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Jeep pickups in the 60's carried the Gladiator name, however the roots of the vehicle go back to the 50's and the military Jeep Truck. The Gladiator Concept brings a Wrangler front end married to a small cab with an extended 7 foot cargo deck and the visual effect makes this look a neat, small and sturdy addition to the Jeep line.
Powered by a 2.8 liter Liberty power plant, the Gladiator packs all the punch it needs to assert itself on the performance front. What we particularly liked about this automobile is the extended wheel base which runs to 138 inches providing plenty of room for the spare which is side mounted. Four wheel drive is of course fitted as you'd expect, and both front and rear axles are fixed and solid. The rear axle however, uses coil dampers rather having leaf springs fitted as these would not allow for the short overhang to the rear.
The chassis for the Gladiator uses a stretched Dodge Dakota to get the extended wheelbase but the overall visual impact of the automobile remains in proportion. The truck has that angular militaristic luck, no curves and blunt lines but then if you are in the market for beauty you wouldn't be looking at a pickup.
When this becomes available in early 2008 it is going to make an excellent addition to the Jeep range and carries the idea of the Jeep Truck far better than anything else in the Jeep range which seem to be aimed at the suburbanites doing the school run rather than something that will be going off road and getting dirty. The Gladiator looks exactly as you would expect a Jeep to look and in this regard it gets top grade.
The small cab, which has been extended slightly from the Wrangler, has a rear hinged door for access on the passenger side only however on the drivers side the rear site is accessible by a small 2 foot square “dog door”. Given the small cab, the rear passenger accommodation is probably better suited for the mutt rather than people as it is tight and suitable only for small children rather than adults and when you see it you'll probably ask why they bothered at all.
The rear window is powered and can wind down which is a neat feature normally found on a Midgate vehicle but to give you an idea of the rear space available, when the seat squab is tucked down and the rear bulkhead is stowed you only add another foot to the cargo space. It seems a great deal of neat engineering but for little effect.
Overall this is a truck that is going to sell well, it has the looks and the feel of a real Jeep and is a lot more practical for the town than a Hummer, but still will handle off-road as it should. The biggest plus with this vehicle is that hopefully it heralds a return to what a Jeep ought to look like.