Jeep Gladiator vs Peugeot E-Expert

What's the difference?

The Gladiator is far from the most practical, versatile, or sensible dual-cab on the market. Not going to lie, though. This is the most fun I’ve had in a ute in a long time.

The driving comfort and competent load-carrying ability of the E-Expert in a daily short-haul working role would be well suited to both tradies and fleets, if equipped with the convenience of back-to-base overnight charging at home or depot. However, its zero-tailpipe-emissions technology comes at a high price, requiring careful cost-benefit analysis by potential buyers.

Despite a legion of trendy retro-styled off-road pretenders, from the Ineos Grenadier to the GWM Tank 300, there’s nothing quite like the original Jeep style which the Gladiator shares with its Wrangler sibling. Unless you’re Mahindra which has technically been producing Willys Jeep successors for longer, but that’s another story for another time).

The new Rubicon looks a bit more swish in 2026, with the body coloured wheel arches and a tweaked grille which is now wider and shorter. The two-tone roof which was previously optional is now standard.

It looks rugged, tough, and undeniably classic, with the mud terrain tyres sealing the deal.

Of course, you can’t forget the many so-called ‘Easter eggs’ Jeep hides about the place. In the case of the Gladiator, these include a silhouette of a Willys Jeep climbing up the driver’s side windscreen, a gorilla imprint on the opposite side signifying the windscreen is now constructed from the same stuff designed to make your phone scratch-free. The tray features imprints of dirtbike tyres where you might want to strap two in and even the recirculate button on the climate unit is in the shape of a Wrangler. Nice touch.

On the inside generally, it feels like a purpose-built vehicle in much the same way as an old Defender. It leaves you with a sense of how genuine it all is, with loads of physical switchgear and an overall shape meant to replicate the no-nonsense appeal of Jeeps dating back to the Willys.

Externally the E-Expert adopts the new look of the Peugeot light commercial range, featuring an elaborate grille design with the brand’s equally new emblem proudly displayed at its centre.

The three-seater cabin design has also been upgraded, with Peugeot claiming extensive revision of the driving position for greater comfort (see Practicality).

The E-Expert rides on a 3275mm wheelbase with 12.4-metre turning circle and combines MacPherson strut front suspension with semi-trailing arm/coil-spring rear suspension, rack and pinion steering with electric power-assistance and four-wheel disc brakes.

Its 1948mm height ensures it can easily access height-restricted areas like underground loading docks and multi-storey car parks.

However, also like an old Defender, the Gladiator’s interior is full of compromises to maintain its iconic design.

The seating position is awkwardly high, which is fine when off-roading, but can be limiting when you’re just driving around a city, and the footwell is half taken up by a transmission tunnel so there’s nowhere to rest your foot.

The door cards are pretty basic because the doors are removable (although Jeep stresses this is only legal on private property), but elsewhere there’s much-appreciated levels of functionality in an era of touch-based controls.

The centre control panel, for example, features physical dials for high-use functions and toggles or buttons for everything else. It’s mercifully easy to use and old-school motorists will also love the physical shifters for gear selection and the transfer case alongside. And an analogue handbrake is an increasingly rare sight.

There are even buttons we didn’t ask for, like the four pre-wired auxiliary switches, and while the dash trades away a fully digital panel for a digital supervision screen with analogue dials either side, it suits the character of the car.

It’s not the most comfortable space to be in, however. Not only is the seat base super high off the ground, but despite the Gladiator’s imposing dimensions the front seat somehow feels narrow.

Storage is okay, but not on the same level as many rival utes. The basic doors score nettings on each side, with two deep and useful bottle holders in the centre console. The armrest box is two-tiered which is handy, and there’s a small glove box. Outside of this, there’s not a lot of storage up front.

The rear seat is decent when it comes to space for the ute segment, although it is also very high off the ground and hard to clamber into thanks to the way the rear door is shaped. Once you’re in there, be sure not to smack your head on the frame, which seems like it could be an easy thing to do.

Again, nets feature in the doors, with two more nets on the backs of the front seats, which also feature luggage hooks. There are dual adjustable air vents back there and two bottle holders moulded out of the centre console. They're nicely-sized, but will eat into the legroom of any adult you want to put in the centre rear position, making it extra cramped if you have three across.

The back seat features some things I’ve never seen before, though. There’s a huge storage area underneath the seats with its own lid, and some limited storage space behind the seat backs which features a removable Bluetooth speaker which also automatically re-charges when it’s docked back there. Cool.

The rear window features an opening port, which is also rare, while all the main storage compartments are lockable for when you want to leave the car with the roof and/or doors off.

Capacities and payloads have never been a strong point for the Gladiator. The tray measures 1531mm long, 1443mm wide and 1137mm between the arches, making it unable to fit a standard-sized Australian pallet. The payload is also limited at just 693kg, far short of the close-to-one-tonne many work-focused dual-cabs can hit.

However the tray isn’t for show only, featuring an array of useful tie-down points and a built-in rail system to help secure all sorts of objects. There are even steps built into the rear bumper design for easier access and a full-size spare wheel underneath.

The braked trailer towing capacity is limited to just 2721kg which is also short of the industry benchmark 3500kg, all of which may limit its use as a work vehicle, or even its appeal as a touring vehicle. I could see how these capacities are easily exceeded with a rooftop tent, recovery gear, a fridge, supplies and at least one passenger.

A highlight of the E-Expert’s design is its conspicuously low published tare (unladen) weight of only 2052kg, which is considerably lighter than not only its LDV eDeliver 7 LWB Low Roof rival at 2365kg but also the segment-leading diesel HiAce (in LWB Auto Barn-Door spec) at 2245kg.

This figure is largely the result of weight-saving chassis technology, given that its diesel Expert equivalent’s tare weight is an athletic 1698kg.  As a result, given the E-Expert’s 3053kg GVM, it has a substantial 1001kg payload rating, so it’s a genuine one-tonner.

It’s also rated to tow up to 1000kg of braked trailer, but given Peugeot does not publish a GCM (or how much it can legally carry and tow at the same time) we can't confirm how much payload it can carry while towing its maximum trailer weight.

The cargo bay, which with the standard bulkhead/cargo barrier has a competitive 6.1 cubic metres of load volume, is accessed through sliding doors on each side with 935mm openings or from the rear through symmetrical barn-doors with 180-degree opening to enhance forklift and loading dock access.

The cargo bay offers 2780mm of floor length and 1628mm width, which combined with 1258mm between the rear wheel-housings means it can carry two standard Aussie pallets, or up to three Euro pallets, secured with a choice of eight load-anchorage points.

The cargo bay floor length partially extends to more than 4.0 metres by opening the load-through flap at the lower left-hand side of the bulkhead and raising the outer passenger seat-base into its vertical storage position.

This allows long lengths of timber, copper/PVC pipe, carpet/lino rolls etc to slide through and be carried internally. There’s also an additional load-anchorage point in the passenger footwell. Overall, this is a practical design feature.

The bulkhead window is protected by a sturdy mesh guard, the cargo bay doors and walls are lined to mid-height and internal lighting is provided front and rear.

A tough liner to protect the load floor from scrapes and dents is not included as standard equipment, but is available as an accessory.

The cabin can seat up to three occupants with a combination of a driver’s bucket seat and two-passenger bench seat. All seats are trimmed in two-tone ‘Mica Grey' fabric and equipped with full lap-sash seatbelts.

Although this cabin design offers wide door access and good comfort for the driver and outer passenger, the centre passenger is compromised by the large central-dash protrusion that houses the gear-selection and drive-mode controls.

The only option for those seated in the middle is to position both legs on the passenger side of this protrusion, which ensures their feet intrude into the outer passenger footwell. So, trips with two passengers should only be short ones.

Another criticism is the lack of hinge detents or struts to hold the rear barn-doors open in their 180-degree positions, given that a gust of wind when loading/unloading can slam them shut with potential injury for the operator (we reckon lock-open devices should be mandatory for all vans equipped with barn-doors).

The cabin includes two tiers of storage in each front door, comprising a slender shelf at mid-height for small items and a large-bottle holder and big storage bin at the base for larger items.

On top of the dash-pad are a small-bottle/cupholder on each side and a large clamshell-lidded compartment in the centre. There’s also a glove box with another open storage compartment below, while the centre console offers a smartphone cradle.  

The centre seat’s base-cushion, which is hinged at the front, can be tilted forward to reveal a deep compartment below that’s lined with insulating polystyrene foam to keep small items of food and/or drink hot or cold.

The centre seat’s backrest can also fold forward and flat to reveal a mobile office space, with a small desk that can be rotated to provide a comfortable working angle. It also has a shallow tray for holding pens etc and an elastic strap to hold documents in place.

Our test vehicle, to use its full name, is the E-Expert Pro Long Auto. It’s available only as a long wheelbase variant with single electric motor, 75kWh battery and single-speed automatic transmission for a list price of $79,990.

That’s $18K more than LDV’s eDeliver 7 LWB Low Roof electric rival and more than $29K dearer than both its diesel Expert equivalent and Toyota’s LWB Auto Barn-Door HiAce.

Our example is also finished in 'Titanium Grey' metallic paint ($690 option) which pushes the list price over $80K.

Standard equipment on our test vehicle includes 16-inch steel wheels with black hubcaps, 215/65 Michelin tyres and a full-size spare.

There’s also a solid bulkhead between cabin and cargo bay with load-through flap (see Practicality), front/rear parking sensors, daytime running lights, a 180-degree reversing camera, demister/wiper on each rear barn-door, a Mode 3/Type 2 charging cable in a Peugeot storage bag and more.

Inside are two USB ports and two 12-volt sockets plus an electric parking brake, dual-zone climate control, heated steering wheel with multi-function controls, heated driver’s seat and a 10-inch digital driver’s display.

There’s also a 10-inch central touchscreen to control the four-speaker multimedia system which includes voice recognition, digital radio and wireless Apple/Android connectivity.

There’s a relatively massive 3.6-litre non-turbo, non-hybrid ‘Pentastar’ petrol V6 engine under the bonnet, producing 209kW/347Nm. 

Sounds old-school because it is, and it remains the only option for this machine in Australia despite emissions regulations closing in and a 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbocharged engine available in the current Wrangler and overseas versions of the Gladiator.

The V6 is mated to a predictable ZF-sourced eight-speed (torque converter) automatic transmission and drives either the rear- or all four wheels depending on the mode selected.

The E-Expert’s single electric motor, which drives the front wheels through a single-speed automatic transmission, produces 100kW of power and 260Nm of torque. It also offers three grades of regenerative braking/battery charge replenishment, using paddle-shifters on the steering wheel.

As you might imagine, the large naturally aspirated petrol engine combines with the over 2.0-tonne Gladiator to make for a relatively steep fuel bill.

Consumption is a hardly-impressive 12.4L/100km on the official combined (urban/extra-urban) cycle, with our car consuming even more - 12.9L/100km - on our three day test covering nearly 500km and with no shortage of freeway time either.

Brim the 83-litre tank and theoretical range is around 670km, dropping to just over 640km using our on-test figure.

Peugeot claims an official WLTP driving range of up to 330km from its 75kWh lithium-ion battery, which is mounted in a cradle beneath the load floor to maintain the same cargo bay load volume as its diesel sibling.

Our test vehicle was fully charged on collection and we drove 214km on that single charge, of which 50km was hauling a near-maximum payload on our city/suburban test route. We also switched between the three drive modes, but most driving was done in 'Normal' mode.

At the completion of our test, the dash readout was claiming average energy consumption of 25kWh/100km. So, based on these figures, a ‘real world’ driving range of up to 300km is credible, with potentially more using 'Eco' mode exclusively.

Peugeot claims the E-Expert can be charged from 0-100 per cent using a three-phase (11kW) wall-box in about 7.5 hours, or 0-80 per cent in 45 minutes using (100kW) DC quick-charge facilities.

The Gladiator is interesting to drive for many reasons. Mainly, because as a purpose-built off-roader it's a little compromised when it comes to on-road manners.

For example, the high seating position and tapered bonnet shape might be great for visibility off-road, but the boxy design of the chunky A-pillars (designed to keep the car in one piece when the doors roof and windscreen are removed) make it a little difficult to see properly around corners at T-junctions or roundabouts in the confines of a city.

Even proximity of my head to the roof presented a problem when trying to see whether traffic was coming at an intersection with the vehicle angled downhill.

The next alarming trait is how vague the steering is while on the tarmac. It’s an unfortunate characteristic of the Gladiator’s rugged live front axle, making this ute a bit of a handful to steer at low speeds. And it tracks all over the place on the freeway, requiring constant vigilance and steering input from the driver at higher speeds.

It’s also noisy, despite this 2026 version featuring extended sound deadening in the cabin. It needed it. The knobbly mud terrain tyres make their presence felt through a resonant droning entering the cabin at all speeds.

Then, at freeway pace, the wind noise from the Gladiator’s blocky shape picks up. You can feel the sound waves leaking in through the removable doors and plasticky removable roof. There are even silly things like being able to feel reverberations of the sound system through the accelerator pedal.

So, I should hate the Gladiator, right?

Wrong.

This thing is ridiculous amounts of old-fashioned fun. The V6 engine is keen to rev and the transmission lets you ride the gears out, creating a throaty roar and lurching acceleration reminiscent of old Commodores.

While the mud terrain rubber is noisy and offers questionable levels of grip on tarmac or in the wet, the thick sidewall combines with coil springs and chunky Tenneco shock absorbers all-around to make for a pretty decent ride for a ladder-frame vehicle.

In addition, we took the Gladiator for a quick off-highway jaunt as its design intends and it performed as-expected. It has great approach and departure angles, with good visibility for peering over moguls and into ruts or dips.

The mechanical hardware feels up to the task, and while it might slip once or twice as the less sophisticated traction systems (compared to, say, a modern Defender) find their bearings, the Gladiator ate up the moderately challenging trails we found for it.

The chunky tyres come into their own, with the sidewall offering confidence, and the car clambers about with relative ease. Obviously, the enormous 3488mm wheelbase and resulting 18.4-degree breakover angle are the Gladiator’s Achilles heel, making me think twice about cresting certain hills or objects, and making this ute particularly prone to cringe-inducing underbody scraping.

Still, despite its comparatively unsophisticated approach and lack of environmental responsibility the Gladiator is a huge amount of fun to drive.

Thanks to adjustable lumbar support, a height/reach adjustable steering wheel with flat lower rim to allow extra torso/legroom and a decent-sized left footrest, it’s easy to find a comfortable driving position. The door mirrors, although smaller than some rivals, are adequate given their active blind-spot monitoring assistance.

The steering feel is responsive and nicely weighted, combined with sure-footed handling and supple unladen ride quality from its four-coil suspension.

It provides smooth and near-silent performance at speeds up to 80km/h, with tyre and wind noise becoming more intrusive at highway speeds. We drove most of the test in 'Normal' drive mode, which provides more than adequate city and suburban performance given the E-Expert’s relatively light kerb weight.

The energy-saving Eco mode causes a noticeable drop in response, as you’d expect. The 'Power' setting has the opposite effect, using more energy but producing improved acceleration even with a heavy load on board.

Adjustment of regenerative braking ('Low'/'Mid'/'High') using the steering wheel paddles produces noticeable differences in retardation across the three modes. In High mode, the effect is strong enough to require minimal use of the brake pedal.

To test its GVM rating we forklifted 770kg into the cargo bay, which combined with our two-man crew equalled a payload of 950kg which was only 50kg under its one-tonne limit.

Even so, the coil-spring rear suspension only compressed 40mm under this load, leaving more than 30mm of static bump-stop clearance that ensured no sharp bottoming-out over bumps.

On our congested 50km city/suburban test route, where mid-sized electric vans would typically operate, it handled this load with considerable ease in Normal mode with no requirement to use the Power setting.

The extra weight had a minimal effect on handling and braking response, with the E-Expert proving to be a competent load-hauler within its driving range.

Our only criticism is the positioning of the centre seat’s large headrest, which even when fully lowered blocks a large portion of the central mirror’s view through the bulkhead window and rear doors. As a result, we removed it and stored it away when not carrying a centre passenger.

No ANCAP rating but it comes standard with front, side and curtain airbags for driver and passenger plus AEB, lane-keeping, forward collision warning, blind-spot detection (but no rear cross-traffic alert), tyre pressure monitoring, traffic sign detection and more.

It also features what Peugeot calls the 'Acoustic Vehicle Alerting System' (AVAS), which generates sound that can be heard outside the vehicle when travelling at low speed, to enhance pedestrian safety.

It’s no secret ownership has long been an awkward topic for Jeep, with models like the Grand Cherokee previously causing all kinds of dramas for owners. A quick scan of forums suggests the Wrangler and Gladiator are less prone to issues compared to their more mainstream siblings in the Jeep line-up. So, food for thought.

Regardless, the Gladiator is offered with a five-year warranty which is distance-limited to just 100,000km, which is well off the pace, although a five-year capped price servicing pack is priced at a reasonable $399 per annual or 12,000km workshop visit.

The brand also offers lifetime roadside assist so long as you continue to service your Jeep in its authorised dealer network.

E-Expert comes with a five-year/200,000km Light Commercial Vehicle (LCV) specific warranty, plus eight-year battery warranty, 12-year corrosion warranty and three-year paint warranty.

Scheduled servicing is every 12 months/25,000km whichever occurs first, with capped-price for the first five scheduled services totalling $1846, or an annual average of $369. Pre-paid service plans up to five years offer considerable savings.