Has anyone looked at the Jeep Gladiator?

kellem wrote:

BigDinAZ wrote:

Flashman wrote:
They are starting to show up in Tucson. Dealer couldn't keep them on the lot long enough for me to check them out. Bad timing for the Ranger to come out at the same time as the Jeep.

They have them here in Sierra Vista, the problem for me is that 3.6 Penstar. If only they had put the 4.0 in.
I am a huge jeep fan, but my love goes way back. I had a 69 Willies Jeepster Commando, and a 77 CJ5 (that we put a 350 in).
I just don't like those Penstar's.

Ah yes the 4.0, one of the most reliable engines ever made and I'm still running one in an 05 TJ.
The problem is they are low on horses and love lots of fuel but so easy to work on.

That's my whole point. How many horses do you really need. It's not like anyone is going to pull a 40 foot trailer with it. As far as off road goes it's slow and easy in most cases, well unless you are like I used to be and slam a 350 into a cj5 and mud bog or rock crawl and spend most of the time with the foot on the floor.

Well okay I digress maybe the 4.0 was kind of a silly ida.

BigDinAZ wrote:

Flashman wrote:
They are starting to show up in Tucson. Dealer couldn't keep them on the lot long enough for me to check them out. Bad timing for the Ranger to come out at the same time as the Jeep.

They have them here in Sierra Vista, the problem for me is that 3.6 Penstar. If only they had put the 4.0 in.
I am a huge jeep fan, but my love goes way back. I had a 69 Willies Jeepster Commando, and a 77 CJ5 (that we put a 350 in).
I just don't like those Penstar's.

Ah yes the 4.0, one of the most reliable engines ever made and I'm still running one in an 05 TJ.
The problem is they are low on horses and love lots of fuel but so easy to work on.

FishOnOne wrote:
Here's a pretty good youtube channel for Jeeps and looks to be for the Gladiator as well.

TrailRecon

Maybe this would be a great fit.

Trailer

Here's a pretty good youtube channel for Jeeps and looks to be for the Gladiator as well.

TrailRecon

BigDinAZ wrote:

Flashman wrote:
They are starting to show up in Tucson. Dealer couldn't keep them on the lot long enough for me to check them out. Bad timing for the Ranger to come out at the same time as the Jeep.

They have them here in Sierra Vista, the problem for me is that 3.6 Penstar. If only they had put the 4.0 in.
I am a huge jeep fan, but my love goes way back. I had a 69 Willies Jeepster Commando, and a 77 CJ5 (that we put a 350 in).
I just don't like those Penstar's.

LOL... My take away is Flash had to take his big bad ram to the shop for a repair or safety recall. Anyways I'm sure he'll have plenty of opportunities to visit the Glads. :B

BigDinAZ wrote:

Flashman wrote:
They are starting to show up in Tucson. Dealer couldn't keep them on the lot long enough for me to check them out. Bad timing for the Ranger to come out at the same time as the Jeep.

They have them here in Sierra Vista, the problem for me is that 3.6 Penstar. If only they had put the 4.0 in.
I am a huge jeep fan, but my love goes way back. I had a 69 Willies Jeepster Commando, and a 77 CJ5 (that we put a 350 in).
I just don't like those Penstar's.

The old 4.0 was great in the Wranglers and Cherokees of its day, but in a truck as heavy as the Gladiator it would be a gutless turd on the highway. The Pentastar doesn't have much low end but it's got the horsepower needed for good highway performance, which is where nearly all Gladiators will spend most of their time. The Ecodiesel should be a great motor for this truck.

Flashman wrote:
They are starting to show up in Tucson. Dealer couldn't keep them on the lot long enough for me to check them out. Bad timing for the Ranger to come out at the same time as the Jeep.

They have them here in Sierra Vista, the problem for me is that 3.6 Penstar. If only they had put the 4.0 in.
I am a huge jeep fan, but my love goes way back. I had a 69 Willies Jeepster Commando, and a 77 CJ5 (that we put a 350 in).
I just don't like those Penstar's.

If it wasn't for having to pull my TT id get one as soon as the prices settle. I think the diesel would be perfect in it.

I've also seen a few videos where people have dropped a Hellcat engine 700+hp in there. The jeep engineer confirmed they had tested hemis in them, and said it fits like a glove, but it took up all the crumple zone space so the would not pass safety tests.

ShinerBock wrote:

FishOnOne wrote:
I've yet to see one on the road yet.

I have seen several roaming around the Texas hill country and even a lifted one with what looked like 37's. This is mostly due to all of the rock climbing off road parks around here like Cline Ranch and Hidden Falls.

That's strange... Here in the Houston area you typically see new released (including very expensive) vehicles on the roads as soon as they hit dealer lots. I've been making trips to our deer camp and fishing trips to the coast and haven't seen any in these parts either. Having said that I see 4 door Wranglers every day.

Hopefully they ride better than the Wranglers and with a longer wheelbase they should, but I wouldn't want one with a diesel.

They are quite popular in my area but as a Jeep person, I see other equally equipped vehicles more affordable but speaking from experience......nothing compares to a Rubicon offroad.