What's the Appeal??

[ATLalien]

So I was approached by a coworker today who initially asked the standard question, "how do you like your Gladiator?" Being quite used to this by now, my canned response is, "I like it, so far, so good". He then mentioned that he owns a RAM diesel and was at the dealer for service when they tried to sell him on a Gladiator. He laughed at them because he needs to tow big loads, like a 5th wheel and other, giant, manly objects well in excess of even the 'Max Tow' rating of 7600pds. He was amazed at how expensive the gladiators are (they had what must've been a loaded Rubicon for $60K). Then as politely as he could muster, "If you don't mind my asking, what is the appeal of the Gladiator? Is it just the look?"

I thought this was actually a fair question, particularly coming from a "big towing" pick up guy. Even though most reviews on the gladiator try to compare it to other, midsize pick-ups, it's really possible to get a full size truck fairly well optioned, for what an Overland or Rubicon would cost. I could somewhat understand my co-workers confusion; Looking purely from a pick-up perspective, the Gladiator doesn't really have a good value proposition.

Of course, as we all know; it starts to make a lot more sense when the "Jeep Factor" is considered. For Gladiator buyers; standard pick ups are very useful and capable at many things, but they're maybe just a bit too "boring". In my view, we're mostly paying a premium for one thing; the small pick up bed is attached to a Wrangler! No other pick up has removable doors & roof, access to the Jeep Community, and Solid Axle articulation (excepting some older trucks).

I know I'm preaching to the choir in the last paragraph, but has anyone else had similar questions from "John Q Public"? If so, how have you responded?

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[BLK HOLE]

Can get a mildly option Rubicon for mid-40s and it does everything better than the TRD Pro and then some. Its quite literally the best mid truck on the market in nearly every way.

 

[Oscar Indy]

I had the trd pro because I needed a truck and still wanted an offroad vehicle. Problem with the tacoma is its crap on road and passable off. The Jeep Truck is a compromise of functionality and fun. Big truck guys have a need to pull their hobbies. Jeep guys drive their hobbies.

 

[primethios]

If you need big towing or big load you need a big truck dually, supermax, f250/350, etc. Most of us come from a wrangler variant and we all know the fun it is but even grocery shopping can be difficult in a wrangler (all mine were two doors) and god forbid you want to buy a tv, grill, or piece of lumber. Even if you wanted to go on a long weekend with the wrangler you had to look at storage for your crap and yourself (in my case a 125 pound dog as well). So for those of us who needed the "extra" the Gladiator is a good compromise. Is it expensive? Just ask my wallet. Then again wranglers aren't exactly cheap and the more you add the more they cost. Part of why I never bought the 4 door was the jump in price for the extra two doors. I finally got frustrated enough that I was looking for a used truck (colorado or another avalanche) but the used truck market right now in the Chicagoland area 10-15k buys you a used truck with well over 100k miles so when they announced the gladiator I decided to wait a couple months. I spent about 8-10k more than I had planned but I also decided to get some of the creature comforts on the gladiator that I always said would be nice on my wranglers. It wasn't long ago I was driving a wrangler with manual windows and locks and just the hassle of telling people to lock the door when they got out seemed foreign to anyone that was under 60 because everyone just assumes you have a "clicker" and it's not their car. So power windows/locks/sirius, usb ports, etc are nice things to have. I just bought a tiny 64 gig usb drive to throw my music on (plugged into center console) because it's about as easy to navigate on the radio as an ipod is and I don't have to keep all that crap on my phone. But you load up those creature comforts on a silverado, f150, ram, price starts ticking 60k and you don't have the fun of "jeep" convertible and bone stock ready to leave the pavement for when you want to play.

 

[ATLalien]

If you need big towing or big load you need a big truck dually, supermax, f250/350, etc. Most of us come from a wrangler variant and we all know the fun it is but even grocery shopping can be difficult in a wrangler (all mine were two doors) and god forbid you want to buy a tv, grill, or piece of lumber. Even if you wanted to go on a long weekend with the wrangler you had to look at storage for your crap and yourself (in my case a 125 pound dog as well). So for those of us who needed the "extra" the Gladiator is a good compromise. Is it expensive? Just ask my wallet. Then again wranglers aren't exactly cheap and the more you add the more they cost. Part of why I never bought the 4 door was the jump in price for the extra two doors. I finally got frustrated enough that I was looking for a used truck (colorado or another avalanche) but the used truck market right now in the Chicagoland area 10-15k buys you a used truck with well over 100k miles so when they announced the gladiator I decided to wait a couple months. I spent about 8-10k more than I had planned but I also decided to get some of the creature comforts on the gladiator that I always said would be nice on my wranglers. It wasn't long ago I was driving a wrangler with manual windows and locks and just the hassle of telling people to lock the door when they got out seemed foreign to anyone that was under 60 because everyone just assumes you have a "clicker" and it's not their car. So power windows/locks/sirius, usb ports, etc are nice things to have. I just bought a tiny 64 gig usb drive to throw my music on (plugged into center console) because it's about as easy to navigate on the radio as an ipod is and I don't have to keep all that crap on my phone. But you load up those creature comforts on a silverado, f150, ram, price starts ticking 60k and you don't have the fun of "jeep" convertible and bone stock ready to leave the pavement for when you want to play.

You make a good point about those coming from wranglers. A jlu Sahara is only 2-5 k cheaper than my overland jt. Getting a bed for that adder isn’t bad at all.

 

[Cleankat]

Appeal to me was it's different. I've never ever considered a pickup before this in my life. It's unique and useable and that appealed to me. A Ram? No thanks.

 

[noside85]

It's a Jeep truck that you can park in town. Nuff said.

 

[RavensEyeOffroad]

To me it is just a great platform
Overland - can do!
Weekend toy hauler - Can do!
Want to hit the trail and drive to work tomorrow - Can do!
Customize and make it like no one else's - Can do!
I also like the "family" aspect you get with other Jeep folks.
It may not be the best in many categories but it is capable in many.

 

[Rollcast]

A lot of people go through this world and never buy a vehicle for the fun factor. Jeep people buy jeeps because jeeps are fun. "Why did you buy that jeep?" is the same question as "Why did you climb that mountain?"

 

[Dwosgood]

I had a similar conversation today with a dude at work. What it comes down to is that I have always had a Jeep and *usually* had a truck. I’ve had a 6.7L Ram, an F-150, and a Silverado at one point in time or another. I’ve always gotten rid of the trucks when I feel I didn’t need the truck anymore. I just can’t justify having a full-size truck for doing what I do on a regular basis.

JT satisfies the occasional *need* for a truck bed and towing capacity and still hits all the wickets of being fun as a MF to drive around and it’s a no-brainer for me. The JT is excellent at what it does because it doesn’t sacrifice too much of the “truck life” to be a Jeep, or vice versa

 

[MonkeySkunks]

It's a Jeep truck that you can park in town. Nuff said.

This. Can get a more capable truck for the handful of times a year you might need it but you're stuck driving that oversized monster all year.

 

[Jowen]

Stand in your ram and scout feral pigs while driving through brush or a soy bean field, then put the roof back on.

 

[Renegade]

THIS is the appeal, with the practicality of a truck thrown in:

 

[Racer_X]

To me it is just a great platform
Overland - can do!
Weekend toy hauler - Can do!
Want to hit the trail and drive to work tomorrow - Can do!
Customize and make it like no one else's - Can do!
I also like the "family" aspect you get with other Jeep folks.
It may not be the best in many categories but it is capable in many.

This, mostly. Family of 4+2 dogs. We had a 4-door Rubicon rental on the big island of Hawaii and it was a blast. But no room for the dogs, no room for the stuff. I have a toy already, so a Wrangler never made enough sense. Toss a bed on the back, and all of a sudden it works. And I can play in it. And get the 1200-lb oak stump out of the muck in my back pasture for fun. Plus tow my toy car to autox.

Now I get to customize it and make it IDEAL for purpose, not just fit for purpose.

 

[lrtexasman]

To each his own. For me the appeal is:
1. The only mid-size with a decent enough backseat for 2 adults to ride in for more than a few hours
2. Iconic look and performance - Standard D44s, 7650 two and 1530 payload in the maxtow (would like to have seen standard lockers as well)
3. 60/40 Back seats that actually fold up for floor space (dog) and down without removing headrest
4. Just the right size to run around town as a parts/errand runner and easy to park
5. Solid performance when doing light off-roading at the beach and ranch

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