Not only will the exterior palette for the Jeep Gladiator expand with Tuscadero Pink next year, the pickup’s powertrain options will expand with a 4xe trim. Antonio Filosa, the brand’s global CEO, broke the news on LinkedIn about the new color as well, writing, “Next year, we’ll extend that freedom of choice even further with a Gladiator 4xe option (colors to be announced) that will join the No. 1 and No. 2 best-selling plug-in hybrids in the U.S, the Jeep Wrangler 4xe and the Jeep Grand Cherokee 4xe.” When Jeep dropped the Gladiator’s EcoDiesel option last year, buyers have had to make do with the 3.6-liter Pentastar V6 as the only engine option.
A plug-in hybrid will make the Gladiator more frugal and more powerful. The V6 makes 285 horsepower and 260 pound-feet of torque. Assuming Jeep engineers port the current 4xe powertrain over to the Gladiator without changes, the 4xe trim will make 375 hp and 470 lb-ft. That’s the product of a turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder making 270 hp and 295 lb-ft. a starter/generator making another 44 hp and 39 lb-ft, and an electric motor in the eight-speed automatic adding 134 hp and 181 lb-ft. A 17.3-kWh battery will likely be able to fuel an all-EV range of 20 miles or more. The Wrangler 4xe and Grand Cherokee 4xe can both tow 3,500 pounds.
Naturally, the Gladiator 4xe will get more expensive, too. The Wrangler 4xe starts at nearly $18,000 more than the non-hybrid version; a similar delta for the Gladiator would see a PHEV pickup start at around $56,000 before destination. A potential $3,750 tax credit will defray a tiny piece of that.
Before that truck arrives, we’re looking for electric options elsewhere in the lineup, the battery-electric Wagoneer S coming toward the end of this year, the battery-electric Recon after it. Then, according to the latest UAW contact with Stellantis, range-extended versions of the Wagoneer and Grand Wagoneer are due sometime in 2025.