Test drove the Gladiator today...disappointed.

[zrickety]

Someone took it away from their teenage son, it was repo’d or a recovered stolen. Did you check it for repaired collison damage?

Now go drive a new one and compare. Most lots still have a selection of Gladiators and the new price should be close to what a used one with low miles is.

The irony is this dealer was asking $2k more than new for it. I was able to print the window sticker online. I didn't have the heart to insult the sales guy when I knew we didn't want it.

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[zrickety]

How about a diesel gladiator?

Towing is less, but I considered it.

 

[zrickety]

Love the fact NO ONE noticed that you time traveled and all you did was test drive a Jeep. That’s dedication.

LOLOL
I have pictures. It was built 10/20 and sold as a 2021.

 

[zrickety]

It's very underpowered to tow anything north of 4,000lb.
You should hook up your camper during a test drive (park it near by dealer).

For 6k lb you should have v8 (just not POS 5.3 chevy) or turbo V6.

She has a big 6.2L V8 in her Denali. It tows great but it's 2wd. But she likes the beach, and that's where the Gladiator would shine.

 

[XJfanatic]

I agree on that in today’s offerings the gladiator probably isn’t the best to tow 7000lbs. But look at the power and brakes and compare them to a 1-ton from the mid 90s and they are probably pretty similar.

I had a 95 7.3 power stroke that made like 250hp and 480 ft lb of torque, the 351W powered ones were not much better than a pentastar. 16” wheels fit the brakes, and the rear drums were garbage. That being said it towed great, not fast but super stable. The weight and wheelbase are really what matters most IMHO.

 

[CrimsonGhost]

yes you’re right - a C7 was mudded every weekend and used to pull out stuck vehicles. and someone definitely monkeyed with the suspension putting a 10ft lift on it and voided the factory warranty within 3 seconds of owning the car. most regular used cars have mud/sand splatter all over the undercarriage, trashed alignment from being jumped or being face planted because someone misjudged the angle of a hill or dune.

lol

When did you see my 2015 Town & Country?

 

[runningonemptyy]

When did you see my 2015 Town & Country?

ahahaha yeah i’ve seen plenty of minivans with questionable histories

 

[CrimsonGhost]

ahahaha yeah i’ve seen plenty of minivans with questionable histories

Grocery Store runs can turn south really quick!

 

[runningonemptyy]

Grocery Store runs can turn south really quick!

or driving the kids to soccer practice

 

[DaveNH]

He’s not wrong here. My local dealer has 7 Gladiators on the lot, including a well-equipped 2020 Overland leftover. Sticker is $53K and sale price right now is $47K. If I would have seen this 2 months ago when I bought my JL, I might have gone with the JT instead.

Location probably matters a lot.

As of last Monday, Jeep's inventory search showed 85 Wranglers (65 ICE/20 4xe) and 180 Gladiators within 50 miles of me (2021 models).

 

[mferrara91]

Location probably matters a lot.

As of last Monday, Jeep's inventory search showed 85 Wranglers (65 ICE/20 4xe) and 180 Gladiators within 50 miles of me (2021 models).

How many of those Wranglers were on dealer lots vs. in-transit??

 

[MNGladiator]

Have you looked at a Power Wagon? I know they are much larger than the Gladiator, but you can easily run a 35 inch tire on stock suspension and it gives you all the off road tools as a Rubicon.

 

[DaveNH]

Exactly. I had 2010 Explorer with the V8 that I used to tow my 28’ sailboat. All in that rig weighed around 5500 lbs. and IMO the v8 was marginal for that weight. The breaks were marginal too. I don’t know how they claim I cloud tow up to 7200 lbs with that truck <rollseyes>.

I would never tow more than 5k pounds in a Gladiator anywhere except a couple miles around town at low speeds. My thoughts.

A big discrepancy is that the criteria for the tow test rating are significantly different than the conditions that people actually try to drive.

https://jalopnik.com/the-engineering-behind-the-jeep-gladiators-tow-rating-1833657453

http://www.rv-project.com/resources/j2807.php

The Davis Dam test, for example, requires maintaining at least 40mph. Granted that's a long grade, but most people are likely to be trying to maintain a higher speed.

It shouldn't be a surprise when performance suffers relative to the max rating.

 

[zrickety]

Have you looked at a Power Wagon? I know they are much larger than the Gladiator, but you can easily run a 35 inch tire on stock suspension and it gives you all the off road tools as a Rubicon.

Just not as fun as a Jeep...can't remove the top, nobody waves.
LOL

 

[DaveNH]

How many of those Wranglers were on dealer lots vs. in-transit??

I didn't check at the time. Today...

74 Wranglers (60 ICE/14 4xe - 32 and 2 in transit respectively)

172 Gladiators (33 in transit)

46% vs 19%

So sure, Gladiators are far more available, but for me, it's not that hard to find a Wrangler within 50 miles.

But as I said, location matters. 50 miles puts me inside the 495 beltway near Boston. That helps. There are significantly fewer of both within 25 miles.

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