2026 BSBL on its way, new front bumper look?

[dockiwi57]

Hello folks, I appreciate the information on this forum. It helped me greatly with decision-making. On 11/05/2025 I ordered a BSBL and have received a total of 3 notices from Ford so far on progress with yesterday's email reporting that it has been shipped. Estimated delivery to SLC, UT between 01/25/2026 - 01/31/2026. They provided several images and something caught my eye. The front bumper with the same steel/recovery hooks appears to be all black now. Mine is non-SAS, so I can't speak to models equipped with that package.

Another thing I noticed is that the tires are listed as "225/65R17 Continental All-Terrain (A/T) Tires" -- so I wonder if they may have upgraded these slightly from the previous year's Cross Contact ATR to the Terrain Contact AT. I doubt that is the case, but will know for certain in a couple of weeks.

Here's the new front bumper appearance:

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[Dude]

Looks sharp!!

 

[RSH]

Looks much better than the tin wrap bumper look on the 2025's, hopefully they will ditch the bull bar as well, it was just trying too hard. To me it made the Sport into a caricature of itself.

 

[iBookmaster]

Hello folks, I appreciate the information on this forum. It helped me greatly with decision-making. On 11/05/2025 I ordered a BSBL and have received a total of 3 notices from Ford so far on progress with yesterday's email reporting that it has been shipped. Estimated delivery to SLC, UT between 01/25/2026 - 01/31/2026. They provided several images and something caught my eye. The front bumper with the same steel/recovery hooks appears to be all black now. Mine is non-SAS, so I can't speak to models equipped with that package.

Another thing I noticed is that the tires are listed as "225/65R17 Continental All-Terrain (A/T) Tires" -- so I wonder if they may have upgraded these slightly from the previous year's Cross Contact ATR to the Terrain Contact AT. I doubt that is the case, but will know for certain in a couple of weeks.

Here's the new front bumper appearance:

Did they send you a window sticker? If so, what does it say on that about the tire description?

 

[dockiwi57]

Looks much better than the tin wrap bumper look on the 2025's, hopefully they will ditch the bull bar as well, it was just trying too hard. To me it made the Sport into a caricature of itself.

I'm inclined to agree. The bull/nudge bar is now an optional add-on available only with the SAS Package.

 

[Quashish]

i agree the black plates look much better. i still don't think i can get over the interior changes though.

 

[dockiwi57]

Did they send you a window sticker? If so, what does it say on that about the tire description?

I have the sticker, and it is silent about tire model. The website for my order says this and includes a nondescript tire image:

ire

 

[Dude]

Bronco Sports are shipped with tires on hand at the factory in the 225 65R17 size (not referring here to the optional tires or those included with packages like SAS). Ford does not tell you which set you’ll get (unless of course the ‘25 model includes the specific Goodyear tires in the 235 size)

And many owners (me included) get in the range of 25k miles before the factory tires are worn

Some ‘21-‘24s came with the optional Falken tires and many owners reported getting 40-60k or more on those and perhaps the 2025 Goodyears will also provide good mileage

The standard factory tires aren’t the best

 

[dockiwi57]

i agree the black plates look much better. i still don't think i can get over the interior changes though.

I'm coming from a 21 CX-5 Sig with the console control wheel and non-touchscreen, even for Carplay. I got used to it although it took a year or two of use to become proficient. I'm OK with it. All HVAC are knobs and buttons. I'm prepared for mild annoyance as I learn the BS system, but it will be a big step up from a feature standpoint. And I hope the BS Ford Co-Pilot360® Assist 2.0 comes close to the excellent Mazda Radar Cruise Control.

 

[Robins21]

IIRC my wife got about 40K out the original tires which were the Continentals. I did not like them I thought they were noisy on the highway.

 

[dockiwi57]

Bronco Sports are shipped with tires on hand at the factory in the 225 65R17 size (not referring here to the optional tires or those included with packages like SAS). Ford does not tell you which set you’ll get (unless of course the ‘25 model includes the specific Goodyear tires in the 235 size)

And many owners (me included) get in the range of 25k miles before the factory tires are worn

Some ‘21-‘24s came with the optional Falken tires and many owners reported getting 40-60k or more on those and perhaps the 2025 Goodyears will also provide good mileage

The standard factory tires aren’t the best

This is consistent with what I have learned over the past few months. That's why I'm hoping they've added the Cross Terrain A/T as it seems to be rated marginally higher (the Cross Contact ATR has few reviews). At the end of the day, I'll still be 80-90% on pavement and have no "rock crawling" aspirations. Just poor quality forest/desert roads. If the Continentals (of either type) don't live up to expectations, I'll dump them and put on Falkens before the summer is out.

 

[iBookmaster]

This is the tire I plan on putting on when the dealer installed GeoTour tires wear out. https://www.tirerack.com/tires/continental-truecontact-tour-54

 

[rocks]

So, so much better than the cheap silver look.

 

[Dude]

…If the Continentals (of either type) don't live up to expectations, I'll dump them and put on Falkens before the summer is out.

When you decide on next set of tires check tire weight of factory tires to whatever you decide on in the future, example here is one comparison:

OEM Pirelli 225/65R17 vs FALKEN WILDPEAK A/T4W 235/65R17

Weight 25.22 lbs vs 38.2 lbs (+13 lbs per tire)
Diameter 28.5” vs 29” (+1.8%)
Width 8.9” vs 9.3” (+4.5%)
Sidewall 5.8” vs 6” (3.4%)
Circum. 89.5” vs 91.1” (+1.8%)
Revs/Mile 708 vs 695 (-13)

+13 lbs per tire in this example is a fair amount of unsprung weight which is a topic covered pretty well in this forum

 

[pixlpush]

It's going to look awesome! Congrats on the new ride.

The 2026 black bumper, tow hooks and steel bash plate are going to look nice. I initially really didn't like the silver pieces on the 2025's but they don't bother me as much now. I suspect that I'll eventually paint them black when the get scraped up.

I also wasn't so sure about the Brush Guard on the 2025 Sasquatch package. It's proving a easy place to mount additional lights and I'll likely mount my dune safety flag there too. I was poking around on some Ford parts sites and was shocked at the price of the bar it's either backordered or stupidly expensive and that's just the bar not the mounting points too.

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