2020 Jeep Gladiator Costs More Than the Wrangler, but Not by Much

Photo credit: Jeep
Photo credit: Jeep

From Car and Driver

Overheard on the floor of the 2018 Los Angeles auto show moments after the 2020 Jeep Gladiator JT pickup was revealed: "Cool, but I bet it will cost at least fifty grand." Thankfully we're not the betting type, because Jeep just announced official Gladiator pricing and the opening ante is $35,050 for the Gladiator Sport, just $2010 more the $33,040 MSRP of the Wrangler Sport. While it will be possible to option a Gladiator past the $50K mark, even the top-level Gladiator Rubicon starts off lower than that.

Two additional trims round out the Gladiator lineup for a total of four: Sport, Sport S (starting at $38,240), Overland (starting at $41,890), and Rubicon (starting at $45,050). Available exclusively in the four-door or "crew cab" body configuration, the Gladiator will launch with FCA's familiar 3.6-liter V-6 as the only available engine. The D478 six-speed manual transmission is standard equipment, and an eight-speed automatic is available as an option. Four-wheel drive is standard.

Photo credit: Jeep
Photo credit: Jeep

Jeep insists that it will fit the corporate 3.0-liter EcoDiesel V-6 to the Gladiator at some point in 2020, but the launch cadence, pricing, and fuel-economy figures for that model have not been released. There's also a wild-card chance that the plug-in-hybrid powertrain currently being developed for the Wrangler could be adapted for the Gladiator, but that's just speculation at this point.

Although Jeep is taking its time sorting out the particulars of content and option pricing, we do know that the Gladiator Overland model we tested was outfitted with many extras and stickered at $55,485. So that confirms it's quite possible to equip the Gladiator well beyond a reasonable sum (as is the case with many pickup trucks these days).

We will know more about pricing for the truck's various option packages-initially detailed on the price-less configurator on Jeep's website-sometime soon, as Jeep dealerships prepare to start selling this highly anticipated pickup within the next month or so.

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