First Drive: 2021 Ford Bronco Sport Badlands

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The resurrection the Ford Bronco is big news, and it’s surely one of the most anticipated vehicles of the year. But wait — this isn’t it. This is the Bronco Sport.

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Consider it kid-brother to the full-fat ladder-frame Bronco that arrives later this year. While the big Bronco will muscle in on Jeep Wrangler territory, this little tyke targets Jeep’s Cherokee and Compass. Tested here is the top-tier Badlands, the one fully kitted for off-road duty.

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Built on the Ford Escape platform, the Bronco Sport comes in four flavours – Base, Big Bend, Outer Banks and Badlands – with pricing ranging from $32,199; to $40,199 for this Badlands. The three lower trims run with a 181-hp 1.5L turbo four, whereas the Badlands get a 2.0L turbo four putting out 250 horsepower and 277 lb-ft of torque. There are no front-drive models, and all have an eight-speed automatic transmission.

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Ford has thrown a whack of engineering at the Badlands. It gets 8.8 inches of ground clearance, aggressive approach and departure angles, skid plates, and standard 28.5-inch all-terrain tires. Unique to the Badlands are off-road-tuned dampers and a twin-clutch rear-drive unit with differential lock. Softer springs and anti-roll bars offer greater articulation over obstacles — a best-inclass 7.4 inches.

Ford infuses its Bronco Sport with a bit of fun, starting with its kicked-up safari roofline, bold white lettering, and here, the cheekily-named Area 51 blue paint. Plenty of “Easter eggs” too. Eagle-eyed video editor Clayton Seam found little profiles of three 1966 Broncos along with their model codes stamped under the fuel flap. Now that’s some seriously nerdy stuff.

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The Bronco Sport’s terrain management system is dubbed GOAT (“Goes Over Any type of Terrain”) and the Badlands gets two additional settings – mud/ruts and rock crawl – on top of the standard Normal, Eco, Sport, Slippery and Sand.

The Badlands brags a wide-angle front camera for better terrain visibility, and Trail Control — an off-road cruise control that adjusts crawl speeds in increments up to 32 km/h. This little Ford can also ford up to two feet of water.

Were we going to take Ford’s word for all this? Heck, no. We stared our Bronco Sport right in the snout and said, “Time to put your money where your bridle is.” Cue fabulously mucky, snowy, icy, and flooded terrain along with some deserted quarry action, which the Badlands shrugged off with nary a whinny. Most of this was accomplished in Mud/Rut mode with the rear diff locked. Bonus: in off-road modes the exhaust note goes all gnarly. No, I didn’t rip off the muffler.

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Being a press vehicle, this specimen is fully loaded. The $850 Co-Pilot 360Assist+ adds a full suite of safety and driver aids, while the $3,000 Badlands Package bestows dual-zone climate control, reverse sensing, sunroof, 10-speaker Bang and Olufsen audio, HD radio, and wireless charging. With the $600 Class II tow package, the Badlands will pull up to 2,200 lbs.

An important question for the many who will be shopping this tough-guy Badlands mainly for the image: How is it as a day-to-day driver? Pretty nice, I have to say.

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There’s a premium solidity to this trucklet, reflected in its poise and general refinement. The Badlands interior with its brown faux-leather inserts is attractive and pretty well-screwed together. All the analog controls work with satisfying precision and there are plenty of soft-touch surfaces. Even the hard plastic bits avoid the dreaded cheap sheen. Ford’s Sync 3 interface, here playing on an 8-inch touchscreen, is one of the better of this ilk, showing a clear menu structure and obedient voice control.

The rotary gear selector is an ergonomic delight and proved useful when I had to quickly toggle between Drive and Reverse for some sneaky off-road maneuvering.

While the Bronco Sport’s wheelbase is shorter than the Ford Escape’s, the upright seating position and high roofline give the cabin a sense of space. Rear seat legroom is acceptable for this class, and visibility from all perches is panoramic. With the rear seats folded, Ford claims two upright mountain bikes will fit. The view out over the square hood with its blocky bulges just makes you want to head for the boonies.

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When hoofed the Badlands moves out quite smartly, although on occasion you’ll be waiting a beat for the turbo to spool up and the transmission to find the right gear. This is the only Bronco Sport to get paddle shifters. The steering could use more feel, but overall the Badlands is nimble and handles pretty well, even on these tall winter tires. I expect the other less off-road-y Bronco Sport variants will show more buttoned-down road manners, but they don’t get the Badland’s more powerful engine.

There’s a lot of funky fun and functionality baked into the Bronco Sport. Jump in and a little video showing falling rocks morphing into the Bronco icon greet you on the Sync screen. The rear window opens independently of the hatch, and with said hatch raised, you’ll find two overhead LED lights and a bottle opener tucked into the opening. The cargo area is lined with hose-down rubberized material, and there’s a 110V outlet for powering all your lifestyle accessories. Of interest to roof-top campers, the Bronco Sport’s lid can support up to 600 lbs.

Being fresh on the automotive landscape, people were taking notice of this Bronco Sport, and more often than not folks asked “Is this the new Bronco?” Well, for now it is. And it turns out this Badlands variant ain’t just blowing smoke. It has some bona fide off-road chops to go with its tough-guy charm. At just over 45 grand, this specimen is pretty much the most you can spend on a Bronco Sport, but it does dish up an enticing blend of capability, features and personality. And if it gets mistaken for its bigger brother, no foul.