Compare the2023 Ford BroncoVS 2022 Kia Sportage

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 Kia Sportage 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 Sportage 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 Sportage 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 Sportage.

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 Sportage only offers a rear monitor and front and rear parking sensors that beep or flash a light. That doesn’t help with obstacles to the sides.

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 Sportage 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 Sportage 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 532 to 2428 pounds more than the Kia Sportage. The NHTSA advises that heavier vehicles are much safer in collisions than their significantly lighter counterparts.

The Bronco’s 5 year corrosion warranty has no mileage limitations, but the corrosion warranty on the Sportage runs out after 100,000 miles.

There are almost 4 times as many Ford dealers as there are Kia 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 Sportage 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 power the ignition and other systems and to recharge the battery, the Bronco has a standard 240-amp alternator. The Sportage’s standard 140-amp alternator and largest (SX Turbo AWD) 150-amp alternator aren’t as powerful.

To reliably start during all conditions and help handle large electrical loads, the Bronco has a standard 800-amp battery. The Sportage’s 600-amp battery isn’t as powerful.

The Bronco has more powerful engines than the Sportage:

As tested in Car and Driver the Ford Bronco turbo 4 cyl. is faster than the Sportage SX Turbo 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder (automatics tested):

In heavy traffic or at stoplights the Bronco’s engine automatically turns off when the vehicle is stopped, saving fuel and reducing pollution. The engine is automatically restarted when the driver gets ready to move again. If the conditions warrant or the driver wishes, the system can be manually disabled at any time for the duration of a trip. The Sportage doesn’t offer an automatic engine start/stop system.

The Bronco Raptor’s standard fuel tank has 4.8 gallons more fuel capacity than the Sportage (21.2 vs. 16.4 gallons).

The Bronco 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 Sportage doesn’t offer a cap-less fueling system.

The Bronco offers a manual transmission for better acceleration, control and sportiness. The Sportage doesn’t offer a manual transmission.

A 10-speed automatic is available on the Ford Bronco, for better acceleration and lower engine speed on the highway. Only a six-speed automatic is available for the Sportage.

For better stopping power the Bronco’s brake rotors are larger than those on the Sportage:

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 Sportage are solid, not vented.

For better traction, the Bronco has larger standard tires than the Sportage (255/70R16 vs. 225/60R17). The Bronco Raptor’s tires are larger than the largest tires available on the Sportage (37 x 12.5R17 vs. 245/45R19).

The Ford Bronco’s wheels have 6 lugs for longer wheel bearing life, less chance of rotor warping and greater strength. The Kia Sportage 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 Sportage; it requires you to depend on a temporary spare, which has mileage and speed limitations, or roadside assistance and a tow-truck.

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 Sportage 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 Sportage’s suspension doesn’t offer adjustable shock absorbers.

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 Sportage doesn’t offer drift compensation steering.

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the Bronco 4-Door’s wheelbase is 11 inches longer than on the Sportage (116.1 inches vs. 105.1 inches).

For better handling and stability, the average track (width between the wheels) on the Bronco is 5 inches wider in the front and 4.6 inches wider in the rear than the average track on the Sportage.

For greater off-road capability the Bronco 4-Door has a 1.5 inches greater minimum ground clearance than the Sportage (8.3 vs. 6.8 inches), allowing the Bronco to travel over rougher terrain without being stopped or damaged.

The front grille of the Bronco uses electronically controlled shutters to close off airflow and reduce drag when less engine cooling is needed. This helps improve highway fuel economy. The Sportage doesn’t offer active grille shutters.

The Bronco 4-Door has 9.6 cubic feet more passenger volume than the Sportage (108.2 vs. 98.6).

The Bronco 4-Door has a much larger cargo volume with its rear seat up than the Sportage with its rear seat up (38.3 vs. 30.7 cubic feet). The Bronco 4-Door has a much larger cargo volume with its rear seat folded than the Sportage with its rear seat folded (77.6 vs. 60.1 cubic feet).

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

A standard locking glovebox and standard locking center console (which can’t be accessed with the valet key) keeps your small valuables safer in the Bronco. The Sportage doesn’t offer locking storage for small valuables.

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 Sportage’s rear cargo window doesn’t open.

The Bronco’s standard towing capacity is much higher than the Sportage’s (3500 vs. 2000 pounds). Maximum trailer towing in the Kia Sportage is only 2000 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 Sportage 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 Sportage doesn’t offer electronic trailer sway control.

The engine in the Bronco is mounted longitudinally (North-South), instead of sideways, as in the Sportage. 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 Sportage does not have an oil pressure gauge.

The Bronco’s power parking brake sets with one touch and releases with one touch or automatically. The Sportage’s parking brake has to be released manually.

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 Sportage’s standard power window switches have to be held the entire time to close them fully. Only its driver’s window opens automatically.

On a hot day the Bronco’s driver can lower all the windows from a distance using the keyless remote. The driver of the Sportage can only operate 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’s available exterior PIN entry system. The Sportage doesn’t offer an exterior PIN entry system.

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

The Bronco’s standard outside mirrors include heating elements to clear off the mirrors for better visibility. Kia charges extra for heated mirrors on the Sportage.

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

The Ford Bronco comes in four door and soft top bodystyles; the Kia Sportage isn’t available as a soft top.

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

The Ford Bronco outsold the Kia Sportage by 5% during the 2022 model year.