2021 Ford Bronco and Bronco Sport first ride review: Sponge-worthy – Roadshow [CNET]

Sliding into the front passenger seat, the first thing I notice is the dashboard. It’s surprisingly thin, taking up very little space between the firewall and the cabin, helping the whole shebang feel perhaps a bit bigger than it actually is. Since these are preproduction models, I can’t speak to the material choice or final build quality just yet, but initial glances are quite promising.

While my time in the Bronco Sport is brief, I spend most of it cackling like a madman. The reason why is under the hood: The Bronco Sport Badlands trim I’m in has the optional 2.0-liter turbocharged inline-4 gas engine, which puts out 245 horsepower and 275 pound-feet of torque. That may not seem like all that much in an age where a certain competitor will shove 700-plus-hp into anything made of metal, but the Bronco Sport scoots, pushing through dirt and sand with a surprising amount of hustle with an engine note that sounds surprisingly beefy for a four-pot.

I’ve seen a wide variety of “off-road-capable” unibody crossovers in my time, not all of which lay down the power as well as their marketing departments would have you believe. That said, I am walking away from the Bronco Sport impressed. The Holly Oaks ORV park offers up plenty of dirt, mud and sand, and this plucky little number plows through it all with aplomb. Some of that comes from the purpose-built 235/65R17 Falken Wildpeak all-terrain tires, which will grab dirt much easier than the basic all-seasons found on the lower trims.

2021 Ford Bronco and Bronco Sport get down in the dirt

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The mode switch on the center console dials in the throttle response, shift points and other factors to promote as much traction as possible, and there are some steep sandy slopes that the Bronco Sport climbs with no problem. A front-facing camera helps the nose stay pointed in the right direction, although the lack of guidelines seems like a major oversight. With between 7.8 and 8.8 inches of ground clearance and nearly the same amount of suspension travel, deep ruts and sharp dips don’t incur any horrible underbody noises.

Speaking of underbody noises, the serenity inside the Bronco Sport also surprises me. Some off-road-friendly crossovers generate a cacophony, but not here. The low-speed crawl control manipulates the brakes on its own, but even steep, slow downhill travel doesn’t incur the antilock-brake crunchies. Large suspension movement isn’t met with bump-stop pings, either. It’s an impressively quiet way to traverse the rougher stuff.

But the beauty of the Bronco Sport isn’t that it’s this capable. It’s that it can be this capable ­if the buyer so chooses. The sheer variety of trims on offer means that some folks can option out the mall-crawler of their dreams with a smidge of off-roading pretension, while other people can go full tilt with the Badlands trim and all the extra gimmicks that come with it. That kind of variety is nice to see, and should make an appealing new SUV better for a larger swath of consumers.

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Down to brass tacks

So, what is there to learn from my all-too-brief time in the passenger seat of both the 2021 Ford Bronco and the 2021 Ford Bronco Sport? Well, first of all, it’s obvious that both of these vehicles have been designed to live up to the capability that the Bronco nameplate has possessed during its history. And in addition to being able to party when the roads turn to terra firma, it’s clear that great care was taken to ensure the occupants get a slightly more mature and refined experience no matter what is under the tires.

Of course, there are still metric tons of questions left unanswered. When it comes to how it feels to actually drive these cars and live with all the tech that’s baked in there, we’ll have to wait just a bit longer. But for those waiting for any good Bronco news with bated breath, you’ll be happy to know Ford is definitely on the right path.