Due to the pandemic of the coronavirus infection COVID-19, Ford can’t give birth to the new Bronco Sport crossover and its older brother, the Bronco frame SUV. However, unofficial snapshots of these cars continue to leak into the network.
Ford decided to revive the iconic Bronco model as a whole family of the same name SUV. The flagship Bronco SUV will be available in a short three-door and a long five-door version with removable doors and a roof. The younger Bronco Sport will be offered with a standard five-door universal body for crossovers, and a little later a pickup will be released, aimed mainly at the South American market.
The assembly of Bronco Sport at the Mexican plant in Hermosillo was planned to begin in July, and they wanted to hold an official presentation in April, but because of the COVID-19 pandemic, both events had to be moved to the fall. Nevertheless, there were practically no secrets for this model: the American Autoblog published pictures of the interior of the Bronco Sport. The mid-engined Ford Mustang, they don’t even know about in the brand itself
It was previously known that the Bronco Sport is based on the C2 passenger platform from the current Focus and the Escape / Kuga crossover. From the latter, Bronco Sport borrowed gasoline turbo engines – 1.5 EcoBoost (182 hp, 240 Nm) and 2.0 EcoBoost (253 hp, 372 Nm), both come complete with an 8-speed hydro mechanical “automatic”. The basic version of the Bronco Sport will have front-wheel drive, but the advanced one will become a full-fledged competitor to the compact Jeep in the off-road version of Trailhawk, that is, it will get impressive ground clearance, towing eyes, a tough center axle clutch with forced locking, special off-road driving electronics.
The angular appearance and sloping bumpers are a direct appeal to the older Bronco frame, it should exclude the competition of the Bronco Sport with the platform Escape / Kuga. Judging by the published pictures, Bronco Sport and Escape / Kuga also have a little in common – a steering wheel, a microclimate block, a key block under the screen of the multimedia system, a washer-selector for automatic transmission modes. The front panel with a square-nested design at the Bronco Sport is original, as are the door cards. Pay attention to the contour color inserts that create additional expression.
Apparently, there will be no alternative virtual instrument panel on the Bronco Sport: in the picture you can see the usual dial tachometer, but the center of the panel is occupied by the color screen of the on-board computer.
In general, it is gratifying that Ford, despite difficult times and cost reduction on all fronts, spent on a unique interior design for the Bronco Sport, and did not drag it entirely from Coogy. In many countries, such a crossover would certainly be of interest to many motorists.