Upgrading from soft-top to our Esky lid-like hard top panels costs another $2950. It’s pricier than a Ranger Raptor but unlike the hero Ford, Jeep has stock and is offering $6000 cash off until June 30. The Gladiator’s towing maximum is only 2721kg when 3500kg is the dual-cab norm, while the 693kg payload falls well short of a Toyota HiLux SR5.Ī three-star ANCAP safety rating makes you wince, as does the $94,000 needed to drive away a Gladiator Rubicon. But putting the shifter into low-range needs herculean strength, and that bus-like wheelbase makes off-road turns challenging. With the roof off at low speed, having the sights and sounds of nature above is wonderful. It may have a rudimentary truck-like frame but its coil rear suspension copes with road bumps and potholes rather well. The V6 has ample grunt to surge forward but it settles to an unstressed 2000rpm at 110km/h. It’s a lofty climb getting in – running boards are your saviour – and you’re at truckie level above lesser road users, with views across a muscular, strapped bonnet. Undo the heavy-duty latches and two lightweight roof panels come off for topless adventuring. It’s not legal to drive like this, but who wants rule-abiding Gladiators? The windscreen folds forwards and you can unbolt its four doors. Two motocross bikes fit the 1500mm tub, and at 5.5-metres it obnoxiously overspills parking spaces. Then they crammed a heavy-drinking old-school V6 petrol into the engine bay.
It’s as if Jeep executives, off-road enthusiasts and teenage boys juiced on Prime got together to design a vehicle.įor starters, they got away with calling it Gladiator. It’s utterly ridiculous and all the better for it Jeep's dual-cab Gladiator Rubicon ute relishes the outdoors.
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