Ford Bronco Sport vs Hyundai Kona: which is more reliable?
The Hyundai Kona is clearly ahead of the Ford Bronco Sport on the federal record: 83/100 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)
Hyundai Kona
- 8 model years scored
- 769 owner complaints on record
- about 23 complaints per year on the road
- 10 recall campaigns, 4 safety-critical
- best year 2018 (93/100) · worst 2024 (74/100)
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 Kona
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
Hyundai Kona
- Engine — 396 complaints
- Electrical System — 135 complaints
- Unknown Or Other — 133 complaints
They do not fail the same way: the Bronco Sport's complaints concentrate in Electrical System, the Kona'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.
Hyundai Kona: no model year scores below 45; the strongest are 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023….
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 Hyundai Kona 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 27.0 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 Hyundai Kona more reliable?
On the NHTSA record the Hyundai Kona scores 83/100 against the Ford Bronco Sport's 61/100, averaged across every model year we hold. The Hyundai Kona carries about 23 complaints per year on the road against 65 for the Ford Bronco Sport.
Which Ford Bronco Sport and Hyundai Kona years should I avoid?
Ford Bronco Sport: 2021. Hyundai Kona: no year scores below 45. 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 Hyundai Kona?
The largest complaint group on the Ford Bronco Sport is Electrical System (341 complaints); on the Hyundai Kona it is Engine (396).
Is the Ford Bronco Sport or the Hyundai Kona cheaper to own?
A recent used Ford Bronco Sport prices at about $30,500 and a Hyundai Kona at about $30,500, before insurance and the maintenance band. Both pages carry the five-year running-cost figure.