Compare the2024 Toyota TacomaVS 2024 GMC Canyon

For enhanced safety, the front and rear seat shoulder belts of the Toyota Tacoma 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 Toyota Tacoma has standard driver and front passenger side knee airbags mounted low on the dashboard. These airbags helps prevent the driver and front passenger from sliding under their seatbelts or the main frontal airbags; this keeps them better positioned during a collision for maximum protection. Knee airbags also help keep the legs from striking the dashboard, preventing knee and leg injuries in the case of a serious frontal collision. The Canyon doesn’t offer knee airbags.

The Tacoma has a standard Secondary Collision Brake, which automatically applies 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 Tacoma offers an optional Parking Support Brake 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 Tacoma’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 Tacoma 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 Toyota Tacoma achieved a “Top Safety Pick” rating from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) for the 2024 model year. This recognition was based on its impressive performance in the small overlap frontal crash test, updated side impact crash test, headlight evaluations, and pedestrian crash prevention testing. The Canyon has not yet been evaluated by the IIHS for 2024.

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

Toyota pays for scheduled maintenance on the Tacoma for 2 years and 25000 miles. Toyota will pay for oil changes, tire rotations, air filter replacements, cabin filter replacement, brake fluid replacement, inspections, and any other required maintenance. GMC only pays for the first scheduled maintenance visit on the Canyon.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2024 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that Toyota vehicles are better in initial quality than GMC vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Toyota above average in initial quality. With 9 more problems per 100 vehicles, GMC is rated below average.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2024 survey of the owners of three-year-old vehicles provides the statistics that show that Toyota vehicles are more reliable than GMC vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Toyota second in reliability, above the industry average. With 59 more problems per 100 vehicles, GMC is ranked 18th.

From surveys of all its subscribers, Consumer Reports’ January 2024 Auto Issue reports that Toyota vehicles are more reliable than GMC vehicles. Consumer Reports ranks Toyota second in overall reliability. GMC is ranked 24th.

The Tacoma’s optional 2.4 turbo 4-cylinder hybrid produces 16 more horsepower (326 vs. 310) and 35 lbs.-ft. more torque (465 vs. 430) than the Canyon’s 2.7 turbo 4-cylinder.

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

The Tacoma offers a manual transmission for better acceleration, control and sportiness. The Canyon doesn’t offer a manual transmission.

The Tacoma’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 Tacoma stops much shorter than the Canyon:

For superior ride and handling, the Tacoma has fully independent front and rear suspensions. An independent suspension allows the wheels to follow the road at the best angle for gripping the pavement, without compromising ride comfort. The GMC Canyon has a solid rear axle, with a non-independent rear suspension.

The Tacoma offers an active front sway bar, which helps keep it flat and controlled during cornering, but disconnects at lower speeds to smooth the ride and offer greater off-road suspension articulation. This helps keep the tires glued to the road on-road and off. The Canyon doesn’t offer an active sway bar system.

The front and rear suspension of the optional Tacoma uses coil springs for better ride, handling and control than the Canyon, which uses leaf springs in the rear. Coil springs compress more progressively and offer more suspension travel for a smoother ride with less bottoming out.

The Tacoma offers an available. The Canyon’s suspension doesn’t offer adjustable shock absorbers.

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the Tacoma 6-ft. bed Double Cab’s wheelbase is 13.7 inches longer than on the Canyon (145.1 inches vs. 131.4 inches).

The Tacoma 5-ft. bed TRD Off-Road Double Cab handles at .77 G’s, while the Canyon AT4X pulls only .70 G’s of cornering force in a Motor Trend skidpad test.

The Tacoma 6-ft. bed TRD Sport Double Cab executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver 1.2 seconds quicker than the Canyon AT4X (27.9 seconds @ .61 average G’s vs. 29.1 seconds @ .58 average G’s).

For greater off-road capability the Tacoma XtraCab has a 1.1 inches greater minimum ground clearance than the Canyon (10.7 vs. 9.6 inches), allowing the Tacoma to travel over rougher terrain without being stopped or damaged.

The Toyota Tacoma may be more efficient, handle and accelerate better because it weighs up to about 300 pounds less than the GMC Canyon.

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

The Toyota Tacoma has a standard easy lower and lift tailgate, 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.

The Tacoma has higher optional payload capacities than the Canyon:

The Tacoma’s front and rear power windows all 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 passenger windows don’t close automatically.

If the windows are left open on the Tacoma the driver can close them all at the outside door handle. On a hot day the driver can lower the windows at the outside door handle or from a distance using the keyless remote. (This window function must be activated by your Toyota service department.) The driver of the Canyon can only close the windows from inside the vehicle, with the ignition on.

The Tacoma’s standard outside mirrors include heating elements to clear off the mirrors for better visibility. GMC charges extra for heated mirrors on the Canyon.

The Toyota Tacoma comes in extended cab and crew cab bodystyles; the GMC Canyon isn’t available as an extended cab.

The Toyota Tacoma outsold the GMC Canyon by over 10 to one during 2023.