- A 2.0-liter turbocharged inline-four engine with an eight-speed gearbox powers the Ford Bronco Sport Heritage Limited 4×4. It produces 250 hp and 277 lb-ft. There is also a 1.5-liter three-cylinder engine that makes 181 horsepower and 190 pound-feet of torque.
- The four-door model is smaller than most small crossovers, but it still has enough room inside for family trips and daily commutes. Its off-road capabilities set it apart from other small crossovers without sacrificing everyday usefulness.
- The Heritage model is one of the more affordable Bronco Sport trims. It starts at $33,960 before options and offers many different choices without going too high in price.
Jeep had taken away most of Ford’s off-road business, and the Explorer had turned into a crossover for a long time, so the Bronco’s 2021 release date was long overdue. Ford’s main goal was to improve the Escape every few years, but this market group made money for the company. It became clear that Ford was missing out on a lot of money at a time when SUVs of all kinds were becoming more popular. The success of the F-150 Raptor over the last ten years added to this. Without question, the bigger of the two Broncos is a good off-road vehicle. It wasn’t going to be the best SUV for commuting, though.
This is why Ford brought back its smaller brother, the Bronco, as a real trail machine a few years ago. The Bronco was made to feel just as quick on forest paths as it did in the city. Also, Ford would be able to compete with Jeep’s products in a number of ways since small SUVs have long been a popular choice for families.
The Bronco Sport came back as the Bronco II’s spiritual successor. It had a smaller footprint than its older brother and most of its off-road skills. This mix had yet to be seen since the Bronco II was used as a model for the first Explorer in 1991, in the early 1990s. After a few years of use, is the Bronco Sport still useful and up-to-date?
We would like to find out that after a week of driving the Bronco Sport Heritage Limited 4×4, which has a retro look and color pattern inspired by the original Bronco. First, it’s important to remember what the whole Bronco Sport line-up offers since there are many options.
A 1.5-liter turbocharged three-cylinder produces 181 horsepower and 190 pound-feet of torque as the standard engine. It’s connected to an eight-speed automatic. This engine can go from 0 to 60 mph in less than 8 seconds and is powerful enough for most daily tasks. However, buyers can also choose a turbocharged inline-four that makes 250 hp and 277 lb-ft of torque and is paired with the same eight-speed gear.
The later unit reduces the faster 5.9-second sprint time, but what’s more important is that it increases power. This lets you go off-road for longer trips, which are still an important part of the package as a whole.
There are five different styles, from the basic Big Bend trim to the retro-themed Heritage, the ’70s-themed Free Wheeling, the Outer Banks, and the top-of-the-line Badlands trim. The price range, on the other hand, is very small. The base model, the Big Bend, costs $31,390. The Badlands trim, which starts at $39,985, has better springs and a higher suspension to make the most of its off-road features and extras.
The Bronco’s Heritage model has five land management modes: Eco, Sport, Normal, Slippery, and Sand/Snow. When you change these modes to a different terrain, the transmission shift points, brake setup, steering feel, and throttle action will all change instantly.
We have to go over pavement to get to an off-road track. You will almost certainly have to do the same thing on your way. Some broken US standard pavement from the twenty-first century, not just any sidewalk.
That’s where the Bronco Sport is most at ease since its off-road abilities don’t get in the way of regular driving duties. The ride is quick without being too bumpy because it has a short length and a lot of sidewalls. The steering also feels like it is geared toward comfort. This means that the Bronco Sport can drive over some really big holes without losing control.
The small SUV’s 250-horsepower four-cylinder engine gives it enough speed to pass other cars on the highway, and the road noise isn’t too bad. The Bronco Sport’s eight-speed transmission also works well in this situation; it becomes almost invisible as it gets used to its routine and only needs a little push to start.
The small Bronco also feels most at ease on quiet roads. In Sport mode, the engine answers very well to some winding, paved roads without sounding wheezy or requiring a sudden gear change.
We can test the Slippery mode once we find a trail with a few partly wet rocks because it has recently rained. The Bronco slowly pulls us up the sandy road, and its tires stick to some big rocks covered in mud. A few changes in the throttle make the gravel rattle inside the tire wells as the Bronco moves up the road.
After going up the hill with trees, we’ll come to a road that goes back down and is made of loose gravel. We’ll try the Sand mode on our steady drop this time, which has worked well in the past for getting the Bronco over gravel. What’s more important is that the handling and steering feel lets you see what’s under the car.
Even on off-road paths, the suspension communicates well enough to tell us which rocks to avoid and which ones to drive over. It also shows which clay-filled spots, both outside and inside the tire arches, will need to be cleaned more thoroughly later.
On the outside, a rear glass window that opens separately is a great feature that we don’t see very often in our dystopian electric car right now. One more thing the Bronco Sport has is a two-tiered parcel shelf system, which is optional on Big Bend models but standard on Heritage models. It also has a rubber mat in the luggage box.
If you are going somewhere that requires Wellington boots, you should definitely get a set of rubber floor mats for each of the four people in the car. The inside is also very tough. Smaller things can also be kept in the tan seats’ zippered pockets while you explore the terrain.
The base price for our Bronco Sport Heritage Limited 4×4 was $46,400, but if you stick to the base price of $33,960, you could still get a very well-equipped SUV that shows off its Ford Escape roots.
The Robin’s Egg Blue Heritage trim, which had retro badges, an Oxford White grille with red letters, 17-inch phone-dial wheels, and the same-color roof, gave the outside a retro look. Many Landlord Gray crossovers were parked in the lot, so ours stood out. It also made me think of the good old days when people could really pick out the colors they wanted for their cars.
That being said, the Bronco Sport strikes a very desirable middle ground between being The Car that many people will actually need every day and staying away from eye-popping luxury, land-crushing excess, nameless grayness, or debt.
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