Comparing the 2025 Ford Bronco Sport to the Subaru Crosstrek Wilderness and Jeep Compass Trailhawk

Competition drives the automotive industry as much as people drive cars. Historically, when a manufacturer in any industry loses the competition, innovation begins to falter, among other disastrous consequences. We’re glad competition exists, and we know automotive manufacturers do, too. We’ve got a triple treat for you today-read on and learn how the 2025 Ford Bronco Sport compares to two of its chief competitors: the 2025 Subaru Crosstrek Wilderness and the 2025 Jeep Compass Trailhawk. This will help you learn more about how the model does against some of its rivals before you begin shopping. And if you’re looking for a Ford Bronco Sport for sale near Newburg, you’ll find it here at Kate Faupel Ford. For now, let’s learn how the Ford Bronco Sport shines in the often overcrowded subcompact SUV market.

Which Model Is Made for Off-Road Adventure?

The 2025 Ford Bronco Sport makes stellar first impressions against the 2025 Subaru Crosstrek Wilderness and 2025 Jeep Compass Trailhawk. What’s the difference maker? The 2025 Bronco Sport has 4×4 capabilities standard. The Crosstrek Wilderness and Compass Trailhawk? All-wheel drive (AWD), with no traditional 4×4 systems in place. AWD isn’t inherently the deal-breaker for everyone, but if you’re shopping within this corner of the subcompact SUV market, you’re likely looking for an SUV you can take off-roading. 4×4 capabilities are more beneficial than AWD when dealing with most off-road scenarios-especially rock-crawling and traversing through thick mud. 

The next difference that places the Bronco Sport ahead-at least against the Crosstrek-is its 8-speed automatic transmission. The Compass has the same transmission as the Bronco Sport, but Subaru’s subcompact SUV uses a Continuously Variable Automatic Transmission (CVT.) CVTs are great in specific applications, but as far as most off-roaders are concerned, it’s not the right choice for the hobby. Although the Bronco Sport doesn’t have a manual transmission like the traditional Bronco, the 8-speed automatic transmission works well. 

Which Vehicle Offers a Wider Range of Performance Options?

The differences outweigh the similarities between the Bronco Sport, Compass, and Crosstrek’s powertrains. Subaru is the only one of the three to use BOXER engines, rather than in-line ones. This doesn’t interfere with the Crosstrek’s ability to withstand off-road trails as much as it affects the power throughput-notably in horsepower, torque, and acceleration. The Compass’ single powertrain is impressive, but with no alternative, it leaves the Compass ultimately behind the Bronco Sport. However, the Compass does come ahead against the Crosstrek’s engines in every area except for one: towing-at least with the more powerful 2.5L BOXER-4 engine. Where does this ultimately stack each engine against the other?   

Starting with the Bronco Sport’s engines, every Bronco Sport but the Badlands has a standard 1.5L EcoBoost turbocharged I-3 engine. The Badlands trim introduces the 2.0L variant of this engine, providing a tremendous leap in horsepower and torque throughput-we’re getting ahead of ourselves. The base engine outputs 180 hp and 190 lb-ft of torque, which is slightly less than the 200 hp and 221 lb-ft of torque of the Compass’ 2.0L turbocharged I-4 engine but more than the Crosstrek’s standard 2.0L Boxer-4 outputting 152 hp and 145 lb-ft of torque. However, the Bronco Sport’s base engine has a maximum towing capacity of 2,200 lbs-10% more than the Compass’ 2,000 lbs and 47% more than the Crosstrek’s base engine’s 1,500 lbs. 

Bringing the Bronco Sport Badlands’ engine into the picture shakes things up significantly. The 2.0L EcoBoost turbocharged I-4 engine outputs 250 hp and 277 lb-ft of torque. It also receives a decent improvement in towing performance, going up to a maximum capacity of 2,700 lbs. The engine under the hood of Bronco Sport Badlands models has solid performance gains over the Crosstrek’s optional 2.5L Boxer-4 engine, which outputs 182 hp and 178 lb-ft of torque-the Bronco Sport Badlands’s engine has 37% and 56% more horsepower and torque, respectively. You’ve never experienced driving around Newburg like this. 

Need Ample Cargo Space? The Bronco Sport Has You Covered

Ford has made several great decisions designing the Bronco Sport based on what we’ve gathered, but surely the Compass Trailhawk and Crosstrek Wilderness have the edge elsewhere, right? Not so fast. The 2025 Bronco Sport has more cargo space than the Compass or Crosstrek, in what seems to be a pattern of ample Ford decisions, leaving competitors appearing lackluster by comparison.

The 2025 Bronco Sport’s cargo space varies between the Badlands and the other trims. Every trim but the Badlands has 32.5 cu.ft. of space when the rear seats are kept upright. Folding down the rear row in these trims practically doubles your cargo space-increasing to 65.2 cu.ft.Opting for the Badlands slightly reduces these measurements to 29.4 cu.ft. of space with every seat upright and 60.6 cu.ft. when folded. 

Both Bronco Sport configurations offer more cargo space than the Compass or Crosstrek. The Compass and Crosstrek both have a foldable rear row like the Bronco Sport, but the results are middling. If both rows are kept upright, you’ll get 19.9 cu.ft. with the Crosstrek and 27.2 cu.ft. with the Compass, improving to 54.7 cu.ft. and 59.8 cu.ft. when the seats are folded. The Subaru Crosstrek especially gets the short end of the stick, considering it has 39% less cargo space than the Bronco Sport when every seat is positioned straight. 

 

Who Wins the Battle for the Biggest Touchscreen?

Many modern-day SUVs offer manufacturers an opportunity to show off their chops via their impressive technical capabilities. We’ve discussed how the Bronco Sport has greater performance and cargo space than the Crosstrek and Compass, but Ford’s SUV manages to complete its trifecta of providing a stellar product by implementing some phenomenal tech throughout the full experience. 

One of the 2025 Bronco Sport’s greatest advantages over the Crosstrek Wilderness and Compass Trailhawk is its infotainment center. All three SUVs have infotainment centers. Fortunately, Subaru and Jeep’s SUVs have the larger of their two available infotainment center screen sizes. They both still pale in comparison to the Bronco Sport. 

An eye-popping 13.2-inch infotainment center is standard with every Bronco Sport-even the base model, which costs thousands of dollars less than the Compass and Crosstrek trims in mention. The screen has a wider aspect ratio than a traditional infotainment center screen. This gives the impression of an even larger screen, and the wider viewing area allows apps to show more at once. 

The Compass’ 10.1-inch screen is no slouch, nor is the 11.6-inch Subaru Starlink multimedia plus system. However, the added screen real estate afforded by the larger panel in the 2025 Bronco Sport is a great benefit. The vehicles support wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, but the experience is better on the larger screen within the Bronco Sport. 

Many may not consider that having a larger infotainment center screen is more beneficial for off-roaders. The 360-degree camera in the Bronco Sport is a great example because the larger screen allows you to easily see your surroundings at a glance. Although the idea of a 360-degree camera isn’t exclusive to Ford and the Bronco Sport, the smaller screens of the Crosstrek and Compass make it a more cumbersome experience. This not only has to do with the size of the screen but also with the aforementioned ultrawide aspect ratio Ford opted for, which greatly enhances what can be displayed at once. Turn-by-turn directions are also easier to follow when using a large screen, thanks to the increased viewing area. 

And the Winner is…

Now that the dust has settled, who is our victor? It would have been nice to give the Subaru Crosstrek Wilderness and Ford Compass Trailhawk the benefit of the doubt. However, the Ford Bronco Sport is the better vehicle for Newburg drivers in almost every conceivable way. If you’re shopping for an SUV and deciding between these three options-do yourself a favor and buy the best of the bunch.

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