Car and Driver has posted a 10,000 mile update to their long term Gladiator review. Pretty negative

[Sazabi19]

Remember, those guys drive all sorts of cars, all the time, and are not Jeep guys. What we tolerate, many don't. The gladiator is a horrendous daily driver. It really is. The same can be said for any track-specced sports car with stiff suspension. It's a tradeoff we, and I, gladly make. I enjoy driving it, but then when I step into my wife's Cherokee, goodness it's like driving a cloud. I get 15 mpg with 37s and a lift so their fuel economy is oddly poor. I agree with the engine being gutless, but I don't mind. I've always felt the engine is "adequate", which it is. But it's 2021, and the pentastar's numbers are far from class-leading. In 2012 it was great. Now.... not so much.

If they got into a 2.7T Bronco with IFS, they're gonna be thrilled. It really will raise the bar for what a daily driven off-roader will be. I'm curious to see how Jeep will keep up.

I really don't get people saying it's a bad DD. I came from a Kia Cadenza, a very nice, quiet, premium sedan that drives as well as any car and has more horse/torque than our Gladiator. I don't find the noise level to be too loud or the driving dynamics to be bad (after steering TSB). I had a buddy ride with me a few months ago and he commented how loud it was on the inside but when I asked him what he was talking about he couldn't quite explain it. We were talking with normal voices on the highway. Mileage could be better sure and it susceptible to wind but other than that, it's just fine.

@Moe_Fugga I think those people who had crappy dealer experiences are hopefully outliers. My service went wonderfully and I had no questions asked. It is a TSB and most service managers won't argue with you about it. If you get one that does then call their rep and complain about them, service being dinged hurts a dealer a lot. You may call around too to see what possible wait times are. I know last I saw it was a few months in some places. Before my TSB highway driving was a bit scary and windy days could be white knuckle and I HATED driving my truck. Now in heavy wind it's a slight adjustment with the steering wheel into the wind and that's it. And I mean slight. Wondering is all gone and it makes the truck so much better to drive and enjoyable. No real reason to make yourself suffer like that when you KNOW you can get it fixed for free. I'd get your name on a list now, you may be waiting a while.

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[Gundler]

Coming from a 2011 Toyota Tundra 5.7L Limited to my 2021 Mojave (3.6, automatic with muds), I can attest to a couple of those complaints...all said, I really enjoy this truck and haven't regretted trading in the Tundra.

• Gas mileage...not a big deal to me coming from a V8, but this 3.6L is way thirstier than I could possibly imagine! Regular driving I am getting just over 14mpg, with highway under 16. My Tundra was close to this current city mileage, but highway was closer to 19 (similar trips).
• Perhaps adding to the poor gas mileage, is the lack of any aerodynamics...which I assume leads to my "HORRIBLE" highway experiences on windy day situations. It's been a very windy Spring for us here in New England, and my first few highway experiences in these conditions led to a very firm grip on the steering wheel. I was being blown all over the place and struggled to keep it straight...almost a liability on the road to be honest. Perhaps my Tundra being heavier, more aerodynamic and IFS led to a better ride in windy conditions? (never had an experience like this in my Tundra in over 10 years)

Just my $.02 and current assessment of my Jeep...like I mentioned, I love this truck and look forward to all the other perks that this truck offers compared to my Tundra.

 

[Sazabi19]

Coming from a 2011 Toyota Tundra 5.7L Limited to my 2021 Mojave (3.6, automatic with muds), I can attest to a couple of those complaints...all said, I really enjoy this truck and haven't regretted trading in the Tundra.

• Gas mileage...not a big deal to me coming from a V8, but this 3.6L is way thirstier than I could possibly imagine! Regular driving I am getting just over 14mpg, with highway under 16. My Tundra was close to this current city mileage, but highway was closer to 19 (similar trips).
• Perhaps adding to the poor gas mileage, is the lack of any aerodynamics...which I assume leads to my "HORRIBLE" highway experiences on windy day situations. It's been a very windy Spring for us here in New England, and my first few highway experiences in these conditions led to a very firm grip on the steering wheel. I was being blown all over the place and struggled to keep it straight...almost a liability on the road to be honest. Perhaps my Tundra being heavier, more aerodynamic and IFS led to a better ride in windy conditions? (never had an experience like this in my Tundra in over 10 years)

Just my $.02 and current assessment of my Jeep...like I mentioned, I love this truck and look forward to all the other perks that this truck offers compared to my Tundra.

I suggest you look into the steering TSB thread and determine if you have the old aluminum steering box or the steel. You should be able to drive in wind confidently, even if you have to adjust more than a car would. Seeing as you have a 2021 I would assume you'd have a steel box, but I think some 2021s got by with them. You may just need more time to get confident with it.

 

[FitfulGoat]

A little over 20k miles on my launch edition JTR and it’s been on numerous road trips through snowstorms at elevation in Colorado, windy days going through Texas and Oklahoma and top off trips through parts of Arizona including a camping trip this last weekend and I’m loving every aspect of the gladiator.

It’s a niche truck and should be bought with that mentality. Oh and I’ve yet to have a major component or issue arise and I can’t say the same for the wife’s Mercedes

 

[jbmdux]

https://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/a34761896/2020-jeep-gladiator-mojave-reliability-maintenance/

Car and Driver gave the 1983 car of the year award to the Renault Alliance. Need we consider more?

 

[jbmdux]

I suggest you look into the steering TSB thread and determine if you have the old aluminum steering box or the steel. You should be able to drive in wind confidently, even if you have to adjust more than a car would. Seeing as you have a 2021 I would assume you'd have a steel box, but I think some 2021s got by with them. You may just need more time to get confident with it.

and you get way better gas mileage than that Tundra

 

[Maximus Gladius]

https://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/a34761896/2020-jeep-gladiator-mojave-reliability-maintenance/

Hmmmm.... they obviously didn’t test drive mine. Would they like a second ‘go round’?

 

[jbmdux]

Does your have the aluminum steering box? I had mine upgraded last week and it is a absolute night and day difference

Is the aluminum box a recall? How do I tell if my 2020 S has it?

 

[Papa Jawa]

https://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/a34761896/2020-jeep-gladiator-mojave-reliability-maintenance/

Car and Driver, definitely not Jeep and Driver.

I think this sentence is the most telling in the whole article, "with 27,000 miles still to go in our test, we're far from ready to admit we botched our truck's configuration."

They condemned the first desert rated Jeep truck for poor performance, after testing for only for 7 months and 14k miles, in Michigan and the midwest, mostly during the fall and winter? And a product line wide transmission issue should also not impact a long term test of a trim level. It is not specific to the Mojave.

If I was Car and Driver I would be more interested in why they are contradicting ourselves? From the Car and Driver article in 2019 where they awarded the JT as one of the 10 best compact trucks; '"While driving dynamics will always be at the forefront of our minds, we will no longer completely damn a vehicle because it falters in a single dimension. As long as it excels in many others and accomplishes what it’s built to accomplish."

It sucks because people will read the article and say the vehicle is no good. Biased journalism will reduce potential buyers and enthusiasts away from one of the coolest trucks ever made.

Whatever, love my Mojave, she can wheel straight out the gate! It definitely accomplishes what it was built to accomplish, taking me where I've never been and smiling the whole way.

 

[Maximus Gladius]

Is the aluminum box a recall? How do I tell if my 2020 S has it?

The aluminum box is the recall (I mean TSB). If you have it, it will look like light aluminum material and the steel box fix will look black

 

[Gundler]

I suggest you look into the steering TSB thread and determine if you have the old aluminum steering box or the steel. You should be able to drive in wind confidently, even if you have to adjust more than a car would. Seeing as you have a 2021 I would assume you'd have a steel box, but I think some 2021s got by with them. You may just need more time to get confident with it.

Thanks for the suggestion...I am pretty sure the 2021s have the updated steering box, but will check. I really don't have any 'wandering' in most driving situations, with the exception of very windy days on the highway. My daughter has a 2017 JKU and she just told me she's had similar issues with her Jeep on those windy days. My son has a 2017 Toyota 860, and he was complaining about his car being all over the highway.

Perhaps I was spoiled with the Tundra being so stable all these years...either way, It makes me drive slower and safer

 

[anavrinIV]

Funny enough I'm also at 10k miles with a manual Rubicon and have no complaints. I find mine to ride wonderfully (coming form a hot hatch on race springs), wind noise is lower than I would expect with a soft top, the transmission has been flawless, and the Wildpeaks are damn near silent on the road, something I cannot say for the conti DWs on my car or the yokohama whatevers on my wife's. I did have the steering TSB done recently (with absolutely no dealer pushback) and the highway wandering is GONE.

I can also get 19+mpg if I keep a light foot, which is plenty in a rolling brick.

I bought this truck because I needed a truck and wanted a Jeep. As far as compromises go it's been a fantastic one. I love this thing more than I expected to, and I had high expectations.

 

[Sparty]

Is the aluminum box a recall? How do I tell if my 2020 S has it?

To be clear it is NOT a recall. It's a TSB to fix it if the customer complains

Silver/Aluminum color is the old. Black color is the new

 

[brianinca]

I still remember the CR review of the first gen Miata. Choppy highway ride, darty steering, not much storage space. Last time I bothered with CR for anything but dishwasher reviews.

C/D is a shadow of what it used to be, but that's been true for over a decade. At least you knew what to expect from a Motor Trendy article.

That was a little bit of a consumer reports type evaluation. CR could review the new corvette and while they agree that performance is stellar, they would ding it for trunk space, fuel mileage and ride. Duh. Some vehicles are inherently a trade off and thats the whole point. Not everybody wants a Camry despite its 5 star reviews

 

[JeepGuy0920]

Just dragged about 5,000 lbs worth of trailer from central TX to NY. Very comfortable ride, towed/tracked fine (new steering box installed a few weeks ago). Cruised around 65-70 and rarely hit anything over 4,000 RPM.

Without a trailer... it's a race truck! Or at least it feels that way after driving an '09 2-door w/ 3.37s for the past 12 years lol.

Curious how much Ford influenced C&D on this one. They need all the marketing they can get for those mini-Explorer-looking-things they're selling nowadays.

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