If you’re a South African who fancies themselves an American at heart, then this block of granite on wheels will excite you quite a lot.
You see, it is clearly a double cab bakkie and every manufacturer needs one of those lately, just ask Mercedes-Benz, Fiat and Renault. But this one has a badge with quite a lot of pedigree – making it possibly the ultimate vehicle for outdoor adventuring. And you can add to that possibly the most masculine name ever stuck onto the bum of a car.
According to the Head of Jeep, Mr Tim Kuniskis, it is "unquestionably a truck and instantly recognizable as a Jeep” when describing the all-new 2020 Gladiator.
"There is tremendous demand for this unique vehicle from our loyal Jeep customers and pickup truck buyers everywhere. Born from a rich and proud heritage of tough, dependable Jeep trucks, Gladiator combines rugged utility, versatility and functionality resulting in the most capable midsize truck ever."
He’s right you know, see – this ain’t just marketing speak – just look at any South African shopping mall, highway, school parking lot? Not to mention bounding about on gravel and dirt.
Hopefully the Gladiator, essentially a Wrangler with a load bed, makes its way to our shores when built in Toledo, Ohio in mid-2019. Much in the vein of the Geladenwagen, despite being rudimentary in styling there are many 21st century modcons such as a powered tailgate, LED lamps all round with all your infotainment and multimedia requirements met via an 8.4-inch touch screen and all the connectivity options you could desire.
Off-road ability comes standard, and then there’s the matter of the 3.6 litre V6 petrol or 3.0 litre V6 EcoDiesel burner to provide all the torquey antics you could possibly hope to entertain, via an eight-speed automatic.
Come on Fiat/Jeep South Africa - if you ship them, we’ll buy them. I hope…
