Written by Mabuyane Mabuza
Oftentimes, as soon as people find out what I do for a living, the first question they ask is what is your favourite car? My answer always goes along these lines “favourite car is relative”.
The motoring landscape is a moving target, it changes all the time and has rapidly changed a lot in the past ten years. So, my favourite car for this year might not necessarily mean it would still be my favourite in the next three or four years. For those people who push hard enough to get a direct answer, I tell them that I prefer SUVs for their versatility but our relationship (the SUV and me) is a bit complicated at the moment. Our relationship is complicated because I have an affair with the bakkie such that I feel like I’m falling in love. Damn, the results of the forbidden fruit.
It was important for me to give the above context so we could be on the same page. I had the recently launched Jeep Gladiator Rubicon on test. I had named it the bulldozer for it got even the most stubborn driver to move out of the way. Apart from its gigantic nature, it can conquer all terrain. I live in a rural type of area, which means I experience gravel driving on a daily, but the Gladiator gave me that peace of mind albeit temporary. There are a few cars that love being both on and off-road and the Americans made sure the Gladiator is one of them.
When Jeep disappeared (or kept a low profile) from the South African market for a few years, no one could have anticipated that they were plotting big things. Have you seen what they have done with the Grand Cherokee? Having driven both cars, it is safe to say they were both worth the wait.
I have a little gripe though particularly with the Gladiator, despite having all the bells and whistles and being everything that a bakkie has to be, it only comes with a petrol engine (SA market).
One clever colleague asked during the launch in June, why only bring in the petrol engine.
Apparently, our diesel is not clean enough for that highly advanced diesel motor that Jeep has created. If things improve and we have widespread availability of 10ppm perhaps the car maker will reconsider. For now, petrol it is.
Enough about that, the Gladiator is the most versatile bakkie in the market as compared to other formidable domineers such as Ford Ranger, Toyota Hilux, Isuzu D-Max etc.
The Gladiator comes fitted with removable doors and a roof and has a folding windscreen. You can literally drive this car as just the frame, the wheels and the engine. To my fellow fun-loving outdoor enthusiasts, it doesn’t get better than this.
Listen, I don’t have enough space to tell you all about it, go check it out at your nearest dealer. What do they say about nice things not coming cheap, the Gladiator Rubicon comes with a price tag of R1,260 million.
