Road test review: Jeep Gladiator Sport

Tuesday, 16 March 2021

Watch: a fleet of left-hand drive Jeep Gladiators take over Central Otago for the model's international media launch.

JEEP GLADIATOR SPORT
Base price: $79,990
Powertrain and economy: 3.6-litre petrol V6, 209kW/347Nm, 8-speed automatic, 4WD, combined economy 11.2L/100km, CO2 257g/km (source: RightCar).

The Gladiator Sport is the new entry point to the Gladiator range, but it’s still plenty of machine.

Vital statistics: 5591mm long, 1894mm wide, 1905mm high, 3488mm wheelbase, 18-inch alloy wheels.
We like: Strong, unique looks in a competitive market, off-road chops come by default.

Power is still sourced from a 3.6-litre V6, paired with an eight-speed automatic transmission.

We don't like: Huge, won’t go in a straight line, not the greatest on fuel

We’ve already tested the Gladiator in mid-spec Overland trim and found that it’s a quality piece of kit off-road but a bit of a pain on-road. It’s also bloody massive, despite being called a “mid-size pick-up” by Americans. However, sometimes the entry-level model is actually the best buy so Jeep NZ let us test our theory with the base Gladiator Sport.

Is it a total stripper, then?

The interior is lifted straight from the Wrangler, which means it can take some decent abuse.

Not really. The Sport gets unheated cloth seats instead of the heated leather units of higher models, a smaller infotainment screen (7-inches versus 8.4), a lesser speaker system and slightly different styling. It still offers adaptive cruise control, a Selec-Trac four-wheel drive system like the Overland (the Rubicon has the Rock-Trac system), the apple-pie-bald-eagle-all-American ‘Freedom Top’ removable roof and the awesome chunky wheel arches of the upper models.

* First Drive Review: Toyota Hilux Mako

Those fat wheel arches look great but they do poke out quite a lot – something to be aware of if your driveway is narrow!

* Road test review: Jeep Gladiator Overland

* Jeep Gladiator NZ price and spec confirmed

It’s still a capable off-roader but the Sport is more suited to life on tarmac.

The powerplant is the same across the range, that being a 3.6-litre V6 connected to an eight-speed automatic transmission. It’s not the most powerful engine out there, but it has a nice sound to it, and it gets the hefty Gladiator moving well enough.

The transmission isn’t too bad either, quick to drop cogs when you ask it to and smart enough to keep the engine in a good blend of torque and fuel economy. It has a low first gear too so the Gladiator gets off the line quicker than you might expect, given the size of the thing.

Well, I say fuel economy – the engine still burns petrol so it doesn't have the same low litres-per-hundred-kays figure as a diesel-powered Ranger or Hilux. Seeing more than 13.0L/100km is common.

Like the other Gladiator models, the Sport gets the cool, functional interior of the Wrangler. It looks like it’s built to take some serious abuse, with chunky surfaces everywhere. I wouldn't want to be the one testing it though – ANCAP gave the Gladiator a three-star safety rating with a 60 per cent occupant protection score in 2019.

So where does this fit in the scheme of things?

The Sport is essentially the one suited for on-road lifestyle stuff. It doesn’t have knobbly off-road tyres, which is great because it reduces the road noise and the Gladiator has a tendency to wander around the road. That’s largely down to its solid axles but off-road rubber doesn’t help things.

To be honest, it’s a bit of a pain to drive on tarmac. The damn thing refuses to track straight and the adaptive cruise control system doesn’t include lane-keep so you can’t fall back on the computers to keep things in check. Ride quality is good, though.

Mention the cruise control, it will take you down to zero but then switches off, so you have to be ready to keep the brakes on.

The long wheelbase (compared to normal utes like the Ranger and Hilux) means it’s more of a pain to navigate through smaller city streets, and makes it slower to turn to boot. Though, the Gladiator counters this by having a surprisingly tight turning circle. Plus, those fat wheel arches might look awesome, but they protrude slightly more than the wing mirrors, which puts them quite a distance away from the body.

Does that make it a better buy than the other models?

If you’re buying the Gladiator as a lifestyle vehicle, by which I mean using it primarily on-road, then I’d say so. The Sport saves you at least $10k over the Overland, it has a lesser interior which means fewer things to damage and ruin (I would rather scuff or tear cloth seats over leather) and it still has proper off-road credentials.

However, if you’re really keen on getting dirty, the Rubicon offers a higher-spec 4x4 system than both the Sport and Overland, as well as locking front and rear differentials along with more off-road suited suspension and tyres.

So why would I buy this over any other ute on the market?

As mentioned, the Sport is still a Gladiator, which is still a Wrangler, which means it’s happy crawling over rougher stuff than a Ranger might be. If you’re someone that isn’t sold on off-roading but wouldn’t mind the option, wants the only convertible ute on the market and really likes the styling, the Gladiator is a solid choice.

However, the Gladiator has a rather tiny payload of 527kg and a maximum towing capacity of 2700kg, putting it well under the carrying capabilities of other utes in New Zealand. And, for around $5k extra, you can get a Ford Ranger Raptor, which is easily as capable as the Gladiator with added usability on the road, more payload and the ability to do sweet jumps.

Any other cars I should consider?

If you’ve settled on a Gladiator, my advice would be to ignore the Overland and go for the Sport or Rubicon, depending on what you actually want to do with it. Otherwise, $80k gets you the top-spec offerings from the local ute brands, like the Ford Ranger Raptor, Toyota Hilux Mako or Volkswagen Amarok V6 Aventura.