Jeep Gladiator Rubicon 4WD Ute 2023 Review

Gladiator Rubicon – Amongst Dual Cab Utes the Jeep Gladiator Rubicon almost sits in a class by itself. Purpose built for heavy duty 4WD activities the Rubicon is amongst the best 4WD Utes around.

Jeep Gladiator Rubicon 2023 front quarter 1

With almost 250mm of ground clearance, excellent wheel articulation, Fox shock absorbers, front and rear diff locks, mud terrain tyres and the ability to disconnect the front sway bars, the Gladiator Rubicon is at home in the rough stuff.

These very factors are opposite of what is needed for a good highway cruiser.

On road it’s a slightly different story. It has what we call personality. Its ok, just not my first pick as a long-distance cruiser.

Inside the Jeep is all comfort. There’s a little wind noise, and the mud terrain tyres have the typical roar. But the heated seats are particularly comfortable, the infotainment system is straight out of the premium models, and you soon adapt to the “personality’ and enjoy the drive.

Jeep has persisted with the 3.6L Pentastar petrol engine with 209kW and 347Nm, running through an 8-speed automatic transmission and the awesome Jeep Rock-Trac Active On-Demand II 4×4 system. It can be heavy on fuel if pushed hard but not bad on the freeway.

Jeep Gladiator Rubicon is priced from $87,250 plus the usual costs.

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I’m Rob Fraser

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Jeep Gladiator Rubicon 2023 reverse camera 2

Jeep Gladiator Rubicon details:

  • Jeep Rock-Trac Active On-Demand II 4×4 system [4:1 Transfer Case]
  • Jeep Tru-Lok Front & Rear Locking Differentials
  • Electronic Front Sway-Bar Disconnect
  • 2:1 Crawl Ratio
  • FOX aluminum-bodied 2” diameter shocks [front/rear]
  • Off-Road Plus Mode
  • Forward-Facing TrailCam Off-Road Camera
  • Selectable Tyre-Fill Alert
  • 32” BFGoodrich Off-Road Tyres [255/75R17]
  • 17-inch Alloy Wheels
  • LED Headlights/Taillights/Day-Time Running Lights/Fog Lights
  • Forward Collision Warning Plus
  • Adaptive Cruise Control with Stop
  • Blind Spot Monitor with Rear Cross Path Detection
  • Remote Proximity Keyless Entry
  • 9-Speaker Alpine Premium Audio System
  • Uconnect 8.4-inch Touchscreen with Navigation
  • Wireless Apple CarPlay & Android Auto
  • Steel Rear Bumper
  • Rubicon Hood Decal
  • McKinley Leather Trimmed Seats
  • Leather-Wrapped Shift Knob & Parking Brake Handle
  • Heated Front Seats
  • Heated Steering Wheel

Jeep Gladiator Rubicon 2023 front interior

What is good?

  • Very cool styling
  • Outstanding 4WD capability
  • Interior comfort

What is not so good?

  • Limited Payload
  • Limited towing capacity
  • No diesel or hybrid

Jeep Gladiator Rubicon 2023 engine

Some more Gladiator articles  

Instead of the Gladiator Rubicon buyers could also look at:

Dual Cab 4WD Utes are popular. However, the Gladiator Rubicon is different to the mainstream 4WD Dual Cab Utes.

Buyers could look at Ford Ranger Raptor, Toyota 70 Series LandCruiser, RAM 1500, Chev Silverado ZR2,   Nissan Navara PRO-4X Warrior, Toyota HiLux Rogue, Mazda BT-50 Thunder.

Jeep Gladiator Rubicon 2023 rear

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