Gladiator Sport S vs. Gladiator Rubicon?

[DerekJeep]

Jeep guys,
I have 95k miles on my 2014 JK Sahara and it's been pretty problem-free. However, I've been drooling over the gladiator since it came out and this corona virus is making for some pretty good deals at the moment. I'm considering taking advantage of this and getting into a new vehicle before it starts giving me issues. #dailydriver
To me, the Gladiator is just too damn long to actually do any serious rock crawling so I'm not sure I want all the bells & whistles of a Rubicon package. For example, the best deal I'm seeing on the Rubicons is about $48k before fees. NOW keep in mind I can get a Sport S with max tow and get the rubicon axles with 4.10 rear but without lockers/disconnects. I found a nice one for $35k before fees. I'm thinking a lift, bumpers, and a Lokka front auto-locker would have me an additional $7500 spread out over time for a total $42.5K (Can't afford all the fancy interior stuff so I don't "need" it) and leave me with a Gladiator on 35"s with limited-slip rear and auto-locking front, Dana 44 axles, decent suspension, and steel front and rear bumpers. Basically a pseudo-rubicon (ya ya transfer case, disconnects, higher fenders, hood, etc.)

Should I hold on to what I have, or are high mileage Jeeps really as terrible as they say? (go easy Toyota guys)
Will I miss the departure angle of the Wrangler? I know I'll miss being able to sleep in the back of it...

 

[Pavement Warrior]

Steering has been problematic on them, test drive it on highway to see if it wanders, wobbles or shimmys. Sport is a good buy for light builds or extreme builds (if you are gonna replace all the stock stuf... )

Build quality on the Fiat Wrangler is poor, day one torque front end to spec and push in fuses (some will be loose), I dunno its a love hate thing with my Wrangler..

I will probably move on, partially as I jsut cant fit everything in a 2 door, and partially cause I want something I feel is gonna hold up better over time.

 

[aggrex]

Sport S with max tow offers the best bang for the least $$ and your selected parts upgrades should make it an awesome overlander assuming they build it right at the factory. The Rubi features are great but probably won't be used effectively in the Gladiator. My '16 JK has never been back to the dealer so they can build some good ones too.

 

[DerekJeep]

Yeah, worst issue I've had was the oil cooler cracking and leaking but it was minimal so was able to ignore it for a year . Main issue is the damn doors leaking and needing to be regeared.

Parents are picking up a gladiator Rubicon tomorrow hopefully. $12k off MSRP according to the dealer but we haven't seen the actual build sheet so can't confirm that as truth. I'll get to drive it for a day and see if it's worth having a car payment again.

 

[Billiebob]

I've been drooling over the gladiator

Worst reason ever to buy a vehicle,,, trust me I've done it more than once.

But Rubicon vs Sport is a question of Transfer Case Gear Reduction ONLY.
If your Sahara works for you, you'll hate the 4:1 Rubi Box. And if you never plan to crawl with a JT why even consider it. Yes you get lockers but those can be added to anything.... If you need them.

Sport vs Rubi is all about where you drive. The Rubi is NOT a better Jeep and if you don't need 4:1 reduction it is worse. Trust me I have a TJR and 4:1 is not an advantage. But I bought it so I'll keep it.


i have 250K miles on my TJR, Sold my YJ with 300K on it. We have had 5 other Jeeps too and never had to do more than maintenance. Cannot say the same for our low mileage Jetta, Bimmer or Audi. Jeep is way better than anything European.

 

[Rolando]

I was in the same boat, and chose the max tow package. The biggest advantage is 500lbs more payload, which is what you want for an overloading vehicle - all that camping stuff is heavy.

I had two Jeeps before (11 JKU and 92 YJ) and had them for 155k/120k without problems. Wear and tear repairs, and the worst thing was that my starter died at 142k - a $250 fix for parts and labor.

My Gladiator got some new shoes and side steps (for the short people in my life), and already had the hard top, headliner, bedliner, and the 7" audio system. Compared to the JKU it is a nice upgrade.

 

[SoCal_Gladiator]

Love my Rubicon. Probably could have gotten away with a sport but seeing as I was coming from Rubicon JKU I wanted to maintain some of my offroad capability.

 

[Speric]

The Sport S is a good deal if you have the time, space, know how, connections, etc to build it up. Keep in mind, you lose towing capacity/payload as you add weight building it up. The Rubicon is really nice and pretty ready out of the box, that’s why I went that route. Dealership down there gives 5% below invoice if you’re looking.