Had Ford’s lineup of small cars – or really, any of its cars – not been completely dropped to make way for more profitable (non-electric) trucks and SUVs, I’m pretty sure there’d now be Badlands Sasquatch versions of Escort, Focus and Festiva. Hell, maybe the Fusion, too.

Instead, in the bumpy-trucky-massive universe of 2025, it’s absolutely necessary to add the full-sized Bronco’s and F-150’s butch and bulky pile of off-road parts and style accessories to everything else the fleet. Which now means a Ford Bronco Sport Badlands, with the optional Sasquatch tire and suspension package added, for goodness’ sakes.

It’s not quite the giddy-but-capable Stroppe Baja package of the big Bronco – though there is an equally retro-styled, rainbow-colored Free Wheeling version of the Sport, with red and white wheels – though this top-of-the-line, Mexican-built Sport is pretty loaded, and also came to a $47,000 pre-tariff price, in the version I tested. There are now five Bronco Sport trims, emulating some of what were once almost a dozen Bronco factory builds.

There may be some counterintuitive logic in adding oversized Goodyear Wrangler Territory mud tires, skid plates, real metal front kangaroo bars and rear tow hooks to a petite machine that’s built on the same platform as Escape and the Maverick mini-truck. Not to mention flip-up fender tiedown tabs that apparently facilitate more hood or rooftop cargo, maybe even an undersized tent.

But, as a tiny (173-inch) but tough-looking vehicle that’s costly but still half the price of the most ridiculous Raptor Bronco build, this well-equipped Bronco Sport gains a certain charm. Plus, it won’t run out of power after less than 200 miles, unlike the bulked-up Mach-E Rally EV.

The Badlands is impressively well-suited for both Colorado’s embarrassingly terrible post-winter potholes and some fun romps on gravel roads, with the tires and improved Bilstein rear suspension allowing you to glide over bumps and cruise easily on loose surfaces. It also gives it a pretty unforgivingly stiff on-pavement ride, which owners of every truck-tires-on-a-little-SUV combo I guess enjoy.

As I discovered several years ago with an earlier version of the Bronco Sport, its short wheelbase and not terrible output (250 turbocharged horsepower from the larger 2.0-liter engine, here, plus a twin-clutch rear drive unit) means it has offroad capability and dexterity that often allows a bit more versatility than the modern, full-sized version.

The cabin certainly reflects Bronco Sport’s $31,000 base model’s austerity, with not a lot of flash, but an oversized 13.2-inch touchscreen and a digital instrument panel to handle the small SUV’s loads of graphics-heavy tech.

The “go over any terrain” drive modes have been modified and for the purposes I was allowed to test, a new “Rally” mode emulates the “Baja” mode of bigger off-road Fords with speed and all-wheel grip, or quite impressive on-tarmac performance in the Sport mode.

Like Maverick, the low-set, twist-to-switch gear selector and mode toggles are about the only physical controls in the cabin, and you also have to press a button there to activate actual full-time 4WD. Doing so does give the little vehicle lots of stickiness, and owners will be able to access one-pedal off-road trail and downhill speed control, as well as better-than-rudimentary rock crawling, sand and snow abilities. If the first level of mods is not enough, Badlands can also be upgraded to a 3.0 Hoss suspension, though that seems perhaps excessive. 

Besides the optional, Van Halen-inspired green metallic Eruption paint job, the Badlands build emphasizes a fully blacked-out greenhouse, with dark window trim and side mirrors, roof rails, rear glass and a couple of QR codes on the sides to show off to your trail buddies. The rear liftgate is still manual, however, though there’s lift-up glass for toss-in access.

The combat bars up front do obscure the vehicle’s badging but offer an extra level of real-world protection, as do the very chunky metal bits in the rear bumper. I would not recommend using the plastic rock rails for any Rubicon-styled slithering over boulders, however.

Inside, there are a few bright spots to offset the black plastic: highlight-stitched sport seats and trim, with full zippered cargo bags behind the front seats and MOLLE webbing to hang your tacticool gear. Mine also added a full-cabin suite of heavy duty, steel-plate-styled rubber floor mats, covers for the backs of the rear seats and a large water-collecting cargo tray in the rear, on top of pre-existing plated paneling. A very bulky cargo lid doubles or triples as a ruler and a buffet table, with fold-out support legs. 

Andy Stonehouse’s column “Mountain Wheels” publishes Saturdays in the Summit Daily News. Stonehouse has worked as an editor and writer in Colorado since 1998, focusing on automotive coverage since 2004. He lives in Golden. Contact him at summitmountainwheels@gmail.com.