Compare the2023 Ford Bronco SportVS 2023 Mazda CX-50

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 Mazda CX-50 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 CX-50 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 CX-50 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.

When descending a steep, off-road slope, the Bronco Sport’s standard Trail Control allows you to creep down safely. The CX-50 doesn’t offer Trail Control.

Both the Bronco Sport and the CX-50 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, all wheel drive, 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.

There are almost 6 times as many Ford dealers as there are Mazda 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 CX-50 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 CX-50 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 Mazda vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Ford above average in initial quality. With 13 more problems per 100 vehicles, Mazda is rated lower.

The Bronco Sport Badlands’ standard 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder produces 63 more horsepower (250 vs. 187) and 91 lbs.-ft. more torque (277 vs. 186) than the CX-50’s standard 2.5 DOHC 4-cylinder.

As tested in Consumer Reports the Ford Bronco Sport turbo 3 cyl. is faster than the Mazda CX-50 4 cyl.:

As tested in Car and Driver the Bronco Sport Badlands 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder is faster than the Mazda CX-50 (256 HP engine):

On the EPA test cycle the Bronco Sport 1.5 turbo 3-cylinder gets better fuel mileage than the CX-50 2.5 turbo 4-cylinder (25 city/28 hwy vs. 23 city/29 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. Mazda only offers an automatic engine start/stop system on the CX-50 Turbo.

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 CX-50 doesn’t offer a cap-less fueling system.

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 Mazda CX-50 (3 to 7). This means the Bronco Sport produces up to 24.5 pounds less smog-producing pollutants than the CX-50 every 15,000 miles.

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 CX-50.

The Bronco Sport stops shorter than the CX-50:

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 CX-50; it requires you to depend on a temporary spare, which limits mileage and speed before replacement.

For superior ride and handling, the Ford Bronco Sport has fully independent front and rear suspensions. An independent suspension allows the wheels to follow the road at the best angle for gripping the pavement, without compromising ride comfort. The Mazda CX-50 has a rear torsion beam axle, with a semi-independent rear suspension.

The Bronco Sport has standard front and rear stabilizer bars, which help keep the Bronco Sport flat and controlled during cornering. The CX-50’s suspension doesn’t offer a rear stabilizer bar.

The Bronco Sport’s front to rear weight distribution is more even (57% to 43%) than the CX-50’s (58.9% to 41.1%). This gives the Bronco Sport more stable handling and braking.

For greater off-road capability the Bronco Sport has a greater minimum ground clearance than the CX-50 Premium/Turbo (8.8 vs. 8.6 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 150 to 250 pounds less than the Mazda CX-50.

The Bronco Sport is 1 foot, 1.1 inches shorter than the CX-50, 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 CX-50 doesn’t offer active grille shutters.

As tested by Car and Driver, the interior of the Bronco Sport Badlands is quieter than the CX-50 2.5 Turbo:

The Bronco Sport has 5.4 cubic feet more passenger volume than the CX-50 (105.7 vs. 100.3).

The Bronco Sport has 2.4 inches more front headroom, .7 inches more front legroom, 1.6 inches more front hip room, 1.4 inches more front shoulder room, 3.1 inches more rear headroom, 1.3 inches more rear hip room and 2 inches more rear shoulder room than the CX-50.

The Bronco Sport has a much larger cargo volume with its rear seat up than the CX-50 with its rear seat up (32.5 vs. 31.4 cubic feet). The Bronco Sport has a much larger cargo volume with its rear seat folded than the CX-50 with its rear seat folded (65.2 vs. 56.3 cubic feet).

An optional locking center console keeps your small valuables safer in the Bronco Sport. The CX-50 doesn’t offer locking storage for small valuables.

The Bronco Sport’s rear cargo window opens separately from the rest of the liftgate door to allow quicker loading of small packages. The CX-50’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 CX-50 doesn’t offer electronic trailer sway control.

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 CX-50 doesn’t offer a remote starting system.

The power windows standard on both the Bronco Sport and the CX-50 have locks to prevent small children from operating them. When the lock on the Bronco Sport is engaged the driver can still operate all of the windows, for instance to close one opened by a child. The CX-50 prevents the driver from operating the other windows just as it does the other passengers.

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 CX-50 can only close 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 CX-50 doesn’t offer an exterior PIN entry system.

Both the Bronco Sport and the CX-50 offer rear vents. For greater rear passenger comfort, the Bronco Sport Big Bend/Outer Banks/Badlands has standard rear air conditioning vents to keep rear occupants cool in summer or warm in winter. The CX-50 doesn’t offer rear air conditioning vents, only heat vents.

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 CX-50 doesn’t offer a house-current electrical outlet.

The Ford Bronco Sport outsold the Mazda CX-50 by almost five to one during 2022.