Ford Bronco Sport vs. Escape

Ford sells a wide range of crossover SUVs, but at the smaller end of the lineup it has two of its best and most fuel-efficient gas offerings. The Ford Bronco Sport gives off-road enthusiasts a compact SUV with genuine trail-blazing ability, while the more car-like Escape comes in frugal plug-in and hybrid versions. 

Each of these has great safety scores, a strong list of standard equipment, and infotainment technology to lead its class. But which one is the better choice for you? Let’s break it down.

2024 Ford Bronco Sport

 

Ford Bronco Sport vs. Ford Escape price and trims

• Base Bronco Sport costs about $33,000

• Base Escape costs about $2,000 less

• Best picks: Bronco Sport Big Bend, Escape ST-Line Hybrid

How much is a Ford Bronco Sport?

Ford prices the latest Bronco Sport Big Bend at about $33,000. Every Bronco Sport comes standard with all-wheel drive. That base model has Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, served through an 8.0-inch touchscreen; cruise control; roof rails; even a built-in bottle opener as well as rubberized floor mats and seat backs for easy cleaning after the off-road adventures.

It’s easy to spend far more. The Outer Banks edition costs about $38,000 and leans toward luxury with leather upholstery, a 6.5-inch digital cluster, heated power front seats, 18-inch black wheels, and a black roof. The Badlands edition tops $40,000 and wants to be a baby Bronco with a more powerful engine, all-terrain tires, front tow hooks, and a front-view camera.

How much is a Ford Escape?

For about $31,000, the base Ford Escape Active gets a good set of standard features including an 8.0-inch touchscreen with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, 17-inch alloy wheels, cloth seats, a power tailgate and a power driver seat, as well as options for adaptive cruise control, a 13.2-inch touchscreen, and uprated B&O audio. With all-wheel drive, the Active lands at about $34,000.

We’d pick the ST-Line Hybrid for about $35,000, but for an Escape Hybrid with all-wheel drive you have to step up to the Select for about $37,000. The Escape Plug-In Hybrid only comes with front-wheel drive and starts at about $42,000.

Advantage: The Bronco Sport costs more in base spec, but less in our recommended trim.

2023 Ford Bronco Sport Heritage Edition

 

Bronco Sport vs. Escape interior and exterior design

• The Escape’s corners are smoother

• The Bronco Sport’s a throwback of the best kind

• Both SUVs have more modest interiors

With a hint of Land Rover in its square-rigged corners, the Bronco Sport relives some of Ford’s SUV past while pitching it headlong into the future inside. 

Fun and functional, the Bronco Sport wears eyelets of LEDs for headlights that embrace a big Bronco name embossed on its nose. There’s cladding to protect the sides and bulges at the hood and fenders to suggest its performance. The angular roofline cuts cleanly toward the tailgate, where Ford fits a flip-up glass window that opens separately from the rest of the tailgate.

Inside, the Bronco Sport goes for a durable look that’s less focused on the hints of the past than on the needs of the present. It’s best with the standard cloth seats and rubber-trimmed dash and console; the available leather strikes us as a little fancy for the purpose. Tech features include USB ports, a wireless smartphone charger, and a crisp 8.0-inch touchscreen.

Is the Ford Escape a good-looking car?

It is from the soft and rounded school of crossover design, though it shares lots of running gear with the Bronco Sport.

The car-like shape plays like a Tesla Model Y from some angles, with a dolphin-like face and a high, contoured roofline that curves wherever it can. Ford updated the exterior of the ST-Line edition with more body cladding and bigger wheels, but there’s no mistaking this car’s purpose—to act like a car and to look like one, too.

The Escape’s cabin is a letdown. It’s somber, wears a lot of hard plastic, and doesn’t get better until the price tag rises into the top tier. Even then, the light-toned interior and wood-grained plastic trim aren’t as sophisticated as anything in a rival from Hyundai or Kia. At least there’s a big 13.2-inch touchscreen on the options list to drown out the trim with brightly lit pixels.

Advantage: We’ll take the Bronco Sport.

Ford Escape vs. Bronco Sport size, space, and cargo capacity

• The Escape has more second-row space

• The Bronco Sport gets better seats

• Escape Hybrids lose some cargo room to their battery pack

How big is the Ford Bronco Sport? 

It’s big enough, and has ample headroom to make up for a shorter wheelbase and less legroom than the Escape.

What makes the Bronco Sport work better is its seats. They’re shaped better and have better padding than those in the Escape, and the interior can be configured with wash-and-wear rubberized surfaces for easy cleaning—mud, snow, dog hair, that’s the utility we need. The interior’s plasticky nonetheless.

While front-seat space is fine, rear-seat legroom gets trimmed by the shorter body. It’s still enough for two tall passengers, but three across won’t make any new friends. 

Where it’s at its best is in weather-resistant cargo space. The Bronco Sport has about 32.5 cubic feet of room behind the rear seats, and it can be lined in heavy-duty trim. Fold down the rear seats and that space opens to about 65 cubes, just about the same as its Escape kin—with the additions of side bins, tie-downs, carabiners, Molle straps, and cargo organizers. It’s just more useful.

How big is the Ford Escape?

The Escape does a lot with its compact footprint, with great front- and second-row passenger space undercut by poorly bolstered front seats.

Those chairs have narrow bolsters and short bottom cushions. Tall and wide passengers won’t feel comfortable on longer trips, though the grippy fabric upholstery works out fine; there’s little need to spend up to get the leather trim. In back the Escape has about 39 inches of legroom, significantly more than the Bronco Sport—and the rear bench slides on a track to flex between human and cargo space.

Hybrids lose a little of that room. While the stock versions have 37.5 cubic feet of cargo space, it’s just about 33 cubes in the Escape Hybrid. The max? About 65.4 cubic feet behind the front seats, nearly the same as the Bronco Sport.

Advantage: The Escape’s bigger for back-seat passengers, but it needs better seats.

 

Ford Escape vs. Bronco Sport towing, off-road, and performance

How fast is the Ford Bronco Sport? 

It’s less speedy in base spec, which brings an adequate 181-hp 1.5-liter turbo-3 and an 8-speed automatic transmission. It’s moderate in its responses. The top Badlands edition adopts a 245-hp 2.0-liter turbo-4 paired to the 8-speed automatic, and ultimately it’s better matched to the dual needs of the Bronco Sport’s audience: part-time off-roaders with daily-driver needs. 

Is the Ford Bronco Sport 4WD? What is the Ford Bronco Sport towing capacity?

Every Bronco Sport has all-wheel drive, but the basic setup in less expensive models can split its torque just between the front and rear axles. In tandem with drive modes for sand, slippery conditions, and sporty driving, the setup works fine for light-duty cruising whether there’s pavement or not. The superior setup comes in the turbo-4 editions, where a twin-clutch rear axle can adjust power across those wheels; it also gets mud and rock traction modes.

The Bronco Sport can tow up to 2,200 pounds, and has a maximum of 8.8 inches of ground clearance; it can wade through 23.6 inches of water as well. That’s for the adventurous edition, which can also be upfitted with skid plates to go with their specific suspension tuning. It’s able off the pavement—but not bad on it either, with deft steering and a compliant ride.

How fast is the Ford Escape?

It shares the same engines as the Bronco Sport, and like it the Escape feels more energetic with the turbo-4—but it’s lacking in refinement. The better choices are the hybrids: both have a 2.5-liter inline-4 mated to electric motors and a battery pack, which fills in low-end acceleration and lends a lighter, quicker feel. Plug-in hybrids are quick, and deliver 30 or so miles of electric-only driving range. 

In general the Escape rides more smoothly and has better steering weight than the Bronco Sport, but hybrids get even softer tuning and less grip thanks to their added weight and low-rolling-resistance tires.

Is the Ford Escape AWD?  What is the Ford Escape towing capacity?

All-wheel drive is an option on every Escape save for the plug-in hybrid. The maximum tow rating quoted by Ford on its configurator is 2,000 pounds, but with a Class II hitch it can be rated as high as 3,500 pounds.

Advantage: A draw: it’s the Ford Bronco Sport off-road, Ford Escape on pavement.

 

Ford Escape vs. Bronco Sport gas mileage

• Escape Plug-In Hybrid’s the champion

• Bronco Sport’s more modest

• Escape ST-Line offers good hybrid value

What is the Ford Bronco Sport gas mileage? 

It’s not great for commuter use—but it seems better compared to dedicated off-road vehicles. The EPA rates the base editions at 25 mpg city, 28 highway, 26 combined for turbo-3 models, while the turbo-4 checks in at 21/26/23 mpg.

What is the Ford Escape gas mileage? 

Base Escapes with front-wheel drive are EPA-rated at 27 mpg city, 34 highway, 30 combined; with all-wheel drive, they slip to 26/32/28 mpg—and with the turbo-4, to 23/31/26 mpg. Opt for the hybrid and the Escape rises to 42/39/36 mpg; plug-in hybrids add up to 37 miles of electric-only driving, and rate at 40 mpg combined without any electric juice. 

Advantage: Escape Plug-In Hybrid—or, hybrids in general.

Ford Bronco Sport vs. Escape safety

• The Escape slips in the rankings

• Automatic emergency braking is standard on both

• The Bronco Sport scores well

How safe is the Ford Bronco Sport?

The NHTSA gives it five stars overall, but it hasn’t repeated as an IIHS Top Safety Pick+ winner because the IIHS hasn’t tested it with its new overlap test. It’s a winner, and it gets standard blind-spot monitors, active lane control, and automatic emergency braking—plus it has great outward vision thanks to its shape.

How safe is the Ford Escape?

It’s been great in the past, but tougher standards have snared the Escape’s former Top Safety Pick award; the IIHS thinks it has “Marginal” side protection in its updated test. It still earns a five-star NHTSA rating and has standard automatic emergency braking as well as blind-spot monitors. 

Advantage: Bronco Sport.

 

Which is better: Ford Bronco Sport or Escape?

The Bronco Sport takes the win here, thanks to its versatility and its safety scores. It earns a TCC Rating of 6.5 out of 10—while the related Escape, at a 6.3 out of 10, suffers from a drab interior and mixed safety scores, though it has better efficiency and more interior room. (Read more about how we rate cars.)

Winner: Ford Bronco Sport.