Compare the2023 Ford Bronco SportVS 2023 Volkswagen Atlas Cross Sport

Safety
Warranty
Reliability
Engine
Fuel Economy and Range
Environmental Friendliness
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 Volkswagen Atlas Cross Sport 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 Atlas Cross Sport doesn’t offer a back seat reminder.

The Ford Bronco Sport has a standard driver’s side knee airbag mounted low on the dashboard. The knee airbag helps prevent the driver from sliding under the seatbelts or the main frontal airbag; this keeps the driver better positioned during a collision for maximum protection. A knee airbag also helps keep the legs from striking the dashboard, preventing knee and leg injuries in the case of a serious frontal collision. The Atlas Cross Sport doesn’t offer knee airbags.

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

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 Atlas Cross Sport doesn’t offer a driver alert monitor.

Both the Bronco Sport and the Atlas Cross Sport have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact 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, post-collision automatic braking systems, daytime running lights, blind spot warning systems, rearview cameras, rear cross-path warning 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 Volkswagen Atlas Cross Sport:

	Bronco Sport	Atlas Cross Sport
OVERALL STARS	5 Stars	4 Stars
	Driver
STARS	5 Stars	4 Stars
HIC	140	307
Neck Injury Risk	26%	30%
Neck Stress	178 lbs.	412 lbs.
Neck Compression	29 lbs.	59 lbs.
	Passenger
STARS	5 Stars	4 Stars
HIC	153	277
Chest Compression	.6 inches	.7 inches
Neck Injury Risk	37%	39%
Neck Compression	54 lbs.	117 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 Volkswagen Atlas Cross Sport:

	Bronco Sport	Atlas Cross Sport
	Front Seat
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
Hip Force	205 lbs.	215 lbs.
	Rear Seat
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
HIC	144	208
Spine Acceleration	33 G’s	35 G’s
	Into Pole
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
HIC	255	309
Spine Acceleration	35 G’s	41 G’s
Hip Force	512 lbs.	594 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 Atlas Cross Sport has not been fully tested, yet.

Warranty

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

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

There are almost 5 times as many Ford dealers as there are Volkswagen 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 Atlas Cross Sport doesn’t offer a lost coolant limp home mode, so a coolant leak could strand you or seriously damage the truck’s engine.

To reliably start during all conditions and help handle large electrical loads, the Bronco Sport has a standard 760-amp battery. The Atlas Cross Sport’s 680-amp battery isn’t as powerful.

J.D. Power and Associates rated the Bronco Sport third among small SUVs in their 2022 Initial Quality Study. The Atlas Cross Sport 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 Volkswagen vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Ford above average in initial quality. With 63 more problems per 100 vehicles, Volkswagen 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 Volkswagen 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, Volkswagen is rated below average.

From surveys of all its subscribers, Consumer Reports’ January 2023 Auto Issue reports that Ford vehicles are more reliable than Volkswagen vehicles. Consumer Reports ranks Ford 5 places higher in reliability than Volkswagen.

Engine

The Bronco Sport Badlands’ standard 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder produces 11 lbs.-ft. more torque (277 vs. 266) than the Atlas Cross Sport’s optional 3.6 DOHC V6.

As tested in Motor Trend the Bronco Sport Badlands 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder is faster than the Volkswagen Atlas Cross Sport V6:

	Bronco Sport	Atlas Cross Sport
Zero to 60 MPH	6.5 sec	7.9 sec
Quarter Mile	15.3 sec	16 sec
Speed in 1/4 Mile	87.8 MPH	87.4 MPH

Fuel Economy and Range

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

			MPG
Bronco Sport
	AWD	1.5 turbo 3-cyl.	25 city/28 hwy
		2.0 turbo 4-cyl.	21 city/26 hwy
Atlas Cross Sport
	FWD	2.0 turbo 4-cyl.	21 city/25 hwy
		3.6 DOHC V6	18 city/24 hwy
	AWD	2.0 turbo 4-cyl.	20 city/24 hwy
		3.6 DOHC V6	18 city/24 hwy

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 Atlas Cross Sport 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 (6 to 7 out of 10) than the Volkswagen Atlas Cross Sport (3 to 5). This means the Bronco Sport produces up to 24.5 pounds less smog-producing pollutants than the Atlas Cross Sport every 15,000 miles.

Brakes and Stopping

The Bronco Sport stops shorter than the Atlas Cross Sport:

	Bronco Sport	Atlas Cross Sport
60 to 0 MPH	126 feet	131 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 Atlas Cross Sport; 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 Atlas Cross Sport’s suspension doesn’t offer gas-charged shocks.

For better maneuverability, the Bronco Sport’s turning circle is 3.1 feet tighter than the Atlas Cross Sport’s (37.4 feet vs. 40.5 feet).

For greater off-road capability the Bronco Sport Base/Big Bend has a greater minimum ground clearance than the Atlas Cross Sport 2.0T (7.8 vs. 7.1 inches), allowing the Bronco Sport to travel over rougher terrain without being stopped or damaged. The Bronco Sport’s minimum ground clearance is 1.3 inches higher than on the Atlas Cross Sport V6 (8.8 vs. 7.5 inches).

Chassis

The Ford Bronco Sport may be more efficient, handle and accelerate better because it weighs about 650 to 700 pounds less than the Volkswagen Atlas Cross Sport.

The Bronco Sport is 1 foot, 10.8 inches shorter than the Atlas Cross Sport, 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 Atlas Cross Sport doesn’t offer active grille shutters.

Passenger Space

The Bronco Sport has 2.1 inches more front headroom, .7 inches more front legroom and 3.9 inches more rear headroom than the Atlas Cross Sport.

Cargo Capacity

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

Towing

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 Atlas Cross Sport doesn’t offer electronic trailer sway control.

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 Atlas Cross Sport doesn’t offer an exterior PIN entry system, and its Car-Net can’t unlock the doors if the vehicle doesn’t have cell phone reception or the driver can’t contact the service.

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

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 Atlas Cross Sport isn’t in the top three.

The Ford Bronco Sport outsold the Volkswagen Atlas by 21% during 2022.