Kia Sportage vs Ford Bronco Sport: which is more reliable?
The Kia Sportage is clearly ahead of the Ford Bronco Sport on the federal record: 73/100 against 61/100 across every model year we score.
The record, side by side
Kia Sportage
- 15 model years scored
- 2,540 owner complaints on record
- about 26 complaints per year on the road
- 45 recall campaigns, 26 safety-critical
- best year 2022 (91/100) · worst 2023 (33/100)
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: Sportage 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
Kia Sportage
- Engine — 1,428 complaints
- Unknown Or Other — 368 complaints
- Electrical System — 336 complaints
Ford Bronco Sport
- Electrical System — 341 complaints
- Power Train — 277 complaints
- Engine — 273 complaints
They do not fail the same way: the Sportage's complaints concentrate in Engine, 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
Kia Sportage — avoid: 2017, 2023.
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 Kia Sportage prices at about $30,500 and a Ford Bronco Sport at about $30,500 — they price within $1 of each other, which at this level is the same money, 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 Kia Sportage or the Ford Bronco Sport more reliable?
On the NHTSA record the Kia Sportage scores 73/100 against the Ford Bronco Sport's 61/100, averaged across every model year we hold. The Kia Sportage carries about 26 complaints per year on the road against 65 for the Ford Bronco Sport.
Which Kia Sportage and Ford Bronco Sport years should I avoid?
Kia Sportage: 2017, 2023. 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 Kia Sportage and the Ford Bronco Sport?
The largest complaint group on the Kia Sportage is Engine (1,428 complaints); on the Ford Bronco Sport it is Electrical System (341).
Is the Kia Sportage or the Ford Bronco Sport cheaper to own?
A recent used Kia Sportage prices at about $30,500 and a Ford Bronco Sport at about $30,500, before insurance and the maintenance band. Both pages carry the five-year running-cost figure.