Compare the2023 Ford Bronco SportVS 2023 Alfa Romeo Stelvio

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 Alfa Romeo Stelvio doesn’t offer pretensioners for its 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 Stelvio 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 Stelvio 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 Stelvio.

Both the Bronco Sport and the Stelvio 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 and available rear parking sensors.

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 standard headlight’s “Good” rating, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety grants the Bronco Sport its highest rating: “Top Safety Pick Plus” for 2022, a rating granted to only 112 vehicles tested by the IIHS. The Stelvio has not been tested, yet.

Ford’s powertrain warranty covers the Bronco Sport 1 year and 10,000 miles longer than Alfa Romeo covers the Stelvio. Any repair needed on the engine, transmission, axles, joints or driveshafts is fully covered for 5 years or 60,000 miles. Coverage on the Stelvio ends after only 4 years or 50,000 miles.

There are almost 22 times as many Ford dealers as there are Alfa Romeo dealers, which makes it much easier should you ever need service under the Bronco Sport’s warranty.

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 Stelvio doesn’t offer a lost coolant limp home mode, so a coolant leak could strand you or seriously damage the truck’s engine.

J.D. Power and Associates rated the Bronco Sport third among small SUVs in their 2022 Initial Quality Study. The Stelvio isn’t in the top three in its category.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2022 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that Ford vehicles are better in initial quality than Alfa Romeo vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Ford above average in initial quality. With 44 more problems per 100 vehicles, Alfa Romeo is rated below average.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2022 survey of the owners of three-year-old vehicles provides the long-term dependability statistics that show that Ford vehicles are more reliable than Alfa Romeo vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Ford above average in long-term dependability. With 4 more problems per 100 vehicles in the first three years of ownership, Alfa Romeo is rated below average.

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

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 Stelvio doesn’t offer a cap-less fueling system.

The Bronco Sport stops much shorter than the Stelvio:

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 Stelvio; it requires you to depend on a temporary spare or run-flat tires, either of which has mileage and speed limitations.

For better maneuverability, the Bronco Sport’s turning circle is 1.1 feet tighter than the Stelvio’s (37.4 feet vs. 38.5 feet).

For greater off-road capability the Bronco Sport has a greater minimum ground clearance than the Stelvio (8.8 vs. 8.1 inches), allowing the Bronco Sport to travel over rougher terrain without being stopped or damaged.

The Ford Bronco Sport may be more efficient, handle and accelerate better because it weighs about 250 to 450 pounds less than the Alfa Romeo Stelvio.

The Bronco Sport is 11.9 inches shorter than the Stelvio, 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 Stelvio doesn’t offer active grille shutters.

As tested by Car and Driver while at idle, the interior of the Bronco Sport Badlands is quieter than the Stelvio Sprint AWD (38 vs. 43 dB).

The Bronco Sport has 8.1 cubic feet more passenger volume than the Stelvio (105.7 vs. 97.6).

The Bronco Sport has 1.3 inches more front headroom, 5.8 inches more front legroom, 2.8 inches more rear headroom and 5 inches more rear legroom than the Stelvio.

The Bronco Sport has a much larger cargo volume with its rear seat up than the Stelvio with its rear seat up (32.5 vs. 18.5 cubic feet). The Bronco Sport has a much larger cargo volume with its rear seat folded than the Stelvio with its rear seat folded (65.2 vs. 56.5 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 Stelvio’s rear cargo window doesn’t open.

Optional Trailer Sway Control on the Bronco Sport uses the AdvanceTrac® sensors to detect trailer sway, then uses individual brakes to counteract any swaying and help keep the tow vehicle and trailer steady. The Stelvio doesn’t offer electronic trailer sway control.

If the windows are left open on the Bronco Sport the driver can close them all from a distance using the remote. On a hot day the driver can also lower the windows the same way. The driver of the Stelvio can only operate the windows from inside the vehicle, with the ignition on.

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 Stelvio doesn’t offer an exterior PIN entry system.

The Bronco Sport’s LED headlights produce a white, bright light using less electricity than the Stelvio’s xenon high intensity discharge (HID) headlights. HID headlights can be slow to reach full brightness or power cycle, causing issues when flashing them to signal other vehicles; LED headlights light instantly. LED lights also last about three to four times as long.

Insurance will cost less for the Bronco Sport owner. The Complete Car Cost Guide estimates that insurance for the Bronco Sport will cost $1285 to $2665 less than the Stelvio over a five-year period.

The Bronco Sport will cost the buyer less in the long run because of its superior resale value. The IntelliChoice estimates that the Bronco Sport will retain 59.2% to 61.37% of its original price after five years, while the Stelvio only retains 51% to 52.5%.

IntelliChoice estimates that five-year ownership costs (depreciation, financing, insurance, fuel, fees, repairs and maintenance) for the Ford Bronco Sport will be $15275 to $16663 less than for the Alfa Romeo Stelvio.

J.D. Power and Associates rated the Bronco Sport first among small SUVs in owner reported satisfaction. This includes how well the vehicle performs and satisfies its owner’s expectations. The Stelvio isn’t in the top three.

The Ford Bronco Sport outsold the Alfa Romeo Stelvio by almost 13 to one during 2022.