Compare the2023 Ford Bronco SportVS 2022 Toyota Rav4

Safety
Warranty
Reliability
Engine
Fuel Economy and Range
Brakes and Stopping
Tires and Wheels
Suspension and Handling
Chassis
Passenger Space
Cargo Capacity
Servicing Ease
Ergonomics
Recommendations

Safety

© 1999 - 2024Advanta-STAR Automotive Research, all rights reserved. This vehicle comparison and all of the content in it are provided only by license from Advanta-STAR Automotive Research Corporation of America (“Advanta-STAR”). If you are not a legally licensed user of this vehicle comparison, it is against federal law to access it, copy it, forward it, or use it in any manner whatsoever. Any unauthorized use of this vehicle comparison is a violation of U.S. and international law and is punishable criminally and civilly. Removal of this watermark/notification without prior written license and approval received from Advanta-STAR is an agreement, understanding, and/or stipulation by the person(s), entities, agents, attorneys, and any other persons involved in the removal of this watermark/notification (including but not limited to Search Optics, LLC and any and all parent entities, sister entities, and subsidiary entities of Search Optics, LLC and/or any other entity, agent, attorney, and persons related in any manner to Search Optics, LLC) to: 1) an agreed upon amount of liquidated monetary damages of a minimum of $1,250,000.00 US Dollars in favor of Advanta-STAR; 2) the jurisdiction and enforcement of any legal claims associated with this matter asserted by Advanta-STAR in the United States Federal District Court in Portand, Oregon; and 3) service of process of any legal claims asserted by Advanta-STAR associated with this matter may be accomplished by First-Class Postage by the United States Postal Service or comparable service. XPYNN-M34HG 2a06:98c0:3600::103 2024/11/21

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 Rav4 doesn’t offer a back seat reminder.

To provide maximum traction and stability on all roads, All-Wheel Drive is standard on the Bronco Sport. But it costs extra on the Rav4.

The Bronco Sport has a standard blind spot warning system, which 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 Rav4’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 Rav4.

Both the Bronco Sport and the Rav4 have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, driver knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, front and rear seatbelt pretensioners, 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, lane departure warning systems, rearview cameras, driver alert monitors 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 Toyota Rav4:

	Bronco Sport	Rav4
OVERALL STARS	5 Stars	4 Stars
	Driver
STARS	5 Stars	4 Stars
HIC	140	152
Neck Injury Risk	26%	29.3%
Neck Stress	178 lbs.	306 lbs.
Neck Compression	29 lbs.	56 lbs.
Leg Forces (l/r)	123/237 lbs.	400/388 lbs.
	Passenger
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
HIC	153	284
Neck Injury Risk	37%	37.4%
Neck Stress	177 lbs.	258 lbs.
Neck Compression	54 lbs.	95 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 Toyota Rav4:

	Bronco Sport	Rav4
	Front Seat
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
HIC	80	83
Hip Force	205 lbs.	246 lbs.
	Rear Seat
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
HIC	144	146
Spine Acceleration	33 G’s	49 G’s
	Into Pole
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
Max Damage Depth	13 inches	14 inches
HIC	255	299
Spine Acceleration	35 G’s	36 G’s
Hip Force	512 lbs.	835 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 101 vehicles tested by the IIHS. The Rav4 is only a standard “Top Safety Pick” for 2022.

Warranty

There are over 2 times as many Ford dealers as there are Toyota 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 Rav4 doesn’t offer a lost coolant limp home mode, so a coolant leak could strand you or seriously damage the truck’s engine.

A reliable vehicle saves its owner time, money and trouble. Nobody wants to be stranded or have to be without a vehicle while it’s being repaired. Consumer Reports rates the Bronco Sport’s reliability 44 points higher than the Rav4.

J.D. Power and Associates rated the Bronco Sport third among small SUVs in their 2022 Initial Quality Study. The Rav4 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 Toyota vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Ford above average in initial quality. With 5 more problems per 100 vehicles, Toyota is rated lower.

Engine

The Bronco Sport’s standard 1.5 turbo 3-cylinder produces 6 lbs.-ft. more torque (190 vs. 184) than the Rav4’s 2.5 DOHC 4-cylinder. The Bronco Sport Badlands’ standard 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder produces 47 more horsepower (250 vs. 203) and 93 lbs.-ft. more torque (277 vs. 184) than the Rav4’s 2.5 DOHC 4-cylinder.

As tested in Car and Driver the Bronco Sport Badlands 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder is faster than the Toyota Rav4:

	Bronco Sport	Rav4
Zero to 30 MPH	2 sec	2.8 sec
Zero to 60 MPH	5.9 sec	8.2 sec
Zero to 100 MPH	17.3 sec	22.9 sec
5 to 60 MPH Rolling Start	6.5 sec	8.7 sec
Passing 30 to 50 MPH	3.3 sec	4 sec
Passing 50 to 70 MPH	4.3 sec	6.1 sec
Quarter Mile	14.5 sec	16.4 sec
Speed in 1/4 Mile	93 MPH	87 MPH
Top Speed	125 MPH	122 MPH

Fuel Economy and Range

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. Toyota only offers an automatic engine start/stop system on the Rav4 LE AWD/XLE/XLE Premium.

The Bronco Sport has 1.5 gallons more fuel capacity than the Rav4 (16 vs. 14.5 gallons), for longer range between fill-ups.

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 Rav4 doesn’t offer a cap-less fueling system.

Brakes and Stopping

The Bronco Sport stops much shorter than the Rav4:

	Bronco Sport	Rav4
70 to 0 MPH	163 feet	168 feet	Car and Driver
60 to 0 MPH	123 feet	134 feet	Motor Trend
60 to 0 MPH (Wet)	135 feet	140 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 Rav4; it requires you to depend on a temporary spare, which limits mileage and speed before replacement.

Suspension and Handling

The Bronco Sport has variable-assist power steering, for low-effort parking, better control at highway speeds and during hard cornering, and a better feel of the road. The Rav4 doesn’t offer variable-assist power steering.

The Bronco Sport Badlands handles at .76 G’s, while the Rav4 Limited pulls only .74 G’s of cornering force in a Motor Trend skidpad test.

The Bronco Sport Badlands executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver quicker than the Rav4 Limited (28.4 seconds @ .59 average G’s vs. 28.9 seconds @ .57 average G’s).

For greater off-road capability the Bronco Sport has a greater minimum ground clearance than the Rav4 XLE Premium/Limited/Adventure/TRD Off-Road (8.8 vs. 8.6 inches), allowing the Bronco Sport to travel over rougher terrain without being stopped or damaged.

Chassis

The Bronco Sport is 8.2 inches shorter than the Rav4, 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 Rav4 Limited 4WD (73 vs. 77 dB).

Passenger Space

The Bronco Sport has 6.8 cubic feet more passenger volume than the Rav4 (105.7 vs. 98.9).

The Bronco Sport has 2 inches more front headroom, 1.4 inches more front legroom, .9 inches more front hip room, 2.2 inches more rear headroom and 5.7 inches more rear hip room than the Rav4.

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 Rav4’s rear cargo window doesn’t open.

Servicing Ease

The Bronco Sport uses gas struts to support the hood for easier service access. The Rav4 uses a prop rod to support its heavy hood. It takes two hands to open the hood and set the prop rod, the prop rod gets in the way during maintenance and service, and the prop rod could be knocked out, causing the heavy hood to fall on the person maintaining or servicing the car.

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 Rav4 doesn’t offer an exterior PIN entry system.

The Bronco Sport’s power window, power lock, power mirror and cruise control switches are lit from behind, making them plainly visible and easier to operate at night. The Rav4’s power window (except driver window), power lock and power mirror switches are unlit, making them difficult to find at night and operate safely.

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 Rav4 LE’s standard fixed intermittent wipers only have one fixed delay setting, so the driver will have to manually switch them between slow and intermittent.

The Bronco Sport has a standard automatic headlight on/off feature. When the ignition is on, the headlights automatically turn on at dusk and off after dawn. The Rav4 has an automatic headlight on/off feature standard only on the XLE/XLE Premium/Adventure/Limited/TRD Off-Road.

To help drivers avoid possible obstacles, the Bronco Sport offers optional cornering lights to illuminate around corners when the turn signals are activated. The Rav4 doesn’t offer cornering lights.

Recommendations

Consumer Reports® recommends both the Ford Bronco Sport and the Toyota Rav4, based on reliability, safety and performance.

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 Rav4 isn’t in the top three in its category.