In a land where trucks often start at large and climb to supersize, the new hot thing is not an overpowered dreadnought but a midsize pickup from Jeep.

This is a path Jeep and its Fiat Chrysler Automobiles parent have traveled before, but it has been a while. Another Chrysler marque, Dodge, unveiled the Dakota in 1987 and introduced the world to a Goldilocks pickup that was not too small (it was larger than the Ford Ranger and Chevrolet S-10) and not too big (the Ford F-150, Chevy C/K models and Dodge’s own D-series were all bigger).

Even in the traditional and fiercely loyal truck world, the Dakota carved out a niche until it was retired in 2011. Jeep itself sold pickups from 1947 through 1992, including Wrangler-based short-bed trucks and larger Grand Wagoneer-based Gladiators.

But Jeep didn’t just take a nostalgic dip into its own history to come up with the new 2020 Gladiator. This new Gladiator has been a long and highly scrutinized internal discussion, said Scott Tallon, Jeep’s director of brand marketing.