Is The New 2020 Jeep Gladiator Pickup As Good Off-Road as a Jeep Wrangler? Here’s The Verdict!

It's a jeep and it's also a pickup truck yep. This is the new 2020 Jeep gladiator. Could it be the coolest midsize pickup truck out there or actually could it be just the coolest truck of them all in this video? I'M going to show you this truck on an off-road course here in California. I'M gon na give you all the specs and show you all the high-tech features of this gladiator Rubicon, [ Music ]. Before we get to all the cool off-road bits on this Rubicon, any pickup truck has to start whether it's good, solid foundation and the glacier starts with what Jeep calls an all-new frame. The wheelbase is actually 19 inches longer than a Ford or JL Jeep Wrangler. It'S also 10 inches longer than a short bed crew cab, Toyota Tacoma. So this is a one long truck, but the frame has been designed specifically for it. The glacier is still a midsize truck as far as width and overall length is concerned, but it's getting quiet long. Indeed, this episode is brought to you guys by our friends at max leverage, it's a tool that gives you additional leverage for the tough job, and here we are working late once again on our gooseneck trailer. We need to switch this neck out. The tool comes in several different sizes. Here I have a 24-inch extension, which is pretty big. You can have a 30-degree angle like this or you can mount it this way where it's more of a straight application. It just depends on your access point: [, Music, ], [ Applause, ], [, Music, ], [ Applause, ], it's moving, don't break. My will borrow, don't break my back use, link below to get more details about max leverage. You can buy a tool in the single size or you can buy several of them together as a bundle in this video. I cannot tell you three things. I cannot tell you how the glare drives, what the fuel economy numbers are and also what the price is. It'S because jeep has many many different journalists here this week, reviewing the new truck and then want to make it fair to all of them, and that information is going to come out on march 30th. So go back to our website. Tfl truck comm for all the data and also to this channel, of course, the reason why the glade air is cool: it's because it has off-road cred and has the gear to back it up. I'M talking about solid axle front and the rear, and these are dana 44 third generation axle, but on the gladiator, the tube of the axle itself is thicker about 10 millimetres to handle the heavier payload and towing capability that this truck has and you get these dana 44 s no matter which gladiator you purchase. If you get to base sport model same axles, except the width when you step up to the Rubicon or the maximum towing package, you get slightly wider axle about one inch, wider and jeep says: that's done for better stability. Why does it matter that the truck has solid axles, front and rear we're in this case? It matters a lot for maximum articulation when, on the Rubicon, you disconnect the front sway bar, which is just a push of a switch. The RTI scored the ramp travel index score for this truck is six hundred and twenty three points. If you compare it to a truck like a Toyota, Tacoma four-wheel drive that trucks score is about 410 415, so this truck has much more articulation. That means you can keep the tires on the earth and claw your way through obstacles that really good for a floating of course front and rear, locking differentials on the Rubicon as well, perhaps the not so cool part of the gladiator is actually under the hood. Personally, I was hoping for more power and more torque. It'S a 3.6 liter gas v6, the Panna star, with the rating of 285 horsepower and 260 pound feet of torque. There'S a choice of two transmissions and 8-speed automatic. Like you see in this Rubicon here or you can also, of course, get the 6-speed manual, which is awesome. How cool is that you got a crew cab, midsize truck with two solid axles and manual transmission, 4-wheel Drive and well, you can take a roof off as well. There is a soft top there's a premium self tub, and then there is this: either black or body. Colored freedom tops and they work very similar to the way that the Wrangler top works just four latches and boom. You have unlimited sky and Headroom. This is a sport with a Sun rider soft top. Let me show you how it works. You could actually push it up and drive with it fold it and the thing about it. It doesn't go into the bed as to not to protrude into the cargo area. You can still carry your cargo and you could still vote Avalos [, Music ]. Any off-road vehicle needs to have a good crawl ratio for slow speed off roading, and this truck has it. If you get this 8-speed automatic like in this Rubicon, the call ratio is 77 to 1, and that is with a four-to-one, low-range transfer case. If you get the manual, though your core issue improves to 84 to one and that's best-in-class, if you are floating, you got, ta have good lights and the gladiator has these optional LED headlights, just like the Jael Wrangler, but, more importantly, the gladiator will also benefit from All the aftermarket support, including Mopar Performance Parts, additional lights, really cool bumpers. Of course you can add a winch to this truck and that's a good thing. [ Music ] for offroading, you got ta, have good approach, good departure, angle, good break over and great ground clearance. The glacier delivers on almost all of this. Let me just give you the specs right now, class-leading forty three point: four degrees of approach class tying best, twenty six degree of departure, the not so good part, is actually the break over, because this truck has a long wheelbase. The breakover angle is twenty point: three degrees. A lot of the competitors do better than that, but eleven point: one inches of ground clearance is still really great clearance on this Rubicon gladiator, and that includes skid plates underneath for protection. [, Music, ] gladiator, is a truck. So it's got to perform like one right, so it does have a dampened tailgate. The spray-on bedliner is optional, and this tonneau cover is also optional, and this is designed by Jeep and it has a cool feature. You can just fold it right away without any latches and it's spring-loaded, so you can actually drive like this and you can actually put some longer items like fishing poles. Maybe then the tailgate has a 45 degree angle position. The way you do it is actually put these cables in these lashes, and now the tailgate can remain this way. This is to carry four by eight sheets of material where they can slide in here and actually go on top of the fender wells and rest here. This tailgate is capable of holding up to 1,800 pounds and the maximum payload capability on the gladiator is 1600 pounds, and if you want to roll up a tonneau cover, you can pull this latch and just to start rolling it. It'S pretty neat that you can secure it against the cab there. If you're wondering there is an easter egg here, love four one: nine. This has to do with the area code where the truck is made in Toledo. Any truck has to have interior space, and in this case the gladiator has class-leading rear legroom, I'm six-two my leg room here is tight, but I can see it is very similar to a Tacoma or Chevy Colorado, especially if I move this seat a little bit forward. This is pushed all the way back, but it also has class-leading Headroom miles of headroom here, with freedom top or even a soft top. Of course, unlimited Headroom with the top removed the grader has several really cool tech features. First is the front-facing camera, which is, of course optional. You can select it here through this 8.4 inch infotainment screen, and it will actually show you virtual guide lines where your tires are going. It is a single camera, so it kind of flattens your view. A little bit, but it's a very cool feature very similar to the one in the new 2019 Ram Power Wagon and cool thing is you could wash it? We'Ve been going through a lot of mud today and watching it is really cool. Of course, you have a rear camera with guidelines. You can zoom in if you're, towing the trailer or backing up it's very useful. Then there is off-road pages. I like this because it shows you the current status of the truck you can see which lockers are in game boat, your pitch and roll. All information is available. You could always hit trail cam for the front camera and you can use it at slow speeds right here. Yes, you could always disconnect your front sway bar just like on the Wrangler, but there's a new offered class mode. There'S two settings to this in for high. It goes in to what Jeep calls sand mode and it basically relaxes your traction control system and your stability systems, to give you a little bit more real spin to get you out of loose surface situations. But but later you go into for low, the upward Plus mode goes into what they call rock mode, which also adjusts your transmission settings. Your traction control systems really helps you at slow speed. Another thing that helps you flow speed in for low is what Jeep calls select, speed or selectable speed. It'S basically, their version of the crawl control system works from 1 to 5 miles per hour only in for low, and you can control its speed with a shifter. You can go up and down to control its speed, [ Music ]. When you look at the front of the gladiator. Indeed, it looks like a Wrangler. In fact, all these parts are shared, except for the grille inserts. They allow more air to come in to the radiator for better cooling to allow for higher towing capability of up to seven thousand six hundred and fifty pounds, and there is also a higher capacity cooling fan electric fan inside on a gladiator to help things cool, [, Music, ], okay, have I convinced you is the nucleator, the coolest truck of them all? What other truck can you get front and rear solid axles, really great articulation front and rear lockers and four-wheel drive, obviously with a crew cab with a really good curl ratio and a manual transmission option and the topless roof? I think it's the coolest go back to tearful truck comm from the news, views and real world reviews, and we will also have a full driving review with price and fuel economy coming up really soon. [ Music, ]