Photos of Our Battle Between the Ford Ranger vs. Jeep Gladiator, Chevy Colorado, and Honda Ridgeline
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Photos of Our Battle Between the Ford Ranger vs. Jeep Gladiator, Chevy Colorado, and Honda Ridgeline
The downside to this is that, as Quiroga put it, the Ridgeline is competent enough to be boring. The other trucks are fun to hustle because you know you're doing something dumb. In the Ridgeline, you're just comfortably and expediently getting where you're going. Most days, that's all we want. This time, though, it turns out we wanted something different.
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Photos of Our Battle Between the Ford Ranger vs. Jeep Gladiator, Chevy Colorado, and Honda Ridgeline
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Photos of Our Battle Between the Ford Ranger vs. Jeep Gladiator, Chevy Colorado, and Honda Ridgeline
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Photos of Our Battle Between the Ford Ranger vs. Jeep Gladiator, Chevy Colorado, and Honda Ridgeline
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Photos of Our Battle Between the Ford Ranger vs. Jeep Gladiator, Chevy Colorado, and Honda Ridgeline
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Photos of Our Battle Between the Ford Ranger vs. Jeep Gladiator, Chevy Colorado, and Honda Ridgeline
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Photos of Our Battle Between the Ford Ranger vs. Jeep Gladiator, Chevy Colorado, and Honda Ridgeline
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Photos of Our Battle Between the Ford Ranger vs. Jeep Gladiator, Chevy Colorado, and Honda Ridgeline
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Photos of Our Battle Between the Ford Ranger vs. Jeep Gladiator, Chevy Colorado, and Honda Ridgeline
The back seat of the Ridgeline is the only one an adult will voluntarily crawl into.
- 10/33
Photos of Our Battle Between the Ford Ranger vs. Jeep Gladiator, Chevy Colorado, and Honda Ridgeline
And that seat easily folds tight against the back of the cab, leaving a massive space with a flat load floor, making it a cinch to transport a bunch of cargo in weather-tight security. Or you can put that stuff in the in-bed trunk, an idea that gets better the more you use it.
- 11/33
Photos of Our Battle Between the Ford Ranger vs. Jeep Gladiator, Chevy Colorado, and Honda Ridgeline
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Photos of Our Battle Between the Ford Ranger vs. Jeep Gladiator, Chevy Colorado, and Honda Ridgeline
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Photos of Our Battle Between the Ford Ranger vs. Jeep Gladiator, Chevy Colorado, and Honda Ridgeline
Photos of Our Battle Between the Ford Ranger vs. Jeep Gladiator, Chevy Colorado, and Honda Ridgeline - 14/33
Photos of Our Battle Between the Ford Ranger vs. Jeep Gladiator, Chevy Colorado, and Honda Ridgeline
The Jeep was, hands down, every voter's favorite. You can't not smile while driving it. It's like a golden retriever puppy. When you thumb the key fob of any of the others, you might glance over your shoulder to make sure the door locks engaged, but you run back to hug the Jeep. Heck, not only is it designed so that you can take the top and doors off, but all the necessary tools live in a little pouch in the glovebox, and tucked under one of the rear seats is a foam holder to keep track of the fasteners.
- 15/33
Photos of Our Battle Between the Ford Ranger vs. Jeep Gladiator, Chevy Colorado, and Honda Ridgeline
We so badly wanted to let this puppy play that we had to jump it. Surprisingly, that was the Wrangler pickup's best showing off-road. With the Overland trim's Bridgestone Dueler H/T 685 pavement-biased tires and at least nine more inches of wheelbase than any other competitor here, the Jeep was even less comfortable on Hollister Hills' slippery trails than the Honda, which senior editor Tony Quiroga dubbed a "dachshund."
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Photos of Our Battle Between the Ford Ranger vs. Jeep Gladiator, Chevy Colorado, and Honda Ridgeline
A dachshund might scrape its belly here and there, but even with 10.0 inches of ground clearance, the most in the test, the Gladiator would belly-flop into the mud with a wet thwap and noisily drag its frame rails over crests and bumps that the drivers of the Colorado and Ranger didn't notice.
- 17/33
Photos of Our Battle Between the Ford Ranger vs. Jeep Gladiator, Chevy Colorado, and Honda Ridgeline
And yet, as wild as the Jeep's movements were, they were more consistent than the Ford's. Maybe it's because its suspension response was so slow that it missed entire events. Hit a stretch of washboard and the Jeep might react to only every third bump. And the Jeep responded best to the trailer, the tongue weight seeming to eat up some of the excess travel of the rear coil springs and calm the ride.
- 18/33
1. Jeep Gladiator
Back to battle golden bow ties and blue ovals in the mid-size-truck coliseum for 2019 after a long absence, the Jeep Gladiator is FCA's modern take on a Jeep turned truck. Taking design cues from its smaller sibling the Wrangler, the Gladiator's interior offers luxury unmatched by anything else you'd drive without doors. Unfortunately, only one cab and one bed length are available. A turbocharged 2.0-liter inline four-cylinder or 3.6-liter V-6 with an available manual transmission are the only powertrain options, but a 260-hp diesel engine with 442 lb-ft of torque is coming soon. This Jeep has the most expensive base price in the segment and pricier than the Wrangler, which is a large ask for a chariot still ripe for refinement.
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Photos of Our Battle Between the Ford Ranger vs. Jeep Gladiator, Chevy Colorado, and Honda Ridgeline
Photos of Our Battle Between the Ford Ranger vs. Jeep Gladiator, Chevy Colorado, and Honda Ridgeline - 20/33
1. Jeep Gladiator
Base price: $35,040 Engines: 260-hp 3.0L turbo-diesel V-6, 285-hp 3.6-liter V-6 Max Towing: 7650 lb - 21/33
Photos of Our Battle Between the Ford Ranger vs. Jeep Gladiator, Chevy Colorado, and Honda Ridgeline
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Photos of Our Battle Between the Ford Ranger vs. Jeep Gladiator, Chevy Colorado, and Honda Ridgeline
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Photos of Our Battle Between the Ford Ranger vs. Jeep Gladiator, Chevy Colorado, and Honda Ridgeline
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Photos of Our Battle Between the Ford Ranger vs. Jeep Gladiator, Chevy Colorado, and Honda Ridgeline
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Photos of Our Battle Between the Ford Ranger vs. Jeep Gladiator, Chevy Colorado, and Honda Ridgeline
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Photos of Our Battle Between the Ford Ranger vs. Jeep Gladiator, Chevy Colorado, and Honda Ridgeline
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Photos of Our Battle Between the Ford Ranger vs. Jeep Gladiator, Chevy Colorado, and Honda Ridgeline
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Photos of Our Battle Between the Ford Ranger vs. Jeep Gladiator, Chevy Colorado, and Honda Ridgeline
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Photos of Our Battle Between the Ford Ranger vs. Jeep Gladiator, Chevy Colorado, and Honda Ridgeline
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Photos of Our Battle Between the Ford Ranger vs. Jeep Gladiator, Chevy Colorado, and Honda Ridgeline
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Photos of Our Battle Between the Ford Ranger vs. Jeep Gladiator, Chevy Colorado, and Honda Ridgeline
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Photos of Our Battle Between the Ford Ranger vs. Jeep Gladiator, Chevy Colorado, and Honda Ridgeline
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Photos of Our Battle Between the Ford Ranger vs. Jeep Gladiator, Chevy Colorado, and Honda Ridgeline
Photos of Our Battle Between the Ford Ranger vs. Jeep Gladiator, Chevy Colorado, and Honda Ridgeline
We hook up the trailer, head out on the highway, and hit the mud in four of the hottest littlish trucks on the market.