What to Drive When You’re “The Adventure Family”

Do you and your family go on lots of extraordinary vacations? Do you spend most weekends road-tripping? Are you familiar with more roadside attractions, National Parks, and gas station chains than most people in your age group? If you answered yes to any of these questions, you might just be part of the adventure family, in which case you need a rugged, practical adventure vehicle to get you to any place you’d like to go. Many adventure families gravitate towards smaller SUVs, like the 2024 Ford Bronco Sport or the 2024 Subaru Crosstrek.

How do you decide which of these vehicles is a good fit for your group and deserves to go home with your adventure family? Let’s look at the 2024 Ford Bronco Sport vs 2024 Subaru Crosstrek in greater detail to see which might make the most sense for your adventures.

Power and Performance

The adventure family doesn’t necessarily need a fast car, but they do need one that’s tough enough to take on a variety of terrain. All-wheel drive is a must, and both the 2024 Ford Bronco Sport and the 2024 Subaru Crosstrek offer several iterations of all-wheel drive and traction control to help you navigate both on- and off-road challenges. We’ll examine those options more in a moment.

As far as having the motivation to merge onto the highway, the good manners to crawl through a puddle-speckled parking lot, and the nerve to attempt unimproved roads across the country, the 2024 Bronco Sport has the advantage. Under the hood of most models is a competent 1.5L EcoBoost engine. With 181 hp and 190 lb-ft of torque, this engine has enough get-up-and-go for most situations the adventure family will encounter.

The off-road focused Badlands model has a zippier outlook on life with a standard 2.0L EcoBoost engine that dials up the verve to 250 hp and 277 lb-ft of torque. Models equipped with this engine and Ford’s towing equipment can tow up to 2,200 lbs.

However, the all-new third-generation 2024 Subaru Crosstrek’s engine setup isn’t as simple and lacks horsepower. The Base and Premium models include a standard 2.0L Boxer-4 engine good for 152 hp and 145 lb-ft of torque. Selecting the Sport or Limited trims will put extra pep in your step with a 2.5L Boxer that provides a zippy 182 hp and 178 lb-ft of torque. While this can be a lot of fun driving on trails, the performance of the top-tier Subaru engine is just barely similar to the base engine of the Ford Bronco Sport.

Drivers who select the specialty off-road Wilderness trim also enjoy the 2.5L engine, but thanks to a reconfigured transmission, this trim level can tow up to 3,500 lbs, significantly more than the Bronco Sport. Other versions of the Crosstrek, including those with the 2.5L engine, top out at 1,500 lbs.

So, in terms of power and performance, the 2024 Ford Bronco Sport seems to easily take the honors.

Practicality

One thing about the adventure family is that they are prepared for nearly any situation. They take advantage of every inch of cargo space, and have even figured out how to maximize roof racks.

When it comes to interior space, the 2024 Ford Bronco Sport stands head and shoulders above the 2024 Subaru Crosstrek, literally. The Bronco Sport’s safari-style body adds enough extra height that you can actually slide an upright bicycle into the cargo area. In fact, Ford offers an interior bike rack so you can safely carry two upright bicycles to your next destination.

To make life easy, the second-row seats can be folded, giving you up to 65.2 cu.ft. of cargo space behind the front row. The Badlands model has slightly less cargo space, at 60.6 cu.ft., which it makes up for with a custom roof rack and a carabiner tie-down style cargo area.

The 2024 Subaru Crosstrek is smaller, which can be great when you’re on the trails but not necessarily so great when the adventure family is loading up for a long weekend. While the cargo area access is through a generous 41.0-inch-wide rear opening that makes loading and unloading easier, it simply lacks the space of the Bronco Sport, with only 54.7 cu.ft. of space with the rear seats folded down.

Being ready for any situation is also part of the reason adventure families prefer vehicles with all-wheel drive. All Bronco Sports include the additional stability and traction of 4×4 control, but the Badlands model includes Advanced 4×4 with the Twin-Clutch Rear-Drive Unit. This premium torque control can isolate power to a single wheel, even when the others have no traction.

The Bronco Sport is also known for its GOAT and HOSS. GOAT refers to the Goes Over Any Terrain drive mode selector. The five standard GOAT modes are Sand, Slippery, Sport, Eco, and Normal, though Badlands models add Mud/Ruts and Rock Crawl modes for extra fun when the road ends. HOSS stands for the High-Performace Off-Road Stability Suspension system found on each and every Bronco Sport.

Each and every Subaru Crosstrek includes Subaru Symmetrical All-Wheel Drive, a full-time all-wheel drive system that provides full contact with the road, the rocks, or the trail. Most models include a selectable X-MODE for exceptionally slick conditions, though some trims include dual-function X-MODE controls with Dirt/Snow and Mud/Deep Snow modes.

The Crosstrek Sport trim also includes S/I Drive, which retunes the handling and braking for a sportier feel. This is all good, but not quite as impressive as what the Bronco Sport provides.

The Extra Mile

Adventure families choose vehicles that can go a little further because they understand that the road less traveled usually leads to a whole lot of fun. As a result, adventure families tend to seek out for cars that don’t necessarily need pavement.

The 2024 Ford Bronco Sport is rough and ready in all trims and models, but you can add a little more performance for off-road excursions. The Black Diamond Off-Road Package adds features like underbody protection, a full-size spare tire, and a Trailer Tow Package to help all of your equipment make the trek with you.

The Badlands trim is the off-road specialist of the Bronco Sport family, with all-terrain tires, the ability to ford up to 23.6 inches of water, metal bash plates, front tow hooks, and Ford Trail Control, which takes over the acceleration and braking process while you focus on navigating around trail obstacles.

The Crosstrek’s all-terrain model is the Wilderness. While normal Crosstreks have 8.7 inches of ground clearance, the Wilderness offers 9.3 inches of ground clearance. A metal skid plate and larger wheel wells give it the ability to splash through mud and water confidently, but most experts recommend no more than 18 to 19 inches of water in a limited supply.

Other than the dual X-MODE set up, the Crosstrek Wilderness gains it off-road chops from specially-tuned engine output and CVT ratios, allowing it to crawl, climb, ascend, and descend almost intuitively through difficult terrain. A Roll-Angle Indicator helps drivers gauge obstacles, while an automatic Low Speed/Low Ratio Gradient Control senses steep inclines to moderate the transmission.

What Kind of Adventure Family Are You?

Both the 2024 Ford Bronco Sport and the 2024 Subaru Crosstrek are great vehicles, each for certain types of drivers.

If you’re the sort of adventure family who takes their journeys seriously, with all the right gear for any excitement that might come your way, there are definite advantages to the Ford Bronco Sport. Between having more power, more room, and more intuitive all-terrain features, the Bronco Sport makes a great road companion for those who want to enjoy the road, come what may.

While the Subaru Crosstrek does many things right, it comes in a bit shy when it comes to all of the off-road performance that the Bronco Sport does well. For those who aren’t as concerned with power, space, and high-tech off-road features, though the Crosstrek might be a fantastic vehicle. As for the adventure family, though, it’s hard to leave the tent at home.