Jeep Gladiator 2019 review: Rubicon off-road

A Gladiator line-up has not yet been confirmed for Australia but it will likely include entry-level Sport S, mid-range Overland and the top-spec Rubicon.

No details on official pricing were available when we drove the Gladiator but I reckon you can expect to pay from $70,000 for the top-spec Rubicon.

The big news is: Jeep reckons Australia will only get the petrol Gladiator. There will be no diesel. Jeep officials have shrugged off any suggestions by journalists that not offering an oil-burning variant was a serious misstep for the diesel-loving Australian market. Is their decision simply peculiar and perhaps temporary? Let's wait and see.

No Australian specifications or pricing for the Gladiator were made available at this event, but keep an eye on CarsGuide because we'll have those details as soon as they're available.

Australian journalists drove US-spec Gladiators at a special preview drive event staged in New Zealand in December 2019.

As for the US-spec Gladiator Rubicon we drove: it has a 3.6-litre Pentastar V6 petrol engine and an eight-speed automatic transmission.

Standard Wrangler Rubicon features are all here including off-roading gear such as Falken all terrain tyres (but likely BF Goodrich Mud Terrain tyres for Australia), a rock-stomping 77.2:1 crawl ratio, front and rear locking differentials and a swaybar disconnect system.

Driver-assist aids include AEB, blind-spot monitoring, full-speed forward collision warning, adaptive cruise control, tyre-pressure-monitoring, hill-start assist, hill descent control and more.

The Rubicon also gets a forward-facing off-road camera to help find your way when taking on low-speed 4WDing.

I spent the lion's share of my time at this event driving the US-spec Gladiator with 3.6-litre Pentastar V6 petrol engine (209kW@6400rpm and 353Nm@4400rpm) and eight-speed automatic transmission – which we already drove in the US back in April 2019.

Anyway, that's a well-proven combination in the Wrangler proper and it turned out fine in the Gladiator as well, never often found wanting.

The Pentastar V6 engine has plenty of punch, though it can be a bit flarey.

Pretty bloody good. For something straight out of the showroom, this will be one of the most capable 4WD utes available once it lands in Australia. So, well and truly Trail rated then.

It's built rugged and capable with a body-on-frame design, reinforced chassis, coil springs, five-link suspension and the Gladiator has a 4x4 set-up that, in a standard vehicle, is second to none: 4:1 low-range (contributing to a 77.2:1 crawl ratio), front and rear diff-locks, heavy-duty third-generation Dana 44 front and rear axles, sway-bar disconnect, and decent off-road tyres.

It’s built rugged and capable with a body-on-frame design.

Its next-level off-road capability means that's where it finds its sweet spot: off-road.

Because of the Gladiator's 3487mm-long long wheelbase, you do have to drive with more concentrated focus over severe obstacles – things like steep-sided rocks and deep ruts – because if you don't, it tends to hit and scrape on the ground.

It does have four substantial underbody skid-plates, as well as rock rails, to soak up any off-road hits.

Because of the Gladiator’s 3487mm-long long wheelbase, you do have to drive with more concentrated focus over severe obstacles.

The onboard off-road pages media-screen app, replete with 'Drivetrain', 'Accessory gauges' and 'Pitch & Roll', is pretty handy for keeping an eye on things – and for trying to max out the severity of the off-road angles you take on.

Overall, the Gladiator is a good fun thing to drive and very capable.

The tray's load space is 1442mm wide – 1137mm between the wheel-arches so not wide enough for a pallet – and it is 1531mm long. 

For something straight out of the showroom, this will be one of the most capable 4WD utes available once it lands in Australia.

Load height is 885mm at the tailgate.

The Gladiator has a claimed 725kg payload – less than most dual-cab utes available in Australia – and a maximum braked towing capacity of 3470kg*. (* These figures are based on US claimed capacities.)

The US Gladiator's safety gear includes reversing camera, Adaptive Cruise Control, Blind-spot Monitoring, a forward-facing off-road camera, and more.

It has dual ISOFIX child seat anchor points and three top-tether attachments in the rear seat.

The Jeep Wrangler has a three-star ANCAP rating, revised up from one star, so expect a similar rating for the Gladiator.

The Gladiator has a claimed 725kg payload – less than most dual-cab utes available in Australia.