Talk me out of (or into) a Gladiator Mojave

[Daktari]

personally I don't care for the look of the Gladiator at all, looks like two different lego sets put together to me, but that's just my taste.

I'm coming from a 4 door Tacoma that I've been driving for 18 years, as long as my older kid has been alive. Has been great, but I'm tired of the truck thing and I want our dog off the seats, can't put him into the back with no A/C in a truck. I love my Taco and am gonna keep it, but I want to be able to sleep in my vehicle on road trips, can't do that in the back of a Taco or Gladiator unless you're tiny. And it's hot here, so nothing in the back is ever cooled or eats up ice like crazy.

I've seen some impressive Gladiator builds, but those I'm sure run south of $100k and that's just not what I'd ever spend on a vehicle.

Check on youtube, the road chose me channel is currently building a gladiator in Australia for extended travel, he used to have a Wrangler for his trip around Africa and before for Alaska to the end of South America.

If I were to go for a truck, I'd get something larger with a bed big enough for me to camp in. That won't really work in my odd driveway though.

Also test drive one if you haven't done so.

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[HBTFD]

You’ll get your bronco sometime between November 2021 and December 2023. Meanwhile a your Jeep will be here before thanksgiving.

 

[Bison]

I don’t think it’s a bad idea at all. Lifted they look pretty nice.

 

[projectrally]

I was considering the same thing. I went to the dealer a took the Mojave for a long drive. For my wife and I, it was immediately obvious. We couldn’t get past the ride. As soon as we put it on the highway, we knew we couldn’t live with it. We have short commutes, but we take a lot of road trips. We knew we wouldn’t be comfortable on a multi-hour highway trip. Then we both drove my dealer’s Bronco mannequin, and we had none of the same complaints. Aside from the noise from the soft top at highway speeds, we had no complaints. We could imagine doing the 750 mile (one way) trip we’d gotten home from in the Bronco.

My advice: find a dealer with a Bronco mannequin that will let you take it for a drive. Then drive a Mojave. The only way you’ll know what you prefer is to drive them both.

 

[Brocked]

Go to the Jeep guys and ask the same question. The Jeep guys will tell you how bad the Bronco is. I say do what you want.

 

[Mike E]

I couldn't agree with this more. I was also debating on the Jeep option, but that's because I'm impatient. If I did buy a Jeep, I know I'd be happy in the moment but then feel like shit later.

I got a Jeep JL Rubicon…I’m a happy camper….the 3.0 EcoDiesel rocks…..looking forward to the Bronco….I’ll have both….the question will be do I build the Jeep or Bronco?

 

[PrepVet]

Get whatever you want.

I have loved my Wranglers and already really miss my old JK. It was a great little car.

I wouldn’t buy a Gladiator as they look ridiculous.

 

[broadicustomworks]

I drove both the same day. The Gladiator kept calling my name, despite the funky design and the drawbacks it has on doing some offroad stuff. The lure of a truck bed to carry stuff for adventures combined with the ability to take the top and doors off was a perfect vehicle for me.
And I really wanted it to be.
And it really was.

Except all that changed when I drove a WT with the 2.7.

The Gladiator didn't do anything bad.
It's just that the Bronco did better in areas the Gladiator seemed weaker in.

Those areas, mainly, were interior room, seat comfort, overall feel, and power.

If I had not driven the WT, I would have been fine with the Gladiator, lifted it some and went with 37's (which would have robbed even more power).

It is not a bad vehicle. Quite fun, and a new vehicle always rides better, feels better, seems better than something older.

For you, just analyze what you want out of one vs. the other. Do a pro/con list as comprehensive as you can think of.

IF you decide the Gladiator route, do your homework. Places are offering up to 6% below invoice on them. OR you can pay MSRP. OR you can pay ADM.

Lead time from order to delivery is estimated to be about 4-6 weeks.

For me, the Bronco reinforced why I wanted a Bronco to begin with, and why I should stay the course. It was so much better that I immediately called my dealer and changed from MIC to Soft to go ahead and get it scheduled and here. FWIW, that's my input.

Best of luck.

 

[Snowdogyyz]

I love my Gladiator! It rides like a truck, no surprise there. Plus it’s not IFS so it’s never going to ride as well as the bronco. But it’s a fun truck to drive and the top and doors are easy to take on and off. Better power than my 4Runner had, but not as much as the bronco.

I have a bronco on order but if things go south again with the Launch/quality issues I can trade in for another gladiator and be happy. But I’m hoping Ford gets their crap together so I can finally own a bronco!

 

[Ripcurl]

Had you considered a gladiator at all before ordering the bronco? Or is this just plan B because you're tired of waiting?

I wanted to like those when they came out as I used to have a Ford Sport Trac and figured it would be a progression of that style, but like someone else said earlier, its just so blocky looking, or too many right angles, etc. or something like that for my tastes. I'm sure they are plenty nice but I just ended up getting a Ram 1500 crew cab back then.

Its nice having a cargo area like that if you have use for it though, but like many with pickups, you may end up wanting that area covered or wish it was enclosed to ceiling height like a bronco can be, along with the open air capability.

 

[Antimatter06]

The Gladiator is a fantastic vehicle for my needs, mostly camping & kayaking. This is my toy that occasionally has to make the home depot trip. I ordered it the only way it should be, with a manual transmission, in December and have been having a blast with it since early March. I made a Bronco reservation in February, the MT Badlands is and enticing package. Ford has done a lot of things right putting it together. So I'll find myself in a similar position once it arrives. I can only afford one toy. Downside for my Gladiator is the Pentastar with the manual transmission, when loaded up and dealing with inclines. The 3.73 gears are a dog and passing power is non existent despite keeping the rpms high. I'm not sure how much the 4.10 gears in the Mojave would help. I'd really like to take an extended drive in a MT Badlands. I'm hoping the 4.7 gears with the 2.3 liter ecoboost provide a significant improvement over my current setup. Downside for the Bronco is, it just wont be able to carry the same amount of gear as the Gladiator, the bed makes a huge difference. I really like both vehicles and I'm not a fanboy of either manufacturer. I appreciate that Ford is making the Bronco, therefore pushing Jeep. There is a laundry list of pros and cons for each. My reservation is currently pushed to 2022 and who knows it may even go to 2023. For now ',m just going to enjoy my Gladiator. When the time comes I'll either re gear the Gladiator to 4.88's or trade it in for the Bronco Badlands MT.

 

[HorizonHunter]

Downside for my Gladiator is the Pentastar with the manual transmission, when loaded up and dealing with inclines. The 3.73 gears are a dog and passing power is non existent despite keeping the rpms high. I'm not sure how much the 4.10 gears in the Mojave would help. I'd really like to take an extended drive in a MT Badlands. I'm hoping the 4.7 gears with the 2.3 liter ecoboost provide a significant improvement over my current setup. Downside for the Bronco is, it just wont be able to carry the same amount of gear as the Gladiator, the bed makes a huge difference.

Pretty much where I'm landing. The Mojave has the edge on cargo, but is so sluggish on the highway. Bronco is newer tech and more power, but less capacity. Cramming everything in our GC plus kayak on the top was rough. And bc SUV, can't get into the rear where all the gear is until the kayak comes down.

 

[HorizonHunter]

Had you considered a gladiator at all before ordering the bronco? Or is this just plan B because you're tired of waiting?

I wanted to like those when they came out as I used to have a Ford Sport Trac and figured it would be a progression of that style, but like someone else said earlier, its just so blocky looking, or too many right angles, etc. or something like that for my tastes. I'm sure they are plenty nice but I just ended up getting a Ram 1500 crew cab back then.

Its nice having a cargo area like that if you have use for it though, but like many with pickups, you may end up wanting that area covered or wish it was enclosed to ceiling height like a bronco can be, along with the open air capability.

I was pretty much obsessed with the Gladiator before the Bronco reveal (and the Santa Cruz too, no joke).

 

[HorizonHunter]

I drove both the same day. The Gladiator kept calling my name, despite the funky design and the drawbacks it has on doing some offroad stuff. The lure of a truck bed to carry stuff for adventures combined with the ability to take the top and doors off was a perfect vehicle for me.
And I really wanted it to be.
And it really was.

Except all that changed when I drove a WT with the 2.7.

The Gladiator didn't do anything bad.
It's just that the Bronco did better in areas the Gladiator seemed weaker in.

Those areas, mainly, were interior room, seat comfort, overall feel, and power.

If I had not driven the WT, I would have been fine with the Gladiator, lifted it some and went with 37's (which would have robbed even more power).

It is not a bad vehicle. Quite fun, and a new vehicle always rides better, feels better, seems better than something older.

For you, just analyze what you want out of one vs. the other. Do a pro/con list as comprehensive as you can think of.

IF you decide the Gladiator route, do your homework. Places are offering up to 6% below invoice on them. OR you can pay MSRP. OR you can pay ADM.

Lead time from order to delivery is estimated to be about 4-6 weeks.

For me, the Bronco reinforced why I wanted a Bronco to begin with, and why I should stay the course. It was so much better that I immediately called my dealer and changed from MIC to Soft to go ahead and get it scheduled and here. FWIW, that's my input.

Best of luck.

Great insight. Similar stance. The styling of the Gladiator doesn't bug me, and I'm not hardcore offroading so the drawbacks there don't bug me. Why I'd rather have the Mojave with just rear locker. You mentioned everything changed bc you drove the WT. If I'm sticking with the 2.3 MT for the Badlands, and 33" tires are as big as I want to go, do you still think it's as big of a difference between them?

And where did you find 6% under invoice? Best I've found on Gladiator is $1K under. I'm not too far from you in Chapel Hill.

 

[broadicustomworks]

Great insight. Similar stance. The styling of the Gladiator doesn't bug me, and I'm not hardcore offroading so the drawbacks there don't bug me. Why I'd rather have the Mojave with just rear locker. You mentioned everything changed bc you drove the WT. If I'm sticking with the 2.3 MT for the Badlands, and 33" tires are as big as I want to go, do you still think it's as big of a difference between them?

And where did you find 6% under invoice? Best I've found on Gladiator is $1K under. I'm not too far from you in Chapel Hill.

I don't think there is a whole lot of difference, personally, in the feel of the 2.7 and the 2.3. There is some, but compared the the Pentastar....they both outshine it.

I'll PM you the info, as it may/may not be cool to post a man's email info out here in the open.

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