2025 Ford Bronco Sport

When Ford first announced the revival of the Bronco namesake, they also teased a supposed “Baby Bronco” joining the ranks, and that foal, of course, ended up being the Ford Bronco Sport. And now, for 2025 it’s due for a mid-cycle refresh, so I’m here at the still under construction, Off-Roadeo Experience Center outside of Knoxville, Tennessee to give you a First Look.

This update puts an emphasis on modularity and, as put by the folks at Ford, democratizing the outdoors, which means giving more people a chance to get out and get wild. This two-row compact utility sees a number of ideas and equipment distilled from the big Bronco to achieve that task, and perhaps the best example of that is the newly available Sasquatch package.

Optional on Badlands or Outer Banks, it mounts up a slew of off-road-ready hardware; and unlike shaky cam footage of Sasquatches roaming the Pacific Northwest, we captured some crystal-clear evidence of this new trim for ourselves.

Now Bronco Sport Sasquatches may not meander into your favorite camping grounds with the same stomp as their big brothers, but the hardware here is meaningful. And it actually does start with a larger footprint: these 29-inch Goodyear Territory all-terrain tires. This is kind of like a trickling-down of things you would see on the Bronco Sasquatch— gives it a little more grip on those… not so manmade paths. But it doesn’t stop there.

In the back we have Bilstein position-sensitive dampers. You also have a twin-clutch rear-drive unit, something that was originally reserved for the Bronco Sport Badlands, and that is also joined by a locking rear differential. Of course, you’re also going to get skid plating; you’re going to get recovery points forward and aft; and a couple other goodies that we’re going to check out right now.

Coming up here, this used to just be a design element for the Bronco Sport, but now it’s actually function. This is a fender tie down. So let’s say you put you, I don’t know, your kayak, your paddle board, something on the roof, you can strap it down right here and keep it secure.

And here is that steel front bumper. You’ll notice a couple things: One, the bash plate; two, the brush guard, that’s attached to the recovery points I mentioned earlier; And three, in the finer details, the Bronco Bolt. So, this is another thing they’ve taken from the big brother and they’ve distilled it down anywhere you see these you can mount your own accessories, so lights, a light bar, whatever you need to attach, you can put it there. It’s all about modularity. Now, behind this brush guard you can see the updated front fascia a little bit, and then under the hood… things are actually pretty much the same.

And cracking open that hood we’re going to see something very, very familiar. This is a 2.0-liter four-cylinder EcoBoost, which is what you would previously get on the Badlands, and now it’s returning for the Badlands and the Badlands Sasquatch. 277 lb-ft of torque, sent through an eight-speed automatic transmission to all four wheels. So there’s no front-wheel-drive Bronco Sports… they’re all delivering power to all four corners.

That also includes another returning powertrain: a 1.5-liter three-cylinder. So, yeah, a lot of things here are staying the same, but Ford has added a couple things to make the drive experience a little bit better.

For starters, CoPilot 360, Ford’s onboard suite of safety and convenience features, is standard on all models, as are two new plots of digital real estate. The 12.3-inch driver’s cluster is inspired from the unit found in the Bronco Raptor; and along with vital vehicle stats, it shows off some unique animations for the various GOAT modes: Goes Over Any Terrain, in case you weren’t expecting additional animal jargon. A new Rally mode, included on the Badlands and Badlands Sasquatch, holds gears longer and sharpens both throttle and steering feedback for faster off-road runabouts.

That digital instrument panel is met by a 13.2-inch, SYNC4-equipped infotainment system. It’s larger, and does take up some of the physical controls previously found below. Both screens are standard on all trims.

But Ford also brought a little more of that off-road modularity and readiness into the cabin.

Newly available is a Bring Your Own Device Tray, which allows you to mount a camera and keep it charged so that you can record all of your off-road rambles. Interior grab handles are there for when said rambles get a little too dicey. And Sasquatch models come standard with pre-wired auxiliary switches, making it even easier to mount up some lights.

And if all this talk makes you think you don’t need Sasquatch but would still like some of that extra ruggedness, the Big Bend Black Diamond package will include the recovery points, steel underbody protection, some all-terrain tires, the fender tie downs and those auxiliary switches.

Beyond that, you can expect much of the same from the Bronco Sport. Still a cozy two-row, five-seater experience and still to be considered the “baby” of the Bronco lineup. Pricing will be announced when get closer to launch; most grades arrive around November 2024, but Sasquatch models arriving early 2025.

And, yeah, that’s the gist of it. That’s the 2025 Ford Bronco Sport mid-cycle update. Personally, I’m a big fan of what they’ve done with the Sasquatch package on both the 1.5- and the 2.0-liter, I like some of the interior accoutrements… overall, it’s just a little more rugged and, really, a little bit more modular. But let us know what you think in the comments down below. We’ll have more details on it, including pricing, availability, etc., soon enough, but until then— well, you already know the drill. Drive safe and stay tuned to MotorWeek.