In the realm of compact SUVs, the 2024 Ford Bronco Sport Badlands stands out as a formidable contender, blending power, performance, and practicality in a compelling package. At AutoNation Ford in Brooksville, Florida, Chris and the team have made it possible for us to dive into this review.
Table of Contents
2024 Ford Bronco Sport Design and Features:
The Bronco Sport Badlands exudes rugged elegance, with LED headlamps, tow hooks, and a striking white metallic paint job. The contrast of black accents, including the mirrors and window trims, adds to its bold aesthetic. The unique 17-inch rims and optional Falcon Wild Peak all-terrain tires ensure both style and capability.
2024 Ford Bronco Sport Performance and Capability:
Under the hood lies a potent 2.0L Eco-Boost engine, generating 245 horsepower and 277 lb-ft of torque. Paired with an 8-speed transmission and all-wheel drive, it offers impressive acceleration, with 0-60 mph times under 6 seconds. Off-road enthusiasts will appreciate features like the twin-clutch rear differential and seven selectable GOAT modes, enhancing traction and maneuverability on various terrains.
2024 Ford Bronco Sport Interior Comfort and Technology:
Inside, the 2024 Ford Bronco Sport Badlands provides a blend of comfort and technology. The cabin boasts soft-touch materials, ergonomic controls, and ample storage options. The SYNC 3 infotainment system, complete with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, keeps you connected on the go. Smart access, automatic climate control, and a wireless phone charger add convenience to your driving experience.
2024 Ford Bronco Sport Practicality and Versatility:
What sets the 2024 Ford Bronco Sport apart is its practicality. The innovative rear trunk features dual openings, allowing easy access to cargo or pets. With the rear seats folded down, it offers ample space for gear or larger items. Additionally, the class II trailer hitch enables towing up to 2500 lbs, expanding its utility beyond everyday driving.
2024 Ford Bronco Sport Driving Experience:
On the road, the Bronco Sport Badlands impresses with its refined handling and smooth ride quality. Whether navigating city streets or tackling rough terrain, it maintains composure and confidence. The responsive steering and precise brakes instill a sense of control, making every drive enjoyable.
The 2024 Ford Bronco Sport Badlands excels as a versatile and capable compact SUV. With its potent performance, rugged design, and practical features, it offers a compelling option for adventurers and daily drivers alike. Visit AutoNation Ford in Brooksville, Florida, to experience the Bronco Sport Badlands firsthand and embark on your next adventure.
Test drive Ford Bronco Sport:
At a time when almost all brands design and manufacture models that are identical to each other (conceptually speaking, of course), it is refreshing to see that some brands like Ford dare to propose different models like this Bronco Sport that summons us.
Let’s not fool ourselves: Ford is the king of traditional SUVs, like Territory and Escape, but at least with this more off-road proposal it tries to reach customers who want something different, both in aesthetics and in driving. And it achieves this with a very complete product in every sense: in design, space, dynamic capacity, mechanics and equipment, especially safety.
It is worth remembering that Bronco returned to the market in 2020 with a family of three models. Two of them (Bronco 3 and Bronco 5 doors) point to a purer 4×4 segment in direct competition with the Jeep Wrangler. This Bronco Sport manufactured in Mexico and which landed in Chile in 2021 is a little softer and puts its darts on capable SUVs like the Jeep Cherokee and the Subaru Outback.
In Chile it is offered in two versions differentiated by mechanics and equipment. The Big Bend has a 1.5 Turbo engine and is offered at a price of $26,990,000; The Wild track has a 2.0 Turbo and goes up to $29,990,000. If you want to know all the features of the Ford Bronco Sport in Chile you can read our release note.
Our test unit is the Wild track version, which in addition to a more powerful engine, has a more marked off-road focus thanks to the following features:
- 223 mm clearance
- Great approach and departure angles (30.4°, 20.4° and 33.1° on Wildtrak)
- 600mm video
- Shock absorbers with hydraulic stop
- ATR tires with great profile
- Differential lock and specific rear differential
- Chassis faired with steel for low protections
- Specific driving modes for Sand and Rocks, in addition to 5 other standard modes
Ford Bronco Sport: unique design for adventure
Although this is a new model, in the design there are clear reminiscences of the original 2024 Ford Bronco Sport from the late 60s, with a quadricorn and muscular design, and full of specific details to make off-road driving much friendlier.
Unlike the normal Bronco, which uses the spar platform of the Ranger pick-up, the 2024 Ford Bronco Sport is built on the same monologue that gives life to the Escape, which tells us about a fundamental difference in its conception, but also in its dimensions.
- Largo: 4.387 mm
- Width: 1,938 mm
- Height: 1,783 mm (1,814 mm in Wildtrak version)
- Between axles: 2,670 mm
- Trunk: 920 L (833 L in Wildtrak version)
While the Escape shows a very urban, aerodynamic and somewhat sporty design, the Bronco Sport has a
- “Square” body, tall and narrow
- Flat hood with downward facing
- Headlights and grille united in a single visual group
- Bronco brand replaces Ford logo
- Round Full LED lights reminiscent of classic Bronco headlights
- Plastic protections in fenders and low areas
- Real roof bars
- Nostalgic vertical rear lights
- Door with independent double opening (full or lunette)
- Black roof with elevation (Safari Roof) at the height of the rear seats
- Black rims 17″ (18″ in BigBend)
As a curious fact, all the surfaces are quite smooth and the print is marked, but rounded, without edges, something totally different from what is seen today on SUVs. If you add to the above a sloping C-pillar, it has an air of the Land Rover Discovery and Freelander of the 90s.
2024 Ford Bronco Sport: unique cabin for adventure
The interior design of the 2024 Ford Bronco Sport denotes a good perception of quality, despite the fact that Ford did not make a serious attempt to use high-quality materials. Although there are soft and soft plastics to the touch, in general discreet polymers are perceived in many parts of the dashboard, doors and console, which, in any case, does not affect the good construction quality that is perceived.
The first thing that catches your attention about the interior of this SUV is that the roof is high and the windows are a respectable size, larger than current SUV designs. This allows you to sit well and have a good view outside.
The dashboard has straight shapes, with vertical air vents and a central screen placed in a kind of semi-cantilever, joined to a low but wide center console. Another classic element of traditional SUVs is the more vertical windshield, which allows for a shallower dashboard and, obviously, a high driving position close to the glass.
The front seats are extremely comfortable, upholstered in a soft brown leather finished in suede with the Bronco foal engraved on the backrest. They are high, as we said before, but it has electric adjustments for all positions and a steering wheel with double adjustment, which allows you to easily find the optimal driving position.
Now, although the habitability is for five, only two adults will fit in the rear seats. And despite having a good ceiling height thanks to the so-called Safari Roof, and it has plenty of room for the knees so you can rest your feet under the front seat, there is little width at shoulder height and three adults will ride moderately. Tight (remember that the platform is that of a medium SUV), beyond the discomfort of the central backrest.
There are three three-point belts, obviously, and three independent headrests. There are air vents, a 220 socket with 400W and an armrest with double cup holders. The backrests have a zipper pocket to store maps and mole straps (sling or tactical strap type) where you can store or hang objects using carabineers. And in the Wild track version there is a hidden compartment under one of the rear seat cushions, and both the floor and the cargo area are washable.
Now let’s go to the trunk, which has a solid tray that allows the cargo area to be divided into two, but at the same time, it can be transformed into a functional removable table thanks to the two legs that Ford added. More features? In addition to the washable floor and the fastening hooks, a bottle opener is hidden in the trunk frame, and in the tailgate there are two adjustable auxiliary lights to illuminate what we need.
A big plus point is that a full-size spare wheel is hidden under the floor, although without an alloy rim. Obviously in a model focused on off-road.
2024 Ford Bronco Sport: leader in safety and equipment
As is normal in new Ford models, the brand does not skimp on providing comfort and, above all, safety elements when equipping its cars.
In this case, the 2024 Ford Bronco Sport is offered as standard with ABS brakes with electronic assistant and electronic distribution (EBA, EBD), traction and stability control (Advance track with RSC), nine airbags (dual front, side for first row, side for second row, curtain and knee for the driver), hill start assistant, reversing sensor and camera, rain sensor, tire pressure monitor, is fix anchors for child seats, My Key system, among others. The Wild track model adds a 180-degree front camera with split view and wiper.
The relevant thing is that both versions are offered with the assistance package called Ford Co Pilot 360, which includes the following assistance:
- Autonomous Emergency Braking
- Forward Collision Alert and Pedestrian Detection
- Blind Spot Information System with Cross Traffic Alert
- Lane Keeping System with Fatigue Detector
Our Wild track version adds a package called Co Pilot 360 Assist, which adds the following:
- Adaptive Cruise Control with Stop-and-Go and Lane Centering System
- Speed Sign Recognition
- Assisted Evasive Steering
- Automatic High Beam Lighting
- Regarding comfort equipment, our version offers Full LED lighting, tinted glass, dual climate control, multifunction steering wheel (audio, cruise control) covered in leather and adjustable in height and depth, SYNC 3 multimedia system with 8″ screen and support for Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, wireless charging system, four USB ports (two in the front and two in the back, both for USB-A and USB-C), voice commands, keyless access with power button, sunroof, electric and heated front seats, leather upholstery, instrument panel with 6.5″ screen, paddle shifters and Bang & Olufsen premium audio with 10 speakers and subwoofer.
Ford Bronco Sport: dynamic behavior
- You already know that Ford offers the 2024 Ford Bronco Sport with two Eco boost engines (turbo and direct injection). The first is a 1.5-liter three-cylinder with 175 HP and a second is a 2.0-liter four-cylinder with 240 HP and 376 Nm of torque, associated with a conventional 8-speed automatic transmission and a 4WD traction system with torque vectoring, and in the case of Wild track, with electronic central locking and multi-clutch rear differential.
Due to the quarantine restrictions we were not able to drive it long on the road, but our colleague Hernando Chalaza made the following measurements of the 2.0 Turbo version in Argentina:
- Recovery 80-120 km/h in D: 5.6 seconds
- Recovery 80-120 km/h in 4th gear: 5.0 seconds
- Urban consumption: 7.9 km/litre
- Mixed consumption: 9.7 km/liter
- Highway consumption at 120: 12.1 km/liter
- With a 60 liter tank: 723 kilometers of autonomy
The engine together with the transmission works impeccably well. It delivers very good acceleration capacity, feels agile and quick to react, and the box quickly manages energy demands. Even the recoveries are impeccable, as you could see in the numbers, and it has a low use rate, with only 2,000 rpm when traveling at 120 km/hour.
However, this abundant available energy makes the 2024 Ford Bronco Sport a fuel-efficient car. Despite the excellence in the operation of the 8-speed box, which always tries to take you in the loosest possible regime, the permanent traction and the weight mean that the real consumption that we measure are not typical of an SUV in this segment, but rather more high.
Regarding the platform, it offers a neutral behavior, very stable in general despite having a higher center of gravity. Obviously, the off-road suspension of the Wild track version greatly influences this behavior, allowing more marked body rolls, but nothing that really scares us. It has reinforced knuckles, arms and stabilizer bars and coils with greater travel, but focused on limiting bounce rather than providing dynamic poise.
Although on dirt, off-road or on destroyed asphalt it conveys a lot of solidity, since the suspension controls body movements very well and reduces rolls, the new 2024 Ford Bronco Sport Wild track does not have the behavior of a traditional SUV in the city. It’s like driving an SUV from a couple of decades ago, sitting higher, with the windshield closer and with a purer transmission of what happens under the wheels.
The tires with a greater profile and ground clearance are noticeable on the road, but they give free rein in the city and against bull’s backs. It is smooth, very pleasant to drive in all conditions, and if we look for a fault, we have certain aerodynamic noises that are generated at speed (obvious considering the design), despite the fact that the cabin is generally very well soundproofed.
2024 Ford Bronco Sport Wild track: conclusions
The new 2024 Ford Bronco Sport is one of those models that seems perfect, both in the initial project and in the execution. It breaks new ground, it is daring in its design, functional in its use, it is equipped and safe, and it is also a lot of fun to use.
It is complete in that sense, and if we look for complaints, the first is that it is not big enough to carry three adults in the rear seats, the second is that fuel consumption is high, and third is that the dynamics on roads twisty is not the best. But they are details compared to the functionality it offers on a day-to-day basis and, above all, off-road.
Now, it is an expensive model. It costs almost 30 million pesos and for that price there are larger SUVs than this one. The good thing is that it is not expensive just for the name. Ford provides it with tremendous equipment, in addition to a powerful engine, which undoubtedly greatly justify that value. And personality, of course. ford bronco sport colors show here.