Compare the2022 GMC CanyonVS 2021 Jeep Gladiator

Both the Canyon and Gladiator have child safety locks to prevent children from opening the rear doors. The Canyon has power child safety locks, allowing the driver to activate and deactivate them from the driver's seat and to know when they're engaged. The Gladiator’s child locks have to be individually engaged at each rear door with a manual switch. The driver can’t know the status of the locks without opening the doors and checking them.

In the past twenty years hundreds of infants and young children have died after being left in vehicles, usually by accident. When turning the vehicle off, drivers of the Canyon are reminded to check the back seat if they opened the rear door before starting out. The Gladiator doesn’t offer a back seat reminder.

The Canyon has standard head airbag curtains for front and rear seats which act as a forgiving barrier between the driver and outboard passenger's upper bodies and the window and pillars. Combined with high-strength steel door beams and lower side airbags this system increases head protection in broadside collisions. The Gladiator doesn't offer side airbag protection for the head and are only available for the front seats.

The Canyon (except Elevation Standard)’s optional lane departure warning system alerts a temporarily inattentive driver when the vehicle begins to leave its lane. The Gladiator doesn’t offer a lane departure warning system.

Both the Canyon and the Gladiator have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, front seatbelt pretensioners, height adjustable front shoulder belts, plastic fuel tanks, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, daytime running lights, rearview cameras, available all wheel drive, collision warning systems and rear parking sensors.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does 35 MPH front crash tests on new vehicles. In this test, results indicate that the GMC Canyon is safer than the Jeep Gladiator:

New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.

Instrumented handling tests conducted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and analysis of its dimensions indicate that the Canyon is 4.7% to 5.3% less likely to roll over than the Gladiator.

For its top level performance in all IIHS frontal, side, rear impact and roof-crush tests, and with its optional front crash prevention system, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety grants the Canyon the rating of “Top Pick” for 2016, a rating granted to only 221 vehicles tested by the IIHS. The Gladiator has not been tested, yet.

The Canyon’s corrosion warranty is 1 year longer than the Gladiator’s (6 vs. 5 years).

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2020 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that GMC vehicles are better in initial quality than Jeep vehicles. J.D. Power ranks GMC 8th in initial quality, above the industry average. With 4 more problems per 100 vehicles, Jeep is ranked 11th.

From surveys of all its subscribers, Consumer Reports’ January 2021 Auto Issue reports that GMC vehicles are more reliable than Jeep vehicles. Consumer Reports ranks GMC 3 places higher in reliability than Jeep.

The Canyon’s optional 3.6 DOHC V6 produces 23 more horsepower (308 vs. 285) and 15 lbs.-ft. more torque (275 vs. 260) than the Gladiator’s 3.6 DOHC V6.

As tested in Motor Trend the GMC Canyon V6 is faster than the Jeep Gladiator (automatics tested):

On the EPA test cycle the Canyon gets better mileage than the Gladiator:

An engine control system that can shut down some of the engine’s cylinders helps improve the Canyon V6’s fuel efficiency. The Gladiator doesn’t offer a system that can shut down part of the engine.

The Canyon has a standard cap-less fueling system. The fuel filler is automatically opened when the fuel nozzle is inserted and automatically closed when it’s removed. This eliminates the need to unscrew and replace the cap and it reduces fuel evaporation, which causes pollution. The Gladiator doesn’t offer a cap-less fueling system.

The GMC Canyon comes standard with an automatic transmission, for driver comfort, especially in the city. Automatic costs extra on the Gladiator.

The Canyon stops much shorter than the Gladiator:

For better traction, the Canyon has larger standard tires than the Gladiator (255/55R20 vs. 245/75R17).

The Canyon AT4’s standard tires provide better handling because they have a lower 65 series profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the Gladiator Sport’s standard 75 series tires. The Canyon Short Box Denali Crew Cab’s tires have a lower 55 series profile than the Gladiator Overland’s 70 series tires.

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the Canyon Short Box Denali Crew Cab has standard 20-inch wheels. The Gladiator’s largest wheels are only 18-inches.

The GMC Canyon’s wheels have 6 lugs for longer wheel bearing life, less chance of rotor warping and greater strength. The Jeep Gladiator only has 5 wheel lugs per wheel.

The GMC Canyon’s independent front suspension is much lighter than the Jeep Gladiator’s solid front axle, which allows the Canyon’s wheels to react more quickly and accurately to the road’s surface, improving both ride and handling.

For much better steering response and tighter handling the Canyon has rack and pinion steering, like Formula racecars, instead of the recirculating-ball type steering of the Gladiator.

The Canyon Short Box Crew Cab 4x4 handles at .79 G’s, while the Gladiator Sport pulls only .71 G’s of cornering force in a Motor Trend skidpad test.

The Canyon Short Box AT4 Crew Cab 4x4 executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver quicker than the Gladiator Rubicon (28.6 seconds @ .57 average G’s vs. 29.4 seconds @ .56 average G’s).

For better maneuverability, the Canyon Short Box Crew Cab’s turning circle is 3.5 feet tighter than the Gladiator Rubicon’s (41.3 feet vs. 44.8 feet).

The GMC Canyon may be more efficient, handle and accelerate better because it weighs about 500 to 700 pounds less than the Jeep Gladiator.

The Canyon Short Box Crew Cab is 5.6 inches shorter than the Gladiator, making the Canyon easier to handle, maneuver and park in tight spaces.

For excellent aerodynamics, the Canyon has standard flush composite headlights. The Gladiator has recessed headlights that spoil its aerodynamic shape and create extra drag.

The front grille of the Canyon uses electronically controlled shutters to close off airflow and reduce drag when less engine cooling is needed. This helps improve highway fuel economy. The Gladiator doesn’t offer active grille shutters.

The Canyon Crew Cab shortbed has a much larger cargo box than the Gladiator shortbed (41.3 vs. 35.5 cubic feet).

A low lift-over bed design makes loading and unloading the Canyon Crew Cab easier. The Canyon Crew Cab’s bed lift-over height is 34.5 inches, while the Gladiator’s liftover is 35.4 inches. The Canyon Extended Cab’s liftover is only 34.2 inches.

The Canyon’s cargo box is larger than the Gladiator’s in almost every dimension:

The GMC Canyon offers an optional EZ-Lift and Lower, which prevents the heavy tailgate from falling with a crash and causing injury. It allows adults and children to easily open and close the tailgate with one hand to better facilitate loading and unloading. The Jeep Gladiator doesn’t offer a tailgate assist.

The GMC Canyon has a standard CornerStep, which allows for much easier access to the cargo area. The Jeep Gladiator doesn’t offer a rear cargo step.

The Canyon has stake post holes, to allow the containment of tall, light loads. The Gladiator doesn’t offer stake post holes.

The Canyon uses gas struts to support the hood for easier service access. The Gladiator uses a prop rod to support its heavy hood. It takes two hands to open the hood and set the prop rod, the prop rod gets in the way during maintenance and service, and the prop rod could be knocked out, causing the heavy hood to fall on the person maintaining or servicing the car.

The Canyon’s standard power windows allow the driver or passenger to lower and raise the windows without leaning over or being distracted. Power windows cost extra on the Gladiator.

The Canyon’s driver’s power window opens or closes with one touch of the window control, making it more convenient at drive-up windows and toll booths. The Gladiator’s optional driver’s power window switch has to be held the entire time to close it fully.

The Canyon’s standard power window controls are mounted on the armrest for easy access. The Gladiator’s optional power window controls are down in the center of the dashboard, away from the windows and mixed with controls for unrelated features.

The Canyon’s standard power locks allow the driver or passenger to lock or unlock all the doors at a touch without leaning over, or reaching to the back seat. Power locks cost extra on the Gladiator.

In case you lock your keys in your vehicle, or don’t have them with you, you can let yourself in using the Canyon’s available exterior PIN entry system. The Gladiator doesn’t offer an exterior PIN entry system, and its extra cost SOS Call can’t unlock the doors if the vehicle doesn’t have cell phone reception or the driver can’t contact the service.

The Canyon has a standard automatic headlight on/off feature. When the ignition is on, the headlights automatically turn on at dusk and off after dawn. The Gladiator only offers an automatic headlight on/off feature as an extra cost option.

Standard air-conditioned seats in the Canyon Denali keep the driver and front passenger comfortable and take the sting out of hot seats in Summer. The Gladiator doesn’t offer air-conditioned seats.

To quickly and conveniently keep personal devices charged without cables tangling and wearing out, the GMC Canyon AT4/Denali offers an optional wireless phone charging system (Qi) in the center console. The Gladiator doesn’t offer wireless personal charging.

The GMC Canyon comes in extended cab and crew cab bodystyles; the Jeep Gladiator isn’t available as an extended cab.

The Canyon is available in both rear-wheel drive and four-wheel drive configurations. The Gladiator doesn’t offer a two-wheel drive configuration.

Insurance will cost less for the Canyon owner. The Complete Car Cost Guide estimates that insurance for the Canyon will cost $390 to $2755 less than the Gladiator over a five-year period.