Oncorhynchus
Well-Known Member
- First Name
- Moishe
- Joined
- Aug 30, 2020
- Threads
- 49
- Messages
- 669
- Reaction score
- 875
- Location
- San Jose, CA
- Vehicle(s)
- 2018 JLU Sahara Sting Gray 3.6L
I owned a 4x2 2001 Frontier CrewCab with the long bed for 13 years. Was a great little truck. Was less expensive and more spacious than a Tacoma. I am not a big person, 5ā 9ā, but the Tacoma has always felt really cramped inside. I loved having a small truck with a 6ā bed. It was bulletproof. Only downside was the ridiculously poor turning radius. It was almost the same length as a Suburban and had a worse turn radius. On city streets I could not U-turn unless it was a 4 lane road and even then sometimes it was iffy unless there was a median. The stock truck had high enough clearance and after a while I learned to push the limits of the vehicle. I frequently went off pavement and sometimes used a little momentum to get it past traps and ditches in the forest. Other times turned it around and ran it in reverse when I found an impassable stretch of road going forward in the rear wheel drive truck. Switched to an AWD Highlander with the captainās chairs in the second row when the kids got too big to sit comfortably in the back of the compact crew cab on long road trips. But the AWD Highlander could not go where the 2WD Frontier could go and my ability to head off road was limited. The Highlander is a very good CUV and it handles much better on the mountain curves than a vehicle of its proportions should. But I needed to get back again into the back country. So between the Wrangler and Gladiator there was something about the feel of the Gladiator that felt kinda chintzy, like the sheet metal was thin. It was hard to pinpoint exactly what it was but that was the impression I got, somewhat toylike and not meant to be beaten up on the trails. The Wrangler just felt more solid for its category compared to the Gladiator against its competitors. Again I canāt put my finger on it exactly.I will say this, If you compare a Gladiator to the other small pickups out there right now, it really is a great little truck. The interior room alone is what would sell it. The others have almost unusable rear seats when the front passengers are comfortable. As for bed size, not really an issue. If you need to haul more get a trailer or a bigger truck.
My dad just bought a brand new Tacoma. Quite underwhelming in my opinion. The 3.5 has zero low end power, it gets less MPG than my Wrangler The seating position is bad with non supportive seats that are too close to the floor (thatās always been an issue with Tacomas though).
One daughter has an ā18 Frontier like it a lot better than the Tacoma. Actually rides and drives pretty decent. More noisy then my Wrangler though.
I have no experience with a Colorado or the Ranger. Both have smallish interior space though.
I am not worried about reliability of the Wrangler. Itās already so much better than the Detroit iron I grew up with. Its reliability is better than many luxury vehicles. But I didnāt buy it for reliability. I drilled holes in it when it was still under warranty. If it had pristine fit and finish I wouldnāt want to tinker with it. Something about it makes me feel the wonderment of being a kid again but with the wallet and wisdom of a middle aged man.
Iāve worked in product development for most of my adult life. The Wrangler excels in fulfilling its intended purpose like few other products do. Itās like the Saturn V of rockets and the Invisalign of dental braces. The Coca Cola of soft drinks.
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