Jeep Gladiator, Audi A1 Citycarver, Alfa Giulia…
What could be more fun than a Jeep Wrangler? One with more of everything
If it all goes to hell in post-Brexit Britain – when the riots start and we have to forage ever further into the wilderness for food – we’re all going to wish we were driving one of these. Until then, you may be casually interested to learn Jeep now builds a bigger version of the Wrangler. The Gladiator pick-up doesn’t just have a loadbed on the back, it’s got a longer wheelbase too, taking its total length over 5.5 metres. It’s larger than a Toyota Hilux.
Good to drive? By most measures, not really. But in the wilds of suburban Detroit, where the size is unexceptional, it bats away broken tarmac with only a moderate amount of shudder through its body-on-frame chassis.
Humming along on oversized all-terrain tyres, riding on lifted Fox Racing suspension and equipped with a barking sports exhaust – all ocial accessories from MOPAR, Fiat-Chrysler’s parts division – this is like some kind of Tonka Toy fantasy. The power delivery is equally juvenile, an eight-speed auto and a naturally aspirated 3.6-litre petrol V6 conspiring to make the quoted peak power output of 278bhp seem like it’s going to be caught with fake ID any second.
But this is on-road. Off-road it’s nigh-on unstoppable. In top-spec Rubicon trim you get not only fully mechanical 4WD – including diff locks and lever-activated low-range gearing that will only engage properly if you’re rolling in neutral – but also ‘smart’ solutions such as a front anti-roll bar that electronically decouples and a more linear accelerator map that’s automatically activated when you shift the transmission into manual.
In low range, it can crawl over an outstanding array of obstacles – offset bumps, stepped climbs, dead politicians – with barely a tickle of throttle. The chassis articulation is utterly nuts, and though its extended length does mean the rear can catch on more aggressive ascents, few vehicles come better factory-prepared for clumping through the countryside. Combine that with carcass-friendly load space and unexpectedly fine attention to detail throughout an interior you can jetwash, and you can understand the appeal.