Compare the2025 Ford Bronco SportVS 2025 Volkswagen Atlas Cross Sport

Safety
Warranty
Reliability
Engine
Fuel Economy and Range
Brakes and Stopping
Tires and Wheels
Suspension and Handling
Chassis
Passenger Space
Cargo Capacity
Ergonomics
Economic Advantages
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 2024/12/21

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 Volkswagen Atlas Cross Sport doesn’t offer pretensioners for its rear seat belts.

The Ford Bronco Sport has a standard driver’s side knee airbag mounted low on the dashboard. The knee airbag helps prevent the driver from sliding under the seatbelts or the main frontal airbag; this keeps the driver better positioned during a collision for maximum protection. A knee airbag also helps keep the legs from striking the dashboard, preventing knee and leg injuries in the case of a serious frontal collision. The Atlas Cross Sport doesn’t offer knee airbags.

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

The Bronco Sport’s driver alert monitor detects an inattentive driver then sounds a warning and suggests a break. According to the NHTSA, drivers who fall asleep cause about 100,000 crashes and 1500 deaths a year. The Atlas Cross Sport doesn’t offer a driver alert monitor.

Both the Bronco Sport and the Atlas Cross Sport have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact 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, post-collision automatic braking systems, daytime running lights, lane departure warning systems, blind spot warning systems, rearview cameras, rear cross-path warning and available around view monitors.

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 Volkswagen Atlas Cross Sport:

	Bronco Sport	Atlas Cross Sport
OVERALL STARS	5 Stars	4 Stars
	Driver
STARS	5 Stars	4 Stars
HIC	140	307
Neck Injury Risk	26%	30%
Neck Stress	178 lbs.	412 lbs.
Neck Compression	29 lbs.	59 lbs.
	Passenger
STARS	5 Stars	4 Stars
HIC	153	277
Chest Compression	.6 inches	.7 inches
Neck Injury Risk	37%	39%
Neck Compression	54 lbs.	117 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 Volkswagen Atlas Cross Sport:

	Bronco Sport	Atlas Cross Sport
	Front Seat
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
Hip Force	205 lbs.	215 lbs.
	Rear Seat
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
HIC	144	208
Spine Acceleration	33 G’s	35 G’s
	Into Pole
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
HIC	255	309
Spine Acceleration	35 G’s	41 G’s
Hip Force	512 lbs.	594 lbs.

New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.

Warranty

Ford’s powertrain warranty covers the Bronco Sport 1 year and 10,000 miles longer than Volkswagen covers the Atlas Cross Sport. Any repair needed on the engine, transmission, axles, joints or driveshafts is fully covered for 5 years or 60,000 miles. Coverage on the Atlas Cross Sport ends after only 4 years or 50,000 miles.

The Bronco Sport’s corrosion warranty is unlimited miles longer than the Atlas Cross Sport’s (unlimited vs. 100,000 miles).

There are over 4 times as many Ford dealers as there are Volkswagen 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 Atlas Cross Sport 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 first among small suvs in their 2024 Initial Quality Study. The Atlas Cross Sport isn’t in the top three in its category.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2024 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that Ford vehicles are better in initial quality than Volkswagen vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Ford above average in initial quality. With 62 more problems per 100 vehicles, Volkswagen is rated below average.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2024 survey of the owners of three-year-old vehicles provides the long-term dependability statistics that show that Ford vehicles are more reliable than Volkswagen With 28 fewer problems per 100 vehicles in the first three years of ownership, J.D. Power ranks Ford higher than Volkswagen.

From surveys of all its subscribers, Consumer Reports’ January 2024 Auto Issue reports that Ford vehicles are more reliable than Volkswagen vehicles. Consumer Reports ranks Ford 5 places higher in reliability than Volkswagen.

Engine

As tested in Motor Trend the Bronco Sport Badlands 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder is faster than the Volkswagen Atlas Cross Sport:

	Bronco Sport	Atlas Cross Sport
Zero to 60 MPH	6.5 sec	7.7 sec
Quarter Mile	15.3 sec	15.9 sec

Fuel Economy and Range

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

			MPG
Bronco Sport
	AWD	1.5 turbo 3-cyl.	25 city/29 hwy
		2.0 turbo 4-cyl.	21 city/26 hwy
Atlas Cross Sport
	FWD	2.0 turbo 4-cyl.	20 city/26 hwy
	AWD	2.0 turbo 4-cyl.	19 city/26 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 Atlas Cross Sport doesn’t offer a cap-less fueling system.

Brakes and Stopping

The Bronco Sport stops shorter than the Atlas Cross Sport:

	Bronco Sport	Atlas Cross Sport
60 to 0 MPH	126 feet	131 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 Atlas Cross Sport; it requires you to depend on a temporary spare, which limits mileage and speed before replacement.

Suspension and Handling

The Bronco Sport has standard front and rear gas-charged shocks for better control over choppy roads. The Atlas Cross Sport’s suspension doesn’t offer gas-charged shocks.

For better maneuverability, the Bronco Sport’s turning circle is 2.6 feet tighter than the Atlas Cross Sport’s (37.4 feet vs. 40 feet).

For greater off-road capability the Bronco Sport Base/Big Bend has a 1.5 inches greater minimum ground clearance than the Atlas Cross Sport (7.8 vs. 6.3 inches), allowing the Bronco Sport to travel over rougher terrain without being stopped or damaged. The Bronco Sport’s minimum ground clearance is 2.5 inches higher than on the Atlas Cross Sport (8.8 vs. 6.3 inches).

Chassis

The Ford Bronco Sport may be more efficient, handle and accelerate better because it weighs about 650 to 700 pounds less than the Volkswagen Atlas Cross Sport.

The Bronco Sport is 1 foot, 10.9 inches shorter than the Atlas Cross Sport, 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 Atlas Cross Sport doesn’t offer active grille shutters.

The Bronco Sport Badlands offers available computer-generated active noise cancellation to help remove annoying noise and vibration from the passenger compartment, especially at low frequencies. The Atlas Cross Sport doesn’t offer active noise cancellation.

Passenger Space

The Bronco Sport has 2.1 inches more front headroom, .7 inches more front legroom and 3.9 inches more rear headroom than the Atlas Cross Sport.

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 Atlas Cross Sport’s rear cargo window doesn’t open.

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 Atlas Cross Sport doesn’t offer an exterior PIN entry system, and its Car-Net can’t unlock the doors if the vehicle doesn’t have cell phone reception or the driver can’t contact the service.

To improve rear visibility by keeping the rear window clear, the Bronco Sport has a standard rear fixed intermittent wiper with a full on position. The rear wiper standard on the Atlas Cross Sport only has an intermittent setting, so in a hard rain visibility isn’t as good.

Economic Advantages

Insurance will cost less for the Bronco Sport owner. The Complete Car Cost Guide estimates that insurance for the Bronco Sport will cost $420 less than the Atlas Cross Sport over a five-year period.

The Bronco Sport will cost the buyer less in the long run because of its superior resale value. The IntelliChoice estimates that the Bronco Sport will retain 58.63% to 60.38% of its original price after five years, while the Atlas Cross Sport only retains 50.68% to 52.68%.

Recommendations

The Ford Bronco Sport outsold the Volkswagen Atlas by 33% during 2023.

See Available Inventory