2023 Ford Bronco Sport Heritage First Drive Review: Good Old Flavor

Everything that was once old becomes new again. Manufacturers have been dusting off classic nameplates with great success, and what’s the fun in that without really overlaying the nostalgia with retro styling packs? Exactly. So we just spent a day with the Ford Bronco Sport Heritage Edition 2023 in the Californian desert.

The Bronco Sport Heritage is available in two trim levels, a moderately equipped regular version and a limited top trim. The base Heritage comes with a 1.5-liter turbocharged three-cylinder, while the Limited gets a more powerful 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder; both are aided by an eight-speed automatic transmission. All Heritages sport Oxford White Steelie-style aluminum wheels with retro-style Bronco center caps, an Oxford White roof and a white grille with red BRONCO script.

Inside, the base version gets Navy Pier cloth seating surfaces – inspired by a 1980s Bronco interior color – with checkered inserts and accent stitching in Race Red and Robin’s Egg Blue. The Limited upgrades to leather. The center console, armrests and MOLLE webbing storage system are also finished in navy and red.

Both models – the entry-level uses the Big Bend as a base, the Limited uses the Badlands — feature Ford’s HOSS suspension system, which features an increased ride height, uniquely tuned front struts with internal hydraulic rebound stops, 46mm mono-tube rear shocks, anti -Roll bars and uniquely tuned springs. Also included is Ford’s Terrain Management System with seven GOAT (Goes Over Any Type of Terrain) modes: Normal, Eco, Slippery, Sport, Sand, Mud/Ruts and Rock Crawl. An electronically locking rear differential is standard on the Limited, along with the Bronco Sport’s advanced dual-clutch rear differential. Limited models also get front recovery hooks, a Class II rear hitch, and larger 29-inch Falken off-road tires.

Ford invited us into the wilderness of California’s Johnson Valley during the annual King of the Hammers event, where we covered some dirt miles in a Bronco Sport Heritage Limited. (We also drove the crazy Bronco DR Desert Race Truck.) Unlike a typical driving program, we wanted to spend all of our time playing the sport off-road, so Ford lowered the air pressure in the Falkens to 25psi to improve traction on the sand, which was our lane for most of the day.

In the crisp morning air, we mounted our Metallic Yellowstone steed and set off, led by Melissa Clark in her Bronco Sport, which won the Rebelle Rally. Clark has competed in every Rebelle Rally since the event’s inception and has spent the past three years piloting Bronco Sports. The first thing that struck us was how well the suspension soaked up the bumps, dips and ruts of the desert. Its higher ride height and larger tires also help off-road, and the Bronco Sport Heritage Limited, like its non-retro stablemates, is limited off-road primarily by its low ground clearance. We had to do some creative driving maneuvers to keep the front fascia from acting as a road scraper, and there was often no way to drag the small SUV’s belly along as it drove over deep two-lane lanes. Thank goodness for skidplates.

When we got to a stretch of sand dunes, the Bronco Sport took on a whole different personality. Toggling into sand mode and disabling the vehicle’s AdvanceTrac stability control allowed us to toss rooster tails and navigate the dunes with reckless abandon. The 2.0-liter engine’s 250 hp propelled the tiny Sport with little to no problem. Piloting the Sport in the sand proved to be pure, youthful fun, and while doing so we showed no signs of losing traction and the SUV never attempted to dig in. As our time in the dunes came to an end, we rolled back towards the rutted road, at one point using the electronic limited-slip differential and a fair bit of gas pedaling to climb a final, impressively steep sand hill. We were very impressed.

While we couldn’t do any of that because we were in a Heritage rather than another Badlands model, it did validate that the Bronco Sport deserved the Bronco nameplate. (Whether it’s a good idea to confuse potential customers about which Bronco that is is another question.) The Sport’s sand performance was nothing short of stunning, its off-road ride quality is tolerable, and the various drive modes really pay off. The 2023 Bronco Sport Heritage Limited is better off-road than you think – and it looks sensational to boot.