Compare the2025 Ford RangerVS 2025 GMC Canyon

Safety
Warranty
Reliability
Engine
Fuel Economy and Range
Transmission
Brakes and Stopping
Suspension and Handling
Chassis
Passenger Space
Cargo Capacity
Payload and Towing
Ergonomics
Recommendations

Safety

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For enhanced safety, the front and rear seat shoulder belts of the Ford Ranger 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 Ranger has standard Post Collision Braking, which automatically apply the brakes in the event of a crash to help prevent secondary collisions and prevent further injuries. The Canyon 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 Ranger offers an optional Reverse Brake Assist that uses rear sensors to monitor for objects to the rear and automatically applies the brakes to prevent a collision. The Canyon doesn’t offer automatic braking for stationary objects directly to the rear.

The Ranger XLT/Lariat’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 Ranger 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, daytime running lights, lane departure warning systems, rearview cameras, available four-wheel drive, 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 Ford Ranger is safer than the GMC Canyon:

	Ranger	Canyon
OVERALL STARS	5 Stars	4 Stars
	Driver
STARS	5 Stars	4 Stars
HIC	110	194
Neck Stress	281 lbs.	330 lbs.
	Passenger
STARS	5 Stars	4 Stars
HIC	157	293
Chest Compression	.4 inches	.8 inches
Neck Injury Risk	34.9%	34.9%
Neck Stress	152 lbs.	178 lbs.
Neck Compression	75 lbs.	92 lbs.

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 Ford Ranger is safer than the GMC Canyon:

	Ranger	Canyon
	Front Seat
STARS	5 Stars	3 Stars
HIC	43	129
Chest Movement	1.2 inches	1.6 inches
	Rear Seat
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
HIC	47	64
Spine Acceleration	25 G’s	30 G’s
	Into Pole
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
Spine Acceleration	32 G’s	32 G’s
Hip Force	473 lbs.	586 lbs.

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

Warranty

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

There are over 73 percent more Ford dealers than there are GMC dealers, which makes it much easier should you ever need service under the Ranger’s warranty.

Reliability

The Ranger has a standard “limp home system” to keep drivers from being stranded if most or all of the engine’s coolant is lost. The engine will run on only half of its cylinders at a time, reduce its power and light a warning lamp on the dashboard so the driver can get to a service station for repairs. The Canyon doesn’t offer a lost coolant limp home mode, so a coolant leak could strand you or seriously damage the truck’s engine.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2024 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that Ford vehicles are better in initial quality than GMC vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Ford above average in initial quality. With 22 more problems per 100 vehicles, GMC is rated below average.

From surveys of all its subscribers, Consumer Reports’ January 2024 Auto Issue reports that Ford vehicles are more reliable than GMC vehicles. Consumer Reports ranks Ford 2 places higher in reliability than GMC.

Engine

The Ranger’s optional 2.7 turbo V6 produces 5 more horsepower (315 vs. 310) than the Canyon’s 2.7 turbo 4-cylinder.

As tested in Motor Trend the Ford Ranger is faster than the GMC Canyon:

	Ranger turbo 4 cyl.	Ranger turbo V6	Canyon
Zero to 60 MPH	6.6 sec	6.3 sec	7.6 sec
Quarter Mile	15 sec	14.8 sec	15.7 sec
Speed in 1/4 Mile	92.7 MPH	94.7 MPH	85.9 MPH

Fuel Economy and Range

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

			MPG
Ranger
	RWD	2.3 turbo 4-cyl.	21 city/25 hwy
	AWD	2.3 turbo 4-cyl.	20 city/24 hwy
Canyon
	RWD	2.7 turbo 4-cyl.	19 city/23 hwy
	AWD	2.7 turbo 4-cyl.	17 city/21 hwy

Transmission

A 10-speed automatic is standard on the Ford Ranger, for better acceleration and lower engine speed on the highway. Only an eight-speed automatic is available for the Canyon.

Brakes and Stopping

The Ranger’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 Ranger stops shorter than the Canyon:

	Ranger	Canyon
60 to 0 MPH	125 feet	129 feet	Motor Trend

Suspension and Handling

The Ranger Lariat 4x4 handles at .73 G’s, while the Canyon AT4X pulls only .70 G’s of cornering force in a Motor Trend skidpad test.

The Ranger XLT 4x4 executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver quicker than the Canyon AT4X (28.6 seconds @ .57 average G’s vs. 29.1 seconds @ .58 average G’s).

Chassis

The Ford Ranger may be more efficient, handle and accelerate better because it weighs about 200 to 450 pounds less than the GMC Canyon.

Passenger Space

The Ranger has .7 inches more front headroom, 1.2 inches more front hip room, 1 inch more rear hip room and .6 inches more rear shoulder room than the Canyon.

Cargo Capacity

The Ranger has a much larger cargo box than the Canyon shortbed (43.5 vs. 41.9 cubic feet).

A low lift-over bed design makes loading and unloading the Ranger easier. The Ranger’s bed lift-over height is 34 inches, while the Canyon’s liftover is 35.8 inches.

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

	Ranger	Canyon
Length (short/long)	59.6”	61.7”
Max Width	62.4”	58.1”
Min Width	48.2”	45.5”
Height	20.8”	n/a

The Ford Ranger 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.

Payload and Towing

While the Canyon 4x4 AT4X can only tow 6000, any Ranger can tow a minimum of 7500 pounds.

The Ranger has a higher standard payload capacity than the Canyon:

	Ranger	Canyon
Crew Cab	1805 lbs.	1670 lbs.
Crew Cab 4x4	1711 lbs.	1610 lbs.

The Ranger has a higher maximum payload capacity than the Canyon (1805 vs. 1670 lbs.).

Ergonomics

The Ranger’s front power windows open or close with one touch of the switches, making it more convenient at drive-up windows and toll booths, or when talking with someone outside of the car. The Canyon’s front passenger window doesn’t close automatically.

If the windows are left open on the Ranger the driver can close them all from a distance using the remote. On a hot day the driver can also lower the windows the same way. The driver of the Canyon can only close the windows from inside the vehicle, with the ignition on.

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

The Ranger Lariat’s standard wipers adjust their speed and turn on and off automatically according to the amount of rainfall on the windshield. The Canyon’s manually variable intermittent wipers have to be constantly adjusted.

Both the Ford Ranger and GMC Canyon offer exterior mirrors that can be folded to provide convenience. The Ranger offers available power folding mirrors, which allow for easy, one-touch folding or unfolding at the driver’s discretion. This provides added convenience when maneuvering or parking, as well as when walking past the parked vehicle. In comparison, the Canyon’s foldable mirrors are manual, requiring the driver to get out and physically fold them once parked and unfold them before getting in.

Compared to the GMC Canyon, the Ford Ranger Lariat eliminates the need for separate garage door openers and associated risks of losing, breaking, or having dead batteries with its standard integrated Homelink® universal remote controlled from the driver’s visor.

The Ranger (except XL)’s optional Enhanced Active Park Assist can parallel park or back into a parking spot by itself, with the driver only controlling the transmission and speed with the brake pedal. With its available fully controlled system, the driver just activates it and it parks autonomously, starting, stopping and changing direction automatically. The Canyon doesn’t offer an automated parking system.

Recommendations

The Ford Ranger outsold the GMC Canyon by 44% during 2023.

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