Jeep’s long-standing presence in offering up the masses one of the most recognizable, go-anywhere vehicles around continues to thrive even in a long-wheelbase pickup truck form. With such, the Jeep Gladiator proves to be a rather unique offering that has grown a fanbase nearly as strong as its Jeep Wrangler roots. For the 2025 model year, the pickup truck formula continues without much change other than ditching the manual transmission offering.

Receiving some welcomed updates in last year’s Gladiator, Jeep keeps things relatively fresh with the outlook of some interesting times ahead, where this Jeep may get a V8 option. Otherwise, the Gladiator retains its well-to-do driving character that literally ‘picks up’ where the Wrangler places its position as being the more off-road capable vehicle, only by a margin where the longer wheelbase of the Gladiator becomes a slight hindrance.

Powering the Gladiator is the returning duty of the brand’s 3.6-liter V6 engine, good for 285 horsepower and 260 lb-ft of torque, mated to an 8-speed automatic transmission. Here, there aren’t many surprises, which is mostly a good thing. The power is predictable and adequate in most situations, even for those hard-core off-roading cases where you may be prone to use the four-low selection of the manual 4×4 transfer case’s gearing. The all-terrain tires do their job to grapple with whatever you throw at them, with the expected howl when you move across pavement. There’s no getting around the Jeep Gladiator’s Wrangler roots as a versatile vehicle that comes with some compromises around being refined, which it isn’t – and that’s okay.

Out on the road, the Gladiator remains civil with somewhat of a decent ride quality that can become a bit busy if you run over large road imperfections, which doesn’t really matter for off-roading obstacles, as you’ll have plenty of wheel articulation to enjoy, even with my test vehicle not having detaching sway bars. On the road, 0-60 mph takes place in about 8 seconds while fuel economy remains consistent to match the EPA estimates of 17 mpg city, 22 mpg highway, and 19 mpg combined in the real world.

From last year’s update, the Gladiator gets the latest Uconnect 5 infotainment interface with a larger 12.3-inch touchscreen, wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto integration, and a plethora of information and customization to boot. I do enjoy the off-roading apps that assist you to ‘find your way’ over terrain and bring up necessary vehicle information to make it home safely. I would have liked to see Jeep include a front camera system to aid with off-roading adventures across the trim lineup, considering this is as rugged a go-anywhere Jeep as they come next to the Wrangler.

The seating areas remain somewhat on the small side, even with the Gladiator having a long and in charge presence. Still, I would like to see more seat adjustability for those who have long legs like myself. Either way, it’s good to see Jeep keeping things rolling and conquering all types of terrain with their ‘pickup’ Wrangler-esq Gladiator, a vehicle that keeps the good times rolling for those who want something just a little different and hauling capable.

Respecting the price level in the Gladiator with just enough equipment to appease a decent crowd is the nicely equipped Gladiator Willys trim of my test vehicle, with a few option packages coming in at a price of $58,475, which includes a destination charge of $1,895.