2024 Jeep Gladiator gets new looks and updated tech, due in Australia next year

Jeep’s flagship off-road pick-up – the Gladiator – is its latest model to be refreshed, gaining a new nose, a larger infotainment screen and more safety tech for 2024.

The Jeep Gladiator pick-up has received a facelift in the US, bringing new tech and safety upgrades to the off-road ute for the first time since it launched overseas in 2019.

Australian deliveries of the updated model are due this time next year, in the second half of 2024.

For 2024, the Gladiator has received a number of upgrades which were also applied to the Jeep Wrangler sibling earlier this year, including a revised version of the brand’s iconic seven-slot grille and new-look headlights.

Additional exterior tweaks include the Jeep’s old-school wire radio aerial being replaced by a more modern antenna in the Gladiator’s windscreen – reducing the risk of it getting snapped off while driving through bushes and trees on trails.

There will also be seven new wheel designs across the Jeep Gladiator’s standard line-up and options list, though which alloys will come to Australia is yet to be confirmed.

Inside, the revised Gladiator is where the biggest changes have been made, which includes Jeep’s 12.3-inch infotainment screen (up from 8.4 inches) capable of running Apple CarPlay and Android Auto both wired and wirelessly.

The new infotainment system – running on Jeep’s Uconnect 5 software – also includes off-road guides for 62 ‘Badge of Honor’ trails recommended by the car-maker, while paying for a subscription unlocks more than 3000 routes curated by Trails Offroad.

On top of the current Gladiator’s front and front-side airbags, the updated ute scores curtain airbags at the front and rear, while forward collision warning and radar cruise control (with traffic stop and start) are available on the Sport S variant and above.

Flagship grades now include 12-way power adjustable driver’s seats, trimmed in Nappa leather and exclusive to the new Mojave X and Rubicon X.

The Jeep Gladiator continues to be exclusively powered by a 3.6-litre ‘Pentastar’ V6 petrol engine – producing 209kW and 347Nm – which drives all four wheels through a six-speed manual or eight-speed automatic transmission.

In Australia, the Jeep Gladiator has only been made available with the eight-speed automatic since it went on sale in 2020, and is currently sold in just two model grades – the Rubicon and Night Eagle.

Sales of the Jeep Gladiator in Australia are down 43.3 per cent year-to-date, owing to several hefty price increases for the off-road ute.

When it arrived in local showrooms in 2020, the Jeep Gladiator Rubicon was priced from $76,450 plus on-road costs. Today, the same model starts at $87,250 plus on-road costs – a 14 per cent increase.

While the Jeep Gladiator was briefly available in ‘Sport S’ guise – with a $65,450 starting price – this grade was axed shortly after going on sale locally.

A spokesperson for Jeep Australia told Drive the refreshed Gladiator is due in local showrooms in mid-late 2024, indicating a launch between July and December.

Jeep Gladiator sales in Australia

• 2023 – 583 (January to August inclusive), down 43.3 per cent year-to-date
• 2022 – 1397, sales record
• 2021 – 1273 
• 2020 – 573 (first examples arrived in May)

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