For enhanced safety, the front and rear seat shoulder belts of the Ford Bronco Sport have pretensioners to tighten the seatbelts and eliminate dangerous slack in the event of a collision and force limiters to limit the pressure the belts will exert on the passengers. The Chevrolet Blazer doesn’t offer pretensioners for its rear seat belts.
In a Vehicle-to-Vehicle Frontal Crash Prevention 2.0 test conducted by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), the Ford Bronco Sport achieved a “Acceptable” rating - the second highest possible - for its performance in forward collision warning and automatic braking systems, demonstrating its excellent capabilities in preventing collisions. The Chevrolet Blazer has not been tested.
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 Blazer 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.
Over 200 people are killed each year when backed over by motor vehicles. The Bronco Sport (except Big Bend/Heritage) offers optional Reverse Brake Assist that uses rear sensors to monitor for objects to the rear and automatically applies the brakes to prevent a collision. The Blazer doesn’t offer backup collision prevention brakes.
To provide maximum traction and stability on all roads, All-Wheel Drive is standard on the Bronco Sport. But it costs extra on the Blazer.
When descending a steep, off-road slope, the Bronco Sport Sasquatch/Badlands’ standard Trail Control allows you to creep down safely. The Blazer doesn’t offer Trail Control.
Both the Bronco Sport and Blazer have rear cross-traffic warning, but the Bronco Sport has rear Cross Traffic Braking (automatically applies the brakes) to better prevent a collision when backing near traffic. The Blazer’s Rear Cross Traffic Alert doesn’t automatically brake.
The Bronco Sport’s driver alert monitor detects an inattentive driver then sounds a warning and suggests a break. According to the NHTSA, drivers who fall asleep cause about 100,000 crashes and 1500 deaths a year. The Blazer doesn’t offer a driver alert monitor.
Both the Bronco Sport and the Blazer have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, driver knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, height adjustable front shoulder belts, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, daytime running lights, lane departure warning systems, blind spot warning systems, rearview cameras, rear cross-path warning and available around view monitors.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does 35 MPH front crash tests on new vehicles. In this test, results indicate that the Ford Bronco Sport is safer than the Chevrolet Blazer:
|
|
Bronco Sport |
Blazer |
|
|
Driver |
|
| STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
| HIC |
140 |
182 |
| Leg Forces (l/r) |
123/237 lbs. |
104/435 lbs. |
|
|
Passenger |
|
| STARS |
5 Stars |
4 Stars |
| HIC |
153 |
313 |
| Chest Compression |
.6 inches |
.8 inches |
| Neck Injury Risk |
37% |
43% |
| Neck Compression |
54 lbs. |
140 lbs. |
New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does side impact tests on new vehicles. In this test, which crashes the vehicle into a flat barrier at 38.5 MPH and into a post at 20 MPH, results indicate that the Ford Bronco Sport is safer than the Chevrolet Blazer:
|
|
Bronco Sport |
Blazer |
|
|
Front Seat |
|
| STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
| HIC |
80 |
93 |
| Hip Force |
205 lbs. |
369 lbs. |
|
|
Rear Seat |
|
| STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
| HIC |
144 |
251 |
| Spine Acceleration |
33 G’s |
45 G’s |
|
|
Into Pole |
|
| STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
| HIC |
255 |
265 |
| Spine Acceleration |
35 G’s |
39 G’s |
| Hip Force |
512 lbs. |
695 lbs. |
New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.

