Worst on Consumer Reports

[ScottDB]

Its because consumer reports is (supposedly) basing it on objective ratings alone. On the road the wrangler/gladiator with SFA, big off road tires, fiberglass/canvas tops, slow performance, and middling to poor MPG arent going to rate very highly if you are comparing it to other on-road focused vehicles. Its going to be louder, slower, worse driving, poorer braking/turning/acceleration than road focused trucks/suvs for sure so it will pretty much always be at the bottom if thats what you measure it by.

It will always be near the top though in satisfaciton because most people buying jeeps realize all these short comings and are buying it inspite of its on road performance because these compromises make it more fun, more capable, and a lifestyle vehicle.

Nailed it.

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[Tuggernuts]

Rover says "hold my beer". The Gladiator is a Cadillac in comparison.

Hahaha! That Rover has soul for days!

 

[Tuggernuts]

My buddy who drives a soulless Honda Accord back and forth to work everyday bought a beater Landcruiser and documented his journey restoring it. It, like the Jeep is nowhere near as comfortable as that Accord. It gets terrible mpg. And it barely gets up to highway speed but it has soul. If you’re bored give his YouTube a look. He’s hilarious. https://youtube.com/channel/UCQbZ8VDGIRhwl4D8pTB3Hcw

 

[ShadowsPapa]

Old bugs aren't frameless. Or do you mean "new beetles"? Old bugs are a pan/frame bolted to a body. It's a platform chassis. The Ridgeline is unibody. Old bugs are also pretty good at rock crawling/offroading, with a lift and tires. They are, after all, the original dune buggies, and people have been building Baja buggies for decades.

I'll never forget when I was in auto body shop - it was coming upon a holiday weekend and the instructor told us to move things around and get all of the non-school-owned vehicles inside (those brought to us to work on by outside people)
There was a bug on the middle of the shop - it needed to move over a few feet so other cars could be brought in alongside it.
Three of us grabbed the rear bumper of that bug and lifted it to slide it over to the right. As soon as we lifted - CRACK, split the rear window top to bottom (and it wasn't a split window bug to begin with LOL)
OOPS!
That floor pan is supposed to be a frame of sorts, but boy does it flex. Yes, all of the dune buggies were made of 'em but they did flex a lot - that was part of the reason they worked so well.

 

[JET_83]

Obligatory "CR rates the Ridgeline as the best mid-size pickup" and that's really all I need to have zero respect regarding their opinion on anything automotive.

And before someone comes in to defend, It's the perfect truck for people who need a car with a bed but that doesn't make it a great truck.

LOL, right...

 

[jac04]

In regards to vehicles, a wise man once told me "you've already got vanilla, now it's time to try a flavor". Wait, does CR rank flavors?

 

[jmdwifi]

My Gladiator is no where near as comfortable as my Tacoma or my Tundra. My Tundra was like driving my living room down the road and way more power. But, my Gladiator will go places those two would not. It is also the coolest looking vehicle I've ever owned. Only thing that comes close is my FJ Cruiser maybe. My daughter asked me last night what I'm gonna do when it wears out. I told her I would put a Hemi in it. Gladiator rides like shit but it's so much more fun getting there.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

That's funny because the first year I owned my JT Overland I kept thinking - this is the most cushy small truck I've ever driven or ridden in. Granted, that's changed now with different springs and shocks and weight added to it, but mine still beats other small trucks I've been in for ride. My wife even commented about the cushy ride when we first got it.

 

[Caraholic]

Time and time again CR gets caught with the proverbial pants down bias. They have recommended vehicles before production and then unreccomended them later;
see Toyota Tundra.
For perspective- a publication that specializes in toasters has no business talking about towing.
The only neat thing about CR is they buy their cars rather than get manufacturer loaners like some other publications.
It’s been said before, their quite like motorbuscuit in the auto world;
want real reliable info? Go elsewhere

 

[JTBurns]

I don't know guys, they convinced me with that two sentence paragraph. I'm trading for a Prius...

 

[DailyMoparGuy]

Lol a Honda. There was a point when I was 27, I bought a Toyota Corolla. I actually had to just Google the model name because they’re that forgettable. Anyways I thought, “oh joy! Gas mileage!!!” I had it for maybe a year and I slapped myself across the f’ing face and asked myself wtf I was doing driving that. I went out and bought a 2013 Camaro, than a 2017 Camaro, 2019 Challenger Scat Pack and now a 2021 Gladiator Mojave.

life’s too short to drive a car that damn boring. F that.

I did the exact same thing a few years back because I was commuting 220 miles per day. Corollas are great on gas, but it was the worst vehicle I’ve ever driven. Never again.

 

[azmojave]

I commuted and wheeled a Suzuki Samurai for 4 years while in college, and never had any issues!

18 years for me. Bought mine brand new in 1993. Best vehicle I ever owned. Can’t buy a new one so I got into Jeeps. I’ve loved both my Jeeps! It’s a Jeep thing, I understand!

 

[Nitroexpress]

Obligatory "CR rates the Ridgeline as the best mid-size pickup" and that's really all I need to have zero respect regarding their opinion on anything automotive.

And before someone comes in to defend, It's the perfect truck for people who need a car with a bed but that doesn't make it a great truck.

Just say no to Japanese El Camino's.....

 

[Kblanton]

" My wife even commented about the cushy ride when we first got it."

Same here. My wife and I both commented about the nice ride and I've got a Willys. Came from a 4WD Ram with 200,000 on it so......

 

[Rusty PW]

I'll never forget when I was in auto body shop - it was coming upon a holiday weekend and the instructor told us to move things around and get all of the non-school-owned vehicles inside (those brought to us to work on by outside people)
There was a bug on the middle of the shop - it needed to move over a few feet so other cars could be brought in alongside it.
Three of us grabbed the rear bumper of that bug and lifted it to slide it over to the right. As soon as we lifted - CRACK, split the rear window top to bottom (and it wasn't a split window bug to begin with LOL)
OOPS!
That floor pan is supposed to be a frame of sorts, but boy does it flex. Yes, all of the dune buggies were made of 'em but they did flex a lot - that was part of the reason they worked so well.

Back in high school. A couple of buddies had Beetles. At lunch time, we would pick them up by the bumpers and move them to different parking spots. The on time we went to pick up the one Beetle. We ripped the bumpers off of it. The bumper mounts had rusted out.

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