Compare the2024 Nissan FrontierVS 2024 GMC Canyon

Safety
Warranty
Reliability
Fuel Economy and Range
Transmission
Brakes and Stopping
Suspension and Handling
Chassis
Cargo Capacity
Towing
Servicing Ease
Ergonomics
Model Availability
Economic Advantages
Recommendations

Safety

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For enhanced safety, the front and rear seat shoulder belts of the Nissan Frontier 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 GMC Canyon doesn’t offer pretensioners for its rear seat belts.

The Nissan Frontier 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 Canyon doesn’t offer knee airbags.

Over 200 people are killed each year when backed over by motor vehicles. The Frontier offers optional Rear Automatic Braking that use rear sensors to monitor for objects to the rear and automatically apply the brakes to prevent a collision. The Canyon doesn’t offer automatic braking for stationary objects directly to the rear.

The Frontier’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 Canyon doesn’t offer a driver alert monitor.

Both the Frontier and the Canyon 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, crash mitigating brakes, rearview cameras, available four-wheel drive, daytime running lights, lane departure warning systems, blind spot warning systems, around view monitors and rear cross-path warning.

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

	Frontier	Canyon
	Passenger
STARS	4 Stars	4 Stars
Chest Compression	.7 inches	.8 inches
Neck Injury Risk	32%	34.9%

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

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does side impact tests on new vehicles. In this test, which crashes the vehicle into a flat barrier at 38.5 MPH and into a post at 20 MPH, results indicate that the Nissan Frontier is safer than the GMC Canyon:

	Frontier	Canyon
	Front Seat
STARS	5 Stars	3 Stars
HIC	58	129
Chest Movement	.9 inches	1.6 inches
Abdominal Force	170 lbs.	186 lbs.
	Into Pole
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
Max Damage Depth	13 inches	14 inches

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

Warranty

The Frontier’s corrosion warranty is unlimited miles longer than the Canyon’s (unlimited vs. 100,000 miles).

Reliability

To reliably power the ignition and other systems and to recharge the battery, the Frontier has a 185-amp alternator. The Canyon’s standard 170-amp alternator isn’t as powerful.

From surveys of all its subscribers, Consumer Reports’ January 2024 Auto Issue reports that Nissan vehicles are more reliable than GMC vehicles. Consumer Reports ranks Nissan 7 places higher in reliability than GMC.

Fuel Economy and Range

On the EPA test cycle the Frontier 4x4 gets better fuel mileage than the Canyon 4x4 (18 city/23 hwy vs. 18 city/22 hwy).

Transmission

A nine-speed automatic is standard on the Nissan Frontier, for better acceleration and lower engine speed on the highway. Only an eight-speed automatic is available for the Canyon.

Brakes and Stopping

The Frontier’s standard front and rear disc brakes are vented to help dissipate heat for shorter stops with less fading. The rear discs on the Canyon are solid, not vented.

The Frontier stops shorter than the Canyon:

	Frontier	Canyon
60 to 0 MPH	122 feet	129 feet	Motor Trend

Suspension and Handling

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the Frontier LWB Crew Cab’s wheelbase is 8.4 inches longer than on the Canyon (139.8 inches vs. 131.4 inches).

The Frontier LWB SV Crew Cab 4x4 handles at .77 G’s, while the Canyon AT4X pulls only .70 G’s of cornering force in a Motor Trend skidpad test.

Chassis

The Frontier is 8.6 inches shorter in height than the Canyon, making the Frontier much easier to wash and garage and drive (lower center of gravity).

Cargo Capacity

The Nissan Frontier has a standard tailgate assist feature, 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. Tailgate assist costs extra on the GMC Canyon.

Towing

While the Canyon 4x4 AT4X can only tow 6000, any Frontier can tow a minimum of 6240 pounds.

Servicing Ease

The Frontier uses gas struts to support the hood for easier service access. The Canyon 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.

Ergonomics

The Frontier’s speed-sensitive wipers speed up when the vehicle does, so that the driver doesn’t have to continually adjust the speed of the wipers. The Canyon’s manually variable intermittent wipers have to be constantly adjusted.

Model Availability

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

Economic Advantages

IntelliChoice estimates that five-year ownership costs (depreciation, financing, insurance, fuel, fees, repairs and maintenance) for the Nissan Frontier will be $2626 to $4628 less than for the GMC Canyon.

Recommendations

J.D. Power and Associates rated the Frontier second among midsize pickups in owner reported satisfaction. This includes how well the vehicle performs and satisfies its owner’s expectations. The Canyon isn’t in the top three.

The Nissan Frontier outsold the GMC Canyon by almost three to one during 2023.