Compare the2023 Ford Bronco SportVS 2022 BMW X1

Safety
Warranty
Reliability
Engine
Fuel Economy and Range
Brakes and Stopping
Tires and Wheels
Suspension and Handling
Chassis
Passenger Space
Cargo Capacity
Towing
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 BMW X1 doesn’t offer pretensioners for its rear seat belts.

For enhanced safety, the front seat shoulder belts of the Ford Bronco Sport 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 BMW X1 doesn’t offer height-adjustable 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 X1 doesn’t offer a back seat reminder.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety tests front crash prevention systems. With a score of 6 points, IIHS rates the Automatic Emergency Braking in the Bronco Sport as “Superior.” The X1 scores only 4 points and is rated only “Advanced.”

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 X1 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 X1.

The Bronco Sport’s blind spot warning system uses sensors to alert the driver to objects in the vehicle’s blind spots where the side view mirrors don’t reveal them. The X1 doesn’t offer a system to reveal objects in the driver’s blind spots.

To help make backing out of a parking space safer, the Bronco Sport’s standard rear cross-path warning system uses sensors in the rear bumper to alert the driver to vehicles approaching from the side, helping the driver avoid collisions. The X1 doesn’t offer a cross-path warning system.

Both the Bronco Sport and the X1 have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, driver knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, 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 BMW X1:

	Bronco Sport	X1
OVERALL STARS	5 Stars	4 Stars
	Driver
STARS	5 Stars	4 Stars
HIC	140	328
Neck Injury Risk	26%	32%
Neck Stress	178 lbs.	360 lbs.
Neck Compression	29 lbs.	60 lbs.
Leg Forces (l/r)	123/237 lbs.	257/329 lbs.
	Passenger
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
HIC	153	187
Neck Compression	54 lbs.	68 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 BMW X1:

	Bronco Sport	X1
	Front Seat
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
HIC	80	143
Hip Force	205 lbs.	486 lbs.
	Rear Seat
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
HIC	144	193
Spine Acceleration	33 G’s	65 G’s
	Into Pole
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
Max Damage Depth	13 inches	13 inches
HIC	255	278
Spine Acceleration	35 G’s	39 G’s
Hip Force	512 lbs.	815 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 X1 last would have qualified as only a standard “Top Safety Pick” for 2019.

Warranty

Ford’s powertrain warranty covers the Bronco Sport 1 year and 10,000 miles longer than BMW covers the X1. Any repair needed on the engine, transmission, axles, joints or driveshafts is fully covered for 5 years or 60,000 miles. Coverage on the X1 ends after only 4 years or 50,000 miles.

There are almost 9 times as many Ford dealers as there are BMW 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 X1 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 22 more horsepower (250 vs. 228) and 19 lbs.-ft. more torque (277 vs. 258) than the X1’s 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder.

As tested in Car and Driver the Bronco Sport Badlands 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder is faster than the BMW X1:

	Bronco Sport	X1
Zero to 60 MPH	5.9 sec	6.4 sec
5 to 60 MPH Rolling Start	6.5 sec	7.2 sec
Quarter Mile	14.5 sec	14.9 sec

Fuel Economy and Range

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 X1 doesn’t offer a cap-less fueling system.

Brakes and Stopping

The Bronco Sport stops much shorter than the X1:

	Bronco Sport	X1
70 to 0 MPH	163 feet	180 feet	Car and Driver
60 to 0 MPH	126 feet	134 feet	Consumer Reports
60 to 0 MPH (Wet)	135 feet	142 feet	Consumer Reports

Tires and Wheels

For better traction, the Bronco Sport’s optional tires are larger than the largest tires available on the X1 (235/65R17 vs. 225/50R18).

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 X1; it requires you to depend on a temporary spare or run-flat tires, either of which has mileage and speed limitations.

Suspension and Handling

For better handling and stability, the track (width between the wheels) on the Bronco Sport is 1.9 inches wider in the front and 1.2 inches wider in the rear than on the X1.

For greater off-road capability the Bronco Sport Base/Big Bend has a greater minimum ground clearance than the X1 (7.8 vs. 7.2 inches), allowing the Bronco Sport to travel over rougher terrain without being stopped or damaged. The Bronco Sport’s minimum ground clearance is 1.6 inches higher than on the X1 (8.8 vs. 7.2 inches).

Chassis

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 X1 doesn’t offer active grille shutters.

As tested by Car and Driver, the interior of the Bronco Sport Badlands is quieter than the X1 xDrive28i:

	Bronco Sport	X1
At idle	38 dB	40 dB
Full-Throttle	73 dB	75 dB
70 MPH Cruising	69 dB	70 dB

Passenger Space

The Bronco Sport has 4.5 cubic feet more passenger volume than the X1 (105.7 vs. 101.2).

The Bronco Sport has 2 inches more front legroom, 1.7 inches more front shoulder room, 2.3 inches more rear headroom and .4 inches more rear shoulder room than the X1.

Cargo Capacity

The Bronco Sport has a much larger cargo volume with its rear seat up than the X1 with its rear seat up (32.5 vs. 27.1 cubic feet). The Bronco Sport has a much larger cargo volume with its rear seat folded than the X1 with its rear seat folded (65.2 vs. 58.7 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 X1’s rear cargo window doesn’t open.

Towing

The Bronco Sport Badlands offers up to a 2200 lbs. towing capacity. The X1 has no towing capacity.

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 X1 doesn’t offer electronic trailer sway control.

Ergonomics

The Bronco Sport (except Base/Big Bend) offers a remote vehicle starting system, so the vehicle can be started from inside the driver's house. This allows the driver to comfortably warm up the engine before going out to the vehicle. The climate system will also automatically heat or cool the interior. The X1 doesn’t offer a remote starting system.

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 X1 doesn’t offer an exterior PIN entry system, and its BMW Assist 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 X1 only has an intermittent setting, so in a hard rain visibility isn’t as good.

The Bronco Sport’s LED headlights produce a whiter, brighter light (up to 3x) using five times less power than the X1’s standard halogen headlights. LED lights also light instantly and last over twenty times longer than halogen.

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 X1’s headlights are rated “Acceptable.”

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 X1 doesn’t offer a house-current electrical outlet.

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 X1 only retains 47.06% to 47.87%.

IntelliChoice estimates that five-year ownership costs (depreciation, financing, insurance, fuel, fees, repairs and maintenance) for the Ford Bronco Sport will be $7329 to $11146 less than for the BMW X1.

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 X1 isn’t in the top three in its category.

The Ford Bronco Sport outsold the BMW X1 by over 14 to one during 2022.