There are some curious naming strategies happening at Ford Motor Company these days. First, let’s talk about this specific SUV. No, this is not the open-top, body-on-frame Wrangler competitor that we have been anxiously awaiting for years. The Bronco Sport is underpinned by Ford’s C2 architecture, which is shared with the Escape crossover and the upcoming Maverick pickup. Still, it shares enough styling cues with the big Bronco to have created quite a bit of confusion over the past year or two, with many, many folks assuming that the Bronco and Bronco Sport are the same machine.

If Ford had launched the larger Bronco first, as they did with the original Bronco and Bronco II, could that all have been avoided? Probably. They probably shouldn’t have named both a trim level and an options package for the Bronco Sport “Badlands,” but they did that, too, and we can only imagine how much confusion that is causing for potential customers that are perusing the options sheet.

Normally it would be fair to simply dismiss dubious naming conventions. But the Bronco moniker comes with heritage that conjures up mental images of go-anywhere capability and real-world utility, and off-road enthusiasts collectively tend to dismiss unibody crossovers as just high-riding passenger cars.

In many cases, that’s justified criticism. But after a day spent tackling some of the toughest trails that Rowher Flats OHV Area in Santa Clarita, California had to offer, we're here to tell you that the Bronco Sport Badlands is an outlier. This little sport-utility is the real deal.

Tools Of The Trade

While the Bronco Sport can’t match the visual presence of its body-on-frame sibling, the throwback styling cues give it more curb appeal than its rivals from Subaru and Jeep.

With the limited-run First Edition already sold out, there are currently four different trim levels to choose from – all of which are four-wheel drive – but the Badlands spec is the one that will be of most interest to those looking for maximum off-road capability. The Bronco Sport’s larger powerplant is standard here, a 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder mill that dishes out a healthy 250 horsepower and 277 pound-feet of torque. There’s also a more sophisticated four-wheel drive system on board with a twin-clutch rear-drive unit that provides torque vectoring when needed, and the proceedings are managed by an eight-speed automatic transmission with steering wheel-mounted paddle shifters.

On the chassis front, Ford has equipped the Bronco Sport Badlands with its own specially-tuned off-road suspension setup that provides roughly an inch of additional ground clearance versus lower trims (8.8 inches, on par with the Jeep Cherokee Trailhawk), along with slightly stiffer spring rates and front dampers with hydraulic rebound stops to handle big impacts. Skid plates line the underside of the Badlands model, and its 17-inch aluminum wheels are wrapped in 28.5-inch Pirelli Scorpion all-terrain tires as-standard. Tow hooks are equipped up front as well.

The Badlands trim also introduces some useful tech features, too. Like the bigger Bronco, the Bronco Sport is equipped with G.O.A.T. (Goes Over Any Type of Terrain) modes that are selectable via the terrain management system knob on the center console. Seven options are available in all, ranging from pavement-related Sport, Normal, and Eco modes to the off-road focused Sand, Mud/Ruts, Rock Crawl, and Slippery settings. There’s also a Trail Control feature which allows you to set and maintain a specific speed under 20 mph while off-roading, as well as a 180-degree split-view camera with its own washer mounted on the front bumper.

Inside And Out

As we noted in our deep dive, the Bronco Sport is actually a bit smaller than the Escape on which it’s based. But while it’s three inches narrower, nearly eight inches shorter in overall length, and its wheelbase is reduced by 1.6 inches, the Bronco Sport’s track width is an inch wider and it stands four to five inches taller depending on the options selected.

The upshot is that the Bronco Sport is a significant departure from the Escape visually, and it looks substantial despite its relatively modest footprint. Those in the know will instantly recognize this as a different vehicle than the big Bronco, but it shares a number of its sibling’s retro-inspired styling cues and wears them well, particularly at the front end.

The interior is well laid out and surprisingly spacious, but evidence of the Bronco Sport’s $28,000 base price can be found in elements like the cheap-feeling steering wheel and its associated switchgear. That said, this Badlands model came fully loaded with the… Badlands options package, which includes creature comforts like a 10-speaker Bang and Olufsen audio system, remote start, dual-zone climate control, a sunroof, and power front seats.

Our tester was also optioned with Ford’s Co-Pilot 360 Assist + package, which includes features like adaptive cruise control with stop-and-go capability, lane-centering assistance, speed-limit sign recognition, and evasive steering assistance. The end result is a well-appointed sport-utility vehicle, yet it’s a bit of a double edged sword, as this tester rang up $37,940 with destination as equipped. That puts this example at the high end of its segment, but this is a situation where you do indeed get what you pay for.

Behind The Wheel

Around town the Bronco Sport Badlands does a great job balancing its dual roles as both a rugged off-roader and a daily driver that’s easy to live with. The truck-like seating position and the view of the chunky hood out of the windshield provide some sense of occasion, but the ride is reasonably supple and the front end tracks straight. Power is ample for a vehicle this size, though the four cylinder does often need to step down several gears in order to provide truly meaningful forward thrust.

The Ford’s Sync 3 infotainment system is responsive and easy to use, but we were a bit bummed to discover that it did not support wireless Apple CarPlay. That’s probably for the best, though, because messages constantly popped up on screen about the phone being misaligned on the charging pad no matter what we did with it. Eventually we just stopped using the charging pad altogether and plugged the thing in.

Outside of that annoyance, the Bronco Sport Badlands’ cabin is a pretty nice place to be for the day-to-day stuff. There’s a lot of little touches which indicate that someone was sweating the details, too, like the fact that rubberized cargo floor extends to the seatbacks, or the bottle opener that’s been integrated into liftgate. Speaking of the liftgate, it’s also nice to see that the rear window opens independently to provide a bit more versatility for oddly-shaped cargo.

But honestly, the Bronco Sport Badlands shines brightest where the pavement ends. To put it through its paces, we hit the trails alongside a new Land Rover Defender 90 and an F350 Super Duty Tremor, both off-road vehicles that command substantially more coin. After 30 minutes or so of tooling around on some of the more basic routes, one of our cohorts wondered aloud if we should tackle some tougher stuff. It was clear they were wondering if we thought the Bronco Sport could handle it. Might as well see what this thing can do, right?

We headed straight for Rowler Trail. It’s the most demanding path in the area, and it contains some challenges that your author hasn’t seen outside of Moab. On a 100-degree day the Bronco Sport Badlands handled all of it, and actually scampered up a number of hills and rock crawls with less drama than the Defender. The excellent approach and departure angles deserve significant credit here, along with the very clever software that is constantly managing where the torque goes.

That said, a few limitations made their presence known along way. A low range gear certainly would have been nice for some parts, and the Pirellis struggled to find grip more often than we would prefer. A 29-inch Falken Wildpeak all-terrain tire is optional on this trim, and we’d recommend it for anyone who plans to do some serious off-roading.

But all things considered, the Bronco Sport Badlands’ capability in the rough stuff is nothing short of stunning, and for about 98% of enthusiasts out there, this is more than they’ll ever need right out of the box. Combine that with a wide-ranging feature set and solid road manners, and it’s clear that Ford has delivered a sport-utility worthy of the Bronco name. Even if it might not be the one you were expecting.