The Best Features of the 2020 Jeep Gladiator

Buying cars can be an arduous process, and having to deal with the hassle of car dealerships and negotiating prices isn’t an ideal way to spend an afternoon. Shopping for a pickup truck can also be exhausting since the market is so oversaturated with all kinds of makes and models that can seem almost never-ending.

The Jeep Gladiator marks the second attempt at a cargo-bed-carrying vehicle. The 2020 Gladiator is a unique entry into the midsize pickup truck market, and it provides some new features that you’ll love.

The Basics

The Jeep Gladiator has four trims: the Rubicon, the Sport, the Sport S, and the Overland. All three trims have a four-door crew cab, gas engine, four-wheel drive, and six-speed manual transmission. The Gladiator starts at $35,040 for the Sport before increasing to at least $43,740 for the Rubicon. All four of the trims get 16 mpg in the city and 23 mpg on the highway with a 22-gallon tank and top out at a total of 285 horsepower. The Gladiator can seat up to five people with cloth or leather bucket seats.

The Good

The first Jeep pickup in nearly 30 years has hit the scene with a bang. It has that classic appeal of a Jeep Wrangler, with the added benefit of a bed. This truck has a practical bed and up to 7,650 pounds of towing capacity and a payload of up to 1,600 pounds. The Gladiator easily matches and exceeds several of the industries leading trucks in its towing capabilities, and is far better at offroading than the majority of its rivals. The Gladiator is also the only open-air and convertible pickup in the truck industry, with a removable top and doors. One other thing that only this truck can do: it has a fold-down windshield. The truck comes with over 80 standard features such as:

• a rearview camera, bucket seats
• illuminated cupholders
• eight powerful speakers
• 5.0-inch touchscreen display (Sport and Sport S)
• Reconfigurable cluster 7.0-inch color display (Rubicon and Overland)

The Downsides

According to Edmunds, a few of the biggest cons of the Jeep Gladiator include slow and vague steering, with occasionally jiggly ride quality. There’s also only one engine, a 3.6L v6, currently available for all four of the different trims, meaning there’s no additional power for those bigger jobs. One of the biggest downsides, at least in our opinion, is that there’s no air conditioning in the Overland and the Rubicon.

Final Ratings

The 2020 Jeep Gladiator has scored highly on Edmunds, with a rating of 7.9 out of 10, and it sits as their number two pick for midsize trucks, right behind the Honda Ridgeline. For Edmunds, the Gladiator rates highest in the categories for infotainment and automation (8.5/10), interior ergonomics (8.0/10), and comfort on the road (7.5/10).

(image via Facebook)