Hyundai Santa Fe Sport vs Ford Bronco: which is more reliable?
The Hyundai Santa Fe Sport and the Ford Bronco are level on the federal record — 68/100 against 66/100 across the years we score. Which one to buy is decided by the model year, not the badge.
The record, side by side
Hyundai Santa Fe Sport
- 6 model years scored
- 1,266 owner complaints on record
- about 22 complaints per year on the road
- 22 recall campaigns, 12 safety-critical
- best year 2016 (93/100) · worst 2018 (37/100)
Ford Bronco
- 5 model years scored
- 886 owner complaints on record
- about 49 complaints per year on the road
- 60 recall campaigns, 15 safety-critical
- best year 2024 (76/100) · worst 2022 (51/100)
Mean score is the average across model years from 2013 on, where both records are comparable. How the score works.
Year by year: Santa Fe Sport against Bronco
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
Hyundai Santa Fe Sport
- Engine — 720 complaints
- Service Brakes — 225 complaints
- Hydraulic — 154 complaints
Ford Bronco
- Visibility/Wiper — 154 complaints
- Engine — 144 complaints
- Electrical System — 108 complaints
They do not fail the same way: the Santa Fe Sport's complaints concentrate in Engine, the Bronco's in Visibility/Wiper. 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
Hyundai Santa Fe Sport — avoid: 2017, 2018.
Ford Bronco: no model year scores below 45; the strongest are 2021, 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 Hyundai Santa Fe Sport prices at about $22,100 and a Ford Bronco at about $40,800 — the Hyundai Santa Fe Sport is roughly $18,700 less, and they return 22.0 against 20.0 MPG combined.
Class-level estimates re-priced to your country, not a valuation of one car. Method.
FAQ
Is the Hyundai Santa Fe Sport or the Ford Bronco more reliable?
On the NHTSA record the Hyundai Santa Fe Sport scores 68/100 against the Ford Bronco's 66/100, averaged across every model year we hold. The gap is small enough that the model year matters more than the badge.
Which Hyundai Santa Fe Sport and Ford Bronco years should I avoid?
Hyundai Santa Fe Sport: 2017, 2018. Ford Bronco: 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 Hyundai Santa Fe Sport and the Ford Bronco?
The largest complaint group on the Hyundai Santa Fe Sport is Engine (720 complaints); on the Ford Bronco it is Visibility/Wiper (154).
Is the Hyundai Santa Fe Sport or the Ford Bronco cheaper to own?
A recent used Hyundai Santa Fe Sport prices at about $22,100 and a Ford Bronco at about $40,800, before insurance and the maintenance band. Both pages carry the five-year running-cost figure.