Cross shopping & Ranking the rest of the competition!

[Solar Sparky]

I'm new to the forum and I have driven the competition. I have a Scion FR-S coming off lease in July, so I will need another vehicle by then. I love driving a sports car, but in the last couple of years I got the off roading bug because of some week long trips through the West and Southwest including the week of April 6 - 14. My daughter and I went through the Moab area into New Mexico and then to the Grand Canyon. We covered 4000 miles and did some off roading in a rented POS Hyundai Tucson. Although the AWD in the Tucson in surprising good, it isn't a vehicle I would ever want to drive again.

I retired last year, so I don't need to drive to work. My first plan was to buy a 1990s Cherokee that is cheap, decent and suitable to make into a wheeler. The flaws in this plan are finding a decent example and, although I have restored a car before, I like driving them more than I like working on them anymore.

So I decided that getting a 4x4 pickup would be great. Pickups are very useful and we already have an SUV. My wife has a beloved 2016 Ford Escape which she hates to even get dirty. So, I started looking at mid-size pickups back in February.

There were only two contenders then. The Toyota Taco and the new Ford Ranger. Both are available with factory rear lockers and various 4×4 trims.

I liked the Ranger which I tried first. It's a nice truck and I am sure it would work well. Then I drove the Taco and it was nice too. I even got down to negotiations on the Tacoma (we can get you in this truck today!) But neither truck excited me at all. I walked away from the deal not because it was a bad deal, but because if I am going to spend that much on a vehicle I was it to feel great

Then I saw a picture of the Gladiator. The Jeep "sucked all the air from the room" as I told the Ford salesman who emailed me last week. I had already considered a Wrangler JL Unlimited, so I was very familiar with all its features. But the JL is a SUV which we already own. The Gladiator is the only one I want now.

After a week driving around the Southwest, I resolved that next year I would take my wife to Moab for EJS in some kind of Jeep, almost certainly a Gladiator. I can't wait.

Sorry for the length.

Welcome to the forum. I currently drive a Colorado for work, think Denver to Portland, and LA. Lots of 4 wheeling options. I also love my Gladiator Mojave, and we spend as much time as possible in either Utah, or the Colo mountains. Go with the Gladiator, nothing compares. Tops off, doors off, windshield down, go get some adventure

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