THE WAIT IS OVER

A QUICK SPIN IN THE JEEP GLADIATOR OVERLAND ON HOME SOIL.

- MATT RAUDONIKIS

THE long-awaited new Jeep pick-up truck has arrived in Australia and will initially be available in three specification levels including a ‘Launch Edition’, which is basically one with the lot and will be limited to just 100 units.

We’ve driven the JT Rubicon overseas, but our first taste of the ute on home soil was a brief stint in an Overland model.

While the Rubicon gets all the off-road kit such as front and rear locking diffs, extra low gearing, front sway-bar disconnect, Fox shocks and muddies, the Overland forgoes all that but adds heated leather seats, 18-inch alloys, and body-coloured roof and flares.

The Overland starts at $1000 less than the Rubicon, at $75,450, but you can lux-up your Rubicon with the leather seats and painted bits ($2535), or get the Launch Edition which has all the features of both at $86,450.

Our test Overland was fitted with the ‘Lifestyle Adventure Pack’, a $3850 option that adds a roll-up tonneau cover, cargo management with adjustable bed rails, spray-in bedliner, a lockable storage compartment beneath the rear seat, a removable Bluetooth speaker, an auxiliary switch panel with four switches for accessories, a 240amp alternator, and a 700-amp maintenance-free battery. Other accessory and dress-up packs are available from Jeep.

Australia gets the ‘international’ specification Jeep Gladiator just as it does with the JL Wrangler, and that means it comes with a transfer case that has 2WD, full-time 4x4, high-range locked 4x4 and low-range locked 4x4, as opposed to the traditional part-time 4x4 systems in the US models. The international spec also has smaller tyres than the US; 255/70 R18 on the Overland and 255/75 R17s on the Rubicon and Launch edition models, while the Yanks get proper 33s on their Rubicon.