Latest News
The 1959 Ford Galaxie 500 was Peak ‘50s2024 Ford Maverick vs 2024 Ford Bronco Sport
We are comparing Ford’s most affordable options: the off-road-read Bronco Sport vs the capable utility of the Maverick.
Ford’s Most Affordable Vehicles
It’s a scenario playing out more and more nowadays. You waltz your way over to a North American Ford dealership, hell-bent on bringing home a Bronco Sport crossover, only to see an equally tantalizing Maverick pickup truck chilling out right next to it. In your mind, you’re mulling over how cooked you are if your spouse is expecting a Bronco Sport, but you decide to come home with a small pickup instead.
It might sound silly, but the Maverick and Bronco Sport share a degree of mechanical overlap, a common production facility in Mexico, and similar features and technology. Even if their market segments are vastly different, their price point and relative overlap in materials make the choice between Ford’s smallest pickup and its most capable small SUV an interesting thing to ponder.
Drivetrain Specs
For how different their use cases are, the types of loads these two Fords are expected to endure are relatively similar. With this in mind, the Maverick and Bronco Sport make use of similar, but not quite identical drivetrains. A two-liter, 238-horsepower turbo four-cylinder engine gives a fairly strong foundation for the Maverick’s strictly gas-powered trims. A 2.5-liter turbo four-pot with an accompanying electric motor and CVT makes up the Maverick’s optional hybrid drivetrain.
As far as light truck drivetrains go, the Mavericks appear to be pretty robust. An estimate of a combined 29 MPG for the gas powered engine and 37 MPG for the hybrid isn’t too bad either. Nor is the hybrid’s estimated 500 miles of range too shabby either.
On the Bronco Sport side, its base 1.5-liter EcoBoost turbo three-cylinder engine has 180 horsepower to work with. The Bronco Sport also offers an available two-liter 4-cylinder engine identical to the Maverick’s gas engine. An eight-speed automatic transmission in tow, regardless of engine choice, gives fuel economy figures of 26 MPG in the city and 29 on the highway for the three-pot and 21 in the city, 26 on the highway with one extra cylinder. Even if fuel consumption isn’t fantastic, the Bronco Sport still has chops as a legitimate off-road machine.
Comfort and Interior
Inside their cabins, build quality on the Bronco Sport and Maverick are fairly similar. Given their shared birthplace of the Hermosillo Stamping and Assembly in northwest Mexico, this is a given. But beyond their origins, the Maverick and Bronco Sport have bespoke and eclectic suites of gizmos and features with sizeable overlaps in certain areas. One such place is the center infotainment screen, a standard 13.2-inch unit backed by Ford’s SYNC 3 media connectivity software.
The Bronco Sport’s 12.3-inch digital gauge cluster falls in line with trends from other automakers, making such digitized gauge systems standard, even on lower trims. It’s a sizeable jump over the eight-inch digital cluster the Maverick will make do with. Still, both are solid systems with high fidelity and all the mobile connectivity you could ask for. As for interior comfort, Maverick’s stellar reputation from the year prior is still strong.
36.9 inches of rear legroom can be found in the back seat of a Maverick. That’s more than the larger Ranger, owing to a less pronounced emphasis on bed space at this lower price point. Coincidentally, the same amount of legroom is found in the Bronco Sport, where most would describe it as just a touch cramped by SUV standards at this size. Up-trimmed Bronco Sports and Mavericks are granted a Bang and Olufsen stereo system with either eight or ten speakers, respectively.
Cloth seat covers at the bottom of the range and ActiveX leatherette material is what’s on call for a 2025 Maverick’s interior. Meanwhile, Bronco Sport Badlands and Outer Banks trims get genuine leather seats, a luxurious touch that brings a pang of exclusivity to an otherwise pretty mundane 4×4. Both vehicles are backed by Ford’s Co-Pilot360 driver assistance software, complete with BlueCruise semi-autonomous driving capability. All in all, some decent creature comforts with some unique accouterments for each.
Trims and Features
With five trims to choose from, the Maverick has plenty of variety at a low entry price point. The base XL, at $27,890, is one of the cheapest brand-new light trucks we’ve seen in ages. For the money, you get steel wheels, cloth seats, and all but the most pressing and essential tech omitted. The XLT kicks things up with 17-inch standard painted aluminum wheels, an eight-way power-adjusted driver seat, and optional towing/off-road packages with items like a larger radiator, skid plates, and larger cooling fans.
The Maverick Lariat ups the ante on refinements with Smoked Truffle ActiveX leatherette seat coverings and bronze accent stitching to go along with the optional B&O stereo system and hybrid drivetrain. The Maverick Tremor gives an especially off-road flavor with a slight suspension lift kit and Black Onyx ActiveX seats to go with all-terrain tires.
On the Bronco Sport side, the entry-level Big Bend trim’s base $29,795 price means it won’t be the same killer deal the Maverick is from the factory. For the money, you get a three-cylinder turbo engine, 17-inch alloy wheels, cloth seats, and five separate terrain management modes. One tier up, the Bronco Sport Heritage pays tribute to Broncos of old with a paint scheme similar to what you’d buy new in 1966. Classic-looking Oxford White 17-inch alloy wheels may look like steelies, but it’s all a part of a neo-retro charm rarely seen since the Chrysler PT Cruiser bit the dust.
The Bronco Sport Free Wheeling’s wicked exterior decal set and Ebony Race Red alloy wheels may not add horsepower, but they do sure add curb appeal. Meanwhile, the Bronco Sport Outer Banks adds even larger 18-inch Ebony Black aluminum wheels and leather-trimmed seats, and the range-topping Badlands at $39,995 nets you the large two-liter EcoBoost engine and two extra terrain management settings. So then, the Maverick and Bronco Sport are once again pretty close in trim specs as well.
The Verdict
For a family of five, it’s apt to say the Maverick pickup would be nearly as proficient at grocery-getting and family-hauling as the Bronco Sport SUV, thanks to the large cab proportionate to its size. As a light work truck carrying modest loads over long distances, the Maverick is pretty darn amazing as well. Furthermore, it’s nice to see Ford diversify the fleet with Maverick trims targeted at both the trails and the street.
But as market trends tell us again and again, North Americans still go coo-coo for crossovers. If you’re one of these folks, the Bronco Sport is similar enough in specs to suffice in comparison to the Maverick. But in a form factor that families go back to again and again, the added off-road prowess of a Bronco Sport is just gravy on top. If we had to choose one over the other, the hybrid drivetrain option of the Maverick makes calling it “superior” somewhat more justifiable.
The truth is, so long as you maintain them, the Maverick and Bronco Sport are both phenomenally good value as short-term leases. Whether either will hold up over time as financed vehicles is another question entirely. A powertrain warranty capped at just five years and 60,000 miles for both vehicles makes this even more dubious. At least on first impressions, Ford‘s Hermosillo production plant has more than just a little bit to feel proud of.
