2024 Ford Bronco Sport vs. the Competition

The entire Jeep brand is built around offroading, or at least the perception of offroading ability, so it’s no surprise that they have a competitor to the Bronco Sport. A lot about the Compass is really quite similar, including price, power output, fuel economy, and both vehicles come with AWD as standard. But, there are some important details that set the two apart, starting with the option for a more powerful drivetrain, which is only available on the Bronco Sport. The Bonco Sport also has a noticeably larger fuel tank, which is an important quality in an offroader that you shouldn’t overlook. Offroad areas are famously lacking gas stations, and a bigger tank can make the difference between getting stranded and making it home. Passengers in the Bronco Sport have more space than in the Compass, and more space for cargo as well. And yet, the Bronco Sport is a couple of hundred pounds lighter than the Compass, which is good both on the road and off.

The Bronco Sport comes with automatic climate control standard, while it’s an optional extra on the already more expensive Compass. In a similar vein, you can opt for built-in navigation on any trim level of the Bronco Sport, but Jeep will make you move up to a more expensive trim just to have the option to spend even more to have navigation. In all, it adds more than $7,000 to the price of the Compass for the least expensive configuration with navigation. This is further exacerbated by the fact that the cost of adding navigation to the Ford is less than the initial price difference between the two vehicles. For going offroad, the Bronco Sport comes with five different G.O.A.T. (Goes Over Any Terrain) modes, Sand Slippery, Sport, Eco, and Normal. While the Compass has multiple modes as well, it doesn’t offer as many, despite versatility being such an important part of offroading. The Bronco also comes with built-in liftgate flood lights, for when you’re out in the wilderness after dark. It’s not a major piece of equipment, but it does show a more thorough approach to offroading, which goes well with the obviously more consumer-friendly approach to selling vehicles.

Next up is the Subaru Crosstrek. Most of Subaru’s lineup is geared towards light offroading, but the Wilderness line of trims imbues several models with much more serious equipment, including things like offroad suspension and all-terrain tires. This is the top trim for the Crosstrek, so we’re putting it up against the top trim of the Bronco Sport, the Badlands. While the Subaru does have a price advantage, it’s immediately obvious why. There is a huge difference in power between the two, something you’re really going to notice in situations like trying to merge on the highway. Not only that, but the Bronco Sport comes with a robust 8-speed automatic transmission. While the CVT transmission in the Crosstrek can simulate the experience of shifting through 8 gears, CVTs aren’t nearly as durable as traditional automatics, and that’s a pretty important distinction for an offroader. Another important distinction is the AWD system. Both vehicles come with standard AWD, but the system in the Crosstrek, even the Crosstrek Wilderness, isn’t mechanically distinct from the one in more on-road-focused Subaru models. The Bronco Sport features a twin-clutch rear drive unit, which allows the system to send all of the power to just one wheel in especially low-traction situations, or to electronically lock the rear differential.

We see once again that the Bronco Sport offers more interior space, an even bigger advantage compared to the Crosstrek than it was with the Compass. Similarly, the Badlands trim of the Bronco comes with seven G.O.A.T. modes, while the Crosstrek’s traction control system basically amounts to an on/off switch for slippery conditions, none of the tuning for specific conditions that you get with the Bronco Sport. Although the Crosstrek does have a price advantage, it still costs enough that the lack of standard power-adjustable front seats is genuinely baffling. Subaru also only makes available as part of a package that costs more than $2,000, eliminating a significant portion of the price advantage. Helpful offroad accessories like liftgate-mounted floodlights and an A/C power outlet are standard on the Bronco Sport, but aren’t available on the Crosstrek at any price.

For our last comparison, we have the GMC Terrain, the only vehicle in this comparison to not come with standard all-wheel drive. This is important, because the Terrain technically starts at a lower price than the Bronco Sport, but adding AWD reverses this, and gives the Bronco Sport the advantage. Similarly, the two vehicles have the same fuel economy rating, but this is again for the front-wheel drive version, adding AWD drops the rating to 25 mpg. So the Terrain offers less power and worse fuel economy. Neither one is massively worse than the Bronco, but both together make for a pretty solid disadvantage for the Terrain. The Terrain does a little better than the other competitors for interior space, but it still isn’t enough to beat the Bronco Sport, and since you also can’t tow as much with the Terrain, it seems the Bronco Sport has a really solid advantage when it comes to taking your offroad toys out into the wilderness.

Like every new vehicle sold in the US, the Terrain has a traction control system, but this one is as simple as it gets. There are no modes for this system at all, it’s either on or it isn’t, while even the base model Bronco Sport offers five G.O.A.T. modes. Even if you upgrade to the much more expensive AT4 trim on the Terrain, which comes with things like all-terrain tires and offroad suspension, there’s still no changing the traction control mode. You get more equipment for your money in the Bronco Sport, with things like heated side mirrors coming standard, and even paid options offering an advantage in the Ford. For example, both vehicles come with standard 6-speaker stereos, and both have the option for a premium stereo that upgrades the system to name-brand speakers. But in the Terrain, you only get one more speaker with this upgrade, while the Bronco Sport offers a 10-speaker system.