I’m a purist when it comes to manual transmissions. If a car is or was available with a manual transmission from new, I wouldn’t buy it with an automatic, even if the automatic was cheaper or the better choice for reliability, fuel economy, or driver feedback (not that automatic gearboxes are usually more reliable than stick shifts). I simply love the feel and control that comes with rowing your own gears.
That choice is harder and harder to make these days for new car buyers, as the availability of manual transmissions dwindles. Out of the hundreds of new cars for sale in America, there are currently just 23 available with stick shifts. That number has only gone down in the past decade, but in a shocking twist, it could be growing by one.
According to the guy who runs the off-roading division at Jeep, the Gladiator pickup truck is actually getting its stick shift back, following its discontinuation a couple of years ago. I know, I’m just as surprised as you are.
The news comes from CarBuzz, which spoke with Aamir Ahmed, Jeep’s head of off-road and EVs at the company’s recent Easter Jeep Safari event. While talking about the Wrangler’s six-speed manual and its 100:1 crawl ratio (when equipped with the 4.88:1 axle), he dropped this bomb:
“We have another car that looks like a Wrangler that’s getting its manual back. Stay tuned.”
While Ahmed doesn’t come out and say it’s the Gladiator that’s getting its manual back, there’s only one Jeep in the current lineup that looks like the Wrangler and has previously had an available stick shift. Jeep killed off the manual Gladiator back in September 2024, telling Motor1 that the eight-speed auto paired to the Pentastar V6 “is chosen by most Gladiator owners today, and best matches the specific capability and expectations” of its customers.
In that statement to Motor1, Jeep pointed customers who desired a manual to look to the Wrangler, which has continued to offer a stick shift throughout its existence, to this day. To me, this suggested that the Gladiator wouldn’t be coming back any time soon, if ever.
Yet, here we are. Ahmed didn’t give a reason for the decision to CarBuzz, and my email to Jeep for some clarification has gone unanswered as of this writing. Of course, there’s plenty of room to speculate here. CarBuzz thinks the manual may have been dropped in 2024 to simplify production during the truck’s refresh that year, and it’s now just catching up to being able to offer the manual again.
They also considered the fact that Jeep no longer has to worry about stuff like fuel economy and fleet-wide EPA averages, since the federal government stopped issuing penalties to automakers that no longer meet those requirements. But the manual Gladiator achieved the same combined EPA rating as the eight-speed auto, so I don’t really buy that as a possible reason.
It’s entirely plausible that Jeep execs are just hardcore enthusiasts who want to see a Gladiator with three pedals on sale, bottom line be damned. CarBuzz did mention that Ahmend spoke fondly of the stick shift when it comes to off-roading, after all. Anything’s possible.
Either way, this makes me incredibly happy. It’s super-rare to see a manual car on sale from a brand at all at this point, much less to see a brand revive one from the dead after previously axing it from the lineup. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen this happen in the decade I’ve been writing about cars, unless we’re talking about cars gaining a manual once they get heavily refreshed or replaced (cars like the BMW Z4 and the Toyota Supra come to mind).
The manual Gladiator’s return also means the Tacoma is no longer the only stick-shift truck you can buy. I’m sure this is terrible news for the extremely small sect of manual Tacoma owners who were planning to store their trucks in climate-controlled garages in the hopes they might one day explode in value.
Top graphic images: Jeep
Now just resurrect the 4xe Gladiator! Arg, so dang close. With gas prices the way they are right now, they would have been in a great spot if they could have figured out the supply issues and released that thing…
So much this. I’ve been waiting for a PHEV Gladiator. Love that sweet instant torque of the electric motor.
Another detail is how much pull the Jeep club inside the company has when discussing the details on these jeep platforms. Somebody wanted a manual transmission so they are getting one. It’s also why these wrangler/gladiators still have a manual shift 4 wheel drive system. The jeep club wants a lever to pull to put it in 4Low.
As a stick shift Taco owner, I can confirm I was hoping it would explode in value. I mean just look how few 2.7 5 speed 4×4 3rd gen (’16-’23) trucks there are nationwide. I get that it is specific, but that is how I like ’em.
I just can’t get over the look of these. The rear doors from the Wrangler which gives it this hideous gap between them and the bed just screams cost cutting, which is strange considering what these are always priced at. The joke of a payload in some of these trims, combined with the famous jeep quality… It truly must be a Jeep thing cause I don’t get it.
finally met someone in person who has the pentastar motor problems I’ve read about, and the dealer problems combined make Jeep a scam as a brand as a whole. I don’t understand why sites/mags/etc don’t loudly call out the terrible problems Jeep has
Cool, for their next trick can they make a manual Gladiator Mojave that doesn’t go into limp mode when you drive it in the sand? Asking for me, not a friend.
Who else is old enough to remember when people referred to a manual transmission as a “standard”? This was, of course, because back then, most cars offered the automatic as an option, and manual came “standard”. Back then, you gave up a lot for a shift less experience. Typically, you paid extra, the car was notably slower, had fewer gears, and got poorer fuel economy. Fast forward to today and the inverse is true. Often, if you want a manual, you have to pay more for it, it will have less gears, it will be slower, and it will get worse fuel economy. This does change the equation on a lot of cars. There are certainly some cars that are meant for shift it yourself, say, a Toyota 86. But my Silverado 2500HD? An auto is just fine.
Be nice to get stats on the actual vs planned take rate on these. I suspect that the reality will point in the cancellation direction.
The sad thing about ‘take rate’ is that the majority of dealers will order the automatic transmissions because they think those are the ones most likely to sell. So when shoppers go to the stealerships, what do they find on the lot? Automatics.
There’s the same argument about regular-cab pickups. Rarely will a dealer order a regular-cab pickup because they think people prefer crew-cabs. Which many people do, but when regular Joe shows up and needs a new truck, but prefers a regular-cab and wants the cheapest truck he can get, those same stealerships will want to sell what’s already on the lot, so they’ll say they can get him into one of these crew-cabs for the same monthly payment or even less than if he were to special-order a regular-cab truck. – So the guy buys the crew-cab truck. Then the stealership says they don’t order regular-cab trucks because nobody buys them.
I once had a co-worker who bought a Wrangler. It was a 4-door model with an automatic and all-season tires. I jokingly told him, “I see you bought your wife a new Wrangler.” He told me he wanted to buy a 2-door, manual-transmission Jeep, but the salesman talked him out of it. The salesman claimed there would be no resale value on a 2-door, manual-transmission model and that he’d be better off in the long run to get the 4-door, automatic one – so that’s what he bought.
It’s kind of like the Chevy SSR. When it came out in 2003, it came with the 5.3L and was automatic-only. Many buyers wanted more power and the option of a manual transmission, so in 2005, they gave it the 6.0L and offered the Tremec 6-speed as well. Then they said nobody was buying them so it would be discontinued in 2006. GM likes to shoot itself in the foot.
Same for colors, dealers load lots with white, black, silver/grey, then will deal on these to move them out. So stats look like most customer do not want colors.
This is a problem with the entire dealer system. We aren’t mailing forms back and forth to order vehicles, and we aren’t doing it in big batches.
If dealers got their way there would be 2 combinations for any vehicle. A base for the cheapskates and uber mega super premium for everyone else.
They wouldn’t offer the base for the cheapskates. They’d just explain to them that for the same monthly payment, they could easily upgrade to a mid-range model and the stealership could then make additional profits.
That’s just it. The ‘mid range’ is the base trim, the actual base trim doesn’t exist anymore outside of a deceptively worded tv commercial.
My friend ordered a new Wrangler Rubicon in 2015. When it came in to the dealer it was the wrong color. My friend insisted they get him the color he had special ordered (Army Green instead of Black). The dealer was hesitant as it was a Manual 4 door Rubicon with no infotainment, and heated cloth seats, they said they would never be able to sell it. They did good and recorded his Jeep though. The following day the Jeep dealer called my friend and they said that they had a three way bidding war of people wanting that incorrectly ordered Jeep with a manual transmission, heated cloth seats and no infotainment screen.
Are they bringing the manual back with the weak-assed clutch prone to overheating and slave cylinder issues or are the gonna give it a proper clutch this time and a properly designed slave cylinder?
https://www.jlwranglerforums.com/forum/threads/clutch-hot-warning.163170/
Isnt that manual a pile of garbage thats had a bunch of explodey clutch issues?
You are correct. Clutch slave cylinder issues as well.
This one is supposedly all redesigned
Redesigned to make it better or to make it even worse?
The last time they did the redesign, it was for the worse than the previous design.
Neither, redesigned to have different problems. It’s a Jeep thing, you wouldn’t understand. /s
I mean the reason seems obvious, Tavares – not pictured above, is out.
COTD
392 backed by the TR6060 would be great, thanks
As someone who has lusted after a gladiator since day 1, this makes me happy!! Now if someone could go buy one in my favorite spec and baby it for the majority of the depreciation so i can buy it off you in 5 or so years that would be greeeeeaaaaaaat…
You read my mind.
I wanted to order a manual Pentastar Gladiator, but it’s a lot of cost. Instead I found myself a manual 4.0L Comanche in dream spec that had been very well cared for for 250k miles.
If the Gladiator was a two door with a 6ft bed, I would have ignored the new cost and just purchased one at the dealer.
Yeah the cost is a bit much, and i don’t ACTUALLY need a truck, at least not often, and when i do i just borrow my dad’s. one day i’ll realize i’m a real adult with real adult money and i can buy things i want, but today is not that day.
Man, I hope they get a clue and steal the 7 speed from the bronco. all Manual Jeeps need proper gear spacing and a proper Granny Gear.
While this is good news, I wish they’d expand the manual transmission offering to the turbo 4 cylinder as well for the Wrangler.
i actually like the pentastar v6 flame suit on.
Love the pentastar, but the 6 speed manual they use would feel way, way better with the torque curve of the 2.0. 3.6 manual in a 2 door wrangler feels great. But in a gladiator with a trailer behind it, you have to run the thing like a two-stroke.
the pentastar is perfectly cromulent, but I really enjoyed how the 2.0T performed compared to it in my 2020 Rubicon
I do too, I just live at 7700ft of elevati, so forced induction is basically required
I have a Gladiator with a stick. You are not missing anything. I get the the gearing was set up for efficiency, not speed or acceleration. The engine revs are too low at 65mph and the aerodynamic resistance increases at a higher rate than the engine builds power until you are at 80-85mph.
The ratios are terrible for anything short of flat ground and no wind. Even the hills on the Mass Turnpike require down shifts to 5th. At highway speeds, 6th-4th are each about 500rpm’s apart, and then 3rd is a huge 1500rpm jump. Add a 2500lb(dry) camper and you are in 4th gear most of the time. If you do get the manual, regear right to get 6th down to 5th.
When I bought it I thought the Gladiator would be like my CJ8 Scrambler compared to a CJ7. The comparison is wrong. The Gladiator is not a Wrangler with a bed, it is a small pick up that looks like a Wrangler.
The 8 speed is a great combo with the 6cyl.
But I do love being able to run to the lumber yard with the top down…
Guessing the Rubicon axles/gears would be a HUGE upgrade in livability?
my experience is the gears are too far apart so the engine is not in it’s sweet spot on the freeway and bogs when you go tot he next gear because torque is not there.
I feel they are too close together. They should have lowered 4th out towards 3rd. I usually skip 5th unless I am climbing.
The Rubicon axles are taller to make up for the taller tires. My guess would be that the issues would be the same.
I kind of felt like this was the case six the 6 speed from Mercedes or wherever was taken from. It was almost like they wanted it to suck so people would stop asking for it. Then of course Bronco made a sweet 7 speed with a proper low Gear and then limited that to just the turbsky 4 cylinders. I just want a reliable, easy to work on and maintain motor that has power bands that match the gear changes. Icing on the cake is the crawl gear and an OD gear to get 15 instead of say 13 MPG when trying to drive to an event at 75. Solid axles, sorry, don’t forget D44 or better solid axles stock on even the base models.
I think the push for fuel economy is pushing the manual out to pasture. Automatics in the past ten years are just getting so much better with a gear for every situation. You could make an 8-ten speed manual but can you imagine all the shifting needed to take the most advantage?
I love manuals, and will always have one, but some day we will miss it the same way people miss choke levers and timing adjustment on the steering column.
I have just 6 whole gear in a 392 V8 Car that is rated at 475 versus I think 485 for a friends 392 Scat pack – 8 Speed auto. Scatties are stripped down versions with less weight but everything else is pretty equal as far as drive train and Aero. So either the estimator in the cars are drastically different or the manual still gets considerably better fuel economy in most situations. I suppose I could do an actual comparison using math and all, but never really cared enough to do it. I will say the gearing in that versus the 2006 LJ my Tattoo buddy has is night and day. that poor little AMC 6, with arguably notorious torque benefits just plain struggle to maintain 65 in 6th gear. and it pulls you fully out of the sweet spot of the power band when downshifting, it almost makes you feel like you need to learn to drive a stick again.
on the cars that still run sticks, my only real gripe is the skip shift system. you have to rev unnecessarily high or bog down in 4th. but that feature, also EPA mandated I believe, is easily thwarted.
If you don’t mind flooring a 159hp 4 cylinder, buy a 2016-2017 5 speed 2.7 Tacoma. It makes zero power, often requiring 4th to the floor to maintain 60, but it is designed for it. Those 2.7 engines are bulletproof. Although I am a die hard Toyota fan, so…
Outside of ridiculous pricing currently, I cannot in my mind justify that turbo 4 over the 3.5-liter 2GR-FKS V6 engine paired with a 6-speed manual transmission in that year of Taco.
The 2.7 is N/A. Look up 2TR-FE. It is different than the turbo 2.4.
Ah, gotcha, still is the fuel economy around town that much better than the 3.5? I know there was some talk of engine sludging in older 3.5 Toyotas, so I suppose if that was a concern? I also know two friends with the 3.5 in a taco and one with a highlander, and both say they are kind of gutless too, but still, Toyota is known for adequate and reliable versus overpowered and questionable quality, so maybe it is by design.
Unless you are pursuing absolute reliability, the 2.7 is loud, guzzles gas, and you need to floor it to go anywhere. I like the character of a small iron block 4 cylinder that can take such a beating and on top of that, I love trying to push it and drive it hard just to keep up with traffic. It is the whole driving slow cars fast is more fun than fast cars slow.
“When I bought it I thought the Gladiator would be like my CJ8 Scrambler compared to a CJ7. The comparison is wrong. The Gladiator is not a Wrangler with a bed, it is a small pick up that looks like a Wrangler.”
As a former Gladiator owner and current 1/2 ton owner, something someone on here said one time rings especially true: The Gladiator is not a truck for truck people. It is a truck for Jeep people who need a truck.
Sounds like my manual Tacoma
Another factor to take into consideration is that to my knowledge, the auto had a significantly higer towing capacity than the stick. Since towing is often one of the factors that truck people cite when choosing what to buy, this probably came into play to some extent with the decision to axe it in the first place in favor of the auto, especially if it was due to manufacturing constraints.
That was a big one for me with the auto it’s rating can be 7k plus with the manual it’s closer to 4k if I remember correctly. I enjoy a manual even in a truck but not with that trade off.
You are correct.
As a former manual Gladiator owner and now automatic Wrangler owner, I have to object to the author’s point of view here. The current Jeep 6 speed is terrible. It’s under engineered, fragile, and prone to catastrophic failure. Jeep had to recall them, and their fix was a software update that reduced the power output of the 3.6L. Wheeling in my Gladiator, that POS transmission would always overheat. Not to mention that it significantly reduces rated towing. My Gladiator had a tow rating of 3500 lbs. And that was due to the transmission. Now payload was way up (1700 lbs), which for me was the benefit, but the gearbox itself couldn’t get out of its own way on road or off. The only place it works is the 2 door Wrangler, and even then, the 8 speed is just such a better gearbox.
I went on a bit of a deep dive on Gladiators recently, and determined that (as much as it kills me to say this as a manual elitist jerk) the 8 speed seems better matched to the Gladiator than the 6 speed. Why? Gearing and the Pentastar. Apparently, you really had to rev the heck out of these things to make any forward momentum, where the 8 speed had more ratios to play with. Match that with a relatively long and imprecise shifter and clutch and that was that. The smaller Wrangler (especially the 2-door) is a much better place for that transmission.
If/when they bring it back to the Gladiator, I hope they put some better gearing in it to help with the powerband.
I’m confused… if you have to rev the heck out of them, that implies you want high revs… which more gears wouldn’t help with. More gears keep revs low.
Higher gear ratio multiplies torque. That would prevent needing to rev out the Pentastar.
The 3.6 has basically flat torque from ~2,000 rpm and on.
All 260ft-lbs at the crank, if that. It can be a flat 260 for 4,600rpm, sure, but you are talking about 4,500-pound bricks. The more gears you give it, the better it’ll drive, IMO.
Sure. But the previous person justified it by torque. Rev’ing the shit out of it isn’t going to give you more torque. It’d give you more power. At which point, his stance about gears and torque multiplication also don’t make sense here. And the 3.6 absolutely does not have a flat powercurve, hence why you need to rev it to get more power.
A buddy has a manual Gladiator, and he always says it’s the worst manual he’s ever driven, but it’s still a manual and he still wants it over any auto
The only place that manual is suited for is a 2 door Wrangler. It’s far too frail for a Gladiator or 4 door. I had one and it couldn’t handle my monthly wheeling trips. The thing constantly overheated, even babying it.
Spoken like a true MEJ. I have a manual Gladiator Rubicon that I bought in July 2019, so I’ve been through all the pressure plate recalls. I never had any issues with mine, but I did get a free brand new clutch at 60,000 miles as the final fix (fingers crossed). I had a manual 2015 Wrangler Unlimited and the Rubicon gearing helps a lot, but I still wouldn’t own an automatic, even after driving numerous ones as rentals and loaners. It’s not that bad. If you compare it to a Porsche, BMW, Ferrari, etc., sure, it’s terrible. The 3.6 likes to rev and has very little torque, but it makes power all the way up to redline (6,500 RPM, IIRC). It’s still better than driving any automatic. Comments like Rippstik made will get you the ban hammer on Manual Elitist Jerks.
Shhhhhh… just because I said better matched doesn’t mean I would go that direction. I would just go with the rubicon axles on a sport S to make it more livable.
I am just hoping that Jeep throws some gears at the base models to make it more enjoyable.
I agree for a stock Wrangler. Change out the axle ratios for lower ones and it’s not really a problem.
While it’s time and money, for people who are gonna mod their Jeeps heavily anyways they won’t notice it. If you plan on putting on taller tires you should put in lower gearing anyways, so what’s the harm in making it a little lower to compensate for the high transmission ratios?
Why did they ever take it away? To me a manual is nearly as synonymous with off roaders as it is lightweight roadsters. I don’t know that I’d say it’s vital to the experience like it is in something like a Miata but IMHO you really should be able to option it in a car like a Wrangler.
They had big reliability issues too. Those might be resolved
I mean Stellantis taketh away and Stellantis uh….also taketh away
Definition of insanity, etc.
Reliability issues in a Stellantis product? I find that hard to believe.
It looks like it shared the 6 speed with the Wrangler which never left, so I’m curious why it was a bigger issue in the Gladiator.
My understanding is that while auto manufacturers sell fewer manuals, they sell ALL the ones they produce. It has a near guaranteed take rate.
I also feel like the killing of the hybrid model and the incentive that made people buy the hybrid model affected transmission choice.
Don’t automakers ultimately sell every vehicle they produce?
There might be a couple new Journeys or Darts still kicking around on dealer lots somewhere that call that into question.
Short answer? No.
Long answer? Stellantis.
The trick is selling them at prices that turn a profit.
Based on some of the deals I’ve seen posted on Lease Hackr recently, they are giving away Wranglers these days. $70k Rubicons for under $300/month.
The Pontiac Aztek and Plymouth Superbird/Dodge Charger Daytona were hidden on lots when new.
People never believe the superbird thing. I knew an old man that had one. He just walked in and looked around the lot and they gave him a deal because they couldn’t sell it. He traded it in a few years later because it didn’t have ac. Said it was one of his biggest regrets.
Real shame that.
Even with all the problems I would have bought a 2 door Wrangler 4xe if they would have made one.
The new Turbo 4 cylinder in the new Cherokee looks pretty damn good, trade the 8 speed auto for a planetary e-CVT and a transfer case with a proper low range and it would be a much better hybrid and better Jeep than the old 4xe.
When the revised GRZ twins came out, they built a lot more automatics and they would often sit on the lots for a bit while manuals were sold before they arrived at an upcharge (except in my case, I really lucked out, but it also pays to be cheap as I wanted a manual base GR86 in Neptune blue and got one of the first off the boat while the premium trim of the same was nearly unobtainable for about a year). I thought that was a dumb move by forecasting as a new sports car is going to sell to the more purists first, so they should have skewed manual until supplies started to catch up, then switch the mix to more autos.