Compare the2025 Ford Bronco SportVS 2025 Toyota 4Runner

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 Toyota 4Runner doesn’t offer pretensioners for its second-row seat belts.

To provide maximum traction and stability on all roads, All-Wheel Drive is standard on the Bronco Sport. But it costs extra on the 4Runner.

To help make backing out of a parking space safer, the Bronco Sport has standard Cross Traffic Alert with rear Cross Traffic Braking, systems which detect vehicles approaching from the sides and can automatically apply the brakes to prevent a collision. Only the 4Runner Limited/Platinum/Trailhunter/TRD Pro offers Parking Support Brake.

For better protection of the passenger compartment, the Bronco Sport uses safety cell construction with a three-dimensional high-strength frame that surrounds the passenger compartment. It provides extra impact protection and a sturdy mounting location for door hardware and side impact beams. The 4Runner uses a body-on-frame design, which has no frame members above the floor of the vehicle.

Both the Bronco Sport and the 4Runner 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, post-collision automatic braking systems, daytime running lights, lane departure warning systems, blind spot warning systems, rearview cameras, rear cross-path warning, driver alert monitors and available around view monitors.

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.

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 4Runner 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 4Runner 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 Toyota vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Ford above average in initial quality. With 13 more problems per 100 vehicles, Toyota is rated lower.

As tested in Car and Driver the Bronco Sport Badlands 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder is faster than the 4Runner Trailhunter 2.4 turbo 4-cylinder hybrid:

On the EPA test cycle the Bronco Sport gets better mileage than the 4Runner:

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 4Runner Limited/i-FORCE MAX.

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 4Runner doesn’t offer a cap-less fueling system.

The Bronco Sport stops much shorter than the 4Runner:

The Bronco Sport’s standard tires provide better handling because they have a lower 65 series profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the 4Runner SR5’s standard 70 series tires.

The Bronco Sport Outer Banks handles at .79 G’s, while the 4Runner Trailhunter pulls only .74 G’s of cornering force in a Car and Driver skidpad test.

For better maneuverability, the Bronco Sport’s turning circle is 2 feet tighter than the 4Runner’s (37.4 feet vs. 39.4 feet).

The Ford Bronco Sport may be more efficient, handle and accelerate better because it weighs about 1000 to 1800 pounds less than the Toyota 4Runner.

The Bronco Sport is 1 foot, 10.2 inches shorter than the 4Runner, making the Bronco Sport easier to handle, maneuver and park in tight spaces.

Unibody construction lowers the Bronco Sport’s center of gravity significantly without reducing ground clearance. This contributes to better on the road handling and better off-road performance and stability. In addition, unibody construction makes the chassis stiffer, improving handling and reducing squeaks and rattles. The 4Runner doesn’t use unibody construction, but a body-on-frame design.

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 4Runner 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 4Runner doesn’t offer active noise cancellation.

As tested by Car and Driver while cruising at 70 MPH, the interior of the Bronco Sport Badlands is quieter than the 4Runner Trailhunter (69 vs. 70 dB).

The Bronco Sport has 1.8 inches more front headroom, .6 inches more front legroom, 3.9 inches more rear headroom and 2.1 inches more rear legroom than the 4Runner.

The Bronco Sport has a much larger cargo volume than the 4Runner with its rear seat up (32.5 vs. 12.1 cubic feet).

The Bronco Sport has a standard remote vehicle starting system, so the vehicle can be started from inside the driver's house. This allows the driver to comfortably warm up the engine before going out to the vehicle. The climate system will also automatically heat or cool the interior. The 4Runner doesn’t offer a remote starting system.

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 4Runner doesn’t offer an exterior PIN entry system.

The Bronco Sport’s standard Intelligent Access allow you to unlock the doors from either front door handle, unlock the cargo door, and start the engine, all without removing the key from the pocket or purse. Smart Key standard on the 4Runner doesn’t offer a sensor on the cargo door.

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 4Runner’s standard manually variable intermittent wipers have to be constantly adjusted.

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 4Runner only has an intermittent setting, so in a hard rain visibility isn’t as good.

To quickly and conveniently keep personal devices charged without cables tangling and wearing out, the Ford Bronco Sport has a standard wireless phone charging system (Qi) in the center console. Only the 4Runner TRD/Limited/Platinum/Trailhunter offers wireless charging.

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

The Ford Bronco Sport outsold the Toyota 4Runner by 28% during 2024.