Tacoma vs. Gladiator

Ya, no

 

Gladiator is way too long for some obstacles. Even short box taco is too long in some cases.

 

He's got another good video in which he highlights a lot of the problems and shortcomings of his stock TRD Off Road Tacoma. His comments are fair and accurate, I think. Especially the ones about the Tacoma's frame being riveted together as a weak link. His channel has lots of good info on other trucks as well. It's definitely worth a look.

 

True. Also true that when I pulled my rear spring mounts off to replace with BAMF's version there was indeed a bit of rust creeping in there. And I am in SOCAL. That said, if I have 36 - 40K to make the Toyota whatever I want, I assure you boxing up the frame would not be at the top of my hardest to do mod list. I was kinda astounded at the price of the Gladiator with the good wheeling options. I also have to disagree with Nate on the looks. A well built and set up Gladiator looks very cool to me. All that said, I would not come close to trading my truck for a Gladiator and pay the difference. It is also slightly strange to me that Jeep is owned by Italians (Fiat) who were the Axis in WWII, of which Jeep (Willy's) helped to win the war. So Jeep helps win the war and then the enemy of the war buys the Jeep. Weird, in a not good way. But then I am driving a Japanese/Mexican product so who am I to be bothered by this?

 

im guessing they dont give 2 thoughts about losing WW2. They may not even teach it in school.

 

He questioned Toyota’s reliability which is a big part of the equation. I hear nothing but electrical issues on gladiators. I know two owners who complained about this. I take most of what the influencer said with a grain of salt, lime and tequila.

 

I take what most YouTubers and the like with a big grain of salt. Like he said, Toyota, Jeep, Ford, GM, Nissan, etc. provide vehicles for these guys to “review” and give their “honest” opinions on.
YOU are the best one to make decisions for YOU. Sure, some videos will help with specs, comparing size, features, etc. of vehicles. But in the end, YOU must do YOUR research and see what truck works best for YOU.
What works best for YOU might NOT be the best for ME. I might choose something different than YOU, but that doesn’t mean EITHER of us chose wrongly. We just chose what works best for US.
Drive safe everyone, and have a good one.

 

By the looks of the your advatar you should be loaded.

 

I think it was a fair comparison overall, but he left out price. Last I checked, the gladiator is about $10k more comparatively equipped. It’s still good to know what you are paying for. He also pointed out that modifying a taco for off-road use can be more complex and expensive, which is fair I think.

The reliability argument either direction is nothing but hearsay.

Also I think all pickups are ugly. They are work utility vehicles. They aren’t ever going to look cool and also remain practical.

 

Neighbor and I were both looking for vehicles and he went with the gladiator while I went with the Tacoma. Gladiator was cool (I thought) but he hated it and after 1 out of state trip, traded it in for a new ranger because he couldn’t stand how uncomfortable the seats were and how unstable (his words) it felt with 33s on the highway. I still have my ‘21 Tacoma TRD off-road 6MT and happy so far.

 

The Ford Ranger would be the last of the mid sized trucks I'd buy unless Dodge starts making one.

 

i thought the ford had the best power out of all the mid sizes that i drove. Why would you put it last?

 

This is very fair from an off-road perspective, if you are building 2 trucks to the max. However, this is not indicative of the every day buyer. I personally have driven many Tacoma's and gladiators on road, as i used to deliver vehicles for a dealership, and my thoughts on the gladiator are as follows

• Much more upright seating position than the Tacoma. Wasn't a fan, but this is personal preference
• The Gladiator LOVES to grab grooves on the highway and takes a lot more effort to follow the lane.
• Rides rougher than the tacoma
• I hate chrysler infotainment
• Feels like a friggin bus in the city.

I still think that the video is well done, and comes to the correct conclusion for mainly offroad use. I still find the tacoma to be a vastly superiors onroad vehicle, and that is what the majority of people uses them for.

 

The gladiator is not a work truck. It’s a long wrangler with a short bed.

 

I've had a couple Fords and a Dodge or two. Found them to be junk for the most part. Power does not matter that much to me in a mid size truck. If I needed the power of a 1500 I'd buy a last gen Tundra until they get this current gen figured out.

 

It's a good video that makes some great points. For a hard core off-road enthusiast, the Gladiator is the superior truck.

However.

Gladiators of comparable trims to the TRD Tacomas are significantly more expensive. I remember looking at Gladiators when I was shopping for a mid-size truck and the prices were eye-popping (I wondered if the Gladiator was really Stellantis's way to getting people on the fence between a Jeep and a pickup in the door so it could sell them Ram trucks). So in that sense, the Gladiator may give people more off road utility, but the Toyota probably comes out ahead when measured on utility per dollar spent. Both are cool trucks though.

 

Also agree with Nate, Gladiator if you wheel hard/want 37s and up, Tacoma for the average joe.
The Tacoma takes leaps and bounds more work to take some abuse, while the Gladiator you can bolt 40s, tons, cage, etc on and go.
Non ultra4/trophy truck Ifs will never really hold up like a straight axle truck, nor have the benefits.
Gladiator wheelbase isnt really too long for trails, I know several guys that wheel the piss out of theirs just fine, since they actually have the frame height to clear a speed bump.
Gladiators also have a way better slider setup, and can actually flat belly them pretty well unlike the Tacoma which has a low hanging tcase, low hanging crossmembers, and no real full belly skid options without lots of work.

 

Drove my Tacoma for 5 years and 60k+ miles, never had an issue other than a bad battery and sold it for more than I bought it for.

Had my brand new Gladiator less than 18 months and 15k miles and took a $30k loss. I’ll tell you what I am never buying again.

 

I've had 4 jeeps, 2 wranglers, one the I did a gladiator conversion on back in 2017 and I just gave 2020 w/66k back to jeep because the engine blew. And I've had 3 Tacomas.....Quality wise? tacoma all the way! jeeps are a blast... but junk. Toyota is by far a better product and will out last the jeep. Can a jeep trail better, probably, but I still prefer the Toyota.

 

warranty didnt cover this fluke?