As part of our On The Trail video series, we had a chance to take the new 2021 Ford Bronco Sport Badlands Edition out in the winter weather for some testing.

Our test vehicle is equipped with a four-cylinder 2.0L Ecoboost engine that delivers a claimed 250 horsepower and 277 lb-ft of torque.

As a winter storm dumped a whole lot of the white stuff everywhere, we were limited in where we could take the Bronco Sport off-road as our normal trails would been an unfair challenge for this compact SUV.

We did have a chance to test out the different G.O.A.T. (Goes Over Any Type of Terrain) modes in the snow, which Ford uses instead of a true four-wheel drive low range. Every Bronco Sport comes with five standard G.O.A.T. modes (Sand, Slippery, Sport, Eco, Normal), but our Badlands edition offers up to more (Mud/Ruts and Rock Crawl). Interestingly, it was the Rock Crawl mode that gave us the best traction in the snow – even better than Slippery. Rock Crawl mode puts you in four-wheel drive and locks up the rear differential, which was probably the difference maker.

There are some other off-road friendly features in the 2021 Ford Bronco Sport Badlands. First, there’s a front-facing camera that shows you what is directly in front of your wheels. Second, there are a pair of front tow hooks that would no doubt come in really handy. We would like to see an additional tow hook in the rear, but it is nowhere to be found on our test vehicle.

Our test unit also came with an upgraded wheel and tire combination, which upgrades from a 225 to a 235 Falken Wildpeak all-terrain tire. With this package the 2021 Ford Bronco Sport can ford 23.6 inches of water and boasts a minimum running ground clearance of 8.8 inches.

Check out the full video review from Kevin Hedzik embedded above for more details.