What is a Bronco Sport? A Bronco Sport is a compact crossover SUV built in the Ford Motor Company’s Hermosillo, Mexico assembly plant, and is sold in North America by Ford. Like the original Bronco’s, the 2024 Bronco Sport Free Wheeling special edition package adds reflective red, orange, yellow and silver graphics on the body sides, lift gate, and hood, plus a silver painted front grille with 2 tone Bronco Sport badges, sunset weave seat covers, and a modified lower front grill insert. It’s a total throwback look to the fast, fun & free spirited days of the late 1960’s. Think peace, love, and rock and roll.
The Free Wheeling special edition features sunset inspired design touches and reflective exterior graphics, and pays homage to the stylish Bronco’s off roaders that captured our hearts decades ago. Slide into the driver’s seat and experience the perfect blend of technology, nostalgia and modern innovation, as you unleash your adventurous soul.
A lot of people are drawn to the Bronco Sport due to how it’s designed to leave the city behind, so we’re going to focus on that first. It offers excellent off road performance and overall capability thanks to its two available engines, starting with the standard 1.5L EcoBoost Turbo I-3 that delivers 181 HP and has all wheel drive as standard equipment.
The Bronco Sport is more than just a Ford Escape playing dress up. Available exclusively with AWD all wheel drive, it also has some real on road tech and off road abilities, making it one of the most capable compact crossover SUVs when the pavement ends.
To prove that point, this week Ford sent me a 2024 Ford Bronco Sport 4×4 SUV to test drive and review. The base window sticker for this Free Wheeling edition is $33,730. The options on the test SUV are: the Ford CoPilot 360 assist package for $895, the class II trailer tow package for $690 and the convenience package for $1,785. The manufactures suggest retail price, MSRP, minus the $1,000 in package discounts, plus the $1,595 destination and delivery charge is: $37,695.
After adding in the state and local sales tax, plus the DMV and dealers fees, the out the door and in your garage total purchase price came to: $42,407. At just over $6,000 LESS that the average sales transaction price of $48,800, this Bronco Sport 4×4 is a very good buy. The Bronco Sport is aimed at compact SUV buyers who want a sporty looking SUV with 4×4 capability, so they can go off road at any time, and drive right down to the lake.
Power and traction control start with a 1.5L liter Ecoboost inline 3 cylinder gas engine with automatic stop and go, that makes 181 HP horsepower and 190 pound-feet of torque, bolted to an 8 speed automatic transmission, then routed into a full time AWD all wheel drive 4×4 transfer case. Traction to the ground goes thru a set of 225/65 R17 all season A/S black wall tires mounted on very colorful 17″ black and red painted alloy wheels.
This drive train gets 25 MPG in city driving, 29 MPG on the highway, and a respectful 26 MPG in combined overall daily driving. The greenhouse gas rating is a 5, and the smog rating is a 7, both out of 10. The government safety crash ratings are all 5 stars, and the annual fuel cost is only $2,100 for a full year. Of course, your gas mileage may vary.
As the 8 speed automatic transmission and four wheel drive are standard equipment, the ride is firm, and handling is taut and agile. The controls are very easy to use, including the infotainment system, and you can adjust your drive mode to match the environment. The Bronco Sport has 5 standard G.O.A.T. Modes “Goes Over Any type of Terrain” with Sand, Slippery, Sport, Eco and Normal traction control at the spin of a console dial.
The convenience package adds in: a wireless phone charging pad, LED fog lamps, a universal garage door opener, a 8 way power drivers seat, rear parking sensors and heated front seats. Plus it comes with a AM/FM stereo with 6 speakers, remote keyless entry, Sirius XM radio, auto start and stop, a security anti-theft system, and a perimeter alarm.
So, call, click or visit your local Ford dealer for a test drive, and a Bottom Line price review, on the new 2024 Ford Bronco Sport Free Wheeling Edition 4×4 SUV. And remember that the base price for a new Bronco Sport starts at only $29,795. Bronco Sport – Built Ford Wild.
Be smart, stay safe, and just breathe. Remember, You Are What You Drive, and maybe, just for those reasons alone, you should Drive one, Buy one, Today. Have a great day, drive safely, and enjoy the ride, as the future looks nice and bright – Tony the Car Guy.
This Bottom Line new vehicle review is a Nut & Bolt and Dollars & Sense editorial provided by Tony Leopardo. Tony the Car Guy is an automotive writer, editor and publisher in the San Francisco Bay Area. If you have a question, or comment for Tony, send it to tonyleo@pacbell.net and visit AutoWire.Net at www.autowire.net
