PRICING REVEALED FOR JEEP’S GLADIATOR UTE

Less work, more lifestyle and adventure for new pickup truck MOVE OVER RANGER RAPTOR?

Jeep New Zealand is set to launch the new Gladiator ute in August. The new model will be available in both Overland and Rubicon specifications – the latter more focused on hard-core off-road ability.

Gladiator, which borrows a lot from the Wrangler but has a longer wheelbase and more sophisticated rear suspension, is very much a “lifestyle/adventure” ute rather than a working truck – meaning it’s a lot closer in concept to a Ford Ranger Raptor than a Hilux WorkMate.

Gladiator is also the only convertible ute in the world.

That all puts the pricing in context, which starts at $89,990 for the Overland, rising to $92,990 for the Rubicon.

Both are powered by Jeep’s

209kW/347Nm 3.6-litre Pentastar V6 petrol engine with an eightspeed automatic transmission. The Overland gets a Selec-Trac

4x4 system, while the Rubicon employs the more versatile RockTrac

On-Demand setup.

Rock-Trac features heavy-duty front and rear axles, Fox shocks and an electronic disconnect for the sway bar and a super-low crawl ratio.

Also exclusive to the Rubicon is an “Off Road+” drive-mode setting.

Braked towing ability is 2721kg, well short of your average onetonne ute but more than the Raptor. The tray has integrated tiedowns suitable for “adventure equipment such bicycles, dirt bikes, surfboards and ATVs,” says Jeep.

Standard across the range are adaptive cruise with stop/go function, blind-spot monitoring with rear cross-traffic detection and removable “Freedom” hard top.

In addition to the more capable chassis, the Rubicon has a forwardfacing TrailCam, selectable tyre-fill alert and more black body addenda than the Overland (which can be identified by its bodycolour hard-top and fender flares).