by Matt Konkle
Managing Editor
This year, there is no smoky haze or glittery lights drawing attention. No powerful engine upgrades. No redesigns. No package options with flashy tires or wheels.
In fact, as Jeep recently unveiled its changes for 2025 Wrangler and Gladiator models, the biggest thing to digest may be what the vehicles actually don’t have versus anything new.
What do we mean?
Well, disappearing for 2025 will be crank windows on any of the Wrangler or Gladiator base editions. This throwback design was a nice nod to Jeep's earlier days, but the overwhelming popularity of power locks and windows has pretty much rendered those cranks into the pile with 8-track tapes and Tomtom GPS units.
The automaker has also eliminated transmission options on each vehicle — choosing to offer automatic only on all 3.6-liter Pentastar-powered Gladiators while ditching the eight-speed automatic transmission on comparable Wrangler versions.
That’s right. Sadly, one more option is off the market in an already spartan manual truck landscape.
”The 2025 Jeep Gladiator will exclusively feature a high-tech eight-speed automatic transmission to maximize the best-in-class V-6 towing and payload capability demanded by our mid-size truck customers,” the company said in a printed statement. “This configuration is chosen by most Gladiator owners today, and best matches the specific capability and expectations customers tell us they want in an open-air Jeep pickup truck.”
Curiously, Jeep did just the opposite for 2025 Wrangler models — eliminating the automatic transmission option and exclusively offering a six-speed manual for the 3.6-liter Pentastar, stating “freedom of choice defines the available powertrains.”
Those looking for an automatic 2025 Jeep Wrangler will need to opt for the 2.0-liter turbocharged powerplant, a plug-in 4xe hybrid and its 2.0-liter turbocharged engine, or splurge for a 392 Final Edition and its 6.4-liter Hemi V8.
For 2025, Jeep is also adding a new paint color dubbed ‘41’, a military-inspired olive drab scheme last seen on the 2022 Easter Jeep Safari ‘Jeep 41’ concept vehicle. The company website also lists Fathom Blue as a late production color option, but this choice is not listed on Jeep’s informational release, so it is unclear if this darker blue finish, first appearing on the 2023 EJS Departure concept, will make it to production.
Finally, engineers included an optional Active Cabin Ventilation system on 2025 models designed to allow “customers to better pre-ventilate [the] cabin via mobile app before entering the vehicle.”
All 2025 Gladiators, at least early in the production run, will continue using the 3.6-liter Pentastar engine, pushing 285 horsepower and 260 pound-feet of torque. Jeep did announce in May, the addition of a 4xe Gladiator for the 2025 model year, but has not confirmed any specifications yet for the vehicle.
Wrangler versions remain unchanged for 2025 and feature four choices: a 3.6-liter Pentastar with 285 horsepower and 260 pound-feet of torque, a 2.0-liter turbocharged engine at 270/295, the 392’s 6.4-liter V8 with 470/470 and 4xe setup with that 2.0-liter engine at a combined 375/470.
The entry price for Gladiator dropped slightly to $39,995 for the 2025 model year, while Wrangler increased to $32,690.
