2025 Ford Bronco Sport Sasquatch: The Small SUV That Goes Huge On The Trail

The hardest job in the car business is selling customers on the “vibes” of your small SUV. Of course, that segment has the form factor every American non-truck buyer has preferred for a decade now. But telling the correct story to get shoppers to pick your two-box vehicle over the competition’s two-box vehicle can often be a black art.

Offering a genuine competitive advantage does tend to help. Which might explain why Ford has been so successful with the

model, even before this new-for-2025 freshening of the model. With the decline (outright failure?) of Jeep’s smaller offerings, the Bronco Sport has taken up the mantle of the small SUV with real off-road chops. And now, with a version of the popular Sasquatch off-road package from the “Big Bronco.” the plucky Sport offers a raison d’etre for an even wider slice of adventure-hungry drivers.

As I roll up to an intimidating, boulder-strew track up a steep climb in the Southern California wilderness (that is to say: outside of cell phone service), I’m also hoping the development team brought something more serious than vibes to the party…

The Legend of Sasquatch

…Before we talk about climbing, let’s talk about the climbing gear that the Bronco Sport offers.

The Sasquatch package has been available for the big Bronco now for a while, offering even more off-road capability to that already robust vehicle. A combination of hardware and software upgrades, Sasquatch almost felt like a Bronco trim level because of its rugged appearance and, let’s be honest, cool name.

While the hard points are different, the intent is the same with the Bronco Sport Sasquatch package, which Ford makes available on both the EcoBoost 1.5 Outer Banks and the EcoBoost 2.0 Badlands. We got a chance to sample both powertrains and the base trim, but the 250-horsepower, two-liter Squatch was the star of the show.

Performance Specifications

Hardware upgrades to the rear axle of the truck are perhaps the most impactful for going off the pavement. A twin-clutch operated rear-drive unit allows power to flow to the left or right wheel independently, as demanded by traction available to each wheel. There’s also a locking rear differential out back, for those times when your Bronco might have a wheel in the air.

Said wheel – a 17-incher specific to Sasquatch – is clad in meaty rubber, as well. Squatch models get specifically developed, 29-inch Goodyear Territory All-Terrain tires, which the automaker calls the biggest in class.

The rear suspension also boasts Bilstien, position-sensitive rear shock, an upgrade from the monotube dampers on the less-rugged Sport models. For those of you who didn’t know, “position-sensitive” dampers effectively change the force delivered based on the travel of the piston through the shock body, which translates to a more consistent ride quality over a larger range of terrain.

Those Are Really Big Rocks

To paraphrase the great Mike Tyson, everyone has a plan to get up the hill until they get punched in the fascia with a stray boulder. We might not have been on the very most technical trail in the sprawling Anza Borrego Desert State Park, but the steep trail ahead of me sure looked like it could defeat your average mall crawler.

With deep sand, steep climbs, and some intimidatingly narrow paths, the off-road section of the driving program was far more aggressive than one typically encounters with OEM-sponsored small SUV testing. Ford clearly believes in the viability of its Sasquatch tech.

The company specifies an overall ground clearance of 8.7 inches for the Badlands Sasquatch (8.8 for the 1.5 EcoBoost-powered Outer Banks), with impressive approach, departure, and breakover angles of 31.2, 27.9, and 21.7 degrees, respectively. The specs might not illustrate an off-roader quite on the level of the big Bronco or a Jeep Wrangler, but the reality is the Sasquatch will get a typical buyer to 99% of the places they’d hope to go.

And while we had spotters guiding us through tightly wound climbs, in slightly less aggressive off-roading the front and rear cameras – in addition to things like the “Trail One-Pedal” for speed-controlled descents – will add a lot of confidence for solo adventures.

I think Sasquatch models will offer a lot of capability for owners who live in rough or rural areas and travel on gravel and dirt every day, but the same can be said of many of the ruggedized competitors from Subaru, Toyota, and Hyundai. But there’s also plenty of capacity to go beyond the daily, into areas that were perhaps too adventurous for Bronco Sport owners before now.

Exterior Dimensions And Specifications

Back In The Real World…

Now, for buyers who only plan for the occasional foray into the wilderness, the Bronco Sport Sasquatch might be a harder (rational) sell job.

And while the 2.0T engine is more potent, on road and off, the fuel economy of the standard 1.5T Sport – 30 mpg on the highway compared to 27 for the two-liter – will be markedly better over time for commuters.

At least the cabin will be a nice place to spend time, no matter what rubber you ride on or engine you find under the hood. Ford has endowed every 2025 Bronco Sport with a 13.2-inch central touchscreen display, and a fully digital 12.3-inch instrument cluster. The SYNC 4 operating system is user-friendly, especially with the addition of standard wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto functionality.

Aside from the big screens, the various interior treatments are unremarkable. Unlike the updated

, the cabin doesn’t do much to surprise or delight – save perhaps for the unexpected amount of rear-seat headroom. The front seats get some slightly interesting materials and stitching but are a letdown in the bolstering department.

Interior Dimensions

An Expensive Lifestyle

Competition from Toyota, Honda, and Subaru products is more of a story on the cheaper Bronco Sport trims than for the Badlands and Sasquatch packages. There’s just not much in this small SUV class that has the stones to get off road like the “baby” Bronco.

With that said, capability comes with a price premium. The 2025 Bronco Sport line starts out at a compelling $32,285 (that’s MSRP plus destination), but you’ll need thousands more to get all of the ORV goodies.

The 1.5T-equipped Outer Banks trim is the most inexpensive way to get the Sasquatch package. That means an added $5,330 to the bottom line; $3,535 for Sasquatch and $1,795 for the tech package that Ford forces buyers to bundle in, for an out-the-door price of $42,915.

Step up to the 2.0T and the Badlands trim with added Squatch, and your net sticker is $45,395. (I would highly recommend getting the bigger engine, therefore, if you’re going the Sasquatch route.) Now, $45k will buy you a very tough Jeep Wrangler 4-door, and presumably still more off-road ability, but with the trade-off of a far less liveable vehicle for daily driving. Certainly buyers seeking an ultimate off-rig will spend their money on something like the Jeep, or a big Bronco.

For folks looking at a one-vehicle solution for daily driving and weekend adventuring – even in pretty extreme areas – the Sasquatch could be your Bronco, baby.