2020 Jeep Gladiator debuts 15 years after the concept

About 15 years have passed on since we heard the first whispers about a new pickup from Jeep. It is finally a reality now, as the the Jeep Gladiator that promises to be everything that the Wrangler is but with a pickup body.  The name Gladiator harks back to 1962, when Jeep released a full-size pickup truck based on the Wagoneer.

The Gladiator rides on an old-school ladder-on-frame chassis, and only in 4-door form, unlike the 2-door versions that custom builders have been creating for years. It utilises high-strength aluminium for doors, hinges, hood, fenders, windshield frame and tailgate. The pickup bed is five foot long with three positions for the tailgate. There are hard top and soft top options available.

In the most expensive trim, the Gladiator will come with LED headlights, fog lamps and DRLs. At the rear, the tail lamps are also LED units. Inside, the driver will get a 3.5-inch instrument cluster or an optional 7-inch unit. On the centre console, a standard 7-inch infotainment system or an optional 8.4-inch unit can be fitted.

Under the hood of the Jeep Gladiator is the 3.6-litre Pentastar V6 petrol engine churning out 285 hp and 353 Nm. This is married to a six-speed manual or an optional eight-speed automatic. A 260 hp 3.0-litre diesel will join this in 2020.

There are two 4X4 systems on offer. The Gladiator Sport and Gladiator Overland will come with a two-speed transfer case worth a 2.72:1 low range gear ratio while the top dog, the Gladiator Rubicon will offer a Rock-Trac 4X4 system with a “4LO” ratio of 4:1.

The Gladiator will go into production by the first quarter of 2019 and deliveries will commence in second quarter. Expect it to come to the UAE and GCC by the end of 2019.