Compare the2022 Honda CR-VVS 2021 Ford Bronco

Safety
Reliability
Fuel Economy and Range
Transmission
Brakes and Stopping
Tires and Wheels
Suspension and Handling
Chassis
Passenger Space
Cargo Capacity
Ergonomics
Model Availability
Recommendations

Safety

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For enhanced safety, the front seat shoulder belts of the Honda CR-V are height-adjustable to accommodate a wide variety of driver and passenger heights. A better fit can prevent injuries and the increased comfort also encourages passengers to buckle up. The Ford Bronco doesn’t offer height-adjustable seat belts.

Using vehicle speed sensors and seat sensors, smart airbags in the CR-V deploy with different levels of force or don’t deploy at all to help better protect passengers of all sizes in different collisions. The CR-V’s side airbags will shut off if a child is leaning against the door. The Bronco’s airbags don’t have smart features and will always deploy full force.

The CR-V’s standard lane departure warning system alerts a temporarily inattentive driver when the vehicle begins to leave its lane and gently nudges the vehicle back towards its lane. A lane departure warning system costs extra on the Bronco and is not available with Base.

For better protection of the passenger compartment, the CR-V uses safety cell construction with a three-dimensional high-strength frame that surrounds the passenger compartment. It provides extra impact protection and a sturdy mounting location for door hardware and side impact beams. The Bronco uses a body-on-frame design, which has no frame members above the floor of the vehicle.

Both the CR-V and the Bronco have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, side-impact head airbags, front seatbelt pretensioners, plastic fuel tanks, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, daytime running lights, rearview cameras, available all wheel drive, blind spot warning systems and rear cross-path warning.

For its top level performance in IIHS driver and passenger-side small overlap frontal, moderate overlap frontal, side impact, roof strength and head restraint tests, its standard vehicle-to-vehicle front crash prevention system, its standard vehicle-to-pedestrian front crash prevention system, and its available headlight’s “Good” rating, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety grants the CR-V the rating of “Top Pick” for 2021, a rating granted to only 128 vehicles tested by the IIHS. The Bronco has not been tested, yet.

Reliability

From surveys of all its subscribers, Consumer Reports’ January 2021 Auto Issue reports that Honda vehicles are more reliable than Ford vehicles. Consumer Reports ranks Honda 17 places higher in reliability than Ford.

Fuel Economy and Range

On the EPA test cycle the CR-V gets better mileage than the Bronco:

			MPG
CR-V
	FWD	1.5 turbo 4-cyl.	28 city/34 hwy
	AWD	1.5 turbo 4-cyl.	27 city/32 hwy
Bronco
	Manual	2.3 turbo 4-cyl.	20 city/22 hwy
		Black Diamond 2.3 turbo 4-cyl.	17 city/19 hwy
		Badlands 2.3 turbo 4-cyl.	16 city/18 hwy
	Auto	2.3 turbo 4-cyl.	20 city/22 hwy
		2.7 turbo V6	18 city/20 hwy
		Black Diamond/Sasquatch 2.3 turbo 4-cyl.	18 city/18 hwy
		Badlands 2.3 turbo 4-cyl.	18 city/17 hwy
		Badlands 2.7 turbo V6	17 city/18 hwy
		Sasquatch 2.7 turbo V6	17 city/17 hwy

To lower fuel costs and make buying fuel easier, the Honda CR-V uses regular unleaded gasoline. The Bronco requires premium for maximum efficiency, which can cost 20 to 55 cents more per gallon.

Transmission

The Honda CR-V comes standard with an automatic transmission, for driver comfort, especially in the city. Automatic costs extra on the Bronco.

The CR-V has a standard continuously variable transmission (CVT). With no “steps” between gears, it can keep the engine at the most efficient speed for fuel economy, or keep it at its peak horsepower indefinitely for maximum acceleration. The Bronco doesn’t offer a CVT.

Brakes and Stopping

The CR-V stops much shorter than the Bronco:

	CR-V	Bronco
70 to 0 MPH	165 feet	197 feet	Car and Driver

Tires and Wheels

The CR-V LX/SE’s standard tires provide better handling because they have a lower 65 series profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the Bronco Big Bend’s standard 75 series tires. The CR-V Touring’s tires have a lower 55 series profile than the Bronco’s 70 series tires.

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the CR-V LX/SE has standard 17-inch wheels. Smaller 16-inch wheels are standard on the Bronco. The CR-V Touring’s 19-inch wheels are larger than the 18-inch wheels on the Bronco Outer Banks.

Suspension and Handling

For superior ride and handling, the Honda CR-V 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 Ford Bronco has a solid rear axle, with a non-independent rear suspension.

For better maneuverability, the CR-V’s turning circle is 2.5 feet tighter than the Bronco 2-Door’s (37.4 feet vs. 39.9 feet).

Chassis

The Honda CR-V may be more efficient, handle and accelerate better because it weighs about 950 to 1550 pounds less than the Ford Bronco.

The CR-V is 7.4 inches shorter than the Bronco 4-Door, making the CR-V easier to handle, maneuver and park in tight spaces.

Unibody construction lowers the CR-V’s center of gravity significantly without reducing ground clearance. This contributes to better on the road handling and better off-road performance and stability. In addition, unibody construction makes the chassis stiffer, improving handling and reducing squeaks and rattles. The Bronco uses body-on-frame design instead.

The CR-V uses computer-generated active noise cancellation to help remove annoying noise and vibration from the passenger compartment, especially at low frequencies. The Bronco doesn’t offer active noise cancellation.

Passenger Space

For enhanced passenger comfort on long trips the CR-V’s rear seats recline. The Bronco’s rear seats don’t recline.

The front step up height for the CR-V is 4.2 inches lower than the Bronco 4-Door (19” vs. 23.2”). The CR-V’s rear step up height is 5 inches lower than the Bronco 4-Door’s (18” vs. 23”).

Cargo Capacity

The CR-V has a larger cargo volume than the Bronco 4-Door with its rear seat up (39.2 vs. 38.3 cubic feet).

A low lift-over cargo hatch design makes loading and unloading the CR-V easier. The CR-V’s cargo hatch lift-over height is 26 inches, while the Bronco’s liftover is 31 inches.

The CR-V’s cargo area is larger than the Bronco’s in almost every dimension:

	CR-V	Bronco 2-Door	Bronco 4-Door
Length to seat (2nd/1st)	37.5”/71”	n/a	32”/68.8”
Max Width	54”	n/a	43”
Min Width	41.5”	n/a	42.9”
Height	41”	n/a	40”

Pulling a handle automatically lowers the CR-V’s rear seats, to make changing between passengers and cargo easier. The Bronco doesn’t offer automatic folding seats.

The CR-V’s liftgate lifts up in one piece, completely out of the way of loading and unloading, while sheltering the cargo loading area. The Bronco’s swing out door blocks loading from the passenger’s side.

To make loading and unloading groceries and cargo easier, especially for short adults, the CR-V EX-L/Touring has a standard power liftgate, which opens and closes automatically by pressing a button, or on the CR-V Touring, by just kicking your foot under the back bumper, completely leaving your hands free. The Bronco doesn’t offer a power cargo door.

Ergonomics

When two different drivers share the CR-V EX-L/Touring, the memory seats make it convenient for both. Each setting activates different, customized memories for the driver’s seat position. The Bronco doesn’t offer memory seats.

The CR-V EX-L/Touring’s standard easy entry system glides the driver’s seat back when the door is unlocked or the ignition is switched off, making it easier for the driver to get in and out. The Bronco doesn’t offer an easy entry system.

The CR-V’s standard power window controls are mounted on the armrest for easy access. The Bronco’s available power window controls are spread out on the center console where they can’t be seen without the driver completely removing his eyes from the road.

If the windows are left open on the CR-V 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. The driver of the Bronco can only close the windows from inside the vehicle, with the ignition on.

The CR-V has a standard locking fuel door with a remote release located convenient to the driver. A locking fuel door helps prevent fuel theft and vandalism, such as sugar in the tank. The Bronco doesn’t offer a locking fuel door.

The CR-V Touring’s standard wipers adjust their speed and turn on and off automatically according to the amount of rainfall on the windshield. The Bronco’s manually variable intermittent wipers have to be constantly adjusted.

To improve rear visibility by keeping the rear window clear, the CR-V has a standard rear fixed intermittent wiper with a full on position. The rear wiper standard on the Bronco only has an intermittent setting, so in a hard rain visibility isn’t as good.

The CR-V’s power mirror controls are mounted on the armrest for easy access. The Bronco’s power mirror controls are on the center console where they can’t be seen without the driver completely removing his eyes from the road.

The CR-V has a standard center folding armrest for the rear passengers. A center armrest helps make rear passengers more comfortable and it can provide a boundary between children. The Bronco doesn’t offer a rear seat center armrest.

The CR-V’s standard automatic temperature control maintains the temperature you set, automatically controlling fan speed, vents and temperature to maintain a consistent, comfortable environment. The Bronco Base doesn’t offer automatic air conditioning.

Both the CR-V and the Bronco offer rear vents. For greater rear passenger comfort, the CR-V has standard rear air conditioning vents to keep rear occupants cool in summer or warm in winter. The Bronco doesn’t offer rear air conditioning vents, only heat vents.

Model Availability

The CR-V is available in both front-wheel drive and four-wheel drive configurations. The Bronco doesn’t offer a two-wheel drive configuration.

Recommendations

The Honda CR-V has won recognition from these important consumer publications:

	CR-V	Bronco
Consumer Reports® Recommends	TRUE	n/a
Car Book “Best Bet”	TRUE	n/a

The CR-V was chosen as one of Car and Driver’s “Top Five/10Best Trucks” for 3 of the last 20 years. The Bronco has never been a Car and Driver “Top Five/10Best Truck” pick.

Motor Trend selected the CR-V as their 2018 Sport Utility of the Year. The Bronco has never been chosen.