Jeep Gladiator pickup: the high cost of bliss

Pop the roof off the Jeep Gladiator pickup and cruise around on a sunny day and you won’t care at all about the clunky handling, deafening wind noise or plasticky interior. You won’t have to manage the awkward climb-down until you park and get out.

Video Transcript

[MUSIC PLAYING]

PRAS SUBRAMANIAN: Well, Jeep fans were clamoring for this for a long time, and it's finally here, the Jeep Gladiator, and this thing is a beast. It is a gladiator. What do you think?

RICK NEWMAN: So I think this is the only pickup truck you can take the top off, the roof off, right?

PRAS SUBRAMANIAN: Yeah.

RICK NEWMAN: Is that right?

PRAS SUBRAMANIAN: Yeah.

RICK NEWMAN: What's our plan?

PRAS SUBRAMANIAN: We're going to take off these two. I guess they're called T tops, and then we'll take the back off, and then--

RICK NEWMAN: We're going to go for a topless ride in a Jeep pickup truck.

PRAS SUBRAMANIAN: Let's do it.

[MUSIC PLAYING]

Sick. All right, let's do this, go for a ride.

RICK NEWMAN: Suddenly, this looks even more fun.

Let's just drive to the beach. I mean, they won't miss us for one day, right?

PRAS SUBRAMANIAN: Rick, I should have just called in sick today and we could have just done this shoot.

[LAUGHTER]

RICK NEWMAN: All right, so I have a kind of an existential question about a convertible pickup like the Jeep Gladiator.

PRAS SUBRAMANIAN: What's that?

RICK NEWMAN: OK, so people buy this to complement their lifestyle they already have, right?

PRAS SUBRAMANIAN: Yeah, sure.

RICK NEWMAN: Is it possible this actually changes your lifestyle?

PRAS SUBRAMANIAN: Well, I think so. I think on the weekends you're going to be like so--

RICK NEWMAN: I mean, would--

PRAS SUBRAMANIAN: --should I watch football or should I go out, take the top off, put my bike in the back?

RICK NEWMAN: So it's a chicken-and-egg question.

PRAS SUBRAMANIAN: Yeah.

RICK NEWMAN: Do you start out as a wild man and because that's who you are, you buy a vehicle like this, or is it possible that you can go from mild-mannered accountant to wild man simply because you bought a Jeep Gladiator?

PRAS SUBRAMANIAN: I tend to think that you might convert some people, but I think a lot of people buy this car just for the looks, right? I mean, we've been driving this thing around, and I've been getting thumbs up. It's like--

RICK NEWMAN: I drove it for 15 minutes the other day and I got a thumbs up.

PRAS SUBRAMANIAN: It's like it's a way to kind of buy cool, right?

RICK NEWMAN: Well, that's what the automakers know that others don't is they are not selling you a vehicle. They're selling you an image of yourself. They're selling you self-fulfillment.

PRAS SUBRAMANIAN: Jeep really-- they really nailed their brand here, right, with this Wrangler, right?

RICK NEWMAN: Yes.

PRAS SUBRAMANIAN: This car is the go anywhere, military, you know, tested and tried, right?

RICK NEWMAN: Wait a minute, go back to that military tested and tried.

PRAS SUBRAMANIAN: The original Willys Jeep, right? That was like the military, the 1940s, like World War II.

RICK NEWMAN: That was-- OK.

PRAS SUBRAMANIAN: AM General, right?

RICK NEWMAN: Tested in World War II, I don't think that's exactly their tagline anymore.

PRAS SUBRAMANIAN: I mean, look, people have that iconic sort of vision of a vehicle to go anywhere, transform it. But you know what? In 2018 we drove the new Rubicon back then and now the Gladiator. Yeah, it's pretty quiet. It's not too bad.

RICK NEWMAN: It's better. I was reading the "Consumer Reports" review. It's essentially the same underlying vehicle, right? But "Consumer Reports" gives this a little bit better marks for maneuverability and driving quality, partly because some of the parts on this are borrowed from the Dodge Ram pickup. I guess it's a little more stable in the back.

PRAS SUBRAMANIAN: With the hard top, like the front part easy to take off, right? That was simple. The back part, you need a second person. It's easier and it takes less time. I can't imagine lifting that back thing up by myself without breaking it.

RICK NEWMAN: Yeah, I don't think you could.

PRAS SUBRAMANIAN: But I mean, I'm just loving this. I should have taken this top back part off sooner, you know?

RICK NEWMAN: OK, so--

PRAS SUBRAMANIAN: The problem is when it starts raining you're screwed, right?

RICK NEWMAN: Yeah. Does this have water plugs?

PRAS SUBRAMANIAN: I think it does, and I think this material is meant to get wet. But if it's pretty much soaking wet, it's not even going to be driveable.

RICK NEWMAN: Or you could get a hairdryer.

PRAS SUBRAMANIAN: This truck starts at $41,000, and ours optioned up over $53,000, right?

RICK NEWMAN: As always. We're driving the-- what trim line are we driving?

PRAS SUBRAMANIAN: This is called the Overland trim.

RICK NEWMAN: OK, which is number three out of four.

PRAS SUBRAMANIAN: Yeah.

RICK NEWMAN: Would I buy it? No, I wouldn't buy it.

PRAS SUBRAMANIAN: Why not?

RICK NEWMAN: I don't need to spend the money to make this statement. I like smaller cars that handle better.

PRAS SUBRAMANIAN: Right. You're more of a sports-car-enthusiast kind of driver.

RICK NEWMAN: In a theoretical world where I double my pay and get more days off, sure. Sure. I would stock the beach house with this car.

PRAS SUBRAMANIAN: This is the life, Rick. People are looking at us drive around as we pass them.

RICK NEWMAN: You think people are envious of us?

PRAS SUBRAMANIAN: We're passing by people in Mercedes and cars like that.

RICK NEWMAN: They wish they were us?

PRAS SUBRAMANIAN: Yeah.

RICK NEWMAN: Nice.

PRAS SUBRAMANIAN: You're enjoying driving, right? You like this car, right?

RICK NEWMAN: I do, yeah. I've got other knocks.

PRAS SUBRAMANIAN: What's that?

RICK NEWMAN: Well, let's do it when you're driving.

[MUSIC PLAYING]

PRAS SUBRAMANIAN: In my opinion, I just like-- it just has that old-school vibe. Like, I'm going to shift on the fly.

RICK NEWMAN: Yep.

PRAS SUBRAMANIAN: It's a four-wheel drive when I need to.

RICK NEWMAN: So you're going to stay in two most of the time, and the two is rear wheel?

PRAS SUBRAMANIAN: Yeah. Yep. It's a little inclement, a little rainy, yeah, sure. I'll change it up.

RICK NEWMAN: "Consumer Reports" actually, one of the things they say we don't like about the Jeep is what you just said you love, which is the old-school manual shift into--

PRAS SUBRAMANIAN: Really?

RICK NEWMAN: Well, you probably can make a case the computer-controlled all-wheel-drive systems are better at selecting the right drive mode based on any slip detected and stuff, you know?

PRAS SUBRAMANIAN: Right.

RICK NEWMAN: But screw the computer. Artificial intelligence is not driving this car.

PRAS SUBRAMANIAN: I guess that's part of the charm, right? Be American about it, right?

RICK NEWMAN: Yeah.

[MUSIC PLAYING]

A distinct idiosyncrasy here is the window switches in the center stack.

PRAS SUBRAMANIAN: Yeah.

RICK NEWMAN: And the reason for that is there can't be any electronics in the doors because you take the doors off.

PRAS SUBRAMANIAN: Yeah.

RICK NEWMAN: I do notice though that there are-- the lock buttons are in the door.

PRAS SUBRAMANIAN: Interesting.

RICK NEWMAN: But think about it. So if you take the doors off, you can't lock the doors.

PRAS SUBRAMANIAN: You don't need to.

[DING]

RICK NEWMAN: That's the point.

[MUSIC PLAYING]

The hard top that we had so much fun taking off--

PRAS SUBRAMANIAN: Yeah?

RICK NEWMAN: --that's not a standard feature.

PRAS SUBRAMANIAN: No, the soft top is.

RICK NEWMAN: The soft top is standard. OK. So the hard top that we pulled off is $2,300. Man, I think I would just go with the soft top, dude.

PRAS SUBRAMANIAN: You know you can actually get both?

RICK NEWMAN: I would.

PRAS SUBRAMANIAN: There's a package to get both, dual top I believe.

RICK NEWMAN: So, like, you could have the hard top for the winter?

PRAS SUBRAMANIAN: Yeah, so you could do both.

RICK NEWMAN: Overland trim line starts at $41,000. We are at $56,000. It's a good value at $56,000? Why?

PRAS SUBRAMANIAN: I mean, we're talking about competition in the midsize-pickup space, your GMC Canyon, Chevy Colorado--

RICK NEWMAN: Not one of them is a convertible, though.

PRAS SUBRAMANIAN: --Ford Ranger. Not one's a convertible. No, you're absolutely right. Not one's a convertible.

[MUSIC PLAYING]

I mean, you know, final thoughts from me, Rick. I think the Gladiator is a compelling buy in the midsized-pickup space.

RICK NEWMAN: Yeah.

PRAS SUBRAMANIAN: It's got its own unique character.

RICK NEWMAN: Yep.

PRAS SUBRAMANIAN: But we'll see how it does in a couple of years.

RICK NEWMAN: I think it's going to do great. And you know what the reason is? Given all the innovation in the car industry, it's actually really hard to come out with something that's new. This is actually new. Open-top roof on a pickup truck is actually new.

PRAS SUBRAMANIAN: I tend to agree with you. I'm just thinking that does the novelty wear off in a couple years? People who bought it, they got it, right?

RICK NEWMAN: The novelty does not wear off in a couple years because the novelty of Jeeps in general doesn't wear off. People just love it.

[MUSIC PLAYING]

PRAS SUBRAMANIAN: When I first saw the Gladiator, I thought it was cool, but I was like, maybe it's not for me. Hey, you know what? It's kind of cool.

RICK NEWMAN: Yeah, but Pras, about 2/3 of every car we drive are for you. It's a good thing you don't have money because you would need a 20-car garage.

[LAUGHTER]