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The Jeep Gladiator, a vehicle seven-slot aficionados spent decades begging for, is now on sale, offering buyers a pickup, sedan, off-roader, and convertible, all wrapped in one unmistakable vehicle.
This being a truck, prices naturally range from somewhat reasonable ($35,040 after destination for a base Sport) to exorbitant, but those not looking for a long-term commitment might find that leasing a Gladiator will give them — by far — the best bang for their buck. Thank sky-high residual values.
The pricing gurus at CarsDirect claim the Gladiator brings exceptionally high residuals to the table, especially on the Sport model. Right now, a 24-month lease offered on the base model (3.6-liter V6, six-speed manual, soft top) reveals a residual value of 89 percent — “one of the highest we’ve ever seen on any vehicle.”
Jeep’s Wrangler, upon which the Gladiator is based, is famous for holding its value over time. In base form and with a short lease, the Gladiator’s residual beats out the Toyota Tacoma SR Double Cab’s 86-percent figure.
After a downpayment of $3,504, this bargain basement Gladiator can be leased for $143 a month, but only if you’re willing to keep your mileage below 10,000 miles per year (the Tacoma allows 12,000). The money factor on this lease works out to a 4.92 percent APR.
Spring for a longer term or opt for the $2,000 eight-speed automatic transmission, and you’ll change the equation. Moving up in trim naturally means a less attractive lease, as the Overland and Rubicon’s 77-percent residual, coupled with the higher sticker price, won’t help your monthly payment. Still, if you’re willing to go entry-level, even while withholding a downpayment, you won’t come anywhere near the $588/month (for 60 months) payment buyers face.
Refuse a downpayment and opt for an automatic, and lessees of a Gladiator Sport are looking at $313 a month. In comparison, a 2019 Ford Ranger XL SuperCrew 4×4 can be leased for 24 months at $341 a month with $4,174 due at signing. The Ford’s mileage allowance is 10,500 per year.
Advantage: (Fiat) Chrysler.
[Images: Fiat Chrysler Automobiles]
I wish this had been available last year.
Did you suddenly need a truck last year?
I (sort of) needed a vehicle and I bought the Toyota. However this may have been a serious consideration @ $300/mo nmd.
This is really bothering me lol. I could have had this and used my Saturn for small car duties instead of having two small cars.
Meh I’m the guy who eyeballs the nicely optioned 4×4 crew cab Canyon with tow package at the GMC dealer – last years model marked down to $31K.
I can have a monthly payment own the sucker almost as cheap as that lease with my trade-in.
The Gladiator is cool AF but I’m rarely willing to pony up for “cool”.
V6 Caynon?
Yup…
Oops $32K I missed it by that much. $38K MSRP but I really think that $32 is closer to what it ought to be to start with.
https://tinyurl.com/y37ccuf2
Honestly I think it’s still there because it is a weird combo of Marine Blue Exterior and Coco/Dune interior.
Although I’d be happy because it’s an honest to gosh color inside and out.
I’d still rather have the Gladiator and I’m no fan of Chrysler (as well as all of the gotchas that come with Wranglers).
If I ever needed or wanted a truck, this is the one I would buy. I wouldnt even look at anything else. This is an order of magnitude cooler than every other truck on the market, hands down.
Every other truck looks as good as hot garbage and dog$hit mixed together compared to this. I would think nearly everyone who bought a truck in the last year or two is having buyers remorse after seeing the Gladiator or learning about it.
I’m too cheap to pay the premium over other similar sized trucks.
I’m certainly not having any buyers remorse for missing out on a $50,000 6 cylinder truck with a 5 foot bed made by the least reliable car company this side of JLR.
Guess I’ll stay happy driving my hot garbage and dog$hit mix.
One can only speculate what thegamper means when he says, ‘if I ever needed or wanted a truck.’ If I needed a truck, chances are it would be because I needed some capabilities that aren’t possessed by a CUV. The Gladiator would be a poor choice to tow a covered car-hauler, or to put a cap on the bed for enclosed carrying of paddle boards, or to bring sheets of plywood home from Lowes, or to carry motorcylces in the bed, or to quietly reel in miles on the highway…etc ad infinitum.
One wonders if one of the vendors of aftermarket Jeep stuff will come up with a cap for the bed.
First one I saw here in suburban Toledo (on a MFG plate), had two motorcycles in the bed.
It looks cool, then I started building one, and ended up thinking just getting a taco after seeing the cost. I’ll see how the local dealers’ leases go.
Occasionally I think that I’d like to buy a pick up truck (no need for one at all, would be almost purely for air hauling). Then I drive what I’m interested in and the idea falls apart because I suddenly remember that I don’t like the tuck driving experience.
“Every other truck looks as good as hot garbage and dog$hit mixed together compared to this.”
I guess beauty is in the eye of the beholder. This thing looks absolutely horrific to my eyes. Gouge both my eyes out. And worse than it’s looks and awkward proportions is the fact that as a PU truck it’s a complete failure.
If your spending my money just give me a used 2015 GMC Sierra SLT. Way better looking. Even w/100K miles the GMC will still drive, ride and handle better than a brand new Gladiator. Nicer to sit in, quieter, more (V8)power and better fuel economy, bigger box, more reliable, and it will tow circles around this road disaster. Why would anyone buy this under-performer over a full-size RAM, FORD, GMC/Chevy PU? Jeep – you wouldn’t understand………..Yep, you got that right!
“…the Gladiator’s residual (89%) beats out the Toyota Tacoma SR Double Cab’s 86-percent figure.”
Daaang. These are going to be a horrendousdeal to buy used.
Wranglers are already.
Is that just if the only off-roading they’ve done is jumping a curb at the mall, or can you get top-dollar for a Wrangler which spends every Easter in Moab, UT, or which has lived life more off-road than on, with scars as proof?
Wrong. You are basing lease payments on MSRP. Dealers will be getting $10,000+ over sticker for at least a year, so payments will be much higher. Best to wait…
Unfortunately, because dealers aren’t required to disclose capitalized cost or interest rates on leases, people who aren’t schooled won’t know how badly they’re getting hosed.
I think it’s time to do the same kind of disclosure on leases that is required on installment loans.
“Dealers will be getting $10,000+ over sticker for at least a year”
I think the BASE Gladiator is a decent value given the amount of capability you get over the competitors and their trucks costing a similar amount.
However I’m not going to pay one dime over MSRP for the privilege.
Went through that with the Hellcat. First year is all ADM. Second year is MSRP. Third year is when they offer the discounts.
Join Tread Lightly and you won’t have to. FCA supplier pricing is a perk of membership. Works like a charm
I wonder how many people who bought one of the 4,190 Launch Editions were able to get a break with that? Or did those discounts not apply?
In 1990s Canada the most dealers could inflate MSRP on a lease was 10%, and I’m not sure if that option still exists. For the most part dealers have to fleece you the old-fashioned way, with window etching and paint protection.
That said, anyone with a $10 financial calculator can figure out a lease.
N is the term of the lease in months
I/Y is the interest rate
PV is the total (tax-free) amount being financed
PMT is the pretax monthly payment expressed as a negative
FV is the pretax residual value expressed as a negative
Plug in any four variables and you know the fifth, or can at least estimate it to within a whisker. Keeps ’em honest.
Well, yes, you can figure out a lease with any number of variables. You could do the same with standard installment financing.
But that still doesn’t mean the dealer shouldn’t be required to disclose what he’s selling you the car for, or what interest rate the lender’s charging.
What a lease calculator says is factual. Car dealers are sometimes known to be less than factual.
That being said, FCA products are a lot like Volkswagens… you don’t want to own one once the warranty expires.
Must be a Jeep thing, ’cause I don’t get it. Talk about a tacky pile of car.
The problem is no dealership will take a short deal on a base Gladiator. Most will be lifted and modified in the base trim. The Market on Jeeps is base and Rubicon the Sahara models and loaded sports usually sit in inventory and remain stock. The leases that Chrysler post on their site are some of the biggest complaints from dealership non realistic. You can’t sell 35k vehicles to Mooches looking at sub 200 payments. Chrysler doesn’t like leasing Wranglers because of off road damage and modifications I would assume the same will be present with Gladiator. Residual has always been high on Wrangler I would surmise the Money factors for perfect tier customer it almost doubles the next tier that is the secret to Chrysler leases and they don’t include the other fees in lease payment.
From someone who has never leased…
Why would this be a better deal than simply buying the car? APR mentioned was about 5%. Can’t you get 0% most places these days?
And I get the smaller payment piece (tho I’ve always had mindset if you can’t afford the payment to purchase the car you really shouldn’t be leasing that car), but should you buy you’ll be getting the same 89% residual. No mileage restrictions. Do with the car what you want
I suppose one positive is if the car is junk you just hand it back.
I’ve just never understood how a lease can truly be “better” from a financial perspective than buying. I get the new car thing. I get the drive more car for lower monthly payment thing. I get the you like the car but don’t want it after warranty thing.
But how can it be financially smarter than just buying the same car?
From my vantage point, I just can’t see how it pays to be locked into a perpetual payment. With houses and cars (or ANYTHING, I guess), there has to be a means to an end, eventually.
The way the game used to be played was you’d buy a car and, once paid off, hope you could keep driving it for less than the monthly payments.
With the ability of most cars to go hundreds of thousands of miles these days, it certainly seems like buying is a smarter, longterm financial plan than leasing.
Things that will give your wallet nightmares: off-roading a leased Gladiator. So then you never take it off-road, which is a lot like buying a Challenger Hellcat and never going past 1/4 throttle.
There are plenty of people who will do exactly that. To me, a Wrangler is just one rung above a Harley for land transportation. It’s a lifestyle statement more than a real daily-driver, and a leased Gladiator would fill that bill quite nicely.