The Jeep Gladiator and Ford Ranger are both new (at least to the United States) this year, and now that the fanfare around both has died down a bit, I got the opportunity to spend some time with both trucks to get a feel for what they’re all about. I’ve held the firm opinion that midsize trucks offer more capability than most buyers will ever need for a long time, and the week I spent with both of these vehicles has cemented that feeling for me. Unless heavy towing or payload numbers are involved, either of these two trucks makes perfect sense.
Which one is better, though? My (non) answer is that it depends. The Ranger appeals to a more practical side, while the Jeep is a more emotional buy. They’re so different, in fact, that saying one is better than the other wouldn’t be fair to either. Both are great trucks, but in completely opposite ways. The Ranger is more usable and comfortable as a daily driver, while the Gladiator has a removable top and is more fun and capable off-road. Where you land on the preference spectrum will depend completely on how you’ll use the truck. As the family’s primary chauffeur, my money would buy a Ranger, but only because it’s easier to live with while hauling two kids around. I’d go team Ranger also because I live in a part of the country that makes driving with the top off uncomfortable (maybe even dangerous) for over half of the year, as our Maine summers pass quickly into cooler weather.
That said, a comparison of the two is still worth our time. Here’s a rundown of key features and driving impressions from the Jeep Gladiator and Ford Ranger:
Technology
Gladiator
Fiat Chrysler’s Uconnect system is intuitive, colorful, and polished in its execution. The Gladiator’s 8.4-inch touchscreen adds to that mix with responsive touch controls and a bright display. In addition to Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, and a 4G LTE Wi-Fi hotspot, the Jeep’s infotainment system adds a special Off-Road Pages app that displays vehicle information and controls for things like the front-facing camera (if equipped).
My Gladiator test truck also came with Jeep’s Active Safety Group, which includes a blind-spot monitor, rear parking assist, and LED taillights. Adaptive cruise control with forward collision warnings was also equipped. These are welcome additions to any truck and worked as expected. One confusing point with the adaptive cruise control feature on many FCA vehicles is the split controls for regular and adaptive modes, it’s too easy to think you’ve started adaptive mode when you’re actually using “normal” cruise control. Using one set of cruise control buttons on the steering wheel with the option to turn adaptive on and off in a different menu would be much more effective and intuitive.
Ranger
The Ranger doesn’t feel out of date, despite having been cruising around other parts of the world in its current form for years now. Ford’s SYNC 3 system is nearly as intuitive as the UConnect system in the Jeep and matches its feature set with Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, and more. With the FX4 package, the Ranger gets a special off-road screen option in the gauge cluster to display pitch, roll, and steering angle data, though it’s nowhere near as in-depth or useful as the Jeep’s Off-Road Pages app.
Ford’s Co-Pilot360 tech package is on board here, and brings blind spot monitors, rear cross-traffic alerts for both truck and trailer, lane keeping, and a pre-collision system. It’s standard on the XLT and Lariat trims, but optional for the base XL trim.
Performance
Gladiator
There’s just one engine available for the Gladiator line at the moment: a 3.6-liter V-6 that makes 285 horsepower and 260 pound-feet of torque. The Jeep comes standard with a six-speed manual transmission, but our decked-out test truck came with the available eight-speed automatic gearbox. The powertrain is smooth and responsive here and the automatic transmission is extremely pleasant to live with on a daily basis. There will be a diesel available at some point in the future, which should bring some welcome low-end grunt to the Gladiator.
On-road acceleration is linear and effortless, and the Jeep has no trouble quickly pulling into traffic or getting up to speed. Despite looking like a flying box with a truck bed, the Gladiator’s run up to highway speeds is surprisingly quick, and passing once at speed presents no issues whatsoever.
Ranger
The Ranger also only gets one powertrain, and just like the Jeep’s V6 it’s a solid powerplant that won’t leave buyers wanting for more. The Ford’s 2.3-liter EcoBoost four-cylinder makes 270 horsepower and 310 pound-feet of torque. It’s one of the best engines anywhere in a midsize truck and competes well against the larger engine in the Jeep. The Ranger feels lively with the turbocharged four under the hood, but the engine’s sounds can be “buzzy” at low speeds. With a heavier foot on the throttle, there’s a point where that buzz turns into a muscular growl, giving a completely different sound.
Comfort
Gladiator
I’d just left the hospital after appendix surgery when I hopped (gingerly) into the Gladiator, whose ride is much better suited for rock crawling than it is for coddling a tender-bellied post-surgery auto writer. That said, the leather buckets in my Rubicon tester were remarkably comfortable, with plenty of padding and a healthy amount of lumbar support. Seat adjustments are manual, because Jeep, but even so there’s no shortage of adjustment levels for anyone to find a suitable driving position.
The Gladiator’s imposing stance and external dimensions don’t translate to rear seat comfort, however. With the front seats adjusted to my settings (six-foot tall driver), there was precious little legroom left for the rear passenger sitting behind me, and even less room for a car seat. This isn’t a Gladiator problem, it’s a mid-size truck problem, but it’s one that makes itself very apparent for anyone with kids. The Jeep’s small, squared-off rear door shape complicates things a bit further, so expect some bumped heads and scraped knuckles loading kids in and out of seats.
The Jeep’s ride is, well, like a Jeep. Unrivaled off-road ability comes with some tradeoffs, and with the Gladiator those come in the form of on-road ride quality. It’s more refined than a Wrangler from even just a few years ago, but other trucks are more composed and comfortable over potholes and speedbumps.
Ranger
In the driver’s seat of my FX4-equipped Ranger XLT tester, things looked a little better, but it’s not a night and day difference. The cabin is more ergonomically friendly here, less about being hardcore off-road and more about daily driving. Seats are wide and supportive, and the driving position is one of the best in any truck I’ve tested. The XLT comes with cloth upholstery, but it feels nice and doesn’t stick to clothing.
Rear seat legroom is also lacking here, but the back seats are more comfortable and less upright than in the Gladiator. The Ranger’s rear door shape makes it easy to load and unload child seats, but the truck’s overall height will cause problems for many people.
The FX4 package adds off-road tuned suspension bigger tires, an electronic-locking rear differential, and other goodies. It also brings a busy ride on the road. Remember the Gladiator’s tradeoffs? They’re less apparent with the Ranger, but count on having to make sacrifices if you want to bump the Ranger’s abilities when going off road.
If you’re on the fence between these two, go drive both. It’s not hard to see and feel the difference between the Gladiator and Ranger in person, but either can handle truck duty for nearly anyone without issue.
