Opinion: Jeep Made A Massive Mistake By Giving Up On The Gladiator 4xe

[red/green hawk]

I just got 21 mpg on a 300-mile road trip with hills, curves, towns, and everything inbetween. I'm running 34" ATs. Keep in mind I have a pretty bare bones Sport S model. AC and power windows are the technological highlight of it all. I'm not disappointed one little bit.

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[Stan H]

I been getting 19.6 flat floggin' it to work and back.

 

[Splenda]

I'm lucky to see 14 MPG.

 

[Free2roam]

The only people who seem to feel this way are people who own a Jeep with a diesel. I think most truck buyers know that the diesel was a bit silly. The average truck owner who buys a 3/4 or 1 ton pickup with a diesel sees it as a tool. Those vehicles have payload and tow ratings that far exceed the 1/2 ton trucks, so the extra costs and complexity associated with buying a diesel are negated by the benefits of owning a diesel. In the case of the Gladiator, the diesel engine was so much heavier that payload and towing limits were actually less. The consequence was that the type of buyer who bought the diesel Gladiator was the same type of person who buys a 3/4 or 1 ton pickup with a diesel but has nothing to carry or tow. It's just a toy. That coupled with the fact that Stellantis chose an Italian-made diesel with a ton of issues only made matters worse, and the diesel Gladiator was short lived. As someone who has owned diesel trucks and has done countless 4 gallon oil changes and fuel filter changes and encountered many DPF issues, I can say that the average Jeep owner really does not want to deal with all that mess.

I bought the diesel for fuel mileage torque and cruising down the highway plus now camping. I've never owned a 1/2 or 3/4 or 1 ton pickup. First truck ever. Haven't had any DPF issues as of yet. Fuel pump recall done. Runs like a champ.
If I could afford another I'd buy it right now.
Aside from that. Fuck all the lithium mining. The companies who do it. Rip up the ground, take what they want aren't from the USA and when they are done file bankruptcy and leave a mess for someone else to pickup. Leach ponds break and kill everything nearby and it then leaches into the ground doing irreparable harm to the environment. People must be held accountable.
Hoping off the soap box.

 

[chaosjake]

I'm lucky to see 14 MPG.

Same here. That's why I was hoping my next JT would be a hybrid. I drive a stock height Rubicon with 35" ATs (significantly lighter wheel/tire combo than stock), a bed rack, a stubby bumper, and no other mods that should really affect fuel economy. I rarely get cumulative mpg over 14.

Fuck all the lithium mining. The companies who do it. Rip up the ground, take what they want aren't from the USA and when they are done file bankruptcy and leave a mess for someone else to pickup. Leach ponds break and kill everything nearby and it then leaches into the ground doing irreparable harm to the environment. People must be held accountable.

I grew up in coal country WV. If anybody in this country actually gave a fuck about energy companies destroying the air and drinking water, ruining the landscape, giving their employees black lung and silicosis, letting containment dams collapse and kill whole towns downstream, and then filing bankruptcy and leaving the mess for future generations, we wouldn't have let coal operators get away with it for 150 years.

 

[Stan H]

I'm lucky to see 14 MPG.

what ratio gears ? Mines 4.10 sittin on 35x12.50x17's

 

[Splenda]

I grew up in coal country WV. If anybody in this country actually gave a fuck about energy companies destroying the air and drinking water, ruining the landscape, giving their employees black lung and silicosis, letting containment dams collapse and kill whole towns downstream, and then filing bankruptcy and leaving the mess for future generations, we wouldn't have let coal operators get away with it for 150 years.

You think that's bad, look at what the oil companies are doing in the Gulf of Mexico with the old platforms and wells. This video should disturb everyone!

 

[Splenda]

what ratio gears ? Mines 4.10 sittin on 35x12.50x17's

4.10s but I have E-rated 37x13.5x17 Toyo Open Country M/T tires that weigh 94 lb. each and beadlock wheels that weigh over 30 lb. each. All that rotating mass could be blamed, but the best I ever saw before the tires and lift was 15 MPG, so I don't know why. I do know that the 24 and up don't have a FAD, so the front driveline is always spinning.

 

[Jteakus]

Jeep offers (offered) multiple engines across the JL/JT platform to appeal to owners with different wants and needs, There are horror and love stories about every powerplant available and trying to convince others your way is best won't fly but we can share information. I regularly see 30 mpg in my JLURD on 35's and stock gears (with reliability mods) and my JTRD on 38's gets 22 mpg (same mods) loaded out in camp mode. Both Jeeps have more than enough power never lacking, Diesel here is about .35 more than gasoline so it works for me.

 

[berb]

I have given serious thought to trying to make some sort of removable fairing out of Bondo and wire mesh to close out the front fenders, but my biggest problem is low speeds. My commute is almost all stop and go driving on local roads. When take a long road trip on the highway, I can get the little mpg calculator in the dash up to 16.5 cumulative, but as soon as I'm back to my normal routine, it's back to 13-15.

I don't know what you're doing but I have a regular Sport with Rubi Take Off Wheels. I put on 33" Goodyear Duratracs. And I made the mistake of buying the 10 ply, so they are heavy as hell. I do not drive to save gas and I still get 18 mpg. 13 mpg is user error.

 

[bleda2002]

It exists so they can claim best selling PHEV for 3 years? Why is it the best selling? People didn't buy them so that Jeep could use the facts of their popularity for marketing? It exists because you get much better performance than anything but the 392 while getting much better fuel economy than the 392 could dream of. If your primary use is long roadtrips it's not ideal but still works just fine. Even if your average daily commute is 60 miles, half of that in pure electric and half at ~20mpg still means you only burn 1.5 gallons vs 3 in a standard 2.0t while still having 392 torque. What if you also plug it in at work? Now you can make all or at least 95% of your commute on electric power. Meanwhile if you drive the only other Jeep with that torque output you paid $20-30k more out the gate and burn 4+ gallons a day. It's the best selling PHEV because it's like having your cake and eating it too. It's still a fully capable Jeep that can be run on electricity and has v8 power without the price tag or terrible fuel economy. There's no other off road capable PHEV available. The rest of them are pretty boring in fact.

Someone f'ing gets it lol. We bought the 4xe in 2021 for these exact reasons. My wife drove the straight 2.0 (second favorite), 3.6 (least favorite), and then the 4xe and it put a giant smile on her face because it had 392 torque and felt like a real sports SUV. Since then that thing has done 50k miles mostly on 39s and is still a ton of fun to drive thanks to all the extra power. Everyone tries to rag on it's fuel economy but seem to forget than the only real comparable wrangler gets 4-6 mpg less on average.

On top of that with the upfront savings we got because of the hybrid credits lease deals when we first bought it we saved about 15k to a comparable(and slower) wrangler. It also came with a 10 year hybrid power train warranty so any fear of that kind of just went away.

 

[Stan H]

4.10s but I have E-rated 37x13.5x17 Toyo Open Country M/T tires that weigh 94 lb. each and beadlock wheels that weigh over 30 lb. each. All that rotating mass could be blamed, but the best I ever saw before the tires and lift was 15 MPG, so I don't know why. I do know that the 24 and up don't have a FAD, so the front driveline is always spinning.

I regularly see between 17.8-19.6 14mpg just seems super duper low. Could be driving style . I know I stay at a very steady pace even though its up and down . How much have you short tripped your Jeep?

 

[Zachanadandy]

I regularly see between 17.8-19.6 14mpg just seems super duper low. Could be driving style . I know I stay at a very steady pace even though its up and down . How much have you short tripped your Jeep?

You east coast guys all drive slow as hell. Even stock the thing was 16mpg on a good day. Out west everyone drives 80mph+ on the freeways and even highways. Cruise set at 85mph on 37s its 12-13mpg pretty much always. Just got back from a Vegas roadtrip in the wife's JLUR on 39s...11-12mpg. The v6 is just not efficient pushing a giant brick into the wind at speed.

 

[Stan H]

You east coast guys all drive slow as hell. Even stock the thing was 16mpg on a good day. Out west everyone drives 80mph+ on the freeways and even highways. Cruise set at 85mph on 37s its 12-13mpg pretty much always. Just got back from a Vegas roadtrip in the wife's JLUR on 39s...11-12mpg. The v6 is just not efficient pushing a giant brick into the wind at speed.

I can only think of 1 stretch long enough to get 85mph in the 65miles distance to and from work. And at both ends there is a curve. ..lol it isnt that we drive slow as hell. It just I want to live to see tomorrow .
I dare say if ya to come to WV and try and hold the roads at your speed you be pushing up Daisy's

 

[DirkG]

LOL at some of these comments. Like if you're not getting what I get for MPG you're driving the Gladiator wrong. Hurrumph. We all drive different and live in different areas. I live in the Orange County hills and rarely do highway driving. I step on the gas pedal like I'm squashing a bug. My MPG sucks and I'm okay with it.

On the other side of the garage, we love our '25 4xe but if Jeep was serious about EVs, it would have given it a larger battery and more than 25-30 EV miles. Again, we live in the hills and yes regen braking helps with the margins, but that 25-30 miles gets drained fast. That being said, if you just do around the town driving and have a 220v charger, the 4xe is perfect for you.

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