5 Ways the Nissan Frontier Beats the Ford Ranger

The Nissan Frontier and Ford Ranger have some features in common: they’re both midsize trucks, they both have impressive off-road capabilities, and they can both meet the needs of a wide range of drivers. But while the Ranger is certainly a solid midsize pickup, once you start looking at some of the specs and details on these two trucks, it quickly becomes clear that the Frontier is a superior option in some very important ways. Whether you’re looking for a Nissan Frontier for sale or are simply interested in how different trucks stack up against each other, it’s worth knowing which pickup comes out on top.

Way #1 – Horsepower and Performance

They say you should never judge a book by its cover, and while we’d agree with that, we’d also say that you can often judge a truck by its engine. As the beating heart of any vehicle, a powerful engine is absolutely essential for your pickup to give you the kind of overall performance you’re looking for when you hit the pedal. There’s no denying that Ford knows how to make some incredible engines; it just seems to have kept them all for its F-series full-size trucks. On the other hand, Nissan appreciates that a midsize pickup still needs plenty of oomph.

The 2023 Nissan Frontier features a 3.8L V6 engine that delivers 310 hp and 281 lb-ft of torque; that’s best-in-class standard horsepower for a midsize truck. This comes paired with a nine-speed automatic transmission that’s highly responsive to deliver a quick and smooth driving experience. By comparison, the 2023 Ranger has a 2.3L four-cylinder engine that offers just 270 hp, which falls well short of what the Frontier’s engine brings to the road. Overall, this engine is acceptable––we’d simply suggest that “acceptable” is not good enough, and we prefer the exceptional power of Nissan’s engine.

Way #2 – Trim Levels and Options

We’re not going to say that more options are always better. Sometimes, you can get something right the first time, and one choice is all you need. With a midsize truck, however, we think it’s better to have numerous options to choose from so you can get exactly what you want in your pickup. Nissan would seem to agree with us as it offers more trim levels and overall configurations for you to enjoy on the Frontier than Ford has for the Ranger.

With the Nissan Frontier, you can choose either a King Cab with two doors and seating for up to four people or a Crew Cab model that has four doors and a spacious second row for your passengers to enjoy. The Ford Ranger has similar options, with either a four-passenger SuperCab or a five-passenger SuperCrew to provide greater space and comfort for passengers. The Frontier has a Long Bed model available, giving you a six-foot bed rather than the standard five-foot bed; similar bed lengths are offered on the Ranger.

There are only three trim levels to choose from with the 2023 Ford Ranger: the XL, the XLT, and the Lariat. You’ll find numerous differences between the three, but they’re not always very significant, and some feel pretty arbitrary. With the 2023 Nissan Frontier, however, you’ll find five trims: the S, the SV, the Midnight Edition, the PRO-X, and the PRO-4X. The differences between these trims are significant and make it easy to figure out which one is right for you; for example, the PRO-4X has fantastic off-road features for you to enjoy.

Way #3 – Off-Road Performance

Speaking of going off-road, the Nissan Frontier really lives up to its name here by creating new opportunities to leave civilization behind and explore the great outdoors. The Ford Ranger has some solid off-road potential, don’t get us wrong, but we simply see more to really take advantage of with the Frontier. For one thing, the Ranger lacks a dedicated off-road trim, which is something that’s important for this sort of truck. There’s an available Tremor Off-Road Package that includes skid plates, tow hooks, and a heavy-duty suspension. However, this package isn’t available on all trims, so you have to choose the right trim for the Ranger, then the available package and other features to get the off-road performance you’re looking for.

Nissan keeps it simple with the Frontier: choose the PRO-4X trim, and you’re ready to hit the trail, no fuss required. The PRO-4X comes with standard four-wheel drive, as you’d expect, along with Bilstein off-road performance shocks, and 17-inch aluminum-alloy wheels wrapped in all-terrain tires. You also get front and underbody skid plates to protect the oil pan, fuel tank, and transfer case, plus unique touches like body-color exterior details and Lava Red tow hooks. All of this comes together to make the PRO-4X a capable and impressive off-road machine.

Way #4 – Standard Interior Features

This is one area where we were pretty shocked by what Ford puts in the Ranger as its standard equipment, particularly in terms of technology. The 2023 Ranger comes with a 2.3-inch productivity screen in the instrument cluster for the driver and a 3.5-inch center stack display. We’ll repeat that: it has a 3.5-inch center stack display that’s basically just for the backup camera because the SYNC 3 Infotainment system isn’t standard. You don’t even get cruise control standard; it’s an available option on the starting XL trim.

On the other hand, the Nissan Frontier’s starting S trim features a seven-inch Drive-Assist display for the driver and an eight-inch touchscreen infotainment display, both standard. An optional nine-inch infotainment screen comes on higher trims, but the difference in starting features here is remarkable. Since the Frontier comes with an infotainment system, it also has Apple CarPlay and Android Auto support standard, with wireless functionality offered, plus it comes with steering wheel-mounted controls for audio and cruise control.

Way #5 – Standard Driver-Assist Features

The lack of cruise control isn’t the only way the Ranger falls behind in terms of driver-assist features. The standard features on the Ford Ranger include Pre-Collision Assist with Automatic Emergency Braking, and…that’s pretty much it. However, the Frontier comes with Intelligent Forward Collision Warning, Automatic Emergency Braking with Pedestrian Detection, and an Intelligent Driver Alertness system, all standard. There are also a lot more available options, such as Intelligent Cruise Control, Lane Departure Warning, Blind Spot Warning, Rear Cross Traffic Alert, and more. The Ranger only has a Blind Spot Information System and Lane-Keeping System available for the base XL trim, plus the aforementioned regular cruise control.

Are You Ready to Explore a New Frontier?

We’ll admit that as a Nissan dealership, we’re naturally going to be drawn to the 2023 Frontier and everything it has to offer. But you can see that this isn’t an irrational preference on our part––the Nissan pickup brings so much to the road as it delivers fantastic performance and features across its available trims. To be honest, we’ve barely touched the surface, and to fully appreciate everything that the Frontier does right, you need to see it for yourself. Come visit us at Illini Nissan today to learn more about the 2023 Frontier and discover everything it can do for you.