The 2021 Ford Bronco Sport Badlands could be epic, or it could be….
Based on the Ford C2 platform used on the Ford Escape, the Ford Bronco Sport Badlands is the automakers’ most capable off-road crossover. Its overall capability should challenge the Jeep Compass and Renegade Trailhawks. The Badlands gives the Bronco Sport an additional inch of height for a total of 8.8-inches of ground clearance.
It comes with GOAT mode which allows you to choose from normal, eco , sport, slippery, mud and ruts, sand and rock crawl modes. While it lacks a real low-range, it does have a rear diff-lock. which is similar to the trick rear differential out of the Ford Focus RS which is torque vectoring. It also has a 4WD lock, for slow and challenging traction situations. It also has off-road assistance via Trail Control and more.
Top-of-the-line, but is it best-in-class?
This 2021 Ford Bronco Sport Badlands is top-of-the-line and comes with a turbocharged two-liter engine. This EcoBoost makes 250 horsepower and 277 ft-lbs of torque, trouncing the Jeeps by a substantial margin. It’s hooked up to an eight-speed automatic transmission with paddle shifters. The EPA rates it at 23 mpg combined – which is competitive with the Jeep Compass, but less than the Jeep Renegade.
Another competitor in this class is the Kia Seltos, which is very competitive with Ford and Jeep in terms of power and efficiency.
Roman and Tommy have a lot of experience with the aforementioned Jeep products, so it’s interesting to see what their very first impressions are of this crossover. In this video, they take you throughout the Bronco Sport Badlands providing facts and impressions. Remember: this is their very first time behind the wheel, but we expect to see a lot more of the Bronco Sport in the very near future. We NEED to take it off-road and it MUST play in the snow. That’s what we do, and that’s what it is supposedly built for.
We will see in the near future. A special thank you to our friends at Loveland Ford for letting us test out the Bronco Sport!
