Ford has already been offering a quite capable variant of the Bronco Sport with the Badlands, but it seems Ford isn’t satisfied with it. These spy photos show a Bronco Sport featuring a number of upgrades that suggest even more off-road prowess, particularly with some body changes and possibly even a lift. But it does leave the question, what will it be called?
Most of this Bronco Sport is pretty much what’s on sale, but immediately noticeable are the new bumpers. They appear to have actual metal armor front and rear that blends into the lower skid plates. Then there are the new six-spoke wheels that have a section meant to look like bead-locks. They’re wrapped in 235/65R17 tires, which are the same size as the optional tires on the current Badlands, but the brand is different. This model is on Goodyear Territory RT tires instead of the Badlands’ optional Falken Wildpeaks.
Then there’s the height of this Bronco Sport. It’s particularly apparent from the rear, where it looks like it’s on tiptoes. So it sure seems like this example is lifted. So with extra armor and an extra lift, probably combined with existing features like the dual-clutch torque-vectoring rear differential and various terrain modes, this Bronco Sport could be a real mini trail monster.
So the question is, is this just an off-road package for the Badlands, or could it be a new range-topping trim level? It could hypothetically be called Tremor, but so far that name has been specific to Ford pickup trucks. Timberline could be an option, but looking at Explorer and Expedition, it seems a little on the mild side. Maybe it could borrow Wildtrak or Sasquatch from the big Bronco. We can speculate all we want, but only time will tell.
Hopefully it won’t be long before we see it. Clearly it’s being applied to the current Bronco Sport, and it’s basically uncovered. So it could be shown as early as the new model year reveal for the little SUV. And we expect it will be the most expensive Bronco Sport based on the equipment.
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