2023 Ford Bronco Sport Review: The Sickest Ford Escape Ever

No, it’s not a Bronco. It’s a Bronco Sport. This is what you’ll have to explain every time someone asks, “Is this a Bronco?” Well, there's that, and the ‘60s ice cream truck livery that this particular 2023 Ford Bronco Sport Heritage is painted in. But despite the suffix, it is not Sporty—nor is it a real Bronco. It’s a rugged style play on a car-based crossover.

It’s essentially a redecorated Escape (which itself is a lifted Focus underneath) that has been given a real brace of features that make it more capable off-road than it has any business being. It’s a crossover wearing truck clothes, but it might also be a rare jack-of-all-trades-master-of-most in a highly competitive segment. Most importantly, it also doesn’t cause its driver to go into a deep depression like the Escape does.

But for the price of this Heritage as tested, which actually exceeds the MSRP of a “real” base Bronco, it has to offer A Lot. So I decided to take it up a black diamond trail fit for only the toughest 4x4s out there: Rowher Flats.

The Basics

The Bronco Sport is a relatively new institution in the Ford lineup, acting as a possible on-ramp to the full-blown Bronco or as a more comfortable, quiet, less capable alternative. It’s a compact crossover with Bronco-esque styling and the Heritage trim takes that styling a step further with a classic paint scheme and steel-look wheels. Like I said above, it’s based on the Escape but has its own body, interior, and powertrain.

Underneath, it uses a car-like unibody construction, MacPherson strut front suspension, semi-trailing arm rear suspension, and a 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine. All Bronco Sports have all-wheel drive while the top trim versions like this Heritage get a special rear differential with twin clutches that can provide locking in extreme low-traction situations. It’s similar to the unit from the old Focus RS but adapted for off-road.

Inside, the Bronco Sport gets its own interior that is frankly of lackluster quality. The plastics are cheap, and there was even overspray on the white accents of the dash over its black base. It’s an underwhelming first impression, which is a shame because it's actually fairly well put together with minimal rattles. The style here is just convincingly last generation, from the rental-spec gauge cluster to the relatively small and low-contrast infotainment display. Despite that, the seats are comfortable and the driving position projects a commanding view befit for a truck, complete with an absurdly tall hood. And the trunk has a nice divider system and some adjustable LED lights that work as overhead camp lights with the tailgate open.

That tall hood always reminds you of the exterior of the Sport, which is its primary selling point. It’s a cutesy take on the full-size Bronco but gets the gist of it right. It looks and feels tall, and has strong, straight lines all across with nice details hidden within. What is fascinating is that it has the goods to sell its off-road-lite look. Once I got on the road to my fearsome trail of choice, I found a pleasant small crossover.

Driving the Ford Bronco Sport

Well, it’s pleasant but it isn’t inspiring, which is the entire point. The Bronco Sport fades into the background with an enthusiasm unmatched by even the most normal of cars. It’s comfy, spacious, and completely inoffensive. It’s a quality I find admirable and quite excellent.

The pseudo-truckiness of the Sport is its main trick, balancing being tall and imposing with quiet and approachable. The seating position is set high above everything else, with a relatively low beltline helping side-to-side visibility. Everything in the cabin is quite upright and alert but set far below my field of vision. The only real issue from the throne was the height of the hood and its twin bulges that made it difficult to see directly in front.

But before the onslaught of the black diamond trail, it suggested virtually zero ruggedness to me. The Bronco Sport rode well, with nicely isolated cracks and dips and affirmative damping that dispatched motions quickly without being crashy. It actually did feel somewhat sporting with its relatively stiff suspension and was well-controlled around corners. Paired with medium-weight, decently precise steering, it is impressively well-judged for an everyday runabout. It’s no stunner, but it doesn’t do anything weird and understands its customer.

Then there’s the powertrain, which has gluttonous low-end torque and nice, slurred shifts. With a long, slow throttle pedal, that 2.0-liter turbo-four felt bigger and lazier than its specs would suggest. On the road, it was easy to be smooth. The only thing that wasn’t smooth was the driver’s assistance systems. Initial automatic braking was fairly abrupt, and lane keeping made very straight roads incredibly curvy. But this was no longer a worry once I got on the trail.