What’s New About the Bronco?
In case you’ve been off of the interwebs for a while, Ford has added another horse to its stable with the Bronco. In a “what took you so long?” process, after watching Jeep gobble up rugged off-road shopper wallets for years, Ford has its own in the Bronco. It also launched a Bronco Sport, which really has nothing to do with this “full” Bronco, but that’s another drive. In a day when everything is shifting towards electric and nice on-road ride and fuel economy, Ford launches a body-on-frame (that means truck-like) off-road focused SUV with no signs of electrification or hybridization, at least for the moment. It’s available… if you can find one… and find one without an exorbitant dealer markup. The current waitlist for your local dealer is probably at least a good 3-6 months long.
What’s Good About the Bronco?
JUST LOOK AT IT! Ok looks are subjective, but man this thing just oozes personality, especially with the beefy tire packages. But the Bronco brings some much needed competition to the off-road SUV space. 4Runner hasn’t been updated in 13 years, Wrangler also hasn’t really moved too many needles after the introduction of the 4-door, although they’ve recently played two ends of the powertrain spectrum with the monster V8 and the plug-in hybrid. Bronco brings Ford some additional passion and iconic design beyond just the Mustang and the F-150. Another hero model in its arsenal, the Bronco injects life into the Ford brand. Ford also isn’t sitting on its laurels or letting the troublesome launch get in its way, special editions like Raptor and Everglades have also been added.
Key Features / Trims
Speaking of special editions. I love that the Bronco (and Bronco Sport) eschew the XL/XLT/Lariat, etc. that we find on nearly all other Ford trucks and SUVs for names like Big Bend, Black Diamond, etc. Now, that makes it a little hard to figure out the hierarchy, but that’s where it’s also unique. The trims are more like personas, and then the level of contenting is described as Standard, Mid, High, Lux and Sasquatch. You can get 2 or 4 doors, hard tops and soft tops, etc. See our initial Bronco contenting video we made here.
Base: This is the starting rung on Bronco-ship. No added frills here, you get some steelie wheels, 4 wheel drive with 5 G.O.A.T. modes. Standard is a 300 horsepower turbo 4-cylinder engine, which you can even pair with a 7-speed manual transmission! A turbo 6-cylinder with 330 horsepower is also available. You can’t at any of the Mid or Lux packages, but you CAN add the Sasquatch package, which upgrades your 4WD system, locking front and rear axles, 35-inch tires and lifts the suspension. There are tons of factory accessories you can add on as well. So tinker to your heart’s delight. An 8″ touchscreen is standard inside with wireless CarPlay/Android Auto.
Big Bend: Or what Ford calls the Mainstream Off-Roader. It changes up some of the exterior aesthetics, 17″ alloy wheels are standard here along with a 6th G.O.A.T. mode. Leather-wrapped steering wheel and LED fog lamps also get added to the mix. Big Bend is also where you can add the optional “Mid” content, which has things like the passive entry unlock/lock system, dual zone climate control, auto-dimming rear view mirror, reverse sensing system, blind spot detection, automatic emergency braking, auto high beams, etc. This is probably the content level that many modern car buyers are looking for today. Although should note that a power seat is still not available at this level of build. You can also add Sasquatch to the Big Bend.
Black Diamond: Is next up the Bronco price ladder. The Adventure Off-Roader adds heavy duty front and rear bumpers, rock rails and skid plates. There’s a rubber, washout floor and neoprene-like marine grade seating material for when the going gets dirty. For those keeping track, 7 G.O.A.T. modes are on offer here. The “Mid” content is optional here, as is the Sasquatch package.
Outer Banks: Taking a pause from the off-road ladder, we have the Outer Banks, which is the “stylish” member of the Bronco family with its 18″ machine polished wheels and body colored trim pieces. Here the Mid package becomes standard equipment as does the automatic transmission and signature level LED headlamps. You can also add the High package and the Lux package. High includes a massive 12″ infotainment screen, 360-degree camera system, forward parking sensors and exterior puddle lamps. The Lux package builds on that with adaptive cruise control, premium B&O sound system, evasive steering assist, heated steering wheel, programmable garage door opener, an embedded navigation system and a wireless charging pad. It’s a bit of a shame that wireless charging is so exclusive within the lineup.
Badlands: Is for those looking for Extreme off-roading. It’s similar to the Black Diamond, but adds meatier tires, and a unique suspension with a front stabilizer bar disconnect. Badlands starts with the Standard content spec, but you can add everything, Mid, High, Lux and Sasquatch.
Wildtrak: Is the high-speed off-road persona and to that end it comes standard with the turbo V6, Mid content and Sasquatch package. The High and Lux packages can be added here.
Everglades: This is one of the later additions to the Bronco lineup, it builds on the Black Diamond with a factory installed front winch from Warn, a factory snorkel and the Sasquatch package, plus extended vents on the running gear to help achieve deeper fording capability.
Raptor: Just introduced a month or so ago, the Bronco Raptor gets a unique turbo V6 engine, and specific Fox co-developed suspension and 37″ all-terrain tires, and of course, it’s a Raptor!
Quick Spin
We got to drive a 2-door Black Diamond Bronco with the turbo 4-cylinder and 7-speed manual transmission (6 traditional speeds with an off-road Crawl gear). This is far from a back road carver, as the relatively soft suspension allows a lot of roll on the streets, but it also provides for a fairly compliant ride. Steering also isn’t super sharp, but the front end, with its independent suspension, is far more dialed in than a comparable Wrangler would be. Even on our limited little loop, could see much less need for steering corrections in the Bronco than our last Wrangler drive. Power was lively from the turbo 4-cylinder, and while the throws on the transmission were a little long, they seemed direct enough that I’d strongly consider one just for the fun factor and my love of manuals. As with most off-road minded vehicles, brakes are also a bit softer on initial bite than most modern passenger vehicles, but good for off-road situations.
Improvement Points
The wait time!! Bronco, being one of the most anticipated vehicles of the past few years, and then launching during the time of supply chain problem this and supply chain problem that, remains one of the hottest tickets in town. Dealers are easily charging $5,000 to $20,000 over sticker price for any available unit on their lot. For those able to find dealers not marking up vehicles, expect to be waiting in a long allocation queue. Ford has even made certain editions available only to current reservation holders.
Would also like to see the Base Bronco get some more of the safety tech like automatic emergency braking as standard, almost the entire “Mid” package really.
