Have you ever felt like your life could use a pop of color? Looking around any given streetscape presents us with grey buildings, grey pavements, grey clothes, and of course, grey cars. Well how’s this for an antidote? Ford has revealed a Bronco Sport compact crossover that’s wearing the shirt of a Free Wheeling F-150 from the ‘70s and it’s absolutely killing it.
If you aren’t familiar with the original Free Wheeling Fords of the ‘70s, they were technicolor trucks and vans for a post-’60s decade of cultural hangover. There was still a whole lot of sex, drugs, and rock-n-roll going on, but it was less contained to the college student hippies of the peace decade. If these stripey Econolines were rocking, don’t come knocking.
With a disco state of mind, Ford broke out the vinyl and went to work on the Bronco Sport, giving it more stripes than the average tiger. Crimson, vermilion, pumpkin, tangerine, and yellow stripes blanket the body sides and hood, while shockingly orange wheel inserts cap off the exterior’s ‘70s look. It’s outlandish, but exactly the sort of outlandish we need. If Kia can sell a crossover that looks like it’s face was eaten for the sake of being bold, why not fight back with something more cheerful than aggro?
Wonderfully, Ford hasn’t left the inside alone, instead investing in similarly-stripey seat inserts, colorful stitching and orange dash trim to make an otherwise dark interior feel bright and energetic. It’s just all so fun, such a breath of fresh air in an era obsessed with all-black accents and greyscale paint.
However, beneath the fantastic ‘70s throwback livery, there is a slight problem — the Free Wheeling Edition Bronco Sport is based on the three-cylinder Big Bend trim, and you really want the Badlands trim for the best Bronco Sport experience. Swapping out the 1.5-liter turbocharged three-cylinder engine for a two-liter turbocharged four-banger picks up the refinement and pace substantially, and the extra off-road goodies like an electronically-variable locking rear differential perform superbly on seriously slippery surfaces. The standard powertrain is adequate, but the Badlands engine makes the Bronco Sport much more competitive.
Still, since the Bronco Sport Free Wheeling Edition is a special edition model that’s likely to only stick around for one year, you’re more likely to see one on the roads than drive one, so does the powertrain really matter? It looks cheery, iconoclastic, and extroverted, a rare combination on today’s roads. Oh, and if none of that sounds like your cup of tea, Ford also has a 2024 Bronco Sport for you.
Dubbed the Black Appearance Pack, it does exactly what it says on the tin — blacks out the compact crossover’s roof, badges, and wheels, and adds a matte black hood graphic. I’m sure I’d find it great if I was 17 and “murdered-out” was still an aftermarket look, but in 2023, it just feels a bit boring. My advice? If you really want a Bronco Sport and are able to get a pop of color, take it.
[Editor’s Note: I gotta hand it to Ford for its fun colors on the Bronco Sport. I went off-roading with a Heritage Edition Bronco Sport, and I was into the color scheme:
-DT]
(Photo credits: Ford)
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I can’t tell you how much those images make me smile! This is what SUVs and trucks need!
While this Bronco Sport is still a flaming turd of a rebadged Escape that no one should spend their money on, I just can’t deny the appeal of these retro styling packages.
It’s hard to imagine that something so pretty will be dead from rust or mechanical or electrical failure in about 6 years.
As an advocate for more colorful cars I desperately want to like this, but it looks awful on that gray they picked for the press photos. And the wheels are hideous. Damn.
Love the stripes, LOVE The upholstery, but man, those wheels don’t make any sense to me. The whole gradient is deep red at the top to pale yellow at the bottom, then there’s bright red wheels below the bottom? I don’t get it, and I find it really distracting.
TFL had their Ranger wrapped in a similar scheme a while back, I think their execution was better. If I recall correctly, they didn’t have the spaces between the colors.
Not a vehicle I would ever purchase but we need more cars with more colors I love it. So tired of seeing roads full of black/white/grey its BORING
yes! love it. more of this.
It’s a shame they wasted this 70s coolness on an Escape. They should have saved it for the real Bronco
There is a big Bronco with a ’70s type theme I’ve seen one on the road recently. Black with orange/red striping. Now that I try to dig around and look it up it must have been some type of dealer package or aftermarket but it definitely looked like something legit at Ford would do.
Late 70’s Bronco with the Freewheelin’ package is probably what you’re describing. It was a factory option just like on the F-150 shown in the article.
hmm…I always thought the stripes we supposed to look like the color gradient of the sky at sunset over the desert….If that is the case, the new Bronco Sport got it upside-down. That’s why it looks so weird to me and now I can’t unsee it.
Maybe this is a sunrise instead of sunset?
That’s not really how it works. Unless you stand on your head to watch sunrise. 😉
It’s an Australian sunrise.
Maybe it will look right once it gets rolled on its top by hooligans who find it abandoned in the dunes due to the inevitable overheating after getting stuck 🙂
Jason, can you photoshop that for me so I can test my theory?