Gladiator vs Tacoma IMO

[MrKnowitall]

Back in January I went to NAIAS with the main intent to compare between the two. At 6ft/230# I can get comfortable in the Tacoma, but only just. The seat is so far back that it makes the back seat all but unusable, even for kids. The Gladiator has the same rear legroom as our JKU, with a more comfortable seat-back angle. The huge hang-up is that it cost about $6k more (Sport S, HT and tow vs TRD OR) and (with the MT) is limited to 2/3 the Tacoma's tow rating.

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[Bjeepz]

I've had a couple Tacoma's, 2009 Reg cab with 2.5 inch Old Man Emu lift and then a 2018 TRD Off road access cab, the 2009 was pretty utilitarian with a bench seat and no options other than A/C. The 2018 was a lot nicer, I ran a 2.5 inch Eibach lift with 33.5 inch tall skinny tires. It drove well on the hwy, off road the Tacoma's really don't compare to the 2015 JK and 2017 JKU I had, the independent front suspension setup just has no travel once lifted. Unlike lifting our Jeeps down travel is lost on the front coil over lifts, sure there is still a bunch of up travel but the doesn't keep wheels on the ground. The navigation and stereo setup were terrible in the Tacoma. The automatic transmission literally mad me angry frequently, it was shockingly bad. Anyway the truck sure did look awesome, and it certainly wasn't terrible, well other than the transmission. Getting 35's on a Tacoma requires a shit load of cutting the fenders, cab mount and firewall if guys are actually wheeling it.

 

[3-pedal-Rub]

One week after taking delivery of my red Gladiator, I attended a birthday party. The host has a 4wd Tacoma. We sat inside of both trucks and made our comparisons. I stand 6'0 #210 - while the seating wasn't too uncomfortable, the windshield of the Tacoma felt as if it was inches from my face! This didn't feel acceptable. The interior felt low market. The paint looked faded for a 2 year old truck. The bumpers looked cheap. The infotainment was barely even there. No removable roof or panels, ground clearance was non-existent.

The Tacoma owner later told me that he felt, "Jealous" after sitting inside of my new Gladiator.

I'll second the notion on the low market interior. My wife and I picked up a 2019 4runner last year for her and got the premium package with leather.
With just barely 10K miles on it, the "finish" on the plastic interior sections is already getting wear marks from normal use.

 

[Bjeepz]

I'll second the notion on the low market interior. My wife and I picked up a 2019 4runner last year for her and got the premium package with leather.
With just barely 10K miles on it, the "finish" on the plastic interior sections is already getting wear marks from normal use.

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention the overall interior quality in my post. Light grey carpets that show all dirt.. the plastic scuffs incredibly easily..

 

[Desert Outlaw]

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention the overall interior quality in my post. Light grey carpets that show all dirt.. the plastic scuffs incredibly easily..

Oh, what a feeling! Not!

 

[futzin']

Oh, what a feeling!

Wonder how many here remember that ad campaign. That's been a while!

 

[CokreeateJT]

Had a 2010 Tacoma off road with long travel kit. It was a good truck when my kids were younger.
As they got older the backseats are pretty much no go it was too tight no almost no leg room.

 

[Racer_X]

The Gladiator is a jeep that is also a truck.

The Taco is a pickup that can offroad.

Compromise accordingly

I always wanted a jeep, but it was never practical. Colorado was going to be the Colorado mountain rock farm truck after we got the boy off to college. Good job FCA.

 

[Bjeepz]

Had a 2010 Tacoma off road with long travel kit. It was a good truck when my kids were younger.
As they got older the backseats are pretty much no go it was too tight no almost no leg room.

A quality long travel kits are big bucks for the Tacomas! Up here in Canada I would have been looking at no less than 7k just to do the front. Then for the rear I would have stuck with OME leafs but there is a need to relocate the upper shock mount and get new rear spring hangers to get travel back there, so bring on the cutting and welding! Tacoma's can certainly be built nicely, but the cost is pretty high if not a total do it yourself kinda person.

 

[CokreeateJT]

Good LT kits are expensive. But was able to buy the front used off another member and had all the shocks and bypass rebuild.
The front I had camburg lt kit with fox shocks and double bypass. The rear were DMZ rear sua kit with fox triple bypass.
For the rear it didn't cut into the bed, instead made a custom hoop to hold the bypasses.
Some old photos.

A quality long travel kits are big bucks for the Tacomas! Up here in Canada I would have been looking at no less than 7k just to do the front. Then for the rear I would have stuck with OME leafs but there is a need to relocate the upper shock mount and get new rear spring hangers to get travel back there, so bring on the cutting and welding! Tacoma's can certainly be built nicely, but the cost is pretty high if not a total do it yourself kinda person.

 

[Bjeepz]

Good LT kits are expensive. But was able to buy the front used off another member and had all the shocks and bypass rebuild.
The front I had camburg lt kit with fox shocks and double bypass. The rear were DMZ rear sua kit with fox triple bypass.
For the rear it didn't cut into the bed, instead made a custom hoop to hold the bypasses.
Some old photos.

That makes for one badass Tacoma!

 

[TJ Mitchell Films]

Long travel Tacomas are super rad that’s for sure! My main point was comparing stock Rubicon vs TRD Pro trim packages so keep that in mind

 

[Cape taco12]

The Gladiator wins with cool fun factor. Tacoma wins with reliability, yikes the Jeep JL makes the top 10 least reliable vehicles depending what you look at I guess.

I bought my Old Tacoma used with 150k I owned it 10 years and another 100k and beat the sh*t out of it. Rev limiter assaulted rocks, broke axles and ring gears with the doubler. Guy who bought it drove 16 hours straight to get home on a trail rig with 250k, no issues.

I hope the Jeep will make it 250k without any major mechanical issues not caused my operator error. But I’m willing to give up tried and true reliability at this point for the fun points.

 

[velogeek]

Long travel Tacomas are super rad that’s for sure! My main point was comparing stock Rubicon vs TRD Pro trim packages so keep that in mind

I feel like I need to defend the Tacoma here because there's a huge difference in how the JT and Taco are spec'd out. The Rubi is the top off-roader without question and even the ZR2 Bison isn't going to compete with a 4:1, live axles, and a pair of lockers. Thing is, the Rubicon is the only way to get those from the factory. Meanwhile, from an off-road standpoint, the basic bitch TRDOR package offers everything the Pro does less the marginally better Fox shocks.

I guess what I'm saying is that if you really want to compare off-road performance, the Tacoma that's $10k less than the Gladiator will show the same results. Meanwhile, if you pick literally any JT that isn't a Rubicon, the difference will be much, much closer. It's the difference between a company who built an unapologetic off-roader as its top trim vs a company who basically created a cosmetic package.

 

[TJ Mitchell Films]

I feel like I need to defend the Tacoma here because there's a huge difference in how the JT and Taco are spec'd out. The Rubi is the top off-roader without question and even the ZR2 Bison isn't going to compete with a 4:1, live axles, and a pair of lockers. Thing is, the Rubicon is the only way to get those from the factory. Meanwhile, from an off-road standpoint, the basic bitch TRDOR package offers everything the Pro does less the marginally better Fox shocks.

I guess what I'm saying is that if you really want to compare off-road performance, the Tacoma that's $10k less than the Gladiator will show the same results. Meanwhile, if you pick literally any JT that isn't a Rubicon, the difference will be much, much closer. It's the difference between a company who built an unapologetic off-roader as its top trim vs a company who basically created a cosmetic package.

I see what your saying. I never said that the Tacoma was a bad truck or a bad off road vehicle by any means.

Like I said before, when your compare each company’s top off road package apples for apples the Gladiator is the hands down winner with minimal price difference between a base level Rubicon and base level TRD Pro.

My whole comparison was with off roading in mind. I wish Toyota offered more with their TRD Pro package.

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