Video: 2025 Ford Bronco Sport Sasquatch: Who Needs Four-Wheel Drive?

Yeah, what a name, right? We're gonna get into what necessarily that entails here in a little bit, but what you need to know is that I've been out in the California desert putting this little bugger through its paces, and that definitely included some pretty serious trails. You're gonna be surprised. Some inclines, some faster rally stages, and well, we've got a lot to talk about. Let's get into it. (upbeat music) You've probably figured out by now that the Sasquatch package is an upgrade kit for two specific trims in the Bronco Sport lineup. Those being the Outer Banks trim and the top-level Badlands trim. And well, naturally, just to make things confusing, Ford designed it so that both Sasquatch packages add different things depending on which trim you get. That is all to say not all Sasquatches are created equally. Fair warning, understanding the differences between the two Sasquatch packages is way, way more complicated than what you might expect. Here's the simplest, most stripped down explanation I can manage. Both Squatches add aggressive all-terrain tires, wheels, skid plates, and suspension lift along with a few bits of utility hardware like brush guard and metal bumpers. That's the easy bit. Spec'ing the Sasquatch package on an Outer Banks transforms said Outer Banks into a budget base Badlands complete with the same suspension and twin-clutch rear differential. Outfit your Badlands with the Sasquatch package, and now just the rear suspension changes to some special Bilstein dampers, and a sand-focused rally mode is added to the existing portfolio of GOAT terrain modes. In essence, if the regular Badlands is too costly, the Outer Banks with the Sasquatch package is your best bet. And if the off-road capability of the standard Badlands wasn't up to snuff, the Badlands with the Sasquatch package is just about the ultimate all-terrain adventure crossover that you can buy. Though the entire Bronco Sport lineup is refreshed for the new model year, with minor stuff like a new standard 13.2-inch infotainment display and some new front fascias, I was really out in the windy, sun-scorched California desert for the Sasquatches. And my goodness to these baby Broncs deliver. I've previously done some moderate wheeling in the standard unsquatched Badlands, and that alone was quite impressive when pointed down some tough-ish trails. But man, a unibody all-wheel-drive crossover shouldn't be able to do some of the stuff we did today in the Badlands Sasquatch. We hopped in that first. Quick road drive gave way to a rocky two-track that in places was severely washboard and wavy. Right away, both myself and my passengers were impressed by the Badlands Sasquatches upgraded rear suspension that absorbed bumps, lumps, and crashes to similar degree as some seriously expensive factory off-road specials. Then some sand. This is where the new rally GOAT mode shined, keeping the reds peaky in the rear a bit slippery. Some fun sashaying brought us to the foothills of a moderately technical ascent, one that a standard all-wheel-drive crossover would've no hope of completing. But we were not in a regular all-wheel-drive crossover, so up we went twice, no problem at all. The Bronco's suite of surround-view cameras, including the very handy front trail cam, made line sighting and obstacle avoidance of breeze, clearance and traction from those new all-terrains is phenomenal for the segment. And though I did smell some clutch from the all-wheel-drive systems orchestrated slippage, it was never a moment in which we felt on the brink of being stuck. Then a surprisingly steep and technical descent, making great use of the trail cruise function that serves as a beefier hill descent control. And through all of this, steering and braking inputs are definitely a step above in both character and tuning compared to other crossovers, out on the road, it drives, stops, rides and steers with little compromise over a non-off-road-focused SUV, which is quite impressive. The 1.5-liter Outer Banks Sasquatch was also quite the overlander, even if the trim-specific test trail wasn't as technical and challenging as what we faced in the Badlands. The simpler, but still robust rear suspension was a clear downgrade from the Badlands Sasquatch's unique Bilsteins, but the upfitted Outer Banks is still one of the most capable unibody operators you can buy. In most regards, consider it on par with the standard non-Squatch Badlands. No rally or rock crawl mode here, just a catch-all off-road mode that still scuttled us through some situations that saw one of our wheels sticking sky-high when faced with a tricky obstacle. Power is definitely down on the two-liter, but the capability and character of the Outer Banks Sasquatch is great fun. You know, after all this, well, especially after a comfy two-hour cruise back to home base, I bet a whole heap of folks would do well to skip the full-size, full four-wheel-drive SUVs and trucks for the Bronco Sport's small, very capable package. We climbed some hills and we slung some sand, and I came away from all of this, well, quite impressed with what a remarkable off-road vehicle the refreshed 2025 Bronco Sport is, especially with the new Sasquatch package. And I gotta say, it calls into question whether you really need, and that's the key term, need a full-sized, four-wheel-drive, body-on-frame SUV if a unibody all-wheel-drive crossover can do all that we did today. It's a good question, but for my full thoughts and reviews, you gotta go to cars.com/news.