Ford Ranger vs Jeep Gladiator

The short version

The Ford Ranger is more fuel-efficient: 23 vs 19 MPG combined in its best version.

That works out to about $650 a year less in fuel for the Ford Ranger (EPA estimate, 15,000 miles).

The Jeep Gladiator is the bigger car, about 6 inches longer.

Across all model years since 2005, the Jeep Gladiator has had fewer recall campaigns (14 vs 59).

The two cars

The 2026 Ford Ranger is a standard pickup truck offered with 3 engines (2.3L 4-cyl turbo, 2.7L 6-cyl turbo and 3.0L 6-cyl turbo) and rear-wheel drive and part-time 4-wheel drive. It measures about 211 inches long and 80 inches wide on a 129-inch wheelbase, with a curb weight of roughly 5,324 lb (Raptor Supercrew 3.0l 4WD).

The 2026 Jeep Gladiator is a standard pickup truck offered with a 3.6L 6-cyl engine and 4-wheel drive. It measures about 217 inches long and 74 inches wide on a 137-inch wheelbase, with a curb weight of roughly 4,751 lb (4dr Pickup Overland).

Buying used? The 2023 Ranger and the 2024 Gladiator have the fewest problems in our data; avoid the 2019 Ranger and the 2021 Gladiator.