Is Jeep going to have to build a super Gladiator?

[Orange01z28]

https://www.motortrend.com/news/202...z2&utm_source=braze&utm_medium=emaileditorial

Is Jeep going to have to build a super Gladiator, or are the Mojave and Rubicon already there?

At the end of the day, a Mojave or Rubicon will probably out perform all of these stock, but they don’t have the sexy engine numbers or tires stock that non-enthuasists will look to

I think an XR package on the JT would go a long way to address this competition, but until Stellantis stops trying to satisfy WEF EV requirements, it's going to be a loser on the engine front. Maybe the Hurricane will save us

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[Bonanza]

https://www.motortrend.com/news/2024-chevrolet-colorado-zr2-bison-first-look-review/?lid=x12dfbtcp9fp&eml=organic:eml:brz2&utm_source=braze&utm_medium=emaileditorial

Is Jeep going to have to build a super Gladiator, or are the Mojave and Rubicon already there?

At the end of the day, a Mojave or Rubicon will probably out perform all of these stock, but they don’t have the sexy engine numbers or tires stock that non-enthuasists will look to

I think an XR package on the JT would go a long way to address this competition, but until Stellantis stops trying to satisfy WEF EV requirements, it's going to be a loser on the engine front. Maybe the Hurricane will save us

Out perform? How? On 33s? With a 2012 engine? No trail dig? No underbody cameras? The features on these new trucks make gladiators look like 1990s era tech. Absolutely nothing special to them technology wise. I say that like a father who wants his kids to simply be better, and call a spade a spade. Right now, Jeep is far and away the back of the pack, sharing space with the Nissan Frontier for relevance.

Of course, stand by for "BuT CaN IT TakE tHe DoOrs OfF?" crowd that's content with Jeep bringing up the rear.

 

[ratherbskiing]

It's the elephant in the room for sure. The JT feels outfoxed in relation to the price premium.

 

[Orange01z28]

Out perform? How? On 33s? With a 2012 engine? No trail dig? No underbody cameras? The features on these new trucks make gladiators look like 1990s era tech. Absolutely nothing special to them technology wise. I say that like a father who wants his kids to simply be better, and call a spade a spade. Right now, Jeep is far and away the back of the pack, sharing space with the Nissan Frontier for relevance.

Of course, stand by for "BuT CaN IT TakE tHe DoOrs OfF?" crowd that's content with Jeep bringing up the rear.

These other trucks will go faster on road and in the sand, but nothing will out crawl a solid axle vehicle still

That's what I meant by out perform. A stock Rubicon will climb stuff on 33s that will leave the IFS trucks with broken tie rods. The only one I'd truly trust is the Trailhunter

 

[Cansberry]

Depends on what you want. I agree, Jeep's are overpriced. And the 3.6 needs to be universally replaced with the Hurricane. But Jeeps are supposed to be technically simple durable off road climbers. Thats it. App that epectronic crap will just break and cost a fortune to fix. Look at the "basic" tech crap Jeeps already have that break all the time.

 

[bleda2002]

Jeep just needs to finish 4xe'ing the gladiator and update it with the 2024 features. That will take care of the power and tech arguments as technology is not really that far behind except for some extra camera's that are of questionable value (what the hell do i honestly need an under body camera for?).

Only the ranger raptor with 410hp/430ftlbs would have higher numbers and the low down torque/hp of the hybrid would probably outperform it at anything but high speed full throttle.

 

[Barnaby’sdad]

It doesn’t really need much to be perfect, in my opinion. Hemi, factory 35’s, and 4.88 gearing and I don’t think there would be anything to complain about.

My two cents…they went with shit engine options. Really hard to process why they didn’t just go with the 5.7L Hemi. Other than that would have been too obvious/made too much sense.

 

[Guns_N_Rosaries]

I'd be very interested to see what Jeep engineers could do if they were allowed to design a truck from scratch that didn't rely on anything to do with the Wrangler.

 

[BAT]

Out perform? How? On 33s? With a 2012 engine? No trail dig? No underbody cameras? The features on these new trucks make gladiators look like 1990s era tech. Absolutely nothing special to them technology wise. I say that like a father who wants his kids to simply be better, and call a spade a spade. Right now, Jeep is far and away the back of the pack, sharing space with the Nissan Frontier for relevance.

Of course, stand by for "BuT CaN IT TakE tHe DoOrs OfF?" crowd that's content with Jeep bringing up the rear.

The majority of Jeep buyers could care less about any of those new features in reality other than perhaps a more gas economical engine. Its a DD or a Mall Crawler for them and yes the doors and top come off but honestly all of the jeeps or Gladiators I see on a daily basis never ever have the tops or doors off so that is not really a factor. Jeeps are already way overpriced so if you go adding on all kinds of new tech the vehicle will become unattainable for any but the rich or the one's who will write the check or carry huge monthly note regardless. I am one of them cause I don't need any of that stuff, but I carry a big note simply cause I want to drive a jeep truck to move my kayaks and camping gear around

 

[Jefe1018]

I don’t think they have to build anything to stay relevant. They Rubicon and Mojave are part of the reason these manufacturers are making these monster off roaders now, competition is always good.

The JT has been around since 2020, that’s not that long ago. Likely a refresh is coming in 2025 with a hybrid model and/or hurricane engine.

I do recall specing out frontiers and colorados before I made the jump and being astonished at how you could get those loaded up fully for less than $50,000 where as it was almost impossible to stay under that with the Jeep… at least MSRP that is.

I stay with the Jeep brand at the moment because of the solid axle. You can’t beat it for rock crawling. At the end of the day, the upgradable and aftermarket support is there for Jeeps with an abundance of dealers always stocking the cool goodies - something that is very lack luster and much more expensive where it isn’t with the competition.

 

[BearDog]

I'm just sittin' over here missing the days of carbureted engines, Muncie transmissions, and 2-60 a/c....

 

[@californiajeeping]

a wrangler 392 xr is basically a super jeep.

 

[chorky]

Out perform? How? On 33s? With a 2012 engine? No trail dig? No underbody cameras? The features on these new trucks make gladiators look like 1990s era tech. Absolutely nothing special to them technology wise. I say that like a father who wants his kids to simply be better, and call a spade a spade. Right now, Jeep is far and away the back of the pack, sharing space with the Nissan Frontier for relevance.

Of course, stand by for "BuT CaN IT TakE tHe DoOrs OfF?" crowd that's content with Jeep bringing up the rear.

Eh. Trail dig is a fancy toy. Nothing more. I see zero actual and functional use. Its just as easy to do a 5 point turn. And the engine works just fine for me. I am currently sitting a few hundred pounds under GAW and have more than enough power still. This infactuation with doing 0-60 in 2 seconds is whats killing us being as the gov is requiring high mpg averages. But reviving a straight 6 would be pretty awesome.

So long as Wrangler and Gladiator retain a solid front axle, there is zero competition. It stands out among all other options simply because of that. If that ever goes away, it wont be any different than Ranger or Taco anymore. That is IMO what truly sets Jeep above the others in terms of capability, and is what makes it still a Jeep.

I'd be very interested to see what Jeep engineers could do if they were allowed to design a truck from scratch that didn't rely on anything to do with the Wrangler.

It would be interesting. But then it would loose its appeal I think. IMO a lot of people gravitate to the JT because it does share so much with the Wranngler, so you get all the bennies
of the Wrangler in a truck platform. I personally love how it retains that appearance.

 

[Erievon]

Eh. Trail dig is a fancy toy.

And a good way to break stuff, and void your warranty if you don't use it 100% correctly, just ask Ford. But if you really want it, I think the Taser just added that feature.

The beauty of the Jeep is the aftermarket support. They give you a solid lego brick, you build to taste. And the ability to take the doors and roof off, is HUGE, not to be dismissed. Those features alone probably account for a ton of sales.

Having said all that, an XR 392 Rubi or Mojave would pretty much wipe the floor with the competition in my opinion.

 

[montechie]

These other trucks will go faster on road and in the sand, but nothing will out crawl a solid axle vehicle still

That's what I meant by out perform. A stock Rubicon will climb stuff on 33s that will leave the IFS trucks with broken tie rods. The only one I'd truly trust is the Trailhunter

Well, and as important for crawling rocks or even just steep trails is the final gear ratio. The new ZR2 Bison on 35s didn't adjust the gear ratios over the regular ZR2 and maybe not even from the ZR1 (details are sketch yet). The low-end ratio is worse than many basic SUVs, something like 42:1 on a ZR2 w/33s.

The MPG/range on these mid-sizes are also pathetic for the tech that went into them, I expect the Taco will at least break 20 with the hybrid but the regular ZR2 is 16mpg on probably high octane. I'm not expecting Prius numbers, but I would at least like something that's better than my '05 lifted LJR (16mpg on regular), or my '03 5.4 F150 that got 17 for a fair amount of power. Or my JTR with a cabover that gets 17-18mpg, all at elevation in the mountains. Hopefully the way EPA mpg is calculated on a turbo'd engine is way off. In the past the turbo'd cars I drove could still get great mileage when I chose not to stomp on them all the time.

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