Asked and answered about feathering, etc. BTW, 20 years with a Nissan manual 5-speed 4X4. The past 6 with a Ram 8-speed auto 4X4. Will never go back to an auto. If you haven't tried off-road with a manual, you ought to and you might be surprised you like it.
Perhaps the Gladiator auto is better now than the 8-speed in my '14 Ram. Tell me, if you're cruising along and you manually select, say, 5th gear, then let off the gas to coast to a red light, does your tranny keep it in 5th the whole time you're coasting down? Or does it ignore your selection and as you slow, start stepping down the gears, essentially engine braking your speed? Irritated me that it wouldn't let me really coast and was even detrimental when it did that on icy roads.
No there isn't. However, drivers of autos don't shift manually even though they can. I see this all of the time. I take lots of trips with a wide variety of folks driving a wide variety of rigs (various makes, from Gladiators to Tacomas to Pinzgauers and everything in between) and I shoot photos while we're rolling. And I don't want them to have their brake lights on because the photo looks as if they are stopped and the shot was posed. And they will drive right past the signs recommending low gear, riding their brakes all of the way down the hill. They just aren't used to thinking about what gear should they be in, and then taking action to put it in that gear. You may not drive like that. You may shift your auto transmission with aplomb. Great! But, I assure you, the overwhelming majority of auto drivers never shift their own gears.
response to your numbersFirst, not all Gladiator purchasers (or Wrangler, for that matter) are going to be "going up a grade negotiating a challenging off road trail". If fact, I imagine most will not be. Remember, I said the auto has too many compromises for some. I did not say for all. These compromises include:
1. Not being able to shift it yourself.
2. If you are able to shift it yourself, too many restrictions on shifts allowed.
3. Boring when driving on the streets.
4. Nothing for left foot to do.
5. Any more questions, see #1.
I'd say generally speaking, one is not better than the other, and it's ALL about compromises. Not in a bad way. Everything is a tradeoff. Point by point, there are pros and cons for each. It all comes down to driver preference and how you use your Jeep. In the end, generally speaking, one is no better or worse than the other. Simple as that.
Did you notice the smiley face, indicating humor. What I was saying is, if you really want a M/T, then everything about the A/T is a compromise.
Well I did say I had limited experience with shifting the auto. I did test drive a Gladiator with A/T, and I assure you there were several shifts I attempted that would neither have over-revved nor massively lugged the engine, and I got a message on the screen over the steering wheel "Shift not allowed". That's what I experienced.
That is the same message I got from my dealer. Sure sounds better than "recall".
Only when it drops below torque converter take up speed meaning there's no impact on the rear wheels. It won't let you come to a complete stop in 5th and attempt to start off in that gear, I believe the highest gear you can take off in is 4th but I have no idea why you'd want to do that. In essence it stops you from doing something stupid.
In what conditions did it not let you shift? I've never encountered that message. The only time I've had it shift on it's own is if I forget to downshift and come to a stop or try to floor it in 8th at like 35mph. Both things that would be obviously bad for it, but other than when I first got it I mostly just manually shift when towing, where it works perfectly.
Great post. Spot on.
