2021 Ford Bronco Sport spied on the road mostly uncovered

While Ford's official Bronco reveal events have been postponed, that's not stopping development of it or its little cousin, the 2021 Ford Bronco Sport. It's not stopping spy photographers from catching those development cars, either. One of them got these shots of a minimally disguised Bronco Sport cruising on the road, giving us a clear look at it from all angles.

Basically, everything we saw in the leaked images seems to be correct and accurate. It's a blocky little crossover, with a nearly flat hood and gently rounded nose. The headlights are fairly rectangular with round, chromed internal elements to give it a retro look and a connection to the bigger Bronco's styling. We can see more clearly in profile that the Bronco Sport has a raised roof above the rear seats and cargo area like a Land Rover Discovery or Nissan Xterra. This could provide a bit extra headroom and cargo space. We can also see that the front and rear overhangs are very short, and the bumpers are angled to give a little more approach and departure angle. While this crossover won't be nearly as capable as the regular Bronco, this is a sign that Ford is trying to make it as rugged as it can.

Another detail we recently learned about the Bronco Sport is its rough size. BroncoSportForum.com got a shot of one next to a Ford Explorer. It shows that the Bronco Sport is about as tall, but is of course significantly shorter. So it does seem that it will be based on the Ford Escape. As such, that means it will probably come with turbocharged 1.5-liter and 2.0-liter inline-four engines. There's even the potential for using the Escape's hybrid 2.5-liter powertrain. We've also already seen photos of the Bronco Sport's suspension that indicate it uses independent suspension all the way around, similar to the Escape.

We still expect the Bronco Sport to be revealed this year, but timing is unknown. The New York Auto Show was the likely debut show for the crossover, but the show has been moved to August because of COVID-19. The crossover may be delayed until then, or it may be revealed sooner either at the Detroit Show in June (provided it isn't also delayed), or on its own during a solo event.

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