Compare the2024 Nissan FrontierVS 2024 Jeep Gladiator

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 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 Frontier 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 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 Gladiator doesn’t offer knee airbags.

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

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 Gladiator doesn’t offer backup collision prevention brakes.

The Frontier’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.

The Frontier PRO-X/PRO-4X offers an optional Around 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.

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 Gladiator doesn’t offer a driver alert monitor.

Both the Frontier 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, daytime running lights, blind spot warning systems and rear cross-path warning.

Instrumented handling tests conducted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and analysis of its dimensions indicate that the Frontier is 6.3% less likely to roll over than the Gladiator.

To reliably power the ignition and other systems and to recharge the battery, the Frontier has a 185-amp alternator. The Gladiator’s standard 180-amp alternator isn’t as powerful.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2023 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that Nissan vehicles are better in initial quality than Jeep vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Nissan above average in initial quality. With 11 more problems per 100 vehicles, Jeep is rated lower.

From surveys of all its subscribers, Consumer Reports’ January 2024 Auto Issue reports that Nissan vehicles are more reliable than Jeep vehicles. Consumer Reports ranks Nissan 9 places higher in reliability than Jeep.

The Frontier’s 3.8 DOHC V6 produces 25 more horsepower (310 vs. 285) and 21 lbs.-ft. more torque (281 vs. 260) than the Gladiator’s 3.6 DOHC V6.

As tested in Motor Trend the Nissan Frontier is faster than the Jeep Gladiator (automatics tested):

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

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

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 Gladiator.

The Frontier stops much shorter than the Gladiator:

For better traction, the Frontier has larger tires than the Gladiator (265/70R16 vs. 245/75R17).

The Frontier 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 Frontier SV/SL’s tires have a lower 65 series profile than the Gladiator Rubicon/Mojave’s 70 series tires.

The Nissan Frontier’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 Nissan Frontier’s independent front suspension is much lighter than the Jeep Gladiator’s solid front axle, which allows the Frontier’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 Frontier has rack and pinion steering, like Formula racecars, instead of the recirculating-ball type steering of the Gladiator.

The Frontier LWB SV Crew Cab 4x4 handles at .77 G’s, while the Gladiator Sport pulls only .71 G’s of cornering force in a Motor Trend skidpad test.

The Frontier LWB SV Crew Cab 4x4 executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver quicker than the Gladiator Rubicon (28.9 seconds @ .56 average G’s vs. 29.4 seconds @ .56 average G’s).

For better maneuverability, the Frontier Crew Cab 4x4’s turning circle is 2.1 feet tighter than the Gladiator 4x4’s (42.4 feet vs. 44.5 feet).

The Nissan Frontier may be more efficient, handle and accelerate better because it weighs about 200 to 300 pounds less than the Jeep Gladiator.

The Frontier Crew Cab is 7.8 inches shorter than the Gladiator, making the Frontier easier to handle, maneuver and park in tight spaces.

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

The front grille of the Frontier 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 Frontier Crew Cab shortbed has a much larger cargo box than the Gladiator shortbed (40.1 vs. 35.5 cubic feet).

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

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. The Jeep Gladiator doesn’t offer a tailgate assist.

The Frontier’s minimum standard towing capacity is much higher than the Gladiator’s (6240 vs. 4000 pounds).

The Frontier Crew Cab 4x4 has a higher standard payload capacity than the Gladiator (1290 vs. 1150 lbs.).

The Frontier 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 Frontier’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 Frontier’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 Frontier’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.

Consumer Reports rated the Frontier’s headlight performance “Good,” a higher rating than the Gladiator’s headlights, which were rated “Fair.”

The Frontier 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.

To quickly and conveniently keep personal devices charged without cables tangling and wearing out, the Nissan Frontier PRO-X/PRO-4X offers an optional wireless phone charging system (Qi) in the center console. The Gladiator doesn’t offer wireless personal charging.

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

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

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 Gladiator isn’t in the top three.

The Nissan Frontier outsold the Jeep Gladiator by 5% during 2023.