First Look: 2020 Jeep Gladiator, half truck, half Jeep, is ready to hit showrooms

The doors can be removed. The roof can be removed.  The windshield can be lowered.  The bed can fold completely flat so you can secure those long pieces of drywall, meaning you can truly lie them flat.

Yes, your new Jeep Gladiator can basically run around naked.  Simply put, men, this is the vehicle that many of you have been anxiously waiting to drive for years.

It’s been a long, long time, since Jeep made a truck or anything that resembled a truck.  I admit to not being a rabid Jeep enthusiast but I do have friends who are, and they tell me that this is almost like the second coming of many historical figures.

When you do go off-road a lot, you want a 4×4 that is agile and responsible, yet if it is also your everyday car, it has got to have the capability to haul everyone and everything around town and around the countryside, however defined. What’s that you say?  Wouldn’t a combination of a Jeep and a truck be a perfect solution?

Jeep’s marketing department put a lot of thought into bringing back this half-truck, half-Jeep combo meal (this Two Face from Batman, only much nicer and much cooler), and quickly determined that it was worth putting one into production and offering it up to the masses. Based on the anecdotal evidence I’ve gathered, it looks like Jeep’s bet will pay off big time.

The all-new Gladiator (think Russell Crowe, kinda) is a reformulation of the old Jeep Comanche truck mashup, which was last seen in 1992.  It’s considered a midsized truck, probably because it will have a five-foot short bed and a standard king cabin, one that can hold four robust adults comfortably. The engine on the base trim will be a small 2.0-liter turbocharged inline-4 cylinder giddy-upper, but you can go up the food chain to a 3.6-liter V6.

The press materials really go overboard to tell you all about the vehicle, calling it “an unmatched combination of rugged utility, authentic Jeep design, open-air freedom, clever functionality and versatility, best-in-class towing and 4×4 payload, advanced fuel-efficient powertrains (and) superior on- and off-road dynamics.” I think, in all honesty, buyers are already sold on the vehicle, but, ya know, they do have to get those of you with good credit histories into the dealerships…..

The Gladiator will be a Rubicon: same platform, same everything, just, ya know, a truck. Prices will start at $34,545 US and mileage is estimated at 17 city / 22 highway. As with any vehicle in demand, you can buy all kinds of optional equipment that can jack up the price nicely, so be sure to choose your options wisely.

Anymore, if you can imagine it, car companies are two steps ahead of you and have made it available if not standard on your next purchase, like a Bluetooth-connected speaker for your favorite tunes when you get stuck in the mud during your day’s adventure (tow hooks standard, as you can see in the photos). My only concern, and it’s truly is a gay urban concern, is having enough room to park it.  This is a big boy. So once again, caution is advised before opening your wallet and saying I Do.

I should be able to get my hands on a Gladiator sometime soon, and when I do, I will have a more full report for all you off-road, off-script-hungry bears.

Until then, as Rachel Maddow says, “Watch This Space.”