Compare the2023 Ford BroncoVS 2022 Honda CR-V

For enhanced safety, the front and rear seat shoulder belts of the Ford Bronco 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 Honda CR-V 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 4-Door are reminded to check the back seat if they opened the rear door before starting out. The CR-V doesn’t offer a back seat reminder.

The Bronco 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 CR-V 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, Full-Time Four-Wheel Drive is standard on the Bronco. But it costs extra on the CR-V.

The Bronco (except Base/Big Bend/Black Diamond/Everglades) offers an optional 360-Degree Camera to allow the driver to see objects all around the vehicle on a screen. The CR-V only offers a rear monitor.

The Bronco has standard 911 Assist, which uses a global positioning satellite (GPS) receiver and a cellular system to get turn-by-turn driving directions or send emergency personnel to the scene if any airbags deploy. The CR-V doesn’t offer a GPS response system, only a navigation computer with no live response for emergencies, so if you’re involved in an accident and you’re incapacitated help may not come as quickly.

Both the Bronco and the CR-V have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, side-impact head airbags, plastic fuel tanks, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, daytime running lights, rearview cameras, available lane departure warning systems, blind spot warning systems, rear cross-path warning and driver alert monitors.

The Ford Bronco weighs 728 to 2396 pounds more than the Honda CR-V. The NHTSA advises that heavier vehicles are much safer in collisions than their significantly lighter counterparts.

There are almost 3 times as many Ford dealers as there are Honda dealers, which makes it much easier should you ever need service under the Bronco’s warranty.

The Bronco 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 CR-V 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 has a standard 800-amp battery. The CR-V’s 410-amp battery isn’t as powerful.

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 Honda vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Ford above average in initial quality. With 16 more problems per 100 vehicles, Honda 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 Honda 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, Honda is rated below average.

The Bronco’s standard 2.3 turbo 4-cylinder produces 110 more horsepower (300 vs. 190) and 146 lbs.-ft. more torque (325 vs. 179) than the CR-V’s 1.5 turbo 4-cylinder. The Bronco’s optional 2.7 turbo V6 produces 140 more horsepower (330 vs. 190) and 236 lbs.-ft. more torque (415 vs. 179) than the CR-V’s 1.5 turbo 4-cylinder. The Bronco Raptor’s standard 3.0 turbo V6 produces 228 more horsepower (418 vs. 190) and 261 lbs.-ft. more torque (440 vs. 179) than the CR-V’s 1.5 turbo 4-cylinder.

As tested in Car and Driver the Ford Bronco is faster than the Honda CR-V (automatics tested):

The Bronco 2-Door’s standard fuel tank has 2.9 gallons more fuel capacity than the CR-V (16.9 vs. 14 gallons), for longer range between fill-ups. The Bronco Raptor’s standard fuel tank has 7.2 gallons more fuel capacity than the CR-V (21.2 vs. 14 gallons).

For better stopping power the Bronco Raptor’s front brake rotors are larger than those on the CR-V:

The Bronco’s standard front and rear disc brakes are vented to help dissipate heat for shorter stops with less fading. The rear discs on the CR-V are solid, not vented.

For better traction, the Bronco has larger standard tires than the CR-V (255/70R16 vs. 235/65R17). The Bronco Raptor’s tires are larger than the largest tires available on the CR-V (37 x 12.5R17 vs. 235/65R17).

The Ford Bronco’s wheels have 6 lugs for longer wheel bearing life, less chance of rotor warping and greater strength. The Honda CR-V only has 5 wheel lugs per wheel.

The Bronco has a standard full size spare tire so a flat doesn’t interrupt your trip. A full size spare isn’t available on the CR-V; it requires you to depend on a temporary spare, which limits mileage and speed before replacement.

The Bronco Badlands has an active front sway bar, which helps keep it flat and controlled during cornering, but disconnects at lower speeds to smooth the ride and offer greater off-road suspension articulation. This helps keep the tires glued to the road on-road and off. The CR-V doesn’t offer an active sway bar system.

The Bronco offers an optional driver-adjustable suspension system. It allows the driver to choose between an extra-supple ride, reducing fatigue on long trips, or a sport setting, which allows maximum control for tricky roads or off-road. The CR-V’s suspension doesn’t offer adjustable shock absorbers.

The Bronco has vehicle speed sensitive 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 CR-V doesn’t offer variable-assist power steering.

The Bronco’s drift compensation steering can automatically compensate for road conditions which would cause the vehicle to drift from side to side, helping the driver to keep the vehicle straight more easily. The CR-V doesn’t offer drift compensation steering.

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the Bronco 4-Door’s wheelbase is 11.4 inches longer than on the CR-V AWD (116.1 inches vs. 104.7 inches).

For better handling and stability, the average track (width between the wheels) on the Bronco is 5.4 inches wider in the front and 4.9 inches wider in the rear than the average track on the CR-V.

For better maneuverability, the Bronco 2-Door’s turning circle is 1.9 feet tighter than the CR-V’s (35.5 feet vs. 37.4 feet).

For greater off-road capability the Bronco 4-Door has a greater minimum ground clearance than the CR-V (8.3 vs. 8.2 inches), allowing the Bronco to travel over rougher terrain without being stopped or damaged.

The Bronco 4-Door has 2.3 cubic feet more passenger volume than the CR-V (108.2 vs. 105.9).

The Bronco 4-Door has a larger cargo volume with its rear seat folded than the CR-V with its rear seat folded (77.6 vs. 75.8 cubic feet).

The Bronco 4-Door’s optional sliding cargo floor makes loading and unloading cargo easier and safer. The CR-V doesn’t offer a sliding load floor.

The Bronco’s rear cargo window opens separately from the rest of the right swing out door to allow quicker loading of small packages. The CR-V’s rear cargo window doesn’t open.

The Bronco’s standard towing capacity is much higher than the CR-V’s (3500 vs. 1500 pounds). Maximum trailer towing in the Honda CR-V is only 1500 pounds. The Bronco offers up to a 4500 lbs. towing capacity.

The Bronco can be flat towed on all four wheels (dinghy towed), allowing recreational vehicle owners to bring it with them on the road. When they reach their destination, the Bronco can be unhitched and driven around locally. The CR-V can’t be towed flat on the ground.

Standard Trailer Sway Control on the Bronco 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 CR-V doesn’t offer electronic trailer sway control.

The engine in the Bronco is mounted longitudinally (North-South), instead of sideways, as in the CR-V. This makes it easier to service and maintain, because the accessory belts are in front.

The Bronco’s instruments include an oil pressure gauge and a temperature gauge - which could save your engine! Often ‘idiot lights’ don’t warn you until damage has been done. The CR-V does not have an oil pressure gauge.

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

The Bronco’s front power windows open or close fully with one touch of the switches, making it more convenient at drive-up windows and toll booths, or when talking with someone outside the car. The CR-V’s standard passenger windows don’t open or close automatically. The CR-V SE/EX/EX-L/Touring’s rear windows don’t close automatically.

In case you lock your keys in your vehicle, or don’t have them with you, you can let yourself in using the Bronco’s available exterior PIN entry system. The CR-V doesn’t offer an exterior PIN entry system.

The Bronco’s variable intermittent wipers have an adjustable delay to allow the driver to choose a setting that best clears the windshield during light rain or mist. The CR-V LX’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’s LED headlights produce a whiter, brighter light (up to 3x) using five times less power than the CR-V’s standard halogen headlights. LED lights also light instantly and last over twenty times longer than halogen.

The Bronco’s standard outside mirrors include heating elements to clear off the mirrors for better visibility. Honda only offers heated mirrors on the CR-V EX/EX-L/Touring.

The Bronco (except Base) offers an optional 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 CR-V doesn’t offer a house-current electrical outlet.

The Ford Bronco comes in four door and soft top bodystyles; the Honda CR-V isn’t available as a soft top.

The Bronco was chosen as one of Car and Driver’s “Top Ten” in 2022. The CR-V has never been a Car and Driver “Top Ten” pick.