2020 Jeep Gladiator Testing Was Pretty Rough, New Ad Reveals

Jeep fans have been clamoring for a pickup truck for years. Once rumors of what is now the Gladiator began to swirl in the automotive press, the wait began in earnest. Now, with the release imminent, we here at Motor1 – along with the rest of the world – are eager to see if it lives up to the hype.

Judging by this new commercial for the Gladiator, Jeep seems to know their target audience pretty well. While they could have easily made a ham-fisted, half-baked attempt to cash in on demand and rushed out a pretty-but-useless Wrangler pickup, the engineers at Jeep opted to take the high road – quite literally, in some cases.

Under that cool-looking, tough-guy exterior, the Gladiator packs a (no pun intended) truckload of engineering designed to make sure that the Gladiator isn't just fun – it's functional, too. The ad shows off not only the key features and pertinent numbers of the new truck, but it shows the Gladiator being torture-tested at Chrysler's testing grounds in Yucca, Arizona.

In the ad, we can see the Gladiator hauling an enclosed car trailer up a 12% grade, while the wording on-screen boasts of the Gladiator's best-in-class towing capacity of 7,650 pounds. That's almost enough to tow an entire Dodge Challenger Hellcat (thank you, thank you, we'll be here all week).

Thankfully, that towing capacity is supported with what the ad claims are the largest brakes in its class. That will also help if you've got the five-foot bed loaded to the Gladiator's 1,600 pound payload capacity.

Lest we think that it's just a tow rig, we're reminded that the Gladiator is still a Jeep. That means 11.1" of ground clearance, 30" of water fording ability, an 84:1 crawl ratio, and lockable Dana 44 axles, front and rear.