The Jeep Wrangler 4xe has been a home run for the brand, becoming the best-selling plug-in hybrid vehicle in America year after year since its introduction. But the Gladiator 4xe could be more than just a straight transplant of the Wrangler 4xe’s powertrain into a pickup-shaped body.
For reference, the Wrangler 4xe is powered by a 2.0-liter turbocharged inline-four producing 270 horsepower and 295 lb-ft of torque, supplemented by the eTorque starter-generator motor adding an extra 44 hp and 39 lb-ft and a 134-hp/181-lb-ft motor sandwiched between the four-pot and the eight-speed automatic gearbox. Total outputs are 375 hp and 470 lb-ft.
While the Gladiator looks like the Wrangler, its underpinnings are a mashup of two vehicles. From the C-pillar forward, it’s Wrangler, but behind this, it has the rear of the Ram 1500. As a pickup truck, even a lifestyle-oriented one, it also has slightly different requirements to a standard rock crawler, and the Wrangler 4xe’s 3,500-pound towing capacity may be insufficient for a midsize pickup like the Gladiator.
