ANZA-BORREGO DESERT, California — With all-terrain tires, all-wheel drive, seven driving modes and wireless navigation, the Ford Bronco Sport is a packhorse built for all seasons.

In southern California, those seasons can happen in one day.

The Bronco Sport — aka, Son of Bronco, Bronco Jr., Bronco Lite — is the entry-level sibling in Ford’s tough Bronco sub-brand. Built on a smooth unibody chassis rather than Bronco’s truck-like ladder frame, Bronco Sport is nevertheless a tough little cookie, at home in dense city traffic or on endless desert sand.

I departed my Gaslamp Quarter hotel in San Diego at the crack of dawn and pointed my 2025 Bronco Sport Badlands Sasquatch tester in the direction of the Anza-Borrego Desert about 95 miles away. Over the next 11 hours, I would travel through crisp fall, snowy winter, bright spring and sandy summer conditions.

Fall

The crisp air in SoCal was decidedly fall-like in early April, and I headed east from San Diego in 42-degree temps. The Bronco Sport is one of two compact SUVs that Ford makes on its C2 unibody platform (the others is the Escape), and Bronco Sport is the wild child of the pair.

With their Bronco-like headlights and optional Black Diamond and Sasquatch off-road packages, the Bronc’s Big Bend, Outer Banks and Badlands models are ready to tread beyond where the asphalt ends.

But Bronco Sport is also well equipped for morning commutes in the urban jungle.

I put my Borrego Springs destination in my phone, which instantly translated to the 13.2-inch digital display high in the dash via standard, wireless Android Auto — and in the instrument display in front of me. I spun the rotary GOAT mode dial (Ford-speak for drive modes) from NORMAL to ECO and followed the instructions though San Diego’s gridded streets and on to the highway choked with morning traffic.

Also standard is a moat of safety systems. Merging onto California Highway 94, I checked my six. The blind-spot assist icon flickered in my rearview mirror and I waited for a line of cars to pass before merging left. Whether married to the base 1.5-liter turbo 3-cylinder engine or the 2.0-liter turbo-4 exclusive to my Badlands tester, the standard eight-speed transmission is smooth as silk — even under my lead Size 15 foot.

Up to speed, I set standard adaptive cruise control at 70 mph and cruised effortlessly through the ebbs and flows of traffic. Without taking my eyes off the road, I toggled the raised switch on the steering spoke to adjust speed and following distance.

As the route narrowed to two-lane California 79, I rotated the GOAT to SPORT and punched the MANUAL button in the middle of the selector. Paddle time.

I reached for the shift paddles behind the wheel and manually shifted through the blizzard of Cuyamaca Mountain S-turns. The Bronc Sport is hardly a hot hatch, but my Sasquatch package-equipped Badlands model rotated nicely with planted steering and torque-vectoring clutches once found on the Ford Focus RS.

Winter

Speaking of blizzards, the dry roads didn’t last long.

I had climbed from sea level to 4,000 feet (did you hear my ears pop?) in an hour and the temperature had plummeted 15 degrees. Suddenly, my windscreen was full of sleet and snow and the road was an ice rink. Thank goodness for all-terrain tires.

I spun the GOAT wheel to SLIPPERY mode, which chose a lower gear to reduce torque slip. The tires did the rest as I clawed my way through the twisties. I passed a pair of cars that has slid into the ditch assisted by emergency vehicles. My sure-footed Bronco Sport soldiered on.

For such sudden changes of weather, the Ford has clever, rear-seat sub-space where you can store hats, gloves, long underwear. With the seats up, four six-footers can fit comfortably in the cabin. Fold the rear seats down, and you can fit two upright bikes with their front tires removed.

Spring

Descending the east side of the Cuyamacas, winter gave way to spring as temps warmed to 60 degrees and the sun bathed lush green valleys.

All-terrain tires that had carried me through ice and snow were surprisingly quiet on dry asphalt. As was the cabin. One of the most uncomfortable rides I’ve experienced was in a cloth-seated Ford Mustang last decade, but Bronco Sport seats — whether cloth in the Big Bend model or leather in Badlands — were easy on the backside for my 260-mile round trip.

Clever interior bits abound: phone storage behind the dash screen includes twin USB-C charging ports; crisp instrument display graphics right out of a video game; and an “oh, crap” passenger handle on the center console for when things get dicey off-road.

Summer

Oh, yes, I encourage you to go off-road with the Sasquatch package.

I descended into the Anza-Borrego Desert and temperatures rose to over 70 degrees. Ford uses Anza-Borrego for extreme testing where temps can soar over 120 degrees while sand blows horizontally at 50 mph.

New for the 2025 model year, my Badlands was fully armored with Sasquatch — a step up from the Black Diamond package available since the 2023 model year. Inspired by big brother Bronco (natch), the package offers protective skid plates underneath, a one-inch suspension lift, more GOAT drive modes and a front bull bar.

I didn’t hit any bulls, but my grille came face to face with plenty of rocks. WHUMP! I dragged the fortified underbelly over a boulder, then stood on my nose on a rock suspending my right rear in the air while the rear clutch pack threw 100% torque to the other wheel for grip.

Rock quickly gave way to deep sand — dial up RALLY mode! — and I churned through miles of the stuff as the twin clutch packs did their magic, automatically managing traction across the rear wheels while the fronts pulled like mad.

At the edge of a dune, the sand dropped away and I engaged TRAIL CONTROL — a sort of low-speed adaptive cruise for off-roading. Set at 2 mph, the system took over throttle and brake so I could concentrate on steering between steep rock ruts. You won’t use TRAIL CONTROL much on daily commutes, but the all-terrain tires will help with Detroit potholes.

On the way back to my hotel over the mountains in the evening, I stopped at the famed Julian Pie Company. Its tasty apple pie reminded me of the Grand Traverse Pie Company in Traverse City.

With Traverse City's variable climate, sand dunes and steep elevation changes, Bronco Sport would be right at home there too.

2025 Ford Bronco Sport

Vehicle type: All-wheel-drive, four-door, five-passenger SUV

Price: $31,590, including $1,595 destination charge ($44,925 Badlands Sasquatch as tested)

Powerplant: 1.5-liter turbocharged three-cylinder; 2.0-liter turbo-4

Power: 180 horsepower, 200 pound-feet of torque (1.5-liter); 250 horsepower, 280 pound-feet of torque (2.0-liter)

Transmission: Eight-speed automatic

Performance: 0-60 mph, 5.8 seconds (Car and Driver est., 2.0-liter); towing, 2,700 pounds

Weight: 3,849 pounds (as tested)

Fuel economy: EPA 23 mpg city/26 highway/24 combined (1.5-liter); 21 mpg city/27 highway/23 combined (2.0-liter)

Report card

Highs: All-season dexterity; excellent standard features

Lows: Tight rear seat space compared to competition; turbo-4 only available on Badlands

Overall: 4 stars

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