2021 Ford Bronco Sport First Drive Review: No Paper Tiger

Living up to a namesake can be a heavy burden. Exceed expectations, and detractors cite nepotism; fail, and risk becoming a punchline. That’s the dilemma facing the new 2021 Ford Bronco Sport SUV.

Based on its birthright, Ford could’ve simply butched up the Escape, added a new fascia, a rugged-looking tire and wheel combo, coated it in an outdoorsy color scheme and slapped a “Bronco Sport” badge on it. Such a short-cut strategy would have yielded sales out of the gate. But the core development team wanted—and had the budget—to put some space between the Bronco Sport and the Escape.

Developed concurrently with the larger, purpose-built 2021 Bronco, the Bronco Sport gets second-billing on the marquee as the big Bronco is the clear heir to the legacy as well as the tentpole of Ford’s new Bronco sub-brand. However, should the Bronco Sport hit the mark with its lower MSRP and more versatile personality, it could outsell its big brother by a large margin.

Indeed, engineers bristle at the assertion that the Bronco Sport is simply a re-skinned Escape. Though it does use a modified version of Ford’s modular global front-wheel drive C2 platform that underpins the current Escape and other models, the hardpoints—the fixed mounting locations for suspension subassemblies—are exclusive to the Bronco Sport. Such variance requires significant investment, but when large tires, increased wheel travel and articulation are part of the product plan, it’s easier to engineer at the start than after the fact.

Specifically, the Bronco Sport’s 105.1-inch wheelbase is 1.6-inches shorter than the Escape’s, and its 172.2 overall length is 8.2 inches shorter. Without an Escape parked nearby for comparison, however, the Bronco Sport’s boxy exterior does an admirable job of appearing larger.

The slightly smaller footprint has little effect on the front passengers. There’s ample room to settle in comfortably, but taller drivers may find their knees resting against the door or console. Numerous nooks and crannies in the doors and console offer plenty of small-item storage. The HVAC controls and the infotainment screen are straight from the Ford playbook, logical and unremarkable—which is fine for a vehicle where the action is supposed to happen on the outside. 

However, five minutes in the back seat makes clear where the extra inches were clipped; headroom is generous, but legroom is scant. With the front row seats positioned fully rearward, it’s a game of inches for your shins. True of many of the vehicles in this class, the Bronco Sport has two redeeming features: An under-seat storage bin keeps valuables out of sight and secure, and with the seats folded down, there’s enough room to squeak in a pair of mountain bikes with enough leftover space to stow other outdoor lifestyle equipment. The SUV’s rubber flooring is purposeful and just plain cool.

The Bronco Sport comes in five trims: Base, Big Bend, Outer Banks, Badlands and First Edition. The Badlands is the most off-road focused of the bunch. Its standard turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine is rated for 245 horsepower and 275 pound-feet of torque–numbers that eclipse the 181 horsepower and 190 pound-foot output of the turbocharged 1.5-liter three-cylinder in the lower trims. Both pair with an eight-speed automatic transmission.  

Acceleration in the Badlands trim is sufficient-plus, a non-confrontational way of saying more than expected but not awe-inspiring. All 275 foot-pounds of torque are punched in for work at 3,000 rpm, though, so you’ll never be caught flat-footed clearing an intersection or pulling into traffic, let alone crawling up a two-track incline at low-speed. The transmission does its best to stay out of the way, swapping gears unobtrusively, and the front power transfer unit is capable of completely disconnecting the front axle to save fuel and wear and tear when all-wheel drive is not required. During testing, we set the drive mode to “Sport” and left it for the duration of on-road travel.  

Critically, the Badlands’ ground clearance (with the optional 29-inch tires) increases 1 inch to 8.8 inches, and its water fording depth gets a 5.9-inch boost to 23.6 inches compared with the standard Bronco Sport trims.  There’s an asterisk, however, as our Badlands was shod with the standard 28.5-inch 225/65R17 Pirelli Scorpion A/T tires rather than the optional and far more aggressive Falken Wildpeak 235/65R17 A/T tires, giving up few tenths in clearance. (Kudos to Ford for including a full-size spare with both tires.)

On the flip side, the Pirellis are surprisingly quiet on the road, devoid of the thrum many dual-purpose tires produce. Directional changes are predictable if not as instinctual as some of the European compact crossovers or even an Escape, but that’s a byproduct of its off-road hardware. Interior noise levels are commendably low; Ford’s Sync 3 infotainment system pairs quickly, and outward visibility is good except for the spot between the C-pillar and the rear corner of the vehicle.

The High-Performance Off-Road Stability Suspension system (H.O.S.S.) is designed for off-road travel but does double-duty by taking the impact out of mid-Michigan’s cratered road surfaces. All Bronco Sports get the H.O.S.S. setup, but our Badlands tester had the upgraded version incorporating softer springs and roll-bars and a hydraulic bump-stop on the dampers to soften grimace-inducing impacts when the suspension reaches the end of its travel.

Michigan’s Holly Oaks ORV Park offered the perfect environs to evaluate the Bronco Sport Badland and its Terran Management off-road drive settings, aka G.O.A.T. Modes, for Goes Over Any Terrain. In addition to the Sport setting, all Bronco Sports get Normal, Slippery and Sand; the Badlands and First edition models have two additional modes: Mud/Ruts and Rock Crawl.

Though no low range is available, the Badlands edition does use a twin-clutch rear-drive unit with a differential lock feature that can divert nearly all available rear-axle torque to either wheel. Unlike a proper locking axle that directs torque evenly to each rear wheel, the Bronco unit can shuttle up to 100% of it left or right as conditions dictate. In sand mode, for instance, the rear-drive unit sends a surplus of torque to the outside rear wheel in tight turns to pivot the vehicle. It’s a bit counter-intuitive in practice, but when the front of the vehicle starts to push wide in tight turning, a simple mash of the throttle pulls the nose in and rotates the vehicle. An external cooler keeps the twin-clutch unit from melting down under duress.

Four steel bash plates are strategically positioned on the undercarriage to prevent damage to vital components, and we tested their integrity on at least three occasions.  Intense hill climbs with high breakover angles and steep descents are easily dispatched by the forward-facing trail cam that removes the unknown element of the road disappearing below. The optional Trail Control allows users to set a speed of descent—think off-road cruise control—and the drive mode determines the throttle and braking action for optimum control. In fact, our Badlands had little trouble crawling up or down any of the obstacles we presented, including a Moab-inspired “rock wall.” Rest assured, the Bronco Sport Badlands has enough aptitude to get weekend warriors to 99% of the trailheads and campsites in the lower 48.   

Despite its off-road aptitude, the Bronco Sport’s greatest asset is arguably its rugged looks. In a segment where few of the contenders ever see a two-track, let alone ford twenty inches of water, looking the part is a critical element of the marketing strategy. But it takes character and integrity to transcend the hype, and first impressions indicate the Bronco Sport—at least in rugged Badlands guise—has the grit to live up to the family name.