The Bronco Sport has off-pavement capabilities along the lines of a Subaru Forester but has its own personality and plusses. Those who are looking for an SUV with great on-road manners paired with the ability to go almost anywhere a road or path leads will find the Bronco Sport has the right mix of features and capabilities.

The Ford Bronco Sport finds itself overshadowed by the smaller-inside Bronco to some degree. While the Bronco looks great dressed in its extreme off-road costume, the Bronco Sport makes a lot more sense to a lot more owners.

The Bronco Sport is an excellent sport utility vehicle. Ford has created a tough off-pavement vehicle that also has great on-road manners and livability. The important thing to know about the Bronco Sport is that many of its capabilities and features are found on the top trims. While that is often true of vehicles, the differences between a base Bronco Sport and a Badlands are important to understand if you are a consumer.

The Bronco Sport offers room for five passengers and has a long list of upgrades that culminate in a capable off-roader. The Bronco Sport is also rare among SUVs in that it can come equipped with severe-snow-duty rated tires straight from the factory. So if you need a winter vehicle that can rival a Subaru, the Bronco Sport is one of the few choices available.

Before we go much further in our review, we feel it is only fair to let shoppers know that the Bronco Sport is only offered in very limited numbers. The Bronco Sport shares its Mexican production facility with the hugely popular Ford Maverick Pickup. Here is what Ford says on its public-facing website about this issue: “Due to a combination of high demand and global supply-chain constraints, not all models and trims or features are available to order. Contact your dealer for available inventory stock or future availability.”

With over four decades of doling out trusted automotive advice and extensive vehicle knowledge, both behind the wheel and under the hood, Car Talk's founder and original Tappet Brother Ray Magliozzi shares his first-hand experience test driving the Ford Bronco Sport.

One competitor to the Bronco Sport is the Ford Bronco. The Bronco is entirely different and shares almost nothing in common with the Bronco Sport. The Bronco is available with either two or four doors. Either way, the Bronco has less interior passenger volume than the Bronco Sport. The Bronco uses four-wheel drive, whereas the Bronco Sport uses all-wheel drive. These two may sound alike, but the Bronco equates to Wrangler, and the Bronco Sport equates to Cherokee, if you know the Jeep line.

One very obvious competitor to the Ford Bronco Sport is the Subaru Forester. Both offer excellent off-pavement capability, and both are great winter vehicles. One big advantage that the Bronco Sport offers is a punchy 2.0-liter turbocharged engine. Subaru only offers a base four-cylinder engine that barely gets the job done.

In their top trims, Badlands for Bronco Sport, and Wilderness for Forester, the two are very much alike in their off-pavement capabilities. Both even offer winter-rated tires and a full-size spare. The prices also align pretty closely with the Bronco being about 10% more expensive before dealer markups are factored in.

Jeep’s Cherokee line has a very different look than the Bronco Sport, but a Cherokee Trailhawk can accomplish the same off-road tasks that a Bronco Sport Badlands can. Jeep also offers a strong 2.0-liter turbocharged engine in the Cherokee. If you are a loyal Jeep fan, this is an option to consider, particularly if you have trouble finding a Bronco Sport to purchase. Prices line up very closely between the two models.

Ford doesn't actually build its base Bronco Sport, so the first trim level presently for sale is the Big Bend. Including Ford’s $1,594 Destination charge and Ford’s $675 Acquisition Fee, but before dealer markups and other dealer added costs, the Big Bend Bronco Sport starts at $33,470. Ford’s Bronco Sport Heritage Limited has a price of $46,250. The very capable Badlands with the up-powered engine has a price of $39,685, but popular packages can bring the price to about $46K.

The table below shows the most common trim levels and how much they will run you.

The Bronco Sport line got a new pair of trims called the Heritage Edition and Heritage Limited Edition in 2023. These trims come with Oxford White accents, including a uniquely painted roof and rims that have a great throw-back look. There are also some special colors and interior bits along with 29-inch all-terrain off-road tires for the Limited. Although images are available, your tester has never seen a Heritage in person. Check availability with your dealer before setting your heart on buying one.

We tested the Bronco Sport Badlands trim and found it to be outstanding in all driving situations. The Bronco Sport’s crossover roots shine on-road, and the off-pavement gear is fun to try on muddy dirt roads and logging trails. The severe-snow-duty-rated Falken WildPeak tires did a good job over snow and were brilliant on dirt roads. If you plan to use the Bronco Sport on ice-covered roads, consider studded winter tires. Short of that, there is almost no reasonable scenario the Bronce Sport Badlands does not come fully prepared to tackle.

The 2.0-Liter turbocharged engine and geared transmission were among the things we liked most about the Bronco Sport. Its powertrain sets the vehicle apart from the Forester and a lot of other underpowered and CVT-burdened vehicles in its segment by offering great starting torque and adequate power for passing and fun.

If you like to be actively involved in your vehicle’s off-road settings, you will love the Bronco Sport. Ford offers a rotary knob with multiple settings, along with a rear differential that can “lock.” Choosing the right combinations for our adventures made the Bronco Sport fun.

We also found the interior of the Bronco Sport very user-friendly. The infotainment and HVAC systems are a perfect blend of touch screen and physical buttons. Ford says the vehicle is designed to accommodate two mountain bikes (front tires removed) standing up in the cargo area. The roof also looks ideal for a soft cargo bag. This vehicle is ready for action.

Ford’s Bronco Sport earned the industry’s highest rating for safety in 2022, the IIHS Top Safety Pick+IIHS Top Safety Pick+ designation. NHTSA also gave the Bronco Sport five stars in all categories. It doesn’t get any better than that.

Ford is ranked near the bottom of all manufacturers on the 2023 J.D. Power and Associates Dependability Study, which looks at a brand’s overall issues with three-year-old vehicles. However, in its Initial Quality Study, J.D. Power ranked the Bronco Sport third overall in its segment. The Bronco Sport earned the lowest possible 1 out of 5 stars at Consumer Reports for reliability in 2022, and the group predicts a ⅖ score for 2023.

Having not tested the three-cylinder Bronco Sport found in the lower trims, we can’t give it our opinion. However, the 2.0-liter turbocharged engine was one of the things we liked most about the Badlands trim we tested, so we would steer shoppers in that direction. The Heritage trims look very cool in pictures and many fans have reacted positively to the styling. A power moonroof is available. We would want that option since the roof extends so far forward in this vehicle’s design the cabin can be a little dark.

Ford offers one of the shortest warranty durations in the industry. Ford does not include any maintenance in its new vehicle price, unlike brands such as Hyundai, which offers three years of included maintenance, and Toyota, which offers two. However, the FordPass program helps to offset some maintenance charges.

• Basic: 3 years / 36k miles
• Powertrain: 5 years / 60k miles

The new Ford Bronco Sport began its life in 2021. It has only been on sale for a couple of years. Therefore, used Bronco Sports may be hard to find and expensive due to limited production capacity. Most shoppers will be buying new at this point. Given the low reliability scores from both Consumer Reports and J.D. Power & Associates, we cannot recommend a used Bronco Sport.

Following media vehicle testing, the author of this story purchased a 2023 Bronco Sport Badlands and paid full price. The review was written after two months of ownership.

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