since41
Well-Known Member
- Thread starter
- #1
Built on May 16th and delivered on May 24th.
I had anticipated it coming in midweek which would have been ideal due to having a 7 hour drive to Northern Michigan for Memorial Day weekend planned. After it didn't show up on Thursday I gave up on taking it on the trip, pretty bummed out. Then I received "the call" at 11am Friday.. it had showed up at the dealership. We had planned on leaving at 9am but it didn't pan out that way. So I did what anyone with common Jeep sense would do, I told them to get it prepped and fill it up with gas! I unpacked everything from the Pacifica and loaded the 3 kids and cargo into the Gladiator. The kids were probably more excited than I was and my wife found out that I had purchased yet another new vehicle.
I had high expectations being that it was fully loaded and a new design, it didn't disappoint. The kids [8,7, and 4 years old] fit in the backseat comfortably which was a win. I expected the steering to be slightly vague, which it was, but it holds the road with confidence and the 3.6 makes plenty of power and shined with the 8 speed transmission. Wind noise was pleasantly less than what I had expected. Anything under 70 mph is relatively smooth sailing, once you hit 80 mph+ you can feel that you are driving a box. The fit and finish are spot on both inside and out, specifically the interior quality and paint. We were able to remove the front tops and soak up some sun while making an hour long drive along Lake Michigan, putting them in the storage bag correctly was harder than removing them.. haha!
It received plenty of attention on the 1200 mile journey along with the customary "Jeep Wave" from fellow Jeep owners. If I remember correctly it averaged 18.5 mpg on the way up and 16.5 mpg on the drive home. This was with a lot of stretches of 80 mph+ so it didn't bother me at all. So if you are patiently waiting just know that the Gladiator is better than advertised and well worth the price. The price for unique freedom isn't cheap but well worth the price of admission in my opinion!
I had anticipated it coming in midweek which would have been ideal due to having a 7 hour drive to Northern Michigan for Memorial Day weekend planned. After it didn't show up on Thursday I gave up on taking it on the trip, pretty bummed out. Then I received "the call" at 11am Friday.. it had showed up at the dealership. We had planned on leaving at 9am but it didn't pan out that way. So I did what anyone with common Jeep sense would do, I told them to get it prepped and fill it up with gas! I unpacked everything from the Pacifica and loaded the 3 kids and cargo into the Gladiator. The kids were probably more excited than I was and my wife found out that I had purchased yet another new vehicle.
I had high expectations being that it was fully loaded and a new design, it didn't disappoint. The kids [8,7, and 4 years old] fit in the backseat comfortably which was a win. I expected the steering to be slightly vague, which it was, but it holds the road with confidence and the 3.6 makes plenty of power and shined with the 8 speed transmission. Wind noise was pleasantly less than what I had expected. Anything under 70 mph is relatively smooth sailing, once you hit 80 mph+ you can feel that you are driving a box. The fit and finish are spot on both inside and out, specifically the interior quality and paint. We were able to remove the front tops and soak up some sun while making an hour long drive along Lake Michigan, putting them in the storage bag correctly was harder than removing them.. haha!
It received plenty of attention on the 1200 mile journey along with the customary "Jeep Wave" from fellow Jeep owners. If I remember correctly it averaged 18.5 mpg on the way up and 16.5 mpg on the drive home. This was with a lot of stretches of 80 mph+ so it didn't bother me at all. So if you are patiently waiting just know that the Gladiator is better than advertised and well worth the price. The price for unique freedom isn't cheap but well worth the price of admission in my opinion!
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