Ford EcoSport vs Ford Bronco Sport: which is more reliable?
The Ford EcoSport is clearly ahead of the Ford Bronco Sport on the federal record: 81/100 against 61/100 across every model year we score.
The record, side by side
Ford EcoSport
- 5 model years scored
- 1,840 owner complaints on record
- about 55 complaints per year on the road
- 12 recall campaigns, 1 safety-critical
- best year 2022 (93/100) · worst 2018 (70/100)
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)
Mean score is the average across model years from 2013 on, where both records are comparable. How the score works.
Year by year: EcoSport against Bronco Sport
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 EcoSport
- Engine And Engine Cooling — 839 complaints
- Engine — 795 complaints
- Power Train — 217 complaints
Ford Bronco Sport
- Electrical System — 341 complaints
- Power Train — 277 complaints
- Engine — 273 complaints
They do not fail the same way: the EcoSport's complaints concentrate in Engine And Engine Cooling, the Bronco Sport's in Electrical System. 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 EcoSport: no model year scores below 45; the strongest are 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022.
Ford Bronco Sport — avoid: 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 EcoSport prices at about $23,700 and a Ford Bronco Sport at about $30,500 — the Ford EcoSport is roughly $6,800 less, and they return 25.0 against 23.0 MPG combined.
Class-level estimates re-priced to your country, not a valuation of one car. Method.
FAQ
Is the Ford EcoSport or the Ford Bronco Sport more reliable?
On the NHTSA record the Ford EcoSport scores 81/100 against the Ford Bronco Sport's 61/100, averaged across every model year we hold. The Ford EcoSport carries about 55 complaints per year on the road against 65 for the Ford Bronco Sport.
Which Ford EcoSport and Ford Bronco Sport years should I avoid?
Ford EcoSport: no year scores below 45. Ford Bronco Sport: 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 EcoSport and the Ford Bronco Sport?
The largest complaint group on the Ford EcoSport is Engine And Engine Cooling (839 complaints); on the Ford Bronco Sport it is Electrical System (341).
Is the Ford EcoSport or the Ford Bronco Sport cheaper to own?
A recent used Ford EcoSport prices at about $23,700 and a Ford Bronco Sport at about $30,500, before insurance and the maintenance band. Both pages carry the five-year running-cost figure.