The Jeep Gladiator is essentially a longer wheelbase version of the four-door Wrangler Unlimited, with a pickup bed behind the rear seats. Our Jeff Zurschmeide spent a week testing the 2024 Gladiator out along the scenic Oregon coast. Here’s his review.
Jeep waited years before bringing back a pickup to its lineup.
Jeep has produced some fine pickup trucks over the decades. The J-10 and the smaller Comanche are now prized by collectors — if you can find one that didn’t get trashed when the values were low.
Fans waited for years for Jeep to get back into the pickup market, the Gladiator finally making its appearance in time for the 2020 model year.
Today’s “Jeep-up” offers you all the off-road chops of a Wrangler along with the basic functions of a pickup, and that’s a great combination.
Overview
Gladiator competes as a body-on-frame midsize truck in what has become a crowded segment, alongside the popular Toyota Tacoma, Nissan Frontier, Ford Ranger, Chevrolet Colorado, and the GMC Canyon.
The 2024 Jeep Gladiator is essentially a longer-wheelbase version of the four-door Wrangler Unlimited, with a pickup bed behind the rear seats.
Gladiator competes as a body-on-frame midsize truck in what has become a crowded segment, alongside the popular Toyota Tacoma, Nissan Frontier, Ford Ranger, Chevrolet Colorado, and the GMC Canyon.
Gladiator is itself a longer wheelbase version of the basic two-door Wrangler. It measures in at 218 inches bumper-to-bumper, with a 137.3-inch wheelbase.
It stands 75 to 76 inches in height, depending upon the package, and has a 74-inch width. Jeep’s pickup is the longest pickup in the midsize segment, total length about 8 inches more than the newly redesigned 2025 Ford Ranger, and 5 inches longer than the Chevrolet Colorado.
Exterior
From the outside, there’s no mistaking the Gladiator for anything but a Jeep. It looks like a Wrangler, full stop.
You also get a 5-foot truck bed, with 44.8 inches between the wheel wells. As you might imagine, there are all kinds of aftermarket goodies that go in that bed, from basic canopy shells to gear racks.
Of all the entries in the midsize segment, Gladiator is the only one that allows you to remove the roof and doors.
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Interior
Here again, when you climb into the Gladiator, you’re going to find the familiar Wrangler interior.
Here again, when you climb into the Gladiator, you’re going to find the familiar Wrangler interior.
Among other things, it features plenty of storage nooks, including a spot for your smartphone. And there’s additional storage hidden under the back bench.
Gladiator offers eight trim levels to choose from, so you can buy whatever you can afford, up to leather seats and navigation, or keep it basic and truck-like.
One thing to note — if you live in a place where it gets really cold, the hard plastic roof panels of the Gladiator don’t offer a lot of insulation. It’s a Jeep.
Powertrain
The Gladiator comes with a 3.6-liter Pentastar V6 engine rated at 285 horsepower and 260 lb-ft of torque.
As a rule, the Jeep comes with a 6-speed manual transmission as standard equipment, but for most purposes of towing and hauling, you’ll be better served by the optional 8-speed automatic transmission, which costs $2,500. You get full four-wheel-drive in both cases. Some off-road enthusiasts might prefer the manual transmission, and it’s a fine unit, so pick the one you like.
There’s additional storage hidden under the back bench.
As usual with Jeep, the higher trim levels add all kinds of goodies such as electronic locking differentials, swaybar disconnect, and more.
The Gladiator has an 1,100-pound payload capacity and will tow up to 6,000 pounds with the automatic transmission or 1,150 pounds hauling and 4,000 pounds towing with the manual.
Safety and Technology
Jeep does not lead with advanced safety tech in the Wrangler or Gladiator. The legally required stuff is there, and there is forward collision warning with mitigation, and stability control, but that’s about it for standard equipment.
Adaptive cruise control is included on most trims, and blind spot monitoring is optional on some trims. You can get a lot of cameras, though, including backup cameras, wheel cameras, front bumper cameras, and even an undercarriage camera.
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety gives the Gladiator “Poor” and “Marginal” ratings, which again, just emphasizes that this is a Jeep — it was never intended to take your kids to day care.
Gladiator comes in eight different trim levels, from the stripped-down Sport trim starting at $37,895 before fees, up to the super-off-road Rubicon X that starts at $63,590.
On the dashboard, you get a 12.3-inch infotainment touchscreen with Wireless Apple CarPlay and Amazon Alexa support.
Driving Impressions
On paved roads, the truck’s steering lacks precision and the ride can be busy on uneven surfaces.
Even so, the Gladiator is fun to drive, at least in the summer when you can take the roof panels out. This is really what sets this truck apart from the industry favorite Tacoma and the others.
The handling and ride are like a Wrangler, only a bit better because the longer wheelbase of the Gladiator helps with stability. In my part of the world, it doesn’t get super cold so a Gladiator could be a very functional small truck that doubles as a capable off-road vehicle.
Wrap Up
The Gladiator is fun to drive, at least in the summer when you can take the roof panels out.
It’s good to recognize that the Jeep Gladiator doesn’t offer nearly as smooth and comfortable an on-road ride as key competitors, like the Tacoma and Ranger. But it provides plenty of off-road capabilities, as well as a distinct design that grabs many potential buyers.
As mentioned, Gladiator comes in eight different trim levels, from the stripped-down Sport trim starting at $37,895 before fees, up to the super-off-road Rubicon X that starts at $63,590.
Our test vehicle was the third-highest trim, Mojave X at $62,995. This package offers a bunch of nice features, but to choose a trim for yourself, you need to ask what you’re really going to do with the Gladiator. Are you really planning to go off-road in the desert? Mojave or Rubicon have you covered. Are you just going to use the Gladiator as a pickup truck, with occasional excursions off the pavement? Sport trim is probably just fine.
The difference between trims is all in the suspension, wheel/tire combo, off-road goodies, and interiors. If it was my money, I’d buy the Sport S starting at $41,995. For that money, the automatic transmission is standard and you get the soft top instead of plastic roof panels, but you can buy those separately.
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