Since our initial report, our long-term ’20 Jeep Gladiator Rubicon has seen a lot of dirt. The truck joined us on the 2021 Four Wheeler Overland Adventure, and that was only the beginning. We got extensive seat time in the Gladiator on all sorts of trails between Arizona and northern California, as well as stints on the interstates and the usual around-town tasks. Here’s what we found.
Backing the Gladiator’s 3.6L Pentastar V-6 is the Aisin D478 six-speed manual transmission. While we were excited to drive one of the few trucks available today with a manual transmission, we found ourselves sometimes longing for the quick, smooth shifts of the eight-speed slushbox. Rowing the shifter was never an issue but the friction point was notably later in the stroke. We also found that releasing the clutch at idling speeds (like the fast-food order line) sometimes produced shudders and shakes that we hadn’t experienced since our teenage days learning to drive stick. However, these instances diminished as we piled on the miles. Our last manual-transmission-related gripe is about space for the driver’s left foot. After a few hours on the highway, it was difficult finding a comfortable place for our size 11 boot underneath and around the clutch pedal. Thankfully, there’s one Gladiator-specific fix for this—the removable doors.
この記事は Four Wheeler の November 2021 版に掲載されています。
7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、9,000 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。
すでに購読者です ? サインイン
この記事は Four Wheeler の November 2021 版に掲載されています。
7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、9,000 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。
すでに購読者です? サインイン
2022 Summer Safari
NEK Overland led the way into parts of Vermont and a bit of New Hampshire most will never see
This fourdoor Ford foreshadowed late-model Broncos
Ddecades ahead of the '20 four-door Bronco, and even preceding the Ford Explorer and Excursion, came an SUV that could have passed for OEM and was built to answer the call for a three-row people-haulin' off-roader.
JEEP OR BLAZER BUILDING
I was hoping to pick your brain as to a couple of different builds. I have a '19 Jeep Wrangler JL and a '74 Chevy Blazer. I'm a little baffled as to what to focus on. The '74 full convertible Blazer is my dream vehicle. She's been a long build and now I am thinking of focusing my energy on my wife's '19 Jeep JL. I recently joined a Jeep club and have been going off-road with a few guys. I'm shopping around for lift kits. Would you suggest that my time be spent and focused on the Blazer or enjoy the Jeep? I really can't do both.
JEEP BEACH 2022
10 days, 25,000-plus Jeeps, 225,000-plus spectators
TAULER JACK
A new alternative to the old off-road jack
OVERLAND ADVENTURE 2022:
MEET THE PARTICIPANTS 12 outstanding, Mojave-ready over landers
JEEP GRAND CAMPER
This custom 1994 Grand Cherokee and homebuilt trailer were made to go camping
ROCK JUNCTION 2022
4 days, 23 trails, 1 awesome event
DECKED OUT SILVERADO
Is this the ultimate overland accessory for pickups?
SANDTASTIC!
Dangle the opportunity to put the hammer down on more than a dozen square miles of the largest coastal dune complex in the world, add in partying with family and friends at sand camps, spice it up a bit with a variety of motorsport competition and nightly concerts, and it's easy to see why the five-day