Back in 2017 Volkswagen rewrote the leisure bakkie rule book when it shoehorned a creamy 3.0 V6 TDI into the front of its Amarok. Mercedes-Benz tried to make a dent in the market with the ill-fated X-Class – which also wielded a six-cylinder power source.
While Jeep has credible bakkie heritage, it doesn’t want buyers to think of the Gladiator as a commercial vehicle. This is a strict leisure-focused offering, it claims, designed to support adventurous lifestyles rather than haul bricks. Stylistically it’s quite easy to see the Gladiator is a direct descendant of the Wrangler, itself a modern incarnate of the military-bred Willys MB.
You can feel the air smacking against its upright front windshield and hear the intrusion of exterior bluster through the fabric top. Ripples underfoot make their way through the cabin, to be felt in the buttocks of passengers. Its solid axles, front and rear, are supported by coil springs and bolstered by high-pressure Fox shocks. However, the setup was clearly designed for maximum articulation on the rough stuff, instead of pliancy on asphalt.