Narrowed it down to two Gladiator configurations!

[dakota.morgan91]

Hello all. So I have narrowed it down to two different permutations of the truck AND I CAN'T DECIDE! haha, 1. is the sport S with the ecodiesel, and 2. is a Rubicon with the manual transmission. I want the diesel and I want the rubicon but can't stomach the price of both. I love the idea of the manual transmission despite the negative articles I have read about it, and enjoy the comfort of knowing how reliable the Pentastar is. I also like the idea of the locking front differential and the better transfer case.
With the Diesel, I really enjoy the added fuel economy (looking at long road trips), and the added torque! I am a little concerned with the mixed reviews I have read on the reliability of the past eco-diesels, and the complexity of the EGR system. I have for a long time dreamt of running waste oil to power a diesel truck, but I am assuming this diesel is not a good one to do that with...
As a little background, this is going to be a toy mostly for me... I have an old Subaru that will get driven mostly to and from work and in the winter... I also will not be doing rock crawling but plan to do some mild wheeling. I don't plan on huge tires... Probably just 33's. What are your thoughts between these two options?

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[PNWGladiator]

I think it’s going to take you quite some time to make your money back in fuel savings over the eco diesel premium.

Get the Rubicon with the broader off road capability, especially if this will mostly be a toy for you.

 

[Renegade]

If you won’t be rock crawling at all, you don’t really need the Rubicon.

 

[dakota.morgan91]

If you won’t be rock crawling at all, you don’t really need the Rubicon.

I understand and agree with you, but damn they are cool arent they? lol. I am not sure that would change my satisfaction with it over the long haul though. maybe I need to look harder at a Sport S with the manual.... then have more money for modding... the biggest thing that draws me to the rubicon is quite honestly the "cool" factor (childish I know), the front locker, and the 4.10 gearing... I could modify a Sport S to have these though.

 

[dakota.morgan91]

I think it’s going to take you quite some time to make your money back in fuel savings over the eco diesel premium.

Get the Rubicon with the broader off road capability, especially if this will mostly be a toy for you.

you are right about that... especially with the added cost of DEF fluid and oil changes... the torque and possibly the ability to run it on bio-fuels are the two biggest draws for it.

 

[red/green hawk]

I understand and agree with you, but damn they are cool arent they? lol. I am not sure that would change my satisfaction with it over the long haul though. maybe I need to look harder at a Sport S with the manual.... then have more money for modding... the biggest thing that draws me to the rubicon is quite honestly the "cool" factor (childish I know), the front locker, and the 4.10 gearing... I could modify a Sport S to have these though.

I don't know why Jeep doesn't offer a max tow with the Ecodiesel. If you don't plan on doing a lot of mods and you can afford it, go with the Rubicon. It is a very bad and capable machine, you won't be disappointed. The Sport S with or w/out max tow is still very capable off road. You can add a locker but why? If you don't plan on doing a lot of stuff it's there only for the "cool" factor, which is fine don't misunderstand. Disconnecting the sway bar manually only takes a couple minutes max. And again if you're only planning to do light offroading you really don't need to disconnect it anyway. I've kinda always looked at like this...why spend 20-25k more and then spend just as much in mods over the years that negates some of the cost of that extra 20 to 25k. You're financing that extra expenditure over time with interest so do the math. If saving money is your thing go with a base model and build it up. If money isn't an object than go big right away. And remenber a 55k truck with 25k in mods isn't worth 80k.

 

[eaglerugby04]

I would avoid the Eco. Depending on how you spec your's out the Rubicon might come closer than you think to the cost of an upgraded sport. If you want 4.10 thats Max tow, If you want 33s thats having to get new wheels/tires. If you think you might need a lockable dif thats a rubi only feature.

I was torn between the Rubi and Max tow and when I finally speced out what I wanted on a custom order the price was so close that having the extras like the lockable diff and swaybar were worth the upgrade price.

I had thought about the manual, but towing numbers were to important to me that it was eliminated almost imediatly.

 

[Rubi_Rhod]

Rubicon manual!

I just sold my Colorado diesel for this. Hands down, you will not at all regret the smiles per gallon. Its a solid and fun truck with the rubicon and manual.

The diesel just isn’t fit in the climate now. Its too hampered. And it has a short leash. If its upset, its not a regular Check engine light, its you have 60miles to get to a dealer or engine speed reduced.

I can’t tell you how miserable that made every one of my diesels sometimes 30+ mpg runs and mountain climbing turbo assited torque weak.

I know my rubicon and stick are not looking back!

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