systems like pre collision a million cameras is something i love about it. My last few trucks had way to many sensors and beeps and warnings. I love how my Mojave is like an old school truck without all the nanny systems. I love it!

Well done, as always! The problem with this GREAT idea is too expensive in Canada and the truck is too long!

I agree with you guys on the headlights as I have bought the Gobi as well. I am 6’ 2 and as for my 2020 the front driver seat for me is perfectly fine. I suppose this is a preference among personal comfort. Being a 16 year military veteran along with PMC work, I have definitely had much more uncomfortable seats than my Jeep has. I have added $5,500 in extras to mine as well. I love how these are blank canvases that you can personalize and make them your own. The only issue I had after putting the oversized 35s on was a little rubbing on tighter turns than normal even with the 3 inch Skyjacker kit. I cured that by installing spacers. I replaced the standard dim yellow headlights with the more capable HID headlights. However, I would have thought for the $52,995 value it would have had a few things standard that it didn’t come with when I purchased it. ***The lower cost was with employee pricing currently going on as of 07/04/2020)*** Overall I love my Jeep Gladiator. With so many aftermarket parts on the market one can get pretty expensive if you haven’t thought or planned out exactly what you want to do with the Gladiator. I started off with a budget and worked the parts from their. I came in just south of what my ceiling was. I hope all of you have a great 4th of July. God bless the United States of America!

"Offers a lot for the money" WHAT? I'm so confused.

I adore my Mojave. A Wrangler with a bed is perfect for my needs. The only problem is that I like the seat all the way up, and there is a flaw in the system in that every time I get out, it pushes down on the lever, and after I drive it around town, getting in and out, I have to do about 4 pumps to bring it back up. Took a while to figure out that it wasn’t malfunctioning. Finally, after replacing the seat rails, the dealer finally took the lever off for the weekend, and it didn’t go down at all.

What is more amazing is it drags its bottom on rock after rock after rock and required a huge team of people stacking rocks to get it through.

Solid video as always. A more powerful engine option would be greatly appreciated.

love mine, 4:10 gears 2" lift, 10.50x35's pulling our 21' mallard travel trailer around 5000lbs at 55mph avg 9 mpg!! just needs a larger gas tank.

Good, honest, review!!

These guys are great and have a fantastic job test driving new offroad vehicles. I certainly hope Jeep is listening and makes improvements based on customer feedback. Also the fact that a Rubicon doesn't have a standard 3 piece hardtop as a standard feature with black wheels. More typical price gouging at work here folks.

As long as people keep buying these as is, at these prices, they won't change a thing w/o charging you for it. We need more competition for off road worthy, fun to drive, topless vehicles. Bronco, you're up!

There is nothing wrong with incandescent headlights. I have been using them for the last 15 years. What I hate is trying to drive at night with other peoples headlights are blasting in my eyes & burning my retinas out. Not very safe when I am temporarily blinded by someones headlights to the point I cant see anything. One of these days I fear swerving into oncoming traffic or into a side barrier because I am blinded by headlights. I wish we all still used incandescent headlights. LED & other modern headlights are nice if you are the one using them, they are not nice for anyone else on the road.

I had one of these and they are a lot of fun but do agree about the drivers seat. The other thing is the Honda Ridgeline and how people made fun of it because of the car/truck idea but I had one as well and man all the things you can do with it. I believe the same thing goes for the Jeep situation.

WOW ... I was considering one of these. But after seeing your comment about the front seat room, not for me. I'm 6'2" and one of my worries about driving one of these is room and more specifically safety. These things will get tossed around in a collision and the lack of room, protection and leg room is a no go for me. Good honest review TFL.

$60k.....I love jeeps but c'mon jeep....you know that just wrong.

I’d be a lot more interested if it was a 2 door with a 6’ bed like the J6 concept truck.

Are you guys doing the TAT? Can't wait to see that series! I've watched many ADV riders do the trail and it is on my bucket list! Maybe by the time I get to do it my 7 year old son will be 16. That would be an adventure.

That side panel behind the rear door would be good for mounting shaped gas cans. Plus those tool bin looking gas tanks would work on the Jeep Gladiator pick up bed against that cab end.

The driver size and seat adjustments for me are ok and I’m 6’ 4” tall. I worried based on this review if I would fit ok and it’s way more comfortable than a Tacoma. What I don’t like on long drives is the steering wobble. I have a Ford 250 and it drives straight without effort. This seems to take more active steering to keep it going down the road.

If I had a nickel for every time Andre says, "I'm just over 6'2''...."

I bought a Gladiator eco diesel, and I couldn't be more happy with my purchase!

Wow! That was fast recharging. It must have a 480 wkh charger. Tommy and Andre make a good combo.

It sounds like Jeep and Glock have the same idea. F*** you'll buy it just because.

Who left the lights on to melt the covers on the LEDs lmao

I just saw that misch 4x4 makes seat brackets that provide more leg room for taller individuals.

Just got back home from a 1000mile road trip in my Gladiator Rubicon, towing my fishing boat (3k lbs) and bed loaded to the gills with camping gear. Worth every damn penny. What other vehicle can you haul your family and camping gear, tow your boat, and offroad/ cruise topless and doorless while on vacation? By the way for the entire trip, 800 miles of which was towing, I averaged 15.1 mpg. This was from western NY through the Adirondack mountains to Burlington VT- not a piece of cake by any means. I also have an F150 with the 3.5 ecoboost and 10 speed and I know it wouldnt get that fuel economy. Never loved a vehicle so much- for my use there is nothing better.

I’m the same height as you and the driver seat literally killed the deal for me.

Ill be getting the Sport S with max tow package. Invest savings into goodies! I have the exact same issue with the driver position in my JLU. Looking at a seat replacement for sure. Also re-gearing makes a HUGE difference with the JL/JT. Although you can adjust the trans with a tuner, its nowhere near the same.

I actually sat in a JL and Gladiator yesterday for the first time, I’m 6’4”.. and can’t agree more with the seating position and lack of room for a tall person. My head would be 1/4 - 1/2” away from the roof, if I tilted the seat back my head would hit the B pillar hoop.. and leg positioning is way off. Was debating between getting a mid sized truck gladiator vs Tacoma and that seating position and lack of room picked it for me.

Wrangler with a bed, it’s the part about it and got the 2020 sport. Made a few upgrades but love it

My cheap ass 2018 F150 XL gives me all those same temp gauges on my regular ole instrument cluster and pitch/roll on the center display -- no load time needed. Jeep just over complicating things lol

Great review, your production is top notch. Absolutely love my Max Tow Gladiator in Gobi! Non jeep people just don’t understand, and that is fine, they don’t have to. I get compliments all the time. So far all I have done is put nerf bars on side, 13” antenna (black), rugged ridge slush mats (do not recommend, get the Jeep brand ones) and plasticoated my stock wheels flat black. Looking for some rubicon take offs or 35s and going to do the decked storage system as well as a rack over bed and some KC lights...then I will be finished, I think 😉

Really enjoy your vids. Here in Australia RHD all our rubicon’s come standard with LED and the safety accessories. . So we are lucky I suppose, though the price is well up there ... Steve 🇦🇺

Truck U showed a kit from Baxter Performance for the Gladiator that prevents the engine oil drain back issue. 30 minutes after shut off all the engine oil drains back to the crankcase, even the filter is bone dry. Every start up is a dry start.

The headlights look so lame when you have the aftermarket lights on

I’m glad I got a Tacoma TRD Off Road instead of this one. Reliability and high resale value really sold me on this truck over the Jeep

There is an aftermarket rock slider that wayalife put on his JT and it helps with that awkward sheetmetal behind the rear door....

Per the manual you are advised to use the manual mode when towing to help climb and descend hills.

How about going like the older scrambler... - Two door, and a useable bed.

Can someone Show Andre how to use the gas cap hook on the back of the door always just dropping the gas cap against the vehicle

Excellent review fellas!

You need a regear to get some power. From the factory it’s just about one gear to high so go one gear lower than you would when deciding the gear set to run. The steering wheel is also telescoping. I’m amazed how many owners don’t realize this lol.

These things are shockingly cramped inside. for that price you can get much-better-to-live-with-daily trucks

I was curious about these, so I rented one for a week (overland model). I’m 6’5”, moderately built. The head room? There was no headroom. My right knee continuously hit the transfer case lever. The overall interior was absolutely appalling. Why was I able to count nine different materials and patterns JUST on the dashboard? “How many different soft touch materials and plastic patterns do you want, mr chief jeep interior designer guy?” “Yes” chief jeep interior guy.

When this truck was announced I was going to have one.... released headroom and driver comfort killed the dream. 6’6”. For the same money as my Denali 1500... Bought a used jk

Yea she looks real good guys! Keep up your good work love your honest real world reviews!

Incredibly over priced.

If only they still made the 4.0 i6 like in my old 96 Cherokee. Not the power tech version.

10:45 mark Tommy missed the handle on the side of the seat that is for adjusting the bottom inclination. I'm 6'2" and find it more spacious than a seat in the JL.

I am glad they omitted some of the electronic safety stuff. I don't want that on a vehicle and it is very annoying when it comes standard and you cannot avoid it.

Good video,..but that 'non-adjustable' driver's seat would stop my ownership decision! Driver/passenger comfort are paramount,...to me.

Did you review the usability of the bed? My concern is if it’s actually big enough to use for trips to the dump, hardware store, or if you’re moving furniture.

I'm 5'4 so it's a great size for me. My friend who is 6'7 is gonna hate going on road trips with me lol.

Great video thank you!

I keep my freedom panels in the bed, inside the included storage bag. I honestly think it's a pretty solid solution. Even with the panels back there you can still fit a ton of stuff around and on top of the storage bag.

Drinks fuel like a cow drinking water , accelerate like an elephant , handles corners like a fainting goat and cost as much as a rhino.... thats a PASS for me.

😂 Tommy, Tommy, Man if you think seat adjustment is not great on the Gladiator, you should try a pre 2016 Land Rover Defender Pickup. Legend off road but the seat has a limited travel on its forward/aft movement, the backrest slaps right up against the back of the cab and to rest your elbow you need to roll down the window and place your arm on the door. At least when you're driving you're not risking castration by gear lever in the middle seat. Love the Gladiator. You chaps have made it amazing. Good luck on No Pavement Needed.

I love this truck and might consider getting one if I could actually fit in one. I'm 6'7.

70k after interest is paid.,NO THANKS

I heard I’ll finally be able to order my diesel version in August. Been waiting 3 years

Leg and head room in vehicles has ALWAYS been an issue for me, since I’m 6’8” tall. For most of my life, even finding a vehicle that i can get behind the wheel in, without having to swing my leg under and around the steering column, or having to hunker down, or have to lean the seat ALL THE WAY BACK behind the B pillar is a common issue for extra tall people. So it’s not terrible, but I agree, that it would be nice to have a little bit more rail on that seat to give room if needed. You can always do the Harry and the Henderson’s method and take the freedom roof off!

Mine came with a case for the freedom panels. Super easy to take off and put in the back.

Powered rear window? Really kids? Tops totally removable! Remember?

But a single cab! Just imagine...

One thing I didn't see mentioned was the payload. On the rubicon from your site it states 1,160 lbs. If this doesn't include passengers you won't be left with much to put in the bed. Plus once you put any accessories on this will eat into payload. Maybe able to carry a box matches, that's about it

Beautiful beautiful beautiful review