[MUSIC PLAYING]
DAN EDMUNDS: You may
have seen a recent video
we made which featured a Jeep
Gladiator and a Chevrolet
Colorado ZR2.
That one was all about trucks.
This one's all about Jeeps.
We realized that we had
our Jeep Wrangler Unlimited
along for the ride,
and we thought, wow,
they're both Rubicons.
This is the perfect
opportunity to show
the difference between a
Wrangler and a Gladiator.
If you think the Jeep Gladiator
looks a lot like a Wrangler,
that's because it pretty much
is the same vehicle from here
forward.
Same doors even, same power
train, same transmission--
3.6 liter V6 with an
8-speed automatic.
You can't get the 2 liter
turbo in this, though.
The tires, the lift,
the Rubicon equipment,
disconnecting stabilizer
bars, front and rear lockers--
all of that is the same.
The front approach
angle is the same.
You have your choice between
two different front bumpers.
That's all the same.
Really, there's no difference
except stickers up here.
The differences come in when you
start looking at the suspension
up close.
For one, the shock absorbers
on a Gladiator Rubicon
are Fox aluminum body shocks.
On a Wrangler Rubicon,
they're monotube shocks,
but they're not
aluminum body, and we
don't know who makes them.
Well, you can probably find out.
But let's talk tires.
The Wrangler Rubicon is
fitted with BFG KO2s,
while the Gladiator Rubicon
has Falcon Wildpeak.
They come with all terrains, but
you can also get mud terrains.
And also, the wheels
that they're mounted on
are different.
They're stronger because this
vehicle can tow a lot more
and haul more payload.
The rear brakes have
been made larger
so they have more
stopping power.
The maximum for a Gladiator
is 1,600 pounds of payload
and 7,650 pounds of towing.
Now, that's for the Sport.
For the Rubicon, those numbers
are 1,160 pounds of payload
and 7,000 pounds of towing.
A Wrangler Rubicon?
It can tow 3,500
pounds-- half as much.
Because this has a longer
wheelbase because they needed
to put a truck bed
back here, they
have room to alter
the rear suspension
and change the way the
rear shocks are mounted.
On the Wrangler, they
point to the rear.
Here on the Gladiator,
they point forward,
which is a better
way to go because you
can put the load into the
strongest part of the frame.
Now the rear axle
itself is the same,
but the brackets
that hold the links
are different because
these links are longer.
They're more like the
back end of a Ram 1500.
Not exactly, but more like
that, which we really like.
That delivers a smooth
ride in the Ram,
and it delivers a
smooth ride here.
So what about the
departure angle?
Well, one, you need
the five foot bed,
but also, there's got to be a
place for the spare tire, which
isn't on the rear bumper
like it usually is.
This is a 33-inch
tire on a Rubicon,
but they actually made enough
room for a 35 spare tire
to fit in the back.
So that defined what
the departure angle
was going to be.
The four-door
Wrangler's departure
angle-- it's 37 degrees.
The Gladiator is 26.
So that's quite a difference.
We also put both
of these vehicles
on our ramp to measure the
suspension articulation,
and there we saw a difference.
Both of them climbed up
the ramp nearly as far,
but because of the
Gladiator's longer wheelbase,
the score isn't quite as good.
And of course, both of them have
disconnecting front stabilizer
bars, so we measured them twice.
With the bar connected,
the four-door Wrangler
was 523 points,
the Gladiator, 449.
With it disconnected, the
four-door Wrangler Rubicon
became 718 and the
Gladiator, 607.
Not as good as the Wrangler
four-door, but still,
607 is a nice, healthy
number to play with.
Both the Wrangler Rubicon
and the Gladiator Rubicon
come with rock
rails in the middle.
But the Gladiator Rubicon
also has a rock rail
behind the rear fender,
and that's really cool
because that prevents damage
if you drag the rear end
through a low spot
in the trail, which
we've done a couple of times.
But it's also strong enough
that you can put a high lift
jack underneath there and
raise the vehicle up enough
to change a tire.
Because the Wrangler has
such a short rear overhang,
it really wasn't necessary
to go to great lengths
to hide the exhaust pipe.
But here in the Gladiator,
because of the truck bed,
they tuck the muffler
up really high.
If you walk around this thing,
you can't even really see it.
And that's a good thing
because if you can't see it,
neither can the rocks.
So right now, I'm in
a Wrangler Unlimited,
which is the four-door
Wrangler Rubicon.
It's our long-term test vehicle.
And I'm going to go
over this fairly--
well, it's marked
easy, but I think it's
intended for modified vehicles.
Let's see if a stock four-door
Wrangler Unlimited Rubicon can
make it.
Here we go.
Haven't touched anything yet.
Ooh.
In my low range.
Trying to just pick my
way over these things.
Play Operation and
not touch anything.
I have to trust that I'm
pointed in the right direction
because I can't see the
course in front of me.
I can just feel it.
Ooh, I felt it there.
I think I touched
just a little bit.
Trying to be as gentle
on the throttle as I can.
So far, so good.
I think I might make
it, but of course that
sounds like famous
last words, right?
Ooh.
I think that was just the
muffler or the tailpipe.
Very light touch.
That's a heavier touch,
but nothing too bad.
I think I just
ran over a camera.
I think it was intentional, too.
I think this is almost it.
Done.
Couple of light touches,
nothing really serious.
No damage, I'm sure.
Maybe a little paint
left on one of the tubes?
But that's about it.
I can actually see pretty well
over the hood of this vehicle.
The fenders drop away, and
it's pretty easy to see.
It's got a good crawl ratio, so
I don't have to go very fast.
I just don't know when
it's going to touch.
Ooh.
That felt important.
It's still touching.
Is that anything important
sounding underneath there?
SPEAKER: Oh, no, that's just
your frame rail and maybe
drive shaft?
No, I'm just kidding.
It's just a skip plate.
DAN EDMUNDS: Drive shaft?
I'm riding the
brakes a little bit
to control my speed
because I don't
want to go over one of
these things too quickly.
You end up impacting
the surface.
Ooh, this is another tight spot.
The center's pretty low.
Oh boy.
OK.
OK.
Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh.
Another drag.
SPEAKER: Yeah.
You're just laying off that
skid plate, but thank goodness
it's there.
DAN EDMUNDS: Oh, it's
just a skid plate.
I feel much better.
Yeah.
Careful.
Almost done.
Rear bumper.
I think I'm away.
Wow.
I rub-a-dub-dubbed a little
bit more than I thought I might
there.
I think we found a difference.
If you'll remember, when the
Wrangler Unlimited came out--
the four-door-- certain
Jeep people were up in arms
because it was so long,
and it was a station wagon,
and why would Jeep do that?
But actually, it opened
up the Wrangler line
to a whole lot more
families and other people
that just needed four doors.
And it's still really capable.
I think the same thing's
going to happen here
with the Gladiator.
It's got four-door cab that
all the truck owners want,
and it's a truck.
So I mean if you were a person
who was on the sidelines,
you needed a truck
but you wanted a Jeep,
here's your vehicle.
Yeah, the Gladiator is a
truck, but it's still a Jeep,
and it does Jeep
things really well.
I mean, the more time I spend
in it, the more I like it,
and the less I'm concerned
about what I thought
might be drawbacks.
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