Yahoo Autos Our 2020 Jeep Gladiator Mojave Is Off to a Rough Start
10,000-Mile Update
There is little disagreement among our staff that our Jeep Gladiator Mojave is cool, what with its rugged swagger, removable top and doors, manual transmission, and impressive off-road credentials. "Is it $58K cool?" opined technical editor David Beard in the Gladiator's logbook. "No, not even close." That declaration may be a little premature considering our truck has only just crossed the quarter-way point of its 40,000-mile test, but it does illustrate that things have not gone as swimmingly as we had hoped for Jeep's 10Best-winning compact pickup.
Cool or not, our Gladiator has already earned a big demerit for spending a combined 29 days out of service to have its transmission replaced under warranty. Less than 1000 miles after its first scheduled service visit at 7600 miles—a $94 job consisting of an oil change, tire rotation, and various inspections—we returned to have the dealer diagnose a rattling from its clutch and a whining noise from the gearbox itself, particularly when in lower gears. Per a recent recall for certain manual-transmission Wranglers and Gladiators, Jeep HQ advised the dealer to replace the six-speed and inspect the clutch assembly. That inspection revealed multiple overheated sections on the clutch's pressure plate and excessive play in the dual-mass flywheel, both of which necessitated the replacement of the full assembly.
Thankfully, nothing failed catastrophically and caused a fire, which was the main concern of the recall. But the dealer did not yet have the tools needed to disassemble the transmission, so an investigative tear down could not be performed. Nor has the dealer yet received Jeep's latest software update, which addresses the recall issue by supposedly limiting the engine's torque if the clutch gets too hot again. We'll have that update installed as soon as it's available, but our Mojave's new drivetrain appears to be operating as it should for now.
The Gladiator's regular operation comes with its own share of issues, though. As we assumed when we configured our long-termer, its composition does not make it the best daily commuter or long-range highway traveler. For one, the Mojave is painfully slow, thanks in part to the peaky nature of its 3.6-liter gas V-6, which has to be thrashed to around 4000 rpm before it makes any meaningful grunt. Having to operate the clunky six-speed shifter and clutch pedal doesn't help matters, even though the entertaining novelty of a stick shift does suit a solid-axle Jeep's character. As some of us adapt to our truck's plodding nature better than others, logbook musings have questioned whether the Gladiator's available diesel V-6—which sadly both isn't offered on the Mojave trim and requires the optional eight-speed automatic—might have been a more livable setup.
Owing in part to its stick axles, big all-terrain tires, and blocky profile, the Mojave also came under fire for its susceptibility to crosswinds, which magnifies its already pronounced tendency to wander between lane lines. Along with the cacophony of wind and road noise that permeates our Jeep's cabin at speed (with the hardtop installed), "The driving experience is pretty atrocious," observed director of vehicle testing Dave VanderWerp on an extended road trip with his family, noting that he was regularly holding 45 degrees of steering input to prevent the Gladiator from leaving its lane. Beard concurred. "Heavy-duty trucks track with more precision." He's also a bit salty about the meager 4500-pound tow rating of our manual-Mojave model. Indeed, that's down from the automatic version's 6000-pound maximum and less than many soft-roading crossovers can tug. "Pulling a two-place (3500-pound) snowmobile trailer can be done, but it's far from enjoyable," he added.
We're also not enjoying how frequently we have to fill the Mojave's 22.0-gallon fuel tank. Despite regular adventures around Michigan and long-haul voyages to Virginia and Tennessee, our truck continues to average just 15 mpg—the same figure that it returned on our 75-mph highway test, which is a pitiful 8 mpg less than its EPA estimate. "This is the rare gas-powered car that gets better fuel economy in stop-and-go city driving than on the highway," noted VanderWerp.
But with 27,000 miles still to go in our test, we're far from ready to admit we botched our truck's configuration. Jeep's Desert-rated Gladiator still rides impressively well considering its antiquated suspension, even our largest drivers have found comfort in the Mojave trim's supportive front seats, and this big-tired pickup remains effortlessly cool, as many head-swiveling passersby continue to confirm. We can chalk up some of the frustrations with our truck to its stay thus far coinciding with Michigan's dreary cold-weather months, which many of us endure in a state of semi-hibernation. Once we can romp through the sand dunes in the summer sun and cruise along the lakeside with the top and doors off, we'll hopefully be a little more forgiving of the Gladiator's shortcomings.
Months in Fleet: 7 months Current Mileage: 12,976 miles
Average Fuel Economy: 15 mpg
Fuel Tank Size 22.0 gal Observed Fuel Range: 330 miles
Service: $94 Normal Wear: $0 Repair: $0
Damage and Destruction: $0
Introduction
The unique physical makeup of the Jeep Gladiator gives it an undeniable cool factor. While four-door compact pickups are nothing new, there's only one that's based on the rolling anachronism that is the Jeep Wrangler, convertible top and all. The Gladiator even can be had with a feature that has almost completely disappeared from new pickups: a manual transmission. We immediately fell for its unusual charm and solid versatility, naming it to our 2020 10Best list upon its debut and largely agreeing it was the new small truck we'd want to own, despite a comparison test proving that it wasn't the best at its core mission.
It took a while to recruit a Gladiator for our long-term 40,000-mile test regimen, but that delay ultimately worked to our benefit. After the Gladiator's launch, a compelling new version was added to the lineup. Introduced earlier this year, the Mojave trim level sits alongside the burly Rubicon at the top of the Gladiator's model range and is the first of the Jeep brand's Desert Rated vehicles. Building on Jeep's familiar Trail Rated models that are fortified for conventional off-roading with stronger four-wheel-drive systems, skid plates, and upgraded tires, the Mojave is designed to excel in higher-speed off-road environments.
