SPY PICS: Baby Ford Bronco caught testing

First spy shots of Ford’s all-new, Bronco-inspired small off-road SUV have emerged, revealing a rather tall and boxy silhouette not unlike that of the upcoming Mercedes-Benz GLB-Class.

Ford has already confirmed plans to introduce a tough new small SUV, and sources say it’s likely to share the same underpinnings as the next-generation Escape SUV.

That could potentially mean the ‘Baby Bronco’, which has been revealed in a shadowy official teaser image and via leaked images from a US dealer conference, will also get the same plug-in hybrid drivetrain as the 2020 Escape.

The additional Ford SUV, which has also been referred to as Adventurer and Bronco Scout, will sit a tier or two below the yet to be revealed Bronco, with which it will share its retro styling cues, likely making it a competitor for the Jeep Renegade.

Apart from the square proportions, the spy shots don’t reveal much more than squared-off front and rear ends and what look to be either HID or LED headlights.

Whether the new model will make it to Australia remains unclear, but if it does it could replace the slow-selling, Indian-made Ford EcoSport here as the Blue Oval’s entry-level SUV.

Alternatively, Ford Australia could import the all-new Ford Puma, which was revealed for Europe last month, although it has ruled the model out for now.

Both the Baby Bronco and the Bronco itself, which will reportedly spawn a pick-up version, will be released in the US next year. However, the Ranger-based large SUV has been ruled out for Australia and there’s no guarantee its smaller sibling will be a global model either.