Ford's "Baby Bronco" Compact SUV Shows Off Its Off-Road Chops

From Car and Driver

• This is our best look yet at Ford's upcoming small SUV, nicknamed the "baby Bronco."

• Based on the same platform as the Escape, this new model will have boxier styling and more off-road ambitions.

• Ford has not yet confirmed the name, but rumors suggest it will be called either Bronco Scout, Bronco Sport, or Adventurer.

It's no secret that Ford is working on an all-new model that will sit alongside the new 2020 Escape as a boxier, more rugged take on the compact SUV. It's being referred to as the "baby Bronco" due to its styling and off-road image, which is appropriately on display in these images that show the crossover bounding through the dirt.

Although it may use the legendary Bronco name—Ford has filed trademarks for both "Bronco Sport" and "Bronco Scout"—this model will be entirely distinct from the upcoming truck-based, body-on-frame Bronco SUV. Set to ride on the same front-wheel-drive-based unibody platform as the new Escape, the "baby Bronco" is a far less hard-core crossover that's meant to put more of an emphasis on rugged styling than on actual rock-crawling capability. Expect engine choices to mirror those of the Escape, with turbocharged three- and four-cylinder gas engines, a conventional hybrid model, and a plug-in hybrid setup. Ford may offer a more serious all-wheel-drive setup to somewhat legitimize the SUV's rugged appearance.

The baby Bronco's overall shape seen in these photos matches up well with the leaked image that we saw last year purporting to show this new SUV. It has a squared-off greenhouse with a fairly long front hood and what looks to be a few inches of extra ground clearance compared to the Escape. The round headlights seen in the leaked images aren't visible on this prototype due to the heavy camouflage, and neither are the taillights.

We expect to hear more information about this new Ford SUV by the end of this year, as it's likely to be revealed before the actual Bronco, which is slated to arrive sometime in 2020 as a 2021-model-year vehicle.

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