Compare the2024 Ford Bronco SportVS 2023 Kia Sorento

Safety
Warranty
Reliability
Engine
Fuel Economy and Range
Environmental Friendliness
Brakes and Stopping
Tires and Wheels
Suspension and Handling
Chassis
Passenger Space
Cargo Capacity
Servicing Ease
Ergonomics
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 Kia Sorento doesn’t offer pretensioners for its second-row seat belts.

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 Sorento 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 Sorento.

Both the Bronco Sport and the Sorento 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, 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.

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 Kia Sorento:

	Bronco Sport	Sorento
OVERALL STARS	5 Stars	4 Stars
	Driver
STARS	5 Stars	4 Stars
HIC	140	334
Leg Forces (l/r)	123/237 lbs.	212/405 lbs.
	Passenger
STARS	5 Stars	4 Stars
HIC	153	390
Neck Injury Risk	37%	53%
Neck Compression	54 lbs.	89 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 post at 20 MPH, results indicate that the Ford Bronco Sport is safer than the Kia Sorento:

	Bronco Sport	Sorento
	Into Pole
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
Max Damage Depth	13 inches	15 inches
HIC	255	280
Hip Force	512 lbs.	579 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 126 vehicles tested by the IIHS. The Sorento is only a standard “Top Safety Pick” for 2022.

Warranty

The Bronco Sport’s 5 year corrosion warranty has no mileage limitations, but the corrosion warranty on the Sorento 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 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 Sorento 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 24 points higher than the Sorento.

J.D. Power and Associates rated the Bronco Sport third among small suvs in their 2023 Initial Quality Study. The Sorento isn’t in the top three in its category.

Engine

The Bronco Sport’s standard 1.5 turbo 3-cylinder produces 9 lbs.-ft. more torque (190 vs. 181) than the Sorento’s standard 2.5 DOHC 4-cylinder.

Fuel Economy and Range

On the EPA test cycle the Bronco Sport gets better mileage than the Sorento:

			MPG
Bronco Sport
	AWD	1.5 turbo 3-cyl.	25 city/29 hwy
Sorento
	FWD	2.5 turbo 4-cyl.	22 city/29 hwy
	AWD	2.5 turbo 4-cyl.	22 city/27 hwy
		2.5 DOHC 4-cyl.	23 city/25 hwy

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

Environmental Friendliness

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 Kia Sorento (5). This means the Bronco Sport produces up to 8 pounds less smog-producing pollutants than the Sorento every 15,000 miles.

Brakes and Stopping

The Bronco Sport stops shorter than the Sorento:

	Bronco Sport	Sorento
60 to 0 MPH	126 feet	133 feet	Consumer Reports
60 to 0 MPH (Wet)	135 feet	143 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 Sorento; it requires you to depend on a temporary spare, which limits mileage and speed before replacement.

Suspension and Handling

For greater off-road capability the Bronco Sport Base/Big Bend has a greater minimum ground clearance than the Sorento (7.8 vs. 6.9 inches), allowing the Bronco Sport to travel over rougher terrain without being stopped or damaged. The Bronco Sport’s minimum ground clearance is .6 inch higher than on the Sorento X-Line (8.8 vs. 8.2 inches).

Chassis

The Ford Bronco Sport may be more efficient, handle and accelerate better because it weighs about 250 to 400 pounds less than the Kia Sorento.

The Bronco Sport is 1 foot, 4.3 inches shorter than the Sorento, 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 Sorento doesn’t offer active grille shutters.

Passenger Space

The Bronco Sport has 1.2 inches more front headroom, 1 inch more front legroom and 2.6 inches more rear headroom than the Sorento.

Cargo Capacity

The Bronco Sport has a much larger cargo volume than the Sorento with its rear seat up (32.5 vs. 12.6 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 Sorento’s rear cargo window doesn’t open.

Servicing Ease

The Bronco Sport uses gas struts to support the hood for easier service access. The Sorento 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

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

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 Sorento 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 Sorento doesn’t offer an exterior PIN entry system.

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 Sorento’s standard manually variable intermittent wipers have to be constantly adjusted.

Consumer Reports rated the Bronco Sport’s headlight performance “Fair,” a higher rating than the Sorento’s headlights, which were rated “Poor.”

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

Recommendations

J.D. Power and Associates rated the Bronco Sport second among small suvs in owner reported satisfaction. This includes how well the vehicle performs and satisfies its owner’s expectations. The Sorento isn’t in the top three in its category.

The Ford Bronco Sport outsold the Kia Sorento by 19% during 2022.

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