Compare the2025 Ford Bronco SportVS 2025 Subaru Forester

The Bronco Sport has standard Post Collision Braking, which automatically apply the brakes in the event of a crash to help prevent secondary collisions and prevent further injuries. The Forester doesn’t offer a post collision braking system: in the event of a collision that triggers the airbags, more collisions are possible without the protection of airbags that may have already deployed.

The Bronco Sport has a standard blind spot warning system that uses sensors to alert the driver to objects in the vehicle’s blind spots where the side view mirrors don’t reveal them. A system to reveal vehicles in the Forester’s blind spot costs extra.

To help make backing out of a parking space safer, the Bronco Sport has standard Cross Traffic Alert and rear Cross Traffic Braking automatically engages the brakes to help avoid a collision. Subaru charges extra for Rear Cross Traffic Alert on the Forester and its not available on the Base and the Forester’s Rear Cross Traffic Alert does not include automatic braking.

Both the Bronco Sport and the Forester have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, driver knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, front and rear seatbelt pretensioners, height adjustable front shoulder belts, four-wheel antilock brakes, all wheel drive, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, daytime running lights, lane departure warning systems, rearview cameras and available around view monitors.

There are almost 5 times as many Ford dealers as there are Subaru dealers, which makes it much easier should you ever need service under the Bronco Sport’s warranty.

The Bronco Sport has a standard “limp home system” to keep drivers from being stranded if most or all of the engine’s coolant is lost. The engine will run on only half of its cylinders at a time, reduce its power and light a warning lamp on the dashboard so the driver can get to a service station for repairs. The Forester doesn’t offer a lost coolant limp home mode, so a coolant leak could strand you or seriously damage the truck’s engine.

To reliably start during all conditions and help handle large electrical loads, the Bronco Sport has a standard 760-amp battery. The Forester’s 620-amp battery isn’t as powerful.

J.D. Power and Associates rated the Bronco Sport first among small suvs in their 2024 Initial Quality Study. The Forester isn’t in the top three in its category.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2024 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that Ford vehicles are better in initial quality than Subaru vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Ford above average in initial quality. With 4 more problems per 100 vehicles, Subaru is rated lower.

The Bronco Sport’s standard 1.5 turbo 3-cylinder produces 1 more horsepower (181 vs. 180) and 12 lbs.-ft. more torque (190 vs. 178) than the Forester’s 2.5 DOHC 4-cylinder. The Bronco Sport Badlands’ standard 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder produces 70 more horsepower (250 vs. 180) and 99 lbs.-ft. more torque (277 vs. 178) than the Forester’s 2.5 DOHC 4-cylinder.

As tested in Car and Driver the Ford Bronco Sport is faster than the Subaru Forester:

The Bronco Sport has a standard cap-less fueling system. The fuel filler is automatically opened when the fuel nozzle is inserted and automatically closed when it’s removed. This eliminates the need to unscrew and replace the cap and it reduces fuel evaporation, which causes pollution. The Forester doesn’t offer a cap-less fueling system.

The Bronco Sport stops shorter than the Forester:

The Bronco Sport offers an optional full size spare tire so a flat doesn’t interrupt your trip. A full size spare isn’t available on the Forester; it requires you to depend on a temporary spare, which limits mileage and speed before replacement.

The Bronco Sport has vehicle speed sensitive variable-assist power steering, for low-effort parking, better control at highway speeds and during hard cornering, and a better feel of the road. The Forester doesn’t offer variable-assist power steering.

For better handling and stability, the track (width between the wheels) on the Bronco Sport is 1.7 inches wider in the front and .9 inches wider in the rear than the average track on the Forester.

For greater off-road capability the Bronco Sport has a greater minimum ground clearance than the Forester (8.8 vs. 8.7 inches), allowing the Bronco Sport to travel over rougher terrain without being stopped or damaged.

The Bronco Sport is 10.6 inches shorter than the Forester, making the Bronco Sport easier to handle, maneuver and park in tight spaces.

The Bronco Sport Badlands offers available computer-generated active noise cancellation to help remove annoying noise and vibration from the passenger compartment, especially at low frequencies. The Forester doesn’t offer active noise cancellation.

The Bronco Sport has .3 inches more front headroom, .5 inches more front hip room and 2.1 inches more rear headroom than the Forester.

The Bronco Sport has a much larger cargo volume than the Forester with its rear seat up (32.5 vs. 29.6 cubic feet).

An optional locking center console keeps your small valuables safer in the Bronco Sport. The Forester doesn’t offer locking storage for small valuables.

The Bronco Sport’s rear cargo window opens separately from the rest of the liftgate door to allow quicker loading of small packages. The Forester’s rear cargo window doesn’t open.

The Bronco Sport’s standard towing capacity is much higher than the Forester’s (2000 vs. 1500 pounds). Maximum trailer towing in the Subaru Forester is only 1500 pounds. The Bronco Sport offers up to a 2700 lbs. towing capacity.

The Bronco Sport uses gas struts to support the hood for easier service access. The Forester uses a prop rod to support its heavy hood. It takes two hands to open the hood and set the prop rod, the prop rod gets in the way during maintenance and service, and the prop rod could be knocked out, causing the heavy hood to fall on the person maintaining or servicing the car.

The power windows standard on both the Bronco Sport and the Forester have locks to prevent small children from operating them. When the lock on the Bronco Sport is engaged the driver can still operate all of the windows, for instance to close one opened by a child. The Forester prevents the driver from operating the other windows just as it does the other passengers.

If the windows are left open on the Bronco Sport the driver can close them all from a distance using the remote. On a hot day the driver can also lower the windows the same way. The driver of the Forester can only operate the windows from inside the vehicle, with the ignition on.

In case you lock your keys in your vehicle, or don’t have them with you, you can let yourself in using the Bronco Sport’s available exterior PIN entry system. The Forester doesn’t offer an exterior PIN entry system, and its STARLINK Connected Services can’t unlock the doors if the vehicle doesn’t have cell phone reception or the driver can’t contact the service.

The Bronco Sport has standard Intelligent Access that allows you to unlock the doors from either front door handle, unlock the cargo door, and start the engine, all without removing the key from the pocket or purse. Only the Forester Premium/Sport/Limited/Touring offers a Keyless Access and Start.

The Bronco Sport’s standard speed-sensitive wipers speed up when the vehicle does, so that the driver doesn’t have to continually adjust the speed of the wipers. The Forester’s manually variable intermittent wipers have to be constantly adjusted. The Bronco Sport Outer Banks’ standard wipers adjust their speed and turn on and off automatically according to the amount of rainfall on the windshield.

The Bronco Sport’s standard outside mirrors include heating elements to clear off the mirrors for better visibility. Subaru only offers heated mirrors on the Forester Premium/Sport/Limited/Touring.

Unlike the Subaru Forester’s fixed side view mirrors, the Ford Bronco Sport features foldable mirrors that offer convenience for drivers and pedestrians alike. When parked, these mirrors can be manually folded to create a smaller footprint, making it easier to walk past or park more vehicles in an area. Additionally, the Ford Bronco Sport’s foldable exterior mirrors are designed to absorb impact force if struck, reducing the likelihood of costly repairs.

To quickly and conveniently keep personal devices charged without cables tangling and wearing out, the Ford Bronco Sport has a standard wireless phone charging system (Qi) in the center console. Only the Forester Premium/Sport/Limited/Touring offers wireless charging.

The Bronco Sport offers an optional 115-volt a/c outlet on the center console, allowing you to recharge a laptop or run small household appliances without special adapters that can break or get misplaced. The Forester doesn’t offer a house-current electrical outlet.