The 2025 Ford Bronco Sport tricked me. It worked its magic around the time I locked the rear differential and began lifting tires while rock crawling. Or maybe it bewitched me while throwing up rooster tails of mud in a narrow forest two-track. But it got me. I completely forgot I was driving an AWD crossover–what is essentially a Subaru Crosstrek competitor. I forgot that I’d ever dreamed of driving a big, full-frame, Bronco SUV. Or that one even exists.

Here’s the scoop. Ford is upgrading the 2025 Bronco Sport with its own “Sasquatch” package. The famous Sasquatch package already available on the “big Bronco” SUV adds a bit of suspension lift and 35-inch tires. On the 2025 Bronco Sport crossover it will come with 29-inch Goodyear rubber. It also gets Bilstein rear shocks with piggyback overflow valves and damping that adjusts to shock position. Just a few years ago, that was tech reserved for halo trims like the F-150 Raptor. The top trim Bronco Sport’s most exciting party trick will be a new “Rally Mode” which aims to emulate a high-speed desert racer experience.

Ford is so excited about these upgrades that it invited me to its still-in-construction “Bronco Off-Roadeo” location in Tennessees’ Great Smoky Mountains to drive a pre-production model myself. Full disclosure: Ford covered my airfare, put me up, and even fed me during this trip. But the automaker didn’t pay me to write this or edit my review in any way.

So what did I think? This thing was a hoot to drive. And I really drove it. I bounced its front “bash plate” off rocks and didn’t dent the thing. I ran up ledges, leaving the Bronco Sport clinging on at a 17 degree angle. I tackled wet, muddy trails and had to use that locking rear differential and multiple GOAT modes to get out.

The woods of Tennessee were a great place to see how nimble a small off-roader can be. A full-size Bronco or Wrangler could have handled the trails I tackled. But it would have required more three-point turns and carefully selecting my line. A full-size truck would have struggled. Ford leans into this advantage with a trail camera on the front bumper, a 360-degree camera view, and additional cameras at the tips of the mirrors. These allow you to “look” down your front tires to see the precise path they’ll be taking over obstacles. I absolutely loved this feature. It’s standard on the Sasquatch, but I’m happy to say Ford will let you add it to any 2025 Bronco Sport.

Off-roaders know that most stock vehicles, with their open differentials, will spin a wheel and easily get stuck in mud, ice, or even on wet grass. The SUVs with factory-installed locking differentials are a rare breed. The Bronco Sport I drove handled all kinds of low traction situations.

These “first drive” events are usually an interesting mix of journalists, OEM PR teams, and engineers. I always seek out the engineers to find out how the sausage is made. So I had dinner with Eddie Khan who is an engineering manager at Ford. He’s humble as can be, but this guy is the real OG. He was an engineering supervisor at SVT for the launch of the 2010 F-150 Raptor AND the Shelby GT500. Then he became the engineering manager for the Bronco Sport project in 2016 until it launched in 2020, moved to Mustang for a bit, and is now back off-road for the Bronco Sport Sasquatch.

Eddie revealed the secret to the Bronco Sport’s magic tricks (its AWD that feels much like a traditional 4WD with lockers while off-road). Khan and his team incorporated a dual-clutch rear drive unit (RDU) built by Dana. Longtime Ford fans will know the GKN-built RDU in the Focus RS made this AWD tech mainstream, and this latest unit brings it to the next level. It’s also available in the Maverick Lobo street-racing truck.

Eddie explained that if the Bronco spins tires, its AWD can put 45% of the engine’s power to the rear wheels, then the dual-clutch RDU will transfer the vast majority of that energy to the wheel that has the most traction. Even without the rear locker engaged, it will keep the other wheel from spinning too fast.

I still have questions. First off, the downside of a clutch-based RDU system is usually heat buildup. So I’m curious how long I could do hardcore off-roading before experiencing issues. I bombed around for over 30 minutes in a Bronco Sport that had been driving all day and had no issues whatsoever. That said, I’m not planning on taking a Bronco Sport for a multi-day crawling trip up the Rubicon trail and back. And I doubt most buyers would try that either.

Second of all, the Bronco Sport I drove was the Badlands trim with the Sasquatch package, so it had the Badlands’ 250 horsepower/277 lb-ft (2.0-liter) turbocharged I4. But the meaty Sasquatch package tires are also available on the Outer Banks trim which is only available with the base engine, a 181 horsepower/190 lb-ft (1.5-liter) turbocharged I3. So I’d like to test out how well the smaller engine handles all that rubber.

Speaking of cost, Ford hasn’t released a 2025 price for these trim levels or what it’ll cost to upgrade to the Sasquatch package. It also hasn’t released any mpg estimates with the knobby 29 inch tires. I’ll let you know when it does.

And finally: In the woods of Tennessee there was nowhere to engage “Rally” mode and see just how sideways I could get the Badlands Bronco Sport. I’d love to get a Bronco Sport Sasquatch out in some wide open spaces (maybe the Sleeping Bear Dunes, dear Ford?). Obviously, this thing isn’t an F-150 Raptor R, but it’s pretty cool that Ford is shooting for some level of high-speed off-roading capability.

I’ll be blunt: I grew up hearing that body-on-frame, part-time 4WD off-roaders are the only option for most trails. So I bought a 1988 F-150, lifted it, and have taken it off-roading all across the country. And perhaps if you want to do a huge lift or have the option of a frame swap down the road, you still want to go the full-frame route. Ford will happily sell you a regular Bronco, built on the Ranger’s frame. But for 2024, that SUV starts at $39,630. And its Sasquatch package will run you $8,460. So I have to applaud Ford making its crossover version as capable as possible for off-road enthusiasts on a budget. The Bronco Sport I tested took me places my truck simply wouldn’t have fit.

“My great-grandfather once said of the first car he ever built, ‘If I had asked my customers what they wanted, they would have said a faster horse.’ At Ford, we’re going to figure out what people want before they even know it and then we are going to give it to them.”

Bill Ford

It reminds me of the famous Henry Ford quote, “If I had asked my customers what they wanted, they would have asked for a faster horse.” The implication is that he ignored them and built the Model T instead. Those stubborn customers bought 15 million Model T Fords.

The quote could be the Ford company’s unofficial motto. While the industry was moving toward big muscle cars, it rolled out the original Mustang and made the pony car cool. While futuristic was in, the 2005 Mustang made retro the thing. Bill Ford even quoted his great-grandfather to investors as that redesigned 2005 Mustang took the market by storm. And the Maverick/Bronco Sport chassis is the same old story.

If Ford asked its current SUV customers what they wanted, our “faster horse” might be a full-size, full-frame Bronco with 400 horsepower and part-time, traditional 4WD. But the vehicle that most of us truly need might be an efficient unibody crossover with a FWD/AWD powertrain and just three turbocharged cylinders: the humble yet mighty Bronco Sport.