Yahoo Autos 2021 Ford Bronco Sport revealed: big Bronco's rugged little brother
There will be those who dismiss the 2021 Ford Bronco Sport as the knockoff crossover Bronco for poseurs. However, now that we know the specs, have learned more about its capability, and recognize that it was thoughtfully designed with the needs of a different outdoorsy sort in mind, we think it'll be a lot harder to knock Ford's well-rounded effort here.
A different Bronco buyer
First, there's an important distinction to be made. Just because you don't do hardcore off-roading with your SUV doesn't mean you don't actually use it outdoors. As Ford correctly pointed out in its pre-reveal press presentation, people treat their vehicles as another vital piece of gear they take on various outdoor adventures. This may seem like marketing shlock, but as someone who lives in the Pacific Northwest where roof racks abound and the neighbors' SUVs return on Sunday evening dirty from a weekend away, this is absolutely real. Let's call it the REI buyer. It's the sort who typically turns to Subaru, and who Ford is targeting directly with the Bronco Sport.
A full-size spare tire is standard. So too are big, rugged roof racks that include tie-down cutouts. They, along with the roof itself, are strong enough to accommodate a roof-mounted tent and were designed specifically with a variety of racks in mind. The liftgate features large grab handles that serve double duty as a drying rack and a pair of standard LED "floodlights" that bathe up to 129 square feet, making it easier for the cargo area to serve as a base camp. It also has a separate flip-up window and apparently raises higher than normal for fewer clonked heads (though an actual height number for comparison wasn't provided).
That's just some of the standard stuff. Starting with the Big Bend trim level (the second of four rungs, plus the special First Edition), the Bronco Sport's front seat backs have zippered pockets and a MOLLE strap system that lets you connect whatever you want or need. The seats are upholstered in easy-clean cloth, and the rear flooring is rubberized (in the Badlands trim, the entire cabin floor is rubberized and therefore wash-outable). An old-school bit of Ford tech also gets another day in the sun: The SecureCode access pad lets you lock the key in the car to prevent it from being lost or waterlogged out in the great outdoors.
Then there are the accessories. A Cargo Management System provides five configurations including a two-tier cargo floor and a slide-out tray that juts out to create a sort of tailgate prep station. The cabin and its stepped "safari" roofline was designed specifically to accommodate a bike rack accessory by Yakima that mounts two 27.5-inch-wheel mountain bikes inside. This is just one of the many design choices made after real-world research and a uniquely hands-on development program. In this case, they addressed a pain point for mountain bikers and cyclists concerned with security or the added hassle of mounting bikes onto the roof.
There are also four "lifestyle accessory bundles" dubbed Bike, Snow, Water and Camping, but Ford didn't actually explain what they included in the product information shared prior to the reveal. Nor was there an additional rundown of the "more than 100 factory-backed stand-alone accessories." In any event, it's clear that Ford had a clear idea of who it was designing the Bronco Sport for — its designers and brand managers even made a point to go camping with it while in development.
The underpinnings
Nevertheless, there is more going on here than a glorified hiking backpack on wheels. As has been widely reported, the 2021 Bronco Sport shares its platform with the 2020 Ford Escape and therefore the next-generation Ford Focus sold nearly everywhere but the United States. However, according to Chief Program Engineer Adrian Aguirre, "This is not an Escape with big tires."
Indeed, the dimensions are quite different. It's more than 3 inches narrower, the wheelbase is 1.6 inches shorter, and the overall length is so much smaller (172.7 inches versus the Escape's 180.5) that the Bronco Sport is considered a subcompact SUV. However, its track is an inch wider than Escape and it’s a considerable 4 to 5 inches taller in height depending on trim level.
Moving beyond comparisons to Escape, the Bronco Sport's ground clearance depends on trim level, but all are higher than usual for a small SUV. The Base and Big Bend trims measure 7.8 inches, the fancy Outer Banks trim is 7.9 (likely due to bigger standard wheels) and the most-rugged Badlands manages 8.8 inches when fitted with the optional 29-inch all-terrain tires. That number is significant since it betters the 8.7 inches offered by the Jeep Cherokee Trailhawk and every Subaru SUV. How much it really matters in the field is highly debatable, but it looks good in a comparison chart.
With those big A/T tires, the Badlands' approach, departure and breakover angles are all roughly equivalent to those of the Jeep Compass and Cherokee Trailhawk (the Compass nips it in a few dimensions, but the bit Cherokee is always a bit behind). Water fording depth is superior to the Jeeps.
