Car And Driver - Gladiator vs Colorado vs Ranger vs Ridgeline

[bring44]

The fact that Gladiator's wheelbase is basically a foot longer than the other vehicles in the class will be a horrible liability off-road.

I simply can't understand why the Gladiator has such a huge wheelbase. It basically on par with the others on towing, much worse on payload, and drags the belly off-road. And ride worse on-road.

What was the benefit of that huge wheelbase? I was considering the Gladiator Rubicon, until they published the wheelbase and length.

Have you taken your Gladiator off rode and shared the same experiences? 2.5" lift and 35's had me sitting pretty on moderate trails with obstacles that scream "high-center." Not one rub other than the rock rails as per usual. The Gladiator isn't a rock crawler, and will never truly be one without significant alterations, but if purchasing with this delusion...then yeah...you are going to have a poor experience.

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[KurtP]

I pay very little attention to magazine comparos and reviews. Most are of their writers now are journalism
grads that needed a job. Very few left actually know anything about vehicles, have been to driving schools, and they frequently mis report data.

 

[Ohio JKU]

These are the same rating types that knock jeeps for wind noise...

Duh... it has either removable tops pr is a cloth convertible.

Next, revelation; water is wet and ice is cold!

jeeps aren't for everyone, they are meant to be fun, they have quirks because of that...
Anyone here could have had the choice of most of the other makes & models given the price point, in my experience necessary errands like trips to lowes and / or home depot become adventures when theres no doors or top!!!! Do that in anything else!

 

[KurtP]

people still read car and driver?

 

[PsychoAL]

The fact that Gladiator's wheelbase is basically a foot longer than the other vehicles in the class will be a horrible liability off-road.

I simply can't understand why the Gladiator has such a huge wheelbase. It basically on par with the others on towing, much worse on payload, and drags the belly off-road. And ride worse on-road.

What was the benefit of that huge wheelbase? I was considering the Gladiator Rubicon, until they published the wheelbase and length.

My Gladiator Rubicon rides great on the road. Much smoother than a Wrangler and in my opinion as good or better than my wife's Grand Cherokee...

 

[Slojo]

My Gladiator Rubicon rides great on the road. Much smoother than a Wrangler and in my opinion as good or better than my wife's Grand Cherokee...

Not a knock on a Glad but my wife's GC is a better road car. The steering is tighter and it corners really well. For the price, it is one of the most impressive SUVs we've driven in years. The Glad wanders around but it is smoother than the Wranglers I've had.

 

[homerun]

Not a knock on a Glad but my wife's GC is a better road car. The steering is tighter and it corners really well. For the price, it is one of the most impressive SUVs we've driven in years. The Glad wanders around but it is smoother than the Wranglers I've had.

ifs vs sfa like comparing apples to oranges. ifs will always ride better but it will be cheaper and easier to lift a sfa.

 

[DAVECS1]

Yeah I agree with C&D if pansy's are gonna be driving these things and they will never see a single garage or tool. Yeah bone stock sure other trucks probably win it is also where there capability stops as they just were not made to be equipped beyond factory. Bet a honda Ridgeline with 35s is totally possible, after you sawzall the unit body. For a modest price the jeep can be outfitted to go just about anywhere on the planet. But if your a softhanded person who has no idea what can exist beyond what your manufacturer delivers, then well this magazine nailed it!

 

[XJADDICTION]

Funny this started back in 2019

These car mags are so irrelevant, at least for us. Jeep aimed at the Toyota and midsize truck segment with the intention of being equal to or better than the offerings at the time. Jeep made a real competitive midsized pickup.

Then they made it the best mid size only convertible pickup truck on the market. Jeep did that IMOP, very well.

In 2019 the Overland is all they could probably get to test. Jeep probably didn’t want to waste their time with them anyway because these rags already have a hate for the Jeep.

The Overland is awesome, I think very comfortable and well equipped. I almost bought one in 2019 as it was only one of 5 gladiators available at my favorite dealership Premier Mt Juliet. The other 4 were base Sport S no options for $45K.

Ridgeline is a ridiculous comparison IMOP because it’s a car. Of course it’s going to ride like a car.

Anyway, ignore these rags. One simple defining thing for the Gladiator is The convertible doors off no one else has it.

So, this brings the gladiator to the age old argument

Supply vs demand designates the price.

There isn’t another pickup truck like it in the world and that’s why I LOVE it... and yes I am proud of the Max Tow package! so many options to make
The Gladiator your own!

 

[dfwxjer]

You need to get out more. The JT is awesome and I'm happy Jeep is making it. But every day there are tons of people having great fun with all sorts of other trucks.

Lets celebrate the choices and push these manufacturers to compete hard for our $$$.

No, let's not celebrate the Ridgeline just because some yahoo bolted the Honda unibody to a Hummer chassis.

The Ridgeline/Pilot/Odyssey are all the same piles of garbage in different configurations. The high revving Honda V6 is not a truck engine, it's mounted sideways because it's a minivan platform, and the lame all wheel drive is just a VC system that can deliver some power to the rear wheels in low traction situations. It's not an off-road vehicle whatsoever, and the rear subframe for the pickup bed is just mated to a unibody minivan body.

The rest I'll agree with. The current off-road oriented trucks on the market are some of the best we've ever seen come from the factory. Raptor, TRX, TRD Pros, ZR2, the upcoming Bronco... all amazing platforms for the right buyer. Thankfully those offerings have pushed Jeep to continue to strive to be better. Just think how big of a wave the original TJ Rubicon made, and by today's standards it's tame.

 

[mike921921]

Some surprising data on this comparison test.

1 - Despite Jeep claiming "class-leading" payload and towing, the Gladiator tested had by far the worst payload.

Only 988 lbs for the Gladiator vs 1,476, 1,479, 1,493 for the others. Even the minivan-based Ridgeline had ˜500lbs more actual payload.

2 - It had the worst performance off road - much worse than even Ridgeline mini-van.

"the Jeep was even less comfortable on Hollister Hills' slippery trails than the Honda, which senior editor Tony Quiroga dubbed a "dachshund." A dachshund might scrape its belly here and there, but even with 10.0 inches of ground clearance, the most in the test, the Gladiator would belly-flop into the mud with a wet thwap and noisily drag its frame rails over crests and bumps that the drivers of the Colorado and Ranger didn't notice."

3 - Even with the longest wheelbase (9-12 inches longer than the others - why?!?), it had poor ride on road, with same nasty remarks from the reviewers. Ford didn't too well on that either.


Unsurprisingly, it was the most fun (we knew that) and had the most stratospheric price (even though it was not even close to being top of the line it was $15K+ more expensive than the others.). All in all it finished third out of four.


https://www.caranddriver.com/review...gladiator-chevrolet-colorado-honda-ridgeline/

Ridgeline , the 'Thing' of the pick up world.

 

[Zilla]

"The Thing" was a really cool car!

 

[FormerToyotaGuy]

Well I am off to sell the Gladiator. The magazine stated I made a big mistake. Although, I have to be honest I didn't buy it to go rock crawling and while I "use" my vehicles off road for things like hunting and camping. I am not really worried about the long wheel base and obstacles. It will tow the Polaris side by side just fine, and I am pretty sure with the Rubicon package if I get in some pretty deep mud it will fair better than a Ridgeline. I learned along time ago that when "Car magazines" hate certain off road truck models (take your pick doesn't have to be just Gladiator) I tend to put them on the list to go look at.
I have had quite a few Jeeps, Tacoma's FJ, Scout, Bronco (old) Blazer (real) over the years and none of them rode to the liking of a car magazine that praises how well a Subaru does off road. ALL manufactures have made newer trucks and 4x4's ride better than those of yesteryear. However, being off road capable will come at a price in ride quality on the street. Sorry its off road truck or SUV not a Cadillac.
Also, the Gladiator is a specific type of vehicle. If your into towing your 45 foot toy hauler I would suggest an F350, or 3500. As much as I love to make fun of the Honda El Camino oops I mean Ridgeline it falls into same category, its a purposed specific vehicle. If you want more room than a Tacoma, Frontier or Ranger, good car like ride AWD for going to snow and light off road a small bed to go run up to Home Depot or Lowes its actually a great truck or whatever

 

[joeym7]

I like the Rangers torque numbers, but one can't get a sun-roof in a Ranger, not in any trim level, that is automatically disqualifying for me...

 

[joeym7]

It is obviously a little rediculous...Most of these so called evaluation outlets rate these trucks in many pavement catagories but usually 1 off road catagory...Then they shout that the trucks optimized for off road have lower scores on the pavement. Hello, it is called engineering trade-offs.

Would be better if they evaluated with several off-road catagories for more apples to apples of an all around 4WD pick-up.

But you guys of course know this already.

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