Compare the2022 Ford Bronco SportVS 2021 Lexus NX Series

Safety
Warranty
Reliability
Engine
Fuel Economy and Range
Environmental Friendliness
Transmission
Brakes and Stopping
Tires and Wheels
Suspension and Handling
Chassis
Passenger Space
Cargo Capacity
Towing
Ergonomics
Recommendations

Safety

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For enhanced safety, the front and rear seat shoulder belts of the Ford Bronco Sport 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 Lexus NX Series doesn’t offer pretensioners for the rear seat belts.

In the past twenty years hundreds of infants and young children have died after being left in vehicles, usually by accident. When turning the vehicle off, drivers of the Bronco Sport are reminded to check the back seat if they opened the rear door before starting out. The NX Series doesn’t offer a back seat reminder.

The Bronco Sport has standard Post Collision Braking, which automatically apply the brakes in the event of a crash to help prevent secondary collisions and prevent further injuries. The NX Series 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.

To provide maximum traction and stability on all roads, All-Wheel Drive is standard on the Bronco Sport. But it costs extra on the NX Series.

Both the Bronco Sport and the NX Series have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, driver knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, height adjustable front shoulder belts, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, daytime running lights, lane departure warning systems, blind spot warning systems, rearview cameras, rear cross-path warning, driver alert monitors and available rear parking sensors.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does 35 MPH front crash tests on new vehicles. In this test, results indicate that the Ford Bronco Sport is safer than the Lexus NX Series:

	Bronco Sport	NX Series
OVERALL STARS	5 Stars	4 Stars
	Driver
STARS	5 Stars	4 Stars
HIC	140	209
Neck Injury Risk	26%	46%
Neck Stress	178 lbs.	509 lbs.
Leg Forces (l/r)	123/237 lbs.	480/609 lbs.
	Passenger
STARS	5 Stars	4 Stars
HIC	153	355
Neck Injury Risk	37%	42%
Neck Stress	177 lbs.	295 lbs.
Neck Compression	54 lbs.	70 lbs.
Leg Forces (l/r)	385/291 lbs.	442/307 lbs.

New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does side impact tests on new vehicles. In this test, which crashes the vehicle into a flat barrier at 38.5 MPH and into a post at 20 MPH, results indicate that the Ford Bronco Sport is safer than the Lexus NX Series:

	Bronco Sport	NX Series
	Front Seat
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
HIC	80	192
Hip Force	205 lbs.	352 lbs.
	Rear Seat
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
HIC	144	317
Spine Acceleration	33 G’s	49 G’s
	Into Pole
STARS	5 Stars	4 Stars
Max Damage Depth	13 inches	15 inches
HIC	255	542
Spine Acceleration	35 G’s	38 G’s
Hip Force	512 lbs.	828 lbs.

New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.

Warranty

There are over 12 times as many Ford dealers as there are Lexus dealers, which makes it much easier should you ever need service under the Bronco Sport’s warranty.

Reliability

The Bronco Sport has a standard “limp home system” to keep drivers from being stranded if most or all of the engine’s coolant is lost. The engine will run on only half of its cylinders at a time, reduce its power and light a warning lamp on the dashboard so the driver can get to a service station for repairs. The NX Series doesn’t offer a lost coolant limp home mode, so a coolant leak could strand you or seriously damage the truck’s engine.

Engine

The Bronco Sport Badlands’ standard 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder produces 15 more horsepower (250 vs. 235) and 19 lbs.-ft. more torque (277 vs. 258) than the NX 300’s standard 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder.

As tested in Car and Driver the Bronco Sport Badlands 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder is faster than the NX 300 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder:

	Bronco Sport	NX Series
Zero to 30 MPH	2 sec	2.3 sec
Zero to 60 MPH	5.9 sec	7.1 sec
Zero to 100 MPH	17.3 sec	20.5 sec
5 to 60 MPH Rolling Start	6.5 sec	7.7 sec
Passing 30 to 50 MPH	3.3 sec	3.9 sec
Passing 50 to 70 MPH	4.3 sec	4.8 sec
Quarter Mile	14.5 sec	15.5 sec
Speed in 1/4 Mile	93 MPH	89 MPH

Fuel Economy and Range

On the EPA test cycle the Bronco Sport gets better mileage than the NX Series:

			MPG
Bronco Sport
	AWD	1.5 turbo 3-cyl.	25 city/28 hwy
NX Series
	FWD	2.0 turbo 4-cyl.	22 city/28 hwy
	AWD	2.0 turbo 4-cyl.	22 city/28 hwy
		F Sport 2.0 turbo 4-cyl.	22 city/27 hwy

Regardless of its engine, the Bronco Sport’s engine automatically turns off when the vehicle is stopped, saving fuel and reducing pollution. If the conditions warrant or the driver wishes, the system can be manually disabled at any time for the duration of a trip. Lexus only offers an automatic engine start/stop system on the NX Series 300h.

To lower fuel costs and make buying fuel easier, the Ford Bronco Sport uses regular unleaded gasoline (premium recommended on Bronco Sport Badlands for maximum performance). The NX 300 requires premium, which can cost 20 to 55 cents more per gallon.

The Bronco Sport has 1.2 gallons more fuel capacity than the NX Series Hybrid’s standard fuel tank (16 vs. 14.8 gallons), for longer range between fill-ups.

The Bronco Sport has a standard cap-less fueling system. The fuel filler is automatically opened when the fuel nozzle is inserted and automatically closed when it’s removed. This eliminates the need to unscrew and replace the cap and it reduces fuel evaporation, which causes pollution. The NX Series doesn’t offer a cap-less fueling system.

Environmental Friendliness

In its Green Vehicle Guide, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rates the Ford Bronco Sport higher (5 to 7 out of 10) than the Lexus NX Series (3 to 7). This means the Bronco Sport produces up to 24.5 pounds less smog-producing pollutants than the NX Series every 15,000 miles.

Transmission

An eight-speed automatic is standard on the Ford Bronco Sport, for better acceleration and lower engine speed on the highway. Only a six-speed automatic is available for the NX Series.

Brakes and Stopping

The Bronco Sport stops much shorter than the NX Series:

	Bronco Sport	NX Series
70 to 0 MPH	163 feet	183 feet	Car and Driver
60 to 0 MPH	126 feet	136 feet	Consumer Reports
60 to 0 MPH (Wet)	135 feet	142 feet	Consumer Reports

Tires and Wheels

The Bronco Sport offers an optional full size spare tire so a flat doesn’t interrupt your trip. A full size spare isn’t available on the NX Series; it requires you to depend on a temporary spare, which limits mileage and speed before replacement.

Suspension and Handling

For better handling and stability, the track (width between the wheels) on the Bronco Sport is 1.4 inches wider in the front and .8 inches wider in the rear than the average track on the NX Series.

The Bronco Sport Outer Banks handles at .79 G’s, while the NX 300 F Sport AWD pulls only .76 G’s of cornering force in a Car and Driver skidpad test.

For greater off-road capability the Bronco Sport Base/Big Bend has a 1.1 inches greater minimum ground clearance than the NX 300h (7.8 vs. 6.7 inches), allowing the Bronco Sport to travel over rougher terrain without being stopped or damaged. The Bronco Sport’s minimum ground clearance is 1.9 inches higher than on the NX 300 (8.8 vs. 6.9 inches).

Chassis

The Ford Bronco Sport may be more efficient, handle and accelerate better because it weighs about 450 pounds less than the Lexus NX Series.

The Bronco Sport is 10 inches shorter than the NX Series, making the Bronco Sport easier to handle, maneuver and park in tight spaces.

The front grille of the Bronco Sport uses electronically controlled shutters to close off airflow and reduce drag when less engine cooling is needed. This helps improve highway fuel economy. The NX Series doesn’t offer active grille shutters.

As tested by Car and Driver while under full throttle, the interior of the Bronco Sport Badlands is quieter than the NX 300 F Sport AWD (73 vs. 74 dB).

Passenger Space

The Bronco Sport has 34.1 cubic feet more passenger volume than the NX Series (105.7 vs. 71.6).

The Bronco Sport has 3.3 inches more front headroom, .1 inches more front hip room, 3.6 inches more rear headroom, .8 inches more rear legroom and .3 inches more rear shoulder room than the NX Series.

Cargo Capacity

The Bronco Sport has a much larger cargo volume with its rear seat up than the NX Series with its rear seat up (32.5 vs. 17.7 cubic feet). The Bronco Sport has a much larger cargo volume with its rear seat folded than the NX Series with its rear seat folded (65.2 vs. 54.6 cubic feet).

The Bronco Sport’s rear cargo window opens separately from the rest of the liftgate door to allow quicker loading of small packages. The NX Series’ rear cargo window doesn’t open.

Towing

Maximum trailer towing in the Lexus NX Series is limited to 2000 pounds. The Bronco Sport offers up to a 2200 lbs. towing capacity.

Ergonomics

In case you lock your keys in your vehicle, or don’t have them with you, you can let yourself in using the Bronco Sport’s available exterior PIN entry system. The NX Series doesn’t offer an exterior PIN entry system.

The Bronco Sport’s power window, power lock, power mirror and cruise control switches are lit from behind, making them plainly visible and easier to operate at night. The NX Series’ power lock, power mirror and cruise control switches are unlit, making them difficult to find at night and operate safely.

The Bronco Sport’s standard speed-sensitive wipers speed up when the vehicle does, so that the driver doesn’t have to continually adjust the speed of the wipers. The NX Series’ standard manually variable intermittent wipers have to be constantly adjusted.

To quickly and conveniently keep personal devices charged without cables tangling and wearing out, the Ford Bronco Sport (except Base) offers an optional wireless phone charging system (Qi) in the center console. The NX Series doesn’t offer wireless personal charging.

The Bronco Sport Outer Banks/Badlands/First Edition has a 115-volt a/c outlet on the center console, allowing you to recharge a laptop or run small household appliances without special adapters that can break or get misplaced. The NX Series doesn’t offer a house-current electrical outlet.

Recommendations

Consumer Reports® recommends both the Ford Bronco Sport and the Lexus NX Series, based on reliability, safety and performance.

The Ford Bronco Sport outsold the Lexus NX Series by 23% during the 2021 model year.