2021 Ford Bronco Sport First Edition: What We Know So Far

2021 Ford Bronco sport - interior and exterior Walkaround.

2021 Ford Bronco sport - Interior.

2021 Ford Bronco Sport: Review — Cars.com

2021 Ford Bronco Sport | Review & Road Test

2021 Ford Bronco: 6 Things We Like, 3 We Don't

Is the ALL NEW 2021 Ford Bronco Sport Big Bend worth it?

The 2021 Ford Bronco Sport Is an Awesome Baby Bronco

2021 Ford Bronco Sport Big Bend - POV First Impressions

2021 Ford Bronco Sport - EVERYTHING You Need to Know (FULL WALKAROUND)

If it were me out here wheeling with our crew," I said to the Ford employees perched on the hillside beside me, "I wouldn't have even tried that with a stock crossover."

I wasn't stroking any egos; I meant it. I've brought enough trucks and SUVs back with body damage (or worse) to know which obstacles are asking for trouble. Two hours into wheeling the 2021 Ford Bronco Sport up a reasonably tough trail and already seriously impressed with what the little rig could do, I still wouldn't have bothered with that obstacle. The initial approach was steep enough to effectively be a stair step. The gully it was in was narrow enough that the only driving line was to take it head-on, straddling the deep, V-shaped ditch running down the middle. Eyeballing it, I figured you'd run the bumper into the step before you got the tires up to the obstacle. I was wrong.

The Bronco Sport inched up to the hillside, the tires dug in, the nose rose, and the little SUV rose to the challenge. Oh, and did I mention this was the only vehicle in the entire group on the standard Pirelli Scorpion ATR tires? Everything else had the optional Falken Wildpeak A/Ts with a much more aggressive tread pattern.

It was, however, still a Bronco Sport Badlands like the rest, and that matters. The Bronco Sport Badlands (and the First Edition, which is limited-run and based on the Badlands) is endowed with the serious off-roading hardware. Right up front, it's the only trim to get a much more powerful 2.0-liter turbocharged I-4 with 250 hp and 277 lb-ft compared to the 1.5-liter turbo I-3's 181 hp and 190 lb-ft. Around back, it's connected to an upgraded rear axle with clutch packs on each halfshaft. These allow the all-wheel-drive system to send power to the wheel or wheels that have the most grip. It can also function as a rear axle locker and bias torque to the outside wheel to make the vehicle more nimble.

You can control how the computer apportions engine power via a knob on the center console behind the rotary shifter. Labeled G.O.A.T. Modes (Goes Over Any Terrain, a callback to the original Bronco), the Bronco Sport Badlands has seven different programs for the street and the dirt. The Badlands model gets Rock Crawl and Mud and Ruts modes, which take advantage of that trick rear axle, while all the other Bronco Sports make do with five modes. In addition to the modes, you can manually lock the four-wheel-drive system on, manually "lock" (via clever software programing) the rear axle, or engage the off-road cruise control with hard buttons next to the mode knob.

The Badlands also gets a standard nose camera that comes on automatically under 15 mph in all off-road modes and can be turned on from a button below the infotainment screen in other modes. It could be improved with overlays showing the path of the tires like Jeep does, the same way a backup camera shows where the rear is going.

All the trick software in the world won't help you with bad ground clearance, long overhangs, and bad approach and departure angles, but the Bronco Sport doesn't have those, either. The Badlands both rides higher and has unique bodywork designed to give it better clearance off-road than standard Bronco Sports, and we put it to use. With 8.8 inches of ground clearance on the optional tires, a 30.4-degree approach angle, 32.8-degree departure angle, and 20.4-degree breakover angle, it's very nearly a photocopy of the Jeep Compass Trailhawk, only with way more power.

2021 bronco sport, ford bronco sport, 2021 ford bronco sport, ford bronco sport off-road, ford bronco sport rock crawl, ford bronco sport sand dunes, ford bronco sport review, ford bronco sport road test, ford bronco sport price, ford bronco sport badlands, ford bronco sport interior, ford bronco sport four-wheel drive, ford bronco sport gas mileage, ford bronco sport v jeep cherokee, kelley blue book, kbb.com, kbb, micah muzio, bronco sport v bronco, bronco sport cost
ford bronco sport, bronco sport, ford bronco sport review, bronco sport review, ford bronco, bronco, ford bronco review, doug demuro, bronco review, 2021 ford bronco sport, 2021 bronco sport, demuro, doug de muro
Ford, Ford Bronco, Ford Bronco Sport, Ford Bronco Sport Badlands, BroncoSport Badlands, Badlands offroad, Moab, Bronco offroad, Bronco 0-60, Bronco MPG, Bronco infotainment, Bronco vs Rav4, Bronco vs Bronco sport, Bronco vs CRV, Bronco comfort, Bronco Sport review, Bronco sport vs CRV, Bronco Sport vs Rav4, Bronco Sport Badlands vs Big Bend