If it's possible, the Ford Bronco Sport has flown somewhat under the radar because of its much-hyped, more rugged sibling, the Bronco. Make no mistake, though, the Bronco Sport has been a big sales success in its own right; in September, the Bronco Sport outsold the Ford Escape for the first time. In October, the Bronco Sport has achieved another impressive feat; with 9,201 units sold, the SUV outsold both the Jeep Cherokee and Compass combined. The Bronco Sport helped Ford achieve its best SUV retail sales for the month of October in 21 years. The Bronco and Mustang Mach-E also performed well.

In June, Ford said that the Bronco Sport was clearly stealing sales from Jeep; at the time, it said that 63 percent of Bronco Sport customers were coming from outside the Ford brand. Further complicating matters for Jeep recently is that production at the Belvidere Assembly Plant in Illinois came to an abrupt halt in October due to the semiconductor chip crisis. This plant is where the Cherokee is manufactured. Besides production issues, the Cherokee is in need of an update. It remains a good off-roader but is let down by a needlessly bloated range of trims, a poor gearbox, and compromised cargo space. Then again, the current Cherokee was introduced at the end of 2013 so perhaps these shortcomings are not surprising.

The Jeep Compass, on the other hand, at least received a welcome update earlier this year for the 2022 model year. The much newer Bronco Sport seems to offer the perfect blend of an appealing starting price, excellent practicality, and just enough off-road prowess. The base model starts at $27,265 and already gets four-wheel drive, the Ford Co-Pilot360 safety suite, and a Terrain Management System. Higher up in the lineup, the Bronco Sport offers the more powerful 2.0-liter EcoBoost engine, an off-road suspension, and nifty features like a 180-degree front camera. For now, Ford seems to have the measure of its Jeep rivals in this corner of the market.