The 2020 Jeep Gladiator is almost here as the very first deliveries are being sent across the country from FCA’s factory in Toledo.

The wait is nearly over. After months of seeing the production Gladiator put through its paces in testing and private events, the real deal is finally coming to a dealership near you.

Coming straight from FCA’s Toledo, Ohio Assembly Complex, which is the same place where the Jeep Wrangler is built, the first few shipments of completed 2020 Gladiators are being placed on giant pickup carrying semi-trailers and being moved around the country. The first shipment was sent out on April 12th, with more leaving the factory every day.

FCA invested $273 million to retool and modernize the Toledo plant in preparation for Gladiator production, adding 329 full-time positions while they were at it. Those people and many more who were moved there to work on the Gladiator seem to be doing a bang-up job if early reports of the Gladiator’s performance are to be believed.

RELATED: HELLCAT ENGINE FITS 'LIKE A GLOVE' INSIDE WRANGLER, GLADIATOR ENGINE BAY

The Gladiator arrives with a 3.6-L Pentastar V6 as its standard engine. That’s good for 285 hp and 260 lb-ft of torque. Next year, the Gladiator is expected to receive the 3.0-L EcoDiesel V6 with 260 hp and 442 lb-ft of torque and even greater towing and payload capacity. Power is routed through either a 6-speed manual or an 8-speed automatic, making the Gladiator one of the few pickups remaining to feature a manual transmission.

Gladiator
via FCA

A base-model Gladiator will set you back $33,545 plus $1,495 destination, and comes pretty barebones. You get a 5-inch infotainment screen that must be from FCA vehicles from a decade ago, manual door locks, manual windows, and halogen headlights.

The top-trim Rubicon starts at $43,545 plus destination and comes with a full complement of standard features, including an 8.4-inch available, locking differentials, Rock-Trac 4WD system (which is basically Jeep’s crawl control), a 2-speed transfer case, 17-inch wheels with 33-inch Falken Wildpeak all-terrain tires, and Fox shocks.

We recommend calling your Jeep dealer now if you want to get behind the wheels of a brand new Gladiator. All 4,160 Launch Editions sold within a single day, so the Gladiator might be a popular vehicle when it finally arrives.

NEXT: 2020 JEEP GLADIATOR PRICING HAS BEEN RELEASED