Road TestCar reviews - Jeep - Gladiator - RubiconJeep modelsOverviewAs good as it is off-road, the Gladiator Rubicon is pretty hard to live with on a daily basis23 Aug 2022 By MATT BROGAN EXCUSING a mild upgrade to its payload capacity – which at 693kg still trails every other four-wheel drive dual-cab utility on the market – Jeep’s Gladiator range is largely as it was when it landed here a couple of years ago.
For many, that’s a good thing. Afterall, the Gladiator is a good-looking machine with a long list of equipment, a long load bed and an enviable off-road ability. It also offers removeable roof panels and is immensely customisable – something most off-roaders truly appreciate.
But there is still no diesel option locally, cabin space remains tight, and build quality questionable. Our test example had rattles galore, a misaligned rear door, an exhaust manifold leak, ill-fitting carpets and a broken sun visor mount... Hardly an ideal example of a vehicle that exceeds $80k on the road.
For the money, however, the Gladiator actually offers a lot of kit. Standard inclusions such as leather upholstery, heated front seats, a heated steering wheel, body-colour fender flares, a removable hard-top roof and 18-inch alloy wheels are standard on the base grade.
The off-road focused Rubicon tested here gains Jeep’s Rock-Trac four-wheel drive system (which includes full- and part-time 4WD and 4.1:1 gear ratios in the low-range transfer case and rear axle), front and rear differential locks, electronic front sway bar disconnect, Fox dampers and 225/75 series (32-inch) BF Goodrich KM3 muddies on 17-inch alloys, as well as a forward-facing camera and adjustable tyre pressure monitoring.
The Rubicon’s fender flares and removable hard-top roof are black and its upholstery is cloth, while a ‘Redical Red’ splash of colour is applied to the dashboard.
Both variants feature an 8.4-inch touchscreen multimedia unit with satellite navigation, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto smartphone mirroring, a nine-speaker Alpine premium audio system, keyless entry with push-button start and LED exterior lighting.
Driver assistance and safety technologies include adaptive cruise control with stop function, blind spot monitoring with rear cross-traffic alert and forward collision warning with autonomous emergency braking.
All Gladiators are powered by Jeep’s 209kW/347Nm naturally aspirated Pentastar 3.6-litre petrol engine, distributing outputs through an eight-speed automatic transmission built under licence from ZF. Read more23rd of June 2021 Jeep trims and remodels Gladiator rangeNew Night Eagle variant to serve as Jeep Gladiator range opener from $68,450All car reviewsAlfa Romeo Abarth Alpine Alpina Audi Aston Martin BMW Bentley Chevrolet Chery Citroen Chrysler Dodge Cupra Ferrari DS Ford Fiat FPV Foton GWM Great Wall Holden Haval HSV Honda Hyundai Hummer Isuzu Infiniti Jeep Jaguar Lamborghini Kia LDV Land Rover Lotus Lexus Maserati Mahindra McLaren Mazda Mercedes-Benz Mercedes-AMG Mini MG Nissan Mitsubishi Peugeot Opel Proton Porsche Renault Ram Rover Rolls-Royce Skoda Saab SsangYong Smart Suzuki Subaru Toyota Tesla Volvo Volkswagen |
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