Welcome to another edition of Drive Notes, which is where we provide a capsule review to a car that doesn’t need the full-review treatment.
Up today — a 2024 Ford Bronco Sport Freewheeling that I drove earlier this year. Yes, it’s a 2024 — sometimes they are in the fleet for a while. This one was obviously a limited-edition trim, but lightly-used ones are out there on the market.
The Freewheeling gets retro graphics, a silver grill, a different lower-front-end insert, a black roof, and17-inch black wheels with red accents.
The one I tested had the 1.5-liter three-cylinder EcoBoost engine, an eight-speed automatic transmission, and four-wheel drive. Standard or available features included LED headlights and tailights, Ford CoPIlot 360+, rearview camera, Sync 3 infotainment, wireless charging pad, LED fog lamps, heated front seats, a towing package, and rear parking sensors. The base price was $33,730 and the as-tested price rang out at $38,695, including $1,195 for D and D.
Time for the Pros and Cons.
Pros
- The Bronco Sport remains engaging to drive, even with the three-banger. I’ve always preferred the punchier and smoother four-cylinder in this trucklet, but the 1.5 is acceptable for most around-town duty.
- The ride is smooth and the handling is sporty enough. Ford really makes good use of that shared Escape platform, which was always strong in terms of driving dynamics.
- A Slippery drive mode got me through a snowy drive from Detroit to Chicago.
- Fuel economy is reasonable. Not great, but reasonable.
- In terms of utility, the Sport is easy to use.
- Front-seat comfort is good for long hauls
- Finally, the graphics do look really cool.
Cons
- The interior remains dated-looking with cheap-feeling materials. It’s odd, since the Maverick’s interior isn’t that different — but Ford manages to make the small truck’s cabin look and feel good. Meanwhile, the Maverick’s platform mate has an interior that’s a bit of a letdown. It doesn’t help that the interior isn’t nearly as cool-looking as the exterior.
- There’s a little too much wind and road noise, especially at highway speeds.
- That feature list looks light for the price.
- Rear-seat space is a tad tight.
- The boxy shape looks cool but doesn’t cut through the wind well. There can be some tippiness when nature lets the wind get rolling.
- Interior storage space is fine for most situations, but on a road trip where receipts and snacks and soda pile up, it can get disorganized quickly.
- Sync 3 feels outdated.
As an overall package, the 2024 Ford Bronco Sport Freewheeling works overall, but there are a decent amount of flaws if one looks closely. Some have plagued the Bronco Sport since launch — it needs a fresher interior and the 1.5 should probably be dropped, with the 2.0-liter turbo four being the sole plant. But the outside looks cool, especially with the special graphics, and one could do worse when it comes to compact crossovers. This one blends sport and utility nicely — now, if we can just get a nicer cabin and some more sound-deadening.
Still, if you want one of these limited-edition vehicles, you likely won’t be let down.
[Images © 2025 Tim Healey/TTAC.com]
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