The Jeep Gladiator didn’t have a wide range of powertrain options to begin with, but now there’s one fewer choice.
Coming off a mild refresh for 2024, we didn’t expect too many changes for the 2025 Jeep Gladiator. And to be sure, there’s no plug-in hybrid Gladiator 4xe (at least for now) or an out-of-left-field, rip-snorting Gladiator 392. Jeep’s midsize truck also, as some have been hoping, get the 3.0-liter Hurricane inline-six from the larger Ram 1500 (again, at least for now). What you do get this time around, however, is standard power windows and locks on every single new Gladiator that leaves the Toledo plant — even on the base Sport model.
“Knock me over with a feather,” I somehow hear you say toward your screen. Fair enough, it’s not exactly an earth-shattering change. Perhaps the most significant change to the 2025 Jeep Gladiator isn’t what you get, though, but what you don’t get: a 6-speed manual transmission option. After being the only midsize truck to still offer that choice alongside the new Toyota Tacoma, it’s gone for this year, leaving the 8-speed automatic as the only way forward.
Let’s take stock for a moment, though. Are you really going to miss it? When’s the last time you saw a Gladiator for sale on a dealer lot with a manual transmission? They certainly aren’t common, so the manual delete likely won’t impact too many buyers out there.
As ever, that transmission comes mated to a 3.6-liter Pentastar V6, putting out 285 horsepower and 260 lb-ft of torque. Last year, the automatic upgrade used to be a $2,500 option (that most folks still picked up), so you would think the Gladiator would now get significantly more expensive off the bat. Happily, that’s not the case, as the 2025 Gladiator Sport starts off at $39,995 including destination. That’s only a $205 increase from last year. You can argue (and I’d struggle to disagree) that the top end of the range is still too pricey, but at least Jeep likely saw the bad optics of screwing customers by making the 8-speed auto your only transmission option and still charging the extra $2,500 to get it.
From that starting price point, the knock-on price effect of making the 8-speed auto filters across the rest of the 2025 Gladiator lineup. The Nighthawk, one step above the base Sport, now starts at $42,790, the Sport S comes in at $43,495 and the Willys will set you back at least $47,095. Rounding out the lineup, choosing either the Mojave or the Rubicon will cost you $52,995 before you dig into the options list including the swankier “X” variants.
Apart from the standard power windows and locks (in 2025! Can you imagine?), the latest Gladiator includes standard side curtain airbags across both rows of passengers, a standard 12.3-inch Uconnect 5 system with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, and standard adaptive cruise control on Sport S and higher trims.
Interestingly, while the V6-equipped Gladiator loses its manual transmission, the exact opposite story is true for the 2025 Jeep Wrangler. Instead of the Wrangler’s V6 sticking with the 8-speed, it actually loses the automatic option and goes 6-speed manual only, pushing buyers who don’t want to row their own gears into the 2.0-liter turbo, the plug-in hybrid 4xe or the V8-powered Rubicon 392, though the 2025 model year is the last for the 6.4-liter Hemi model.
