I Rented a Gladiator...My thoughts vs Bronco

[the poacher]

I haven't driven the Gladiator, but was a passenger in and drove a friend's JKU 4-door Rubicon from Chicago to Chattanooga and back. 85mph some stretches. It was no car in terms of pavement quality, but it was not a handful to drive either.

Bronco should be better with IFS, but it's still a hopped up ladder frame vehicle, with relatively high unsprung weight and squirmy tire diameter. That's not the ticket to pavement performance either. When I test drove the Bronco on pavement, it was ok, but nothing to write home about.

Hey Indio22,
I have to disagree with your opinion. The difference in highway driving is huge.
The Jeeps wander like crazy at 70mph. You constantly have to adjust the steering wheel to keep in going in a straight line, and I underline constantly. If you did not, you would end up in the ditch in due course.
I drove my Bronco through Nevada at 105mph and it tracked in a straight line with no needed input from the steering wheel to keep it going in the direction I wanted it to. Night and day difference.

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[the poacher]

I must be weird but I drive a 2 door wrangler lifted on 35s and it’s easy to drive 80mph on the highway no problems, steering feels fine

I would suggest that you drive a Bronco 2 dr on 35's and then tell me what you think.

 

[Moto26]

A Bronco truck would basically be a reskinned Ranger with how much commonality there is. It wouldn't be worth their time to develop and engineer new body and tooling when they can just upgrade a Ranger with more off-road goodies.

Why spend the money and resources to make the Ranger look like a Bronco, when you could spend the same money and resouces to make the Ranger look like THIS? Am I right?!

OOOOH! So exciting!

 

[AustyPosty]

I would suggest that you drive a Bronco 2 dr on 35's and then tell me what you think.

I drive a 4 door Sasquatch bronco as well. I still don’t think the Jeep drives bad.

 

[rtazz17]

Solid front axle. Nothing more needs to be said. You will never have the same ride/steering when comparing solid front axle vs ifs. Nature of the beast. Impossible comparison

 

[the poacher]

I drive a 4 door Sasquatch bronco as well. I still don’t think the Jeep drives bad.

Ah, glad to read you have a Bronco as well. And pleased to know that your Jeep is unique in its ability to track straight. Enjoy both!

 

[Arisdocjk]

I have a gladiator Mojave, wrangler Sahara, and outer banks with the Sasquatch package. The Mojave is the best highway ride of the three. It is our trip vehicle. Louisiana to Colorado, no problem doing 80 on the interstate. Now, I agave upgraded the track bar, draglink, and steering stabilizer. Also added geo-correction brackets to improve caster. I think a Jeep can be upgraded to ride as good as the Bronco.

 

[ScottyC]

Now, I gave upgraded the track bar, draglink, and steering stabilizer. Also added geo-correction brackets to improve caster. I think a Jeep can be upgraded to ride as good as the Bronco.

Exactly the point

 

[Blackcat]

If you were considering a Gladiator, you need to look at Ranger.

I was considering the Gladiator since you can remove the roof and I don't really care for the Ranger's styling, even the redesign coming out in the next year or so.

 

[dj101nyc]

I rented a Gladiator this week for work. Figured it would be fun to drive and an opportunity to compare it to my Bronco after 3 months of ownership and 4,500 miles.

This isn't meant to trigger the Jeep folks, because the Jeep brand deserves a ton of credit for continuously offering the Wrangler and its variants as an interesting alternative to boring vehicles for decades.

With that said, I'm not joking when I say I would have returned this thing and grabbed a different vehicle if I had the time. The driving characteristics of a Gladiator vs. a Bronco are literally night and day, and being in the Gladiator gave me a whole new level of appreciation for the Bronco's road manners.

Gladiator steering at 75MPH is like giving vague suggestions as to what direction the truck should go. As a driver who represents the majority of buyers (someone who uses the vehicle as a daily driver and goes off road occasionally), I can confidently say I would have sold a Gladiator almost immediately. I'm glad they exist and think they look great, just surprised at the wildly unrefined on-road characteristics!

My buddy who has a gladiator visited me recently, picked him up from his hotel and about 10 minutes into the drive, he said "wow night and day, this thing is comfortable"

 

[ScottyC]

I was considering the Gladiator since you can remove the roof and I don't really care for the Ranger's styling, even the redesign coming out in the next year or so.

Styling is subjective....to each their own.

 

[RockSkipper]

I rented and drove a convertible sport Gladiator just prior to my reservation in 2020 just to be sure I was correct in my gut for wanting the Bronco. As a 6'2, slightly meat/potato/Cheeto/Girl Scout cookie enhanced individual, it was average for my comfort level...and the 4x shifter was in a poor spot for me. My knee would lean against that creating a tight feeling in the truck. Agree with OP, road manners are definitely better for the Bronco (even with 35's versus stock Jeep tires on the Sport), just minor wind noise from the roof bars. TX has some beefy wind at times and my old TJ would like to wander on the highway in high winds. The 2 door Bronco seems to hold its own somewhat better in windy conditions due to added weight I am assuming.

I am fortunate to have a PU and the Bronco but if I was in a situation where I could only have the one box checked, the Glad Rubi could be a viable solution...and is to many folks.

Renting that Gladiator was money well spent to confirm the Bronco was the correct choice for me, even before I/we could see, sit, touch or drive one.

 

[Big_Bronco_Family]

I know I am not the only one(even if its a small group) that would love to see a bronco with a bed seeing how many gladiators I see out. I am still hoping for bronco with a bed one day

I kinda feel like that's what the Ranger was brought back for?

 

[CaptMorgan]

You don't drive a Gladiator at 80 mph. You herd it like cattle or even cats at times.

 

[Dannebrog53]

I don’t have any experience with Jeeps of the last 40 years but I have owned a 79 full size Bronco, a 53 Willys CJ3A with Chevy 283 4spd granny Warn OD, heavily modified 68 Bronco and now a 2022 Wildtrak and they all drive differently for a variety of reasons. All these were bought to take off road but as most 4X4’s they were primarily driven on road as my daily driver. None were/are trailer queens. That being said straight/solid front axle rigs with recirculating ball steering will never drive/steer as well as independent suspension with rack and pinion on the road. Add larger tires with more aggressive tread patterns and they’ll be even more fidgety. We never drove our CJ3A over 65mph, at that speed in OD we were turning 3300 rpm and with an 83” wheelbase it was very squirrelly but it was great on the trails. All these vehicles except the Wildtrak (got it end of October) have been over the Rubicon and the CJ3A has been over Fordyce as well. So get out and enjoy these vehicles for their intended purpose and have fun!

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