Motor Trend's Most Disappointing Cars and SUVs We Drove in 2020

[DocMike]

Well, yes. It's too low for speed bumps and you don't have a place for your super big gulp.

I am over 8K on my truck. It's my DD and I have 4, yes 4 children I haul in it. My Gladiator passed all of my tests:

1. When I park it somewhere and go in, I look back at it.
2. I want to spend money on it.
3. Ex wife hates it.
4. My kids love it.
5. My 70 year old parents raved about it. They came in for Christmas. My mother is like 5' 2" on a good day. I was afraid I would be bringing a step for her to get in. Pops is 6' 3' and has cancer from the polluted well at the USMC base. They are not exactly spry. Both had no problems getting in and out and thought the ride was comfortable. Mom was quite happy with the rock sliders as a step and found lots of handles to get in and out. Mom raved about how much room was in the back and how comfortable the seats were. We did lots of town, highway, and even a few fire roads. Even had a bit of snow to deal with. Zero complaints. They both left very impressed. Shocked that it was a utility vehicle.

Over all I think the jack of all trades master of none is the truth. Want a convertible truck that you can take off road? This is what it does. It will do like 90-95% of what a short wheel base Jeep will do. There is video of stock Gladiators doing the Rubicon.

Let's be real. Motor Trend is full of shit. Most people, it's safe to assume, will not come close to using the capabilities of the Gladiator. So for them to say it's not good at off road is horse shit. Good driver has a lot to do with the capabilities of the vehicle. Plus a good spotter and the idea that....GOSH! You may have to get out of the vehicle a bit to off road. I mean to really push it you may scratch or dent the thing. People buy them so they can say....it does blah blah blah. And never do it. It's why when I lived in Chicago you'd see fully kitted out Defenders that never left the pavement. Oak Brook....Hinsdale....Burr Ridge....I'm looking at you.

A quick look on Instagram will show many very expensive Jeeps and 4wd with lots of mods and "hitting real trails" is a fire road. When your Jeep has red under glow lights and looks like it's sore from an STD...hence the angry Jeep grill.... You are probably not taking that thing crawling.

There will be people on here who wheel the shit out of their trucks. I have seen the posts. I like to go with my local 4wd club and wheel, but I am not crazy about jacking up my DD. I am not the best off road driver, but I hope to become a decent one. What I can say is I have found the gladiator very forgiving when I do something dumb. Take a wrong line and the truck smiles and soaks it up. I have had a few "oops, I'm at 25 degrees list" and been fine. (I know it's not a lot, but it scared me quite nicely) Bit of a pucker for me and my comms guy, but still. I have wheeled it with competitor vehicles that had way more mods than mine and I had an easier time on the trails.

I have found this to be a very enjoyable truck. It does what I need and gets me to where I want to go with very little issue.

To put this stupid article in context, this is the first car they bag on....

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[DocMike]

An addendum here.
My biggest gripe about the Gladiator is that when it snows and the roof is covered in frozen snow it heats up in the sun and starts to slide around. I have come to a stop a few times and been greeted by a sheet of ice sliding off the roof and onto the hood.

 

[saintpauljeff]

An addendum here.
My biggest gripe about the Gladiator is that when it snows and the roof is covered in frozen snow it heats up in the sun and starts to slide around. I have come to a stop a few times and been greeted by a sheet of ice sliding off the roof and onto the hood.

seems that would be another MT black checkmark against the Gladiator, shhhhh

 

[DocMike]

Yes....the MT journalists were also pissed that it didn't changer their diapers for them.

seems that would be another MT black checkmark against the Gladiator, shhhhh

 

[Rocksalt]

bet those MT folks never even used it as a truck

 

[XJADDICTION]

Motor Trend... who?

 

[Dezerox]

didn't click. don't care. bought one anyways.

 

[Shackleton]

This truck works for me... hauls wood... hauls hardware store stuff... hauls landscaping stuff...oh.. is also DD and oh by the way... a fun convertible... hmmm

Gets you through a snow storm and can plow your driveway too if need be.

 

[DanW]

Gets you through a snow storm and can plow your driveway too if need be.

Of course, with the Gladiator, you won't need to plow your driveway in the first place!

 

[Hootbro]

Motor Trend and Consumer Reports must pull from the same effeminate pool of writers. Both seem to be afraid of anything that may elevate testosterone levels.

 

[DanW]

Motor Trend and Consumer Reports must pull from the same effeminate pool of writers. Both seem to be afraid of anything that may elevate testosterone levels.

The women I know have much more spine and less fear than they do, so they've reached a whole new low of some part of the chemistry. I don't really know what it is. And those women wouldn't like them, anyway. They appreciate and aren't afraid of testosterone. They know how to tame it. These dudes would curl up in the fetal position to find a happy place if they wound up in their presence.

 

[red/green hawk]

I doubt Motor Trend has driven a JT the places I have...so...who cares. It isn't a farm truck you're going to hook a goose neck up to with 20k lb payload. The bed is big enough to carry home building supplies from Lowe's. It's big enough to put in a cabinent from Ikea. Bed does just fine carrying gear for a backpacking trip and because I have a JT it ensures that I'm going to drive up to a spot on my favorite stream where 90% of people can't get to.

 

[Zilla]

They're just other humans, and have their own opinions....like the rest of us. We can take their advice or not, and I personally LIKE the things that they are complaining about.

 

[thecalebclark]

Ferrari’s, Yukon Denali’s, Maserati’s, and Mercedes’s? I feel pretty good about being on the same list as those cars.

 

[hjdca]

I you like JLs, how can you not like JTs ??

The key points of the Gladiator are:

1. It has a JL front end.
2. It has a bed in the back
3. It has coils in the back

Number 1 changes the game because we can do anything we do to a JL to a JT. Number 3 changes the game for 4wheeling with a bed.

Regardless of everything else, these 3 things change the game and the writers do not even really understand/recognize what this means to so many people.

Nitpicking aside, Jeep gave us exactly what we were looking for -- and even a manual transmission - which sealed the deal for me.

PS. Can you imagine if they did a completely different platform for the JT - ie. nothing in common with the JL ? That would have been a huge mistake. I think they did it right by expanding the JL to the JT.

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