Compare the2024 Toyota TacomaVS 2024 Jeep Gladiator

Safety
Reliability
Engine
Fuel Economy and Range
Environmental Friendliness
Transmission
Brakes and Stopping
Tires and Wheels
Suspension and Handling
Chassis
Passenger Space
Cargo Capacity
Payload
Ergonomics
Model Availability
Recommendations

Safety

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For enhanced safety, the front and rear seat shoulder belts of the Toyota Tacoma have pretensioners to tighten the seatbelts and eliminate dangerous slack in the event of a collision and force limiters to limit the pressure the belts will exert on the passengers. The Jeep Gladiator doesn’t offer pretensioners for its rear seat belts.

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 Tacoma Double Cab 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 Toyota Tacoma has standard driver and front passenger side knee airbags mounted low on the dashboard. These airbags helps prevent the driver and front passenger from sliding under their seatbelts or the main frontal airbags; this keeps them better positioned during a collision for maximum protection. Knee airbags also help keep the legs from striking the dashboard, preventing knee and leg injuries in the case of a serious frontal collision. The Gladiator doesn’t offer knee airbags.

The Tacoma has standard Active Headrests, which use a specially designed headrest to protect the driver and front passenger from whiplash. During a rear-end collision, the Active Headrests system moves the headrests forward to prevent neck and spine injuries. The Gladiator doesn’t offer a whiplash protection system.

The Tacoma has a standard Secondary Collision Brake, which automatically applies the brakes in the event of a crash to help prevent secondary collisions and prevent further injuries. The Gladiator doesn’t offer a post collision braking system: in the event of a collision that triggers the airbags, more collisions are possible without the protection of airbags that may have already deployed.

Over 200 people are killed each year when backed over by motor vehicles. The Tacoma offers an optional Parking Support Brake that uses rear sensors to monitor for objects to the rear and automatically applies the brakes to prevent a collision. The Gladiator doesn’t offer backup collision prevention brakes.

The Tacoma’s lane departure warning system alerts a temporarily inattentive driver when the vehicle begins to leave its lane and gently nudges the vehicle back towards its lane. The Gladiator doesn’t offer a lane departure warning system.

The Tacoma (except SR/SR5/PreRunner) offers an optional Panoramic View Monitor to allow the driver to see objects all around the vehicle on a screen. The Gladiator only offers a rear monitor and rear parking sensors that beep or flash a light. That doesn’t help with obstacles to the front or sides.

Both the Tacoma and Gladiator offer rear cross-traffic warning, but the Tacoma with Blind Spot Monitor also has Parking Support Brake (automatically applies the brakes) to better prevent a collision when backing near traffic. The Gladiator’s Rear Cross Path Detection doesn’t automatically brake.

The Tacoma’s driver alert monitor detects an inattentive driver then sounds a warning and suggests a break. According to the NHTSA, drivers who fall asleep cause about 100,000 crashes and 1500 deaths a year. The Gladiator doesn’t offer a driver alert monitor.

Both the Tacoma and the Gladiator have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, side-impact head airbags, height adjustable front shoulder belts, plastic fuel tanks, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, rearview cameras, available four-wheel drive and blind spot warning systems.

Reliability

To reliably start during all conditions and help handle large electrical loads, the Tacoma has a standard 776-amp battery. The Gladiator’s 700-amp battery isn’t as powerful.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2022 survey of the owners of three-year-old vehicles provides the long-term dependability statistics that show that Toyota vehicles are more reliable than Jeep vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Toyota above average in long-term dependability. With 34 more problems per 100 vehicles in the first three years of ownership, Jeep is rated below average.

From surveys of all its subscribers, Consumer Reports’ January 2024 Auto Issue reports that Toyota vehicles are more reliable than Jeep vehicles. Consumer Reports ranks Toyota second in overall reliability. Jeep is ranked 26th.

Engine

The Tacoma’s optional 2.4 turbo 4-cylinder produces 50 lbs.-ft. more torque (310 vs. 260) than the Gladiator’s 3.6 DOHC V6. The Tacoma’s standard 2.4 turbo 4-cylinder produces 57 lbs.-ft. more torque (317 vs. 260) than the Gladiator’s 3.6 DOHC V6. The Tacoma’s optional 2.4 turbo 4-cylinder hybrid produces 41 more horsepower (326 vs. 285) and 205 lbs.-ft. more torque (465 vs. 260) than the Gladiator’s 3.6 DOHC V6.

As tested in Motor Trend the Toyota Tacoma turbo 4 cyl. is faster than the Jeep Gladiator (automatics tested):

	Tacoma	Gladiator
Zero to 60 MPH	7.2 sec	8.7 sec
Quarter Mile	15.5 sec	16.5 sec
Speed in 1/4 Mile	91.2 MPH	83.4 MPH

Fuel Economy and Range

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

			MPG
Tacoma
RWD	Auto	SR5 2.4 turbo 4-cyl.	21 city/26 hwy
		SR 2.4 turbo 4-cyl.	20 city/26 hwy
		PreRunner/TRD Sport 2.4 turbo 4-cyl.	20 city/24 hwy
AWD	Manual	2.4 turbo 4-cyl.	18 city/23 hwy
	Auto	SR 2.4 turbo 4-cyl.	19 city/24 hwy
		Limited 2.4 turbo 4-cyl.	20 city/23 hwy
		2.4 turbo 4-cyl.	19 city/23 hwy
Gladiator
AWD	Manual	3.6 DOHC V6	16 city/23 hwy
AWD	Auto	3.6 DOHC V6	17 city/22 hwy

Environmental Friendliness

In its Green Vehicle Guide, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rates the Toyota Tacoma higher (5 to 7 out of 10) than the Jeep Gladiator (1 to 7). This means the Tacoma produces up to 47 pounds less smog-producing pollutants than the Gladiator every 15,000 miles.

Transmission

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

The Toyota Tacoma manual has a downshift rev synchronizer that automatically raises engine speed to make downshifts perfectly smooth. This keeps the pickup from lurching during downshifts, preventing loss of control during cornering. The Gladiator doesn’t offer a downshift rev synchronizer.

Brakes and Stopping

For better stopping power the Tacoma i-Force Max’s front brake rotors are larger than those on the Gladiator:

	Tacoma i-Force Max	Gladiator
Front Rotors	13.4 inches	12.9 inches

The Tacoma stops much shorter than the Gladiator:

	Tacoma	Gladiator
70 to 0 MPH	171 feet	194 feet	Car and Driver
60 to 0 MPH	114 feet	133 feet	Motor Trend

Tires and Wheels

The Tacoma’s standard tires provide better handling because they have a lower 70 series profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the Gladiator Sport’s standard 75 series tires. The Tacoma Double Cab TRD Sport/Limited’s tires have a lower 65 series profile than the Gladiator Rubicon/Mojave’s 70 series tires.

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the Tacoma 5-ft. bed Double Cab Trailhunter/TRD Pro has standard 18-inch wheels. The Gladiator’s largest wheels are only 17-inches.

The Toyota Tacoma’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.

Suspension and Handling

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

For superior ride and handling, the Tacoma has fully independent front and rear suspensions. An independent suspension allows the wheels to follow the road at the best angle for gripping the pavement, without compromising ride comfort. The Jeep Gladiator has a solid rear axle, with a non-independent rear suspension.

The Tacoma offers an available. The Gladiator’s suspension doesn’t offer adjustable shock absorbers.

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

For better handling and stability, the average track (width between the wheels) on the Tacoma is 2 inches wider in the front and 2.1 inches wider in the rear than the average track on the Gladiator.

The Tacoma 5-ft. bed TRD Off-Road Double Cab handles at .77 G’s, while the Gladiator Sport pulls only .71 G’s of cornering force in a Motor Trend skidpad test.

The Tacoma 6-ft. bed TRD Sport Double Cab executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver 1.5 seconds quicker than the Gladiator Rubicon (27.9 seconds @ .61 average G’s vs. 29.4 seconds @ .56 average G’s).

For better maneuverability, the Tacoma 5-ft. bed Double Cab’s turning circle is 2.3 feet tighter than the Gladiator 4x4’s (42.2 feet vs. 44.5 feet).

For greater off-road capability the Tacoma XtraCab has a greater minimum ground clearance than the Gladiator Sport (10.7 vs. 10 inches), allowing the Tacoma to travel over rougher terrain without being stopped or damaged.

Chassis

The Toyota Tacoma may be more efficient, handle and accelerate better because it weighs about 300 to 500 pounds less than the Jeep Gladiator.

The Tacoma 5-ft. bed Double Cab is 5 inches shorter than the Gladiator, making the Tacoma easier to handle, maneuver and park in tight spaces.

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

Passenger Space

The front step up height for the Tacoma Double Cab is 1.3 inches lower than the Gladiator (23.7” vs. 25”). The Tacoma Double Cab’s rear step up height is 1.5 inches lower than the Gladiator’s (24.5” vs. 26”).

Cargo Capacity

The Toyota Tacoma has a standard easy lower and lift tailgate, 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.

Payload

The Tacoma Double Cab 4x4 has a much higher standard payload capacity than the Gladiator (1380 vs. 1150 lbs.).

Ergonomics

The Tacoma Limited/Trailhunter/TRD Pro has a standard heads-up display that projects speed, tachometer, navigation instruction and driver assistance information readouts in front of the driver’s line of sight, allowing drivers to view information without diverting their eyes from the road. The Gladiator doesn’t offer a heads-up display.

The Tacoma’s power parking brake sets with one touch and releases with one touch or automatically. The Gladiator has a lever-type parking brake that has to be strenuously raised to engage properly. It has to be lifted up more and a button depressed to release it.

The Tacoma’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 Tacoma’s front and rear power windows all open or close fully with one touch of the switches, making it more convenient at drive-up windows and toll booths, or when talking with someone outside the car. The Gladiator’s optional power window switches have to be held the entire time to close them fully. Only its front windows open automatically.

The Tacoma’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.

If the windows are left open on the Tacoma the driver can close them all at the outside door handle. On a hot day the driver can lower the windows at the outside door handle or from a distance using the keyless remote. (This window function must be activated by your Toyota service department.) The driver of the Gladiator can only operate the windows from inside the vehicle, with the ignition on.

The Tacoma’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.

The Tacoma’s standard Smart Key allow you to unlock the doors from the driver’s outside door handle and start the engine, all without removing the key from the pocket or purse. Push Button Start standard on the Gladiator only offers hands-free access for the ignition, none to unlock the truck.

The Tacoma’s LED headlights produce a whiter, brighter light (up to 3x) using five times less power than the Gladiator’s standard halogen headlights. LED lights also light instantly and last over twenty times longer than halogen.

The Tacoma 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.

The Tacoma has standard power remote mirrors. The Gladiator only comes with remote mirrors at extra cost. Without them the driver will have to roll down the windows and reach across the car to adjust the mirrors.

The Tacoma’s standard outside mirrors include heating elements to clear off the mirrors for better visibility. Jeep charges extra for heated mirrors on the Gladiator.

Optional air-conditioned seats in the Tacoma (except SR/SR5/PreRunner) 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 Toyota Tacoma (except SR/SR5/PreRunner) offers an optional wireless phone charging system (Qi) in the center console. The Gladiator doesn’t offer wireless personal charging.

Model Availability

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

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

Recommendations

The Toyota Tacoma outsold the Jeep Gladiator by over four to one during 2023.