Ford Bronco Sport vs Chevrolet Trax: which is more reliable?

The Chevrolet Trax is clearly ahead of the Ford Bronco Sport on the federal record: 74/100 against 61/100 across every model year we score.

The record, side by side

Ford Bronco Sport
Ford Bronco Sport · Wikimedia Commons

Ford Bronco Sport

61/100 mean
  • 5 model years scored
  • 1,281 owner complaints on record
  • about 65 complaints per year on the road
  • 51 recall campaigns, 28 safety-critical
  • best year 2025 (78/100) · worst 2021 (33/100)
Chevrolet Trax
Chevrolet Trax · Wikimedia Commons

Chevrolet Trax

74/100 mean
  • 10 model years scored
  • 932 owner complaints on record
  • about 25 complaints per year on the road
  • 20 recall campaigns, 12 safety-critical
  • best year 2022 (94/100) · worst 2024 (44/100)

Mean score is the average across model years from 2013 on, where both records are comparable. How the score works.

Year by year: Bronco Sport against Trax

The comparison that decides the purchase. A nameplate is not one car — a redesign can move the record sixty points inside two years, and the two nameplates rarely move together.

YearBronco SportTrax Gap
202578 BUY47 AVOID+31
202473 BUY44 AVOID+29
202365 CAUTION——
202254 CAUTION94 BUY-40
202133 AVOID94 BUY-61
2020—80 BUY—
2019—70 BUY—
2018—84 BUY—
2017—81 BUY—
2016—74 BUY—
2015—76 BUY—

What owners actually complain about

Ford Bronco Sport

  • Electrical System — 341 complaints
  • Power Train — 277 complaints
  • Engine — 273 complaints

Chevrolet Trax

  • Engine — 261 complaints
  • Electrical System — 239 complaints
  • Unknown Or Other — 151 complaints

They do not fail the same way: the Bronco Sport's complaints concentrate in Electrical System, the Trax's in Engine. That difference matters more to a buyer than the score gap, because it says which repair bill you are taking on.

Years to avoid on each

Ford Bronco Sport — avoid: 2021.

Chevrolet Trax — avoid: 2024, 2025.

A year scores below 45 on complaints per year of exposure and recall campaigns. Every car’s years to avoid.

What each costs today

A recent used Ford Bronco Sport prices at about $30,500 and a Chevrolet Trax at about $30,500 — they price within $1 of each other, which at this level is the same money, and they return 23.0 against 30.0 MPG combined.

Class-level estimates re-priced to your country, not a valuation of one car. Method.

FAQ

Is the Ford Bronco Sport or the Chevrolet Trax more reliable?

On the NHTSA record the Chevrolet Trax scores 74/100 against the Ford Bronco Sport's 61/100, averaged across every model year we hold. The Chevrolet Trax carries about 25 complaints per year on the road against 65 for the Ford Bronco Sport.

Which Ford Bronco Sport and Chevrolet Trax years should I avoid?

Ford Bronco Sport: 2021. Chevrolet Trax: 2024, 2025. Each of those scores under 45 out of 100 on complaints per year of exposure and recall campaigns.

What goes wrong on the Ford Bronco Sport and the Chevrolet Trax?

The largest complaint group on the Ford Bronco Sport is Electrical System (341 complaints); on the Chevrolet Trax it is Engine (261).

Is the Ford Bronco Sport or the Chevrolet Trax cheaper to own?

A recent used Ford Bronco Sport prices at about $30,500 and a Chevrolet Trax at about $30,500, before insurance and the maintenance band. Both pages carry the five-year running-cost figure.

More head-to-heads