Nissan Frontier vs Ram 1500

The short version

The Ram 1500 is more fuel-efficient: 22 vs 21 MPG combined in its best version.

That works out to about $150 a year less in fuel for the Ram 1500 (EPA estimate, 15,000 miles).

The Ram 1500 is the bigger car, about 19 inches longer.

Across all model years since 2005, the Nissan Frontier has had fewer recall campaigns (26 vs 96).

The two cars

The 2026 Nissan Frontier is a standard pickup truck offered with a 3.8L 6-cyl engine and rear-wheel drive and part-time 4-wheel drive. It measures about 224 inches long and 73 inches wide on a 140-inch wheelbase, with a curb weight of roughly 4,806 lb (Crew Cab).

The 2026 Ram 1500 is a standard pickup truck offered with 4 engines (3.6L 6-cyl, 3.0L 6-cyl turbo, 5.7L 8-cyl and 6.2L 8-cyl), including a hybrid version and rear-wheel drive, 4-wheel drive and all-wheel drive. It measures about 233 inches long and 80 inches wide on a 145-inch wheelbase, with a curb weight of roughly 4,971 lb (Crew Cab 5.7-Ft Box 2WD).

Buying used? The 2015 Frontier and the 2024 1500 have the fewest problems in our data; avoid the 2022 Frontier and the 2015 1500.