The Ft Worth show was this weekend. I emailed several dealers and none of them responded that the Gladiator would be there. So I didnt go to the show.
I went knowing the JT wasn't going to be there (a Jeep/Ram dealer friend) confirmed it was not there on Thursday. I had previously signed up for the Ranger Drive event, so I still went to the show. The Ranger test drive was like following through on a date with someone you already know isn't a good fit for you, lol. I'll say that comparing the Ranger interior to the JL interior is two different ball parks. The Ranger is nice and all but it just really feels like another mid-size truck, heck I prefer the Tacoma Crew Off Road interior and ride (6' bed) over the Ranger. The leather seat felt just like my 200k mile Tahoe as it was so cushy. The ride was solid and the turbo 4 put out plenty of power and torque for what I did. The death knell, and mentally I'd already decided, was the back seat. Too small and lacking innovation. The back seat does not lay flat, limited storage under the seat, and while comfortable enough still felt undersized for a larger adult. I am 6', 205" and had plenty of front leg room, however, once I put the seat in my normal position and climbed in the back seat, only a person under 5' would be able to sit behind me without their knees hitting the back seat. My complaints about the back seat design reflects the problem when you take a globally developed (non-U.S market) truck that has been out since 2011, change a few things, and rebadge it. The Ranger does not have some of neat engineering ideas pertaining to rear seat functionality, cargo room, and bed layout that have been developed over the last five years. It would be as if Jeep had taken a JK (not JL), slapped a bed on it, and called it a day when designing the JT. Thankfully, Jeep engineered the Gladiator using the JL mated to it's own frame and chassis, in addition to the many other engineering differences specific to each model. All the neat engineering R&D from the JL design is in the JT. Heck, the worst part is Ford took away the diesel motor to bring it here. That might have been the worst of their decisions. A Ranger XLT 4x4 with a crewcab 5' bed or supercab with 6' bed and a diesel for 37k would have sold based on some of the complaints here, lol.
