Ford back in the game with Bronco Sport

THINK OF THE ORIGINAL FORD BRONCO » the rugged off-road Jeep-like SUV that could go anywhere and do anything in the process.

Ford needed to keep up with other Jeep products like the Compass and Chevrolet’s Blazer. To do so, they created the Bronco Sport, a four-door SUV that is not only an off-road vehicle, but a great option for a daily commuter.

Our 2021 4x4 Badlands Edition Bronco Sport came in Kodiak Brown and the upgraded 2.0L Ecoboost engine, which is 100% our favorite Ford engine. The Ecoboost sports 250 horsepower, which was peppy and had great throttle response. Its 277 lb.-ft. of torque was ample, accessed via a smooth eightspeed automatic transmission.

That engine is also available on the four-cylinder Mustang.

The Badlands package ($2,595) came with a power moonroof, reverse sensing, a wireless charging pad, dual zone temperature controls, HD Radio, B&O 10-speaker sound system and remote start. We missed out on Siriusxm but hope to see it on the larger Bronco.

The phrase GOAT — or greatest of all time, normally associated with athletes like Tom Brady or Lebron James — has some currency here. The Bronco Sport has GOAT driving modes, six of them in fact yet. We’ll take GOAT to mean “goes over any terrain” … with settings including a Mud/ruts mode as well as Rock Crawl for the adventurous.

The center stack was positioned correctly and the touch screen infotainment system was very user friendly. The front seats were spacious and comfortable, while the visibility was wide open and a pleasure to experience. With 60.6 cubic feet of cargo space, the Bronco Sport was well designed and nicely sized. The rear seats were slightly tight for legroom, but easily held four riders on an off-road trek.

Ford did one heck of a marketing job in bringing the iconic Bronco name back to life and for the Sport model, a boxy Land Rover Defender lookalike, we are a fan.

Ford Bronco

MSRP: $32,820

As tested: $37,545

MPG: 21 city, 26 highway, 24.8 as tested

MARC GRASSO — MEDIANEWS GROUP The all-new Ford Bronco has come back from the ashes with a splash on the SUV market, with wide-open visibility that was a pleasure to experience and the same engine as you find in a Ford Mustang.