Ford Bronco Sport vs Ford Escape Hev: which is more reliable?
The Ford Escape Hev is clearly ahead of the Ford Bronco Sport on the federal record: 75/100 against 61/100 across every model year we score.
The record, side by side
Ford Bronco Sport
- 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)
Ford Escape Hev
- 6 model years scored
- 716 owner complaints on record
- about 24 complaints per year on the road
- 0 recall campaigns, 0 safety-critical
- best year 2025 (92/100) · worst 2021 (47/100)
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 Escape Hev
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.
What owners actually complain about
Ford Bronco Sport
- Electrical System — 341 complaints
- Power Train — 277 complaints
- Engine — 273 complaints
Ford Escape Hev
- Structure — 203 complaints
- Unknown Or Other — 133 complaints
- Engine — 100 complaints
They do not fail the same way: the Bronco Sport's complaints concentrate in Electrical System, the Escape Hev's in Structure. 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.
Ford Escape Hev — avoid: 2020, 2021.
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 Ford Escape Hev 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 39.0 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 Ford Escape Hev more reliable?
On the NHTSA record the Ford Escape Hev scores 75/100 against the Ford Bronco Sport's 61/100, averaged across every model year we hold. The Ford Escape Hev carries about 24 complaints per year on the road against 65 for the Ford Bronco Sport.
Which Ford Bronco Sport and Ford Escape Hev years should I avoid?
Ford Bronco Sport: 2021. Ford Escape Hev: 2020, 2021. 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 Ford Escape Hev?
The largest complaint group on the Ford Bronco Sport is Electrical System (341 complaints); on the Ford Escape Hev it is Structure (203).
Is the Ford Bronco Sport or the Ford Escape Hev cheaper to own?
A recent used Ford Bronco Sport prices at about $30,500 and a Ford Escape Hev at about $30,500, before insurance and the maintenance band. Both pages carry the five-year running-cost figure.