Compare the2023 Ford Bronco SportVS 2023 Chevrolet Blazer

Safety
Warranty
Reliability
Engine
Fuel Economy and Range
Brakes and Stopping
Tires and Wheels
Suspension and Handling
Chassis
Passenger Space
Cargo Capacity
Ergonomics
Economic Advantages
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 Chevrolet Blazer doesn’t offer pretensioners for its rear seat belts.

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 Blazer 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 Blazer.

When descending a steep, off-road slope, the Bronco Sport’s standard Trail Control allows you to creep down safely. The Blazer doesn’t offer Trail Control.

The Bronco Sport has a standard blind spot warning system that uses sensors to alert the driver to objects in the vehicle’s blind spots where the side view mirrors don’t reveal them. A system to reveal vehicles in the Blazer’s blind spot costs extra.

To help make backing out of a parking space safer, the Bronco Sport has a standard rear cross-path warning system, which uses sensors in the rear bumper to alert the driver to vehicles approaching from the side, helping the driver avoid collisions. Rear cross-path warning costs extra on the Blazer.

The Bronco Sport’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 Blazer doesn’t offer a driver alert monitor.

Both the Bronco Sport and the Blazer 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, rearview cameras 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 Chevrolet Blazer:

	Bronco Sport	Blazer
	Driver
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
HIC	140	182
Leg Forces (l/r)	123/237 lbs.	104/435 lbs.
	Passenger
STARS	5 Stars	4 Stars
HIC	153	313
Chest Compression	.6 inches	.8 inches
Neck Injury Risk	37%	43%
Neck Compression	54 lbs.	140 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 Chevrolet Blazer:

	Bronco Sport	Blazer
	Front Seat
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
HIC	80	93
Hip Force	205 lbs.	369 lbs.
	Rear Seat
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
HIC	144	251
Spine Acceleration	33 G’s	45 G’s
	Into Pole
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
HIC	255	265
Spine Acceleration	35 G’s	39 G’s
Hip Force	512 lbs.	695 lbs.

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

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 Blazer last would have qualified as only a standard “Top Safety Pick” in 2017.

Warranty

The Bronco Sport’s corrosion warranty is unlimited miles longer than the Blazer’s (unlimited vs. 100,000 miles).

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

From surveys of all its subscribers, Consumer Reports’ January 2023 Auto Issue reports that Ford vehicles are more reliable than Chevrolet vehicles. Consumer Reports ranks Ford 2 places higher in reliability than Chevrolet.

Engine

The Bronco Sport Badlands’ standard 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder produces 7 lbs.-ft. more torque (277 vs. 270) than the Blazer’s optional 3.6 DOHC V6.

As tested in Car and Driver the Bronco Sport Badlands 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder is faster than the Chevrolet Blazer V6:

	Bronco Sport	Blazer
Zero to 30 MPH	2 sec	2.5 sec
Zero to 60 MPH	5.9 sec	6.3 sec
Passing 50 to 70 MPH	4.3 sec	4.6 sec
Quarter Mile	14.5 sec	15 sec

Fuel Economy and Range

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

			MPG
Bronco Sport
	AWD	1.5 turbo 3-cyl.	25 city/28 hwy
		2.0 turbo 4-cyl.	21 city/26 hwy
Blazer
	FWD	3.6 DOHC V6	19 city/27 hwy
		2.0 turbo 4-cyl.	22 city/29 hwy
	AWD	3.6 DOHC V6	19 city/26 hwy
		2.0 turbo 4-cyl.	22 city/27 hwy

Brakes and Stopping

The Bronco Sport stops shorter than the Blazer:

	Bronco Sport	Blazer
70 to 0 MPH	163 feet	165 feet	Car and Driver
60 to 0 MPH	126 feet	130 feet	Consumer Reports
60 to 0 MPH (Wet)	135 feet	139 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 Blazer; it requires you to depend on a temporary spare, which limits mileage and speed before replacement.

Suspension and Handling

The Bronco Sport has standard front and rear gas-charged shocks for better control over choppy roads. The Blazer’s suspension doesn’t offer gas-charged shocks.

The Bronco Sport’s front to rear weight distribution is more even (57% to 43%) than the Blazer’s (60.1% to 39.9%). This gives the Bronco Sport more stable handling and braking.

For better maneuverability, the Bronco Sport’s turning circle is 1.3 feet tighter than the Blazer’s (37.4 feet vs. 38.7 feet).

For greater off-road capability the Bronco Sport Base/Big Bend has a greater minimum ground clearance than the Blazer LT (7.8 vs. 7.5 inches), allowing the Bronco Sport to travel over rougher terrain without being stopped or damaged. The Bronco Sport’s minimum ground clearance is 1.2 inches higher than on the Blazer RS/Premier (8.8 vs. 7.6 inches).

Chassis

The Ford Bronco Sport may be more efficient, handle and accelerate better because it weighs about 450 to 600 pounds less than the Chevrolet Blazer.

The Bronco Sport is 1 foot, 7.1 inches shorter than the Blazer, making the Bronco Sport easier to handle, maneuver and park in tight spaces.

As tested by Car and Driver while under full throttle, the interior of the Bronco Sport Badlands is quieter than the Blazer RS 4x4 (73 vs. 74 dB).

Passenger Space

The Bronco Sport has 1.7 inches more front headroom, 1.4 inches more front legroom and 3.1 inches more rear headroom than the Blazer.

Cargo Capacity

The Bronco Sport has a much larger cargo volume with its rear seat up than the Blazer with its rear seat up (32.5 vs. 30.5 cubic feet). The Bronco Sport has a much larger cargo volume with its rear seat folded than the Blazer with its rear seat folded (65.2 vs. 64.2 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 Blazer’s rear cargo window doesn’t open.

Ergonomics

The Bronco Sport Outer Banks/Badlands’ front and rear power windows all open or close with one touch of the switches. The Blazer’s rear power window switches have to be held the entire time to close them fully.

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 Blazer can only close the windows from inside the vehicle, with the ignition on.

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 Blazer’s manually variable intermittent wipers have to be constantly adjusted. The Bronco Sport Outer Banks’ standard wipers adjust their speed and turn on and off automatically according to the amount of rainfall on the windshield.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) conducts detailed tests on headlights for their range both straight ahead and in curves and to be certain they don’t exceed acceptable amounts of glare to oncoming drivers. The Bronco Sport’s headlights were rated “Good” by the IIHS, while the Blazer’s headlights are rated “Marginal” to “Poor.”

To help drivers avoid possible obstacles, the Bronco Sport offers optional cornering lights to illuminate around corners when the turn signals are activated. The Blazer doesn’t offer cornering lights.

Economic Advantages

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 Blazer only retains 46.35% to 48.99%.

IntelliChoice estimates that five-year ownership costs (depreciation, financing, insurance, fuel, fees, repairs and maintenance) for the Ford Bronco Sport will be $7584 to $11836 less than for the Chevrolet Blazer.

Recommendations

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 Blazer was rated second in its category.

The Ford Bronco Sport outsold the Chevrolet Blazer by 48% during 2022.

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