The Ford Bronco Sport, commonly known as the Baby Bronco, is the ideal crossover for enjoying weekends outdoors while commuting during the week. Designed to look like the younger version of the famous Ford Bronco, it attracts attention with the exterior style, generous cargo space, and headroom.
It is usually compared with the popular Ford Escape, which stands out in Ford’s showroom with its soft-road capability, carlike handling, and ride quality, making it a perfect on-road vehicle. The Ford Escape provides more than enough space for cargo and people, with a wide array of infotainment features.
This comparison guide would explore the similarities and differences between the Ford Bronco Sport and Ford Escape.
Similarities
Warranty and Maintenance
The Bronco Sport and Escape models are both under the Ford umbrella, which means their warranty coverage is pretty similar. Ford does not offer complimentary maintenance, and the Escape model has one more warranty coverage for its hybrid plug-in engine.
The limited warranty covers three years or 36,000 miles for both vehicles, while the powertrain warranty is for five years or 60,000 miles. Ford Escape offers a hybrid component warranty which is for eight years or 100,000 miles
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Engine and Performance
There’s not a big difference between the Ford Bronco Sport and Escape models when comparing their engines, except for the hybrid option offered by the latter.
The Bronco Sport is powered by a standard 1.5-liter turbocharged three-cylinder engine, offering 181 horsepower. You can step things up with the optional engine, a 2.0-liter turbo four-cylinder with 245 horsepower. Both options will give you an eight-speed automatic transmission.
You get even more engine options with the Ford Escape, starting with the base engine. The base engine is the same as the Sport and can be had with all- or front-wheel-drive. You can upgrade to the 250hp 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine, the only difference being five units in horsepower. Escape also offers eight-speed automatic transmission.
Differences
Hybrid Engine
The Ford Escape features one more engine choice, which you can’t get under the hood of the Bronco Sport. There are two Escape hybrids to choose from; one is a plug-in, while the other combines a 2.5-liter four-cylinder with two electric motors to make 221 horsepower. With this engine option, the Escape models can standoff against other competitors.
Fuel Economy
Despite their engine options, the Ford Bronco Sport and Ford Escape have completely different fuel economy ratings.
The Ford Escape is your go-to choice if you’re looking to save money on gas. The base model, 1.5-liter, provides one of the highest EPA ratings, surpassing all other competitors. With front-wheel drive, you get 27, 33, and 30 mpg, while all-wheel drive provides 26, 31, and 28 mpg for city, highway, and combined, respectively.
If you go for the second engine choice, the 2.0-liter, the EPA ratings drop to 23 mpg for city, 31 mpg for highway, and 26 mpg combined. The most efficient option is the plug-in hybrid escape, with the fuel economy going as high as 44 mpg for the city!
On the other hand, Bronco Sport’s fuel economy pales in comparison. With the standard engine option, you get 25 mpg for the city and 28 mpg for the highway. The optional engine drops the figures significantly, leading to 21 and 26 mpg.
Infotainment and Technology
With the Ford Escape, you only get the best infotainment features when you purchase higher trims. This isn’t the case for Bronco Sport, which offers an 8.0-inch touchscreen across all trims, powered by Sync 3 software.
The Bronco Sport is also fitted with Android Auto, Apple CarPlay, a Bang and Olufsen system, SiriusXM satellite radio, and hard buttons on the interface. You can also benefit from voice commands and touch-sensitive control.
You only get an 8.0-inch touchscreen on the SE trim levels and higher when it comes to the Ford Escape. Trims lower than SE are fitted with a 4.2-inch radio display and an AM/FM radio, which is disappointing. With the touchscreen on higher Escape trims, you also get the Sync 3 software, Android Auto, Apple CarPlay, and a smartphone app.
You get remote access to start and other vehicle telematics on the Escape model through the smartphone app. If you want all the highest infotainment features, you would have to go for Ford Escape Titanium, which features a 12.3-inch digital gauge display, optional pop-up display, 10-speaker B&O system, and in-dash navigation.
Price
Although the number of Ford Escape trims is one more than double the Bronco Sport trims, their price ranges are similar. The Bronco Sport features four trims which are Base, Big Bend, Outer Banks, and Badlands. The estimated price range goes from $28,760 to $35,430.
On the other hand, there are nine trims under the Ford Escape when counting the hybrid plug-in and hybrid models. The standard trims are S, SE, SEL, and Titanium, while the hybrid versions are SE Hybrid, SEL Hybrid, Titanium Hybrid, SE Plug-in Hybrid, and Titanium Plug-in Hybrid. The price range is between $26,800 and $39,000, S and Titanium Plug-in Hybrid, respectively.
Verdict
While the Ford Bronco Sport and Ford Escape are two similar vehicles in terms of their engine power and on-road capabilities, they are also different in various ways.
If you’re looking for a nicely-sized, practical, fuel-efficient, and soft-road capable vehicle, the Ford Escape will do the trick significantly as long as you don’t drive off-road a lot.
But, the Ford Bronco Sport is designed for those who want to do a little off-roading and use the exact vehicle to commute daily. It is a compact and versatile option, following in the steps of the Ford Bronco.
