Australia’s only open-air ute will arrive soon and pricing for the Jeep Gladiator Rubicon starts square at its rival the Ford Ranger Raptor.
JEEP’S ALL-NEW Gladiator ute is almost in Australia and will be priced from $75,490 plus on-road costs.
The first Gladiator since 1963, the new dual-cab ute which can transform itself into an open-top, doorless adventure four-wheel drive will land in just two trims – Overland and Rubicon.
Pricing for the Rubicon is an extra $1000 ($76,490+) and from our time driving the car in New Zealand last year, it is clearly the pick for the majority of drivers wanting a mix of rugged ability and tough looks. In the US, the Rubicon carries a circa $5000 premium over the overland, so pricing for Rubicon here is convincing if you’re looking to spend $75k on a ute, like its closest rival the Ford Ranger Raptor.
While it looks like a Wrangler with a tray on it, it’s not. Underneath is a heavily re-engineered chassis including multi-link suspension geometry borrowed from the RAM 1500 and unique separate reservoir Fox Shocks suspension. The Overland is a 4×4 ute claiming the same 2721kg braked towing capacity as the Rubicon, but the Rubicon is laden with a far more capable drivetrain and tyres, adding Rock-Trac (over the standard Command-Trac), full-time 4×4, Dana 44 axles, bigger all-terrain tyres, front and rear diff lock, a 77.2:1 crawl ratio and an electronic sway bar disconnect among other enhancements.
The towing capacity is the same standard as on the US Gladiator, though it can be increased to 3469kg with a tow pack which hasn’t been confirmed for Australia. That also takes payload capacity from 620kg to 725kg. Jeep says that there will be over 70 Mopar accessories available though a full list is not yet available.
Both models are powered exclusively by a 3.6-litre petrol V6 engine producing 209kW of power and 347Nm of torque through a ZF eight-speed automatic transmission.
Equipment available includes leather seats, 8.4-inch infotainment system with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, the latest USB-C charging and connectivity ports, keyless entry and push to start ignition, forward-facing camera and reversing camera, removable doors and roof, folding windshield, wireless and waterproof Bluetooth speaker, plenty of rail and storage options in the tray, alloy wheels, heated seats and steering wheel, dual-zone climate control, electric adjustment on the front pews and a big safety kit including AEB, blind-spot monitoring, rear cross-path detection, front and side airbags, electronic roll mitigation, adaptive cruise control and speed limiter.
Specifically, the Overland comes with McKinley Leather Seats with Overland logo, Selec-Trac Active 4×4 system, heated front seats and steering wheel, 18-inch alloys, removable body colour hard top roof, LED headlights/taillights/DRLs and fog lights, body colour fenders and a nine-speaker Alpine sound system.
The Rubicon uses Tru-Lok front & rear locking differentials, front sway-bar disconnect, Fox aluminum-bodied 2-inch diameter shocks front and rear, forward-facing TrailCam for off-roading, selectable tyre-fill alert and 17-inch alloys with 32-inch 255/75 R17 BFGoodrich tyres.
The limited Rubicon Launch Edition adds Launch Edition badging, leather-wrapped instrument panel with Rubicon red stitching, gloss black 17-inch alloys and the lifestyle adventure pack which includes cargo management with trail rail system, lockable rear underseat storage bin, roll-up tonneau cover, spray-in bedliner, auxiliary switch bank (4 Programmable Switches), 240-amp alternator, 700-Amp maintenance-free battery and a wireless bluetooth speaker which charges automatically when fixed behind the rear seat.
Paint colours available are Diamond Black, Bright White, Billet Silver Metallic, Firecracker Red, Sting Grey, Hydro Blue, Granite Crystal Metallic, and exclusive Gladiator colours Gobi and Gator.
The new 2020 Jeep Gladiator goes on sale in May. Tune in to Practical Motoring then for a full local review and read our overseas test drive here.
Get articles like this and more delivered to you without lifting a finger. Simply join our Facebook page to talk about this article and subscribe to our newsletter for weekly updates (it’s free).
Jeep Gladiator image gallery
Hilarious price.
The same trail rated version sells in us for around $35 k or about $53k Aus. Some one is making good money out of of this one. But we know the Jeep is made in the us, the Ford is made in Thailand so I think as usual we are being screwed. No mind I won’t be buying either. Why is Retailing in oz based purely on ‘what the market will bare before we bleed ‘ rather than value and service. And dealers whinge about not selling cars and a market in Free fall!
I hate to say it but perhaps that previous treasurer was right in selling the industry down the river.
Absolutely spot on Paul Whittaker. And please FCA don’t for one minute believe it’s just your terrible after sales customer treatment that sees your market share plummet, adding $20,000 plus to the American retail price isn’t going to sit well with most Australians. Not much point in promising to fix the issues of the passed if you’re going hide the cost of doing so in the price. No wonder your not competetive.