First Look: 2021 Ford Bronco – Driving

I haven’t driven it yet, but here’s my early verdict: The new Ford Bronco looks buckin’ cool.

The Bronco was introduced for 1966 as a direct competitor to Jeep. Ford interviewed Jeep owners to see what they didn’t like about their vehicles, and engineered those improvements into the Bronco. Ford says it did the same this time, once again to try and out-wrangle the Wrangler.

The original Bronco was later joined by the smaller Bronco II, and now alongside it is the milder Bronco Sport. The first Bronco also came as a pickup truck, but so far, there’s no official announcement of one to tackle Jeep’s Gladiator.

The Sport hits showrooms later this year, while the bigger Bronco arrives in the spring of 2021, in two- or four-door configurations. You can reserve any of them right now for $100.

The Bronco will range from $40,199 to $61,994, ranging from the base two-door to the top-trim four-door. The Sport starts at $32,199 and tops out at $40,199; for that price, will you take a loaded Sport or a base Bronco two-door?

The Bronco sits on a fully-boxed frame and it’s meant to be modular. Ford says with a wrench and an hour, you can “strip it almost to its bare bones” — all the easier to install some of the 200-plus accessories offered at launch. The bumper caps come off for more clearance, the inside grab handles can be moved around, and roof cargo such as a canoe can be tied to the hood loops, which double as trail sights.

The doors are frameless and come off — they average about 21 kilograms each — and unlike the Wrangler, they stow inside the vehicle and the mirrors stay on the body (although Jeep still has that folding windshield in its favour). Depending on the Bronco’s trim, you get a cloth top, or a removable hard roof with smaller, easier-to-handle sections. The crossbar is behind the rear seat, so everyone gets a full view of the sky.

There are six trim levels: Base, Big Bend, Black Diamond, Outer Banks, and the tougher Wildtrak and Badlands. The U.S. also gets a limited “Special Edition” at launch that won’t be offered in Canada.

Every Bronco engine is powered by an EcoBoost engine — that’s Ford-speak for turbocharged. The base 2.3L four-cylinder makes 270 horsepower and 310 pound-feet of torque, but you can upgrade to a twin-turbo 2.7L V6 good for 310 ponies and 400 lb.-ft. of torque — more horsepower than any production Wrangler, and you only get more twist if you opt for Jeep’s diesel.

Four-cylinder Broncos can be ordered with a seven-speed manual — actually a six-speed with a “crawler” gear. A ten-speed automatic is optional on the turbo-four and standard on the V6. Two transfer cases will be available, depending on trim: two-speed with shift-on-the-fly, or an advanced system with an “auto” 4×4 setting that can be used on pavement as well as off-road.

The rest of the greasy bits include an independent front suspension, Dana front and rear axles, available Spicer electronic locking diffs and Bilstein shocks, and a final drive ratio ranging from 3.73:1 to 4.7:1. Up the option ladder, there are 35-inch mud-terrain tires on beadlock-capable rims, and a stabilizer bar that can be disconnected during articulation — for when you’re on the trail and the horizon is sideways through the windshield.

Equipped with 35-inch tires, the gnarliest four-door Bronco gives you 11.5 inches of ground clearance, a 43.2-degree approach angle, 26.3-degree breakover, and 37-degree departure. Maximum towing capacity on all models is 3,500 pounds.

For those new to off-road, selectable drive modes include mud/ruts and rock crawl. There’s Trail Control, which works as low-speed cruise control, and one-pedal drive that operates both brake and throttle for the roughest stuff. You can also attach a dash rack to mount a phone or GoPro, and there are cameras in front of the wheels so you don’t need a spotter.

Once you’re back in base camp, swing open the hatch, slide out the tailgate seat, and open your beverage with the built-in bottle opener. While it still has a retro-style feel to it, the Bronco will offer several higher-tech features, such as Ford’s Sync 4 infotainment system, over-the-air vehicle updates to reduce dealer visits, and off-road navigation that can track and capture where you’ve been so you can share it with fellow off-roaders.

The Bronco Sport will also take you off the pavement, but not quite as deep into the wilds. It’s a unibody, based on the same platform that underpins the Ford Escape. All trims have a four-wheel-drive ystem that prioritizes the front axle and sends more to the rear as required, but the Badlands adds a twin-clutch rear unit with differential lock, and can deliver all rear-axle torque to one wheel if the other loses traction. Ford says it’ll outperform the Trailhawk versions of Jeep’s Cherokee and Compass — and both of those perform surprisingly well on tougher terrain.

The standard Bronco Sport engine is a 1.5-litre EcoBoost three-cylinder engine, making 181 horsepower and 190 lb.-ft. of torque, while a 2.0L EcoBoost engine with 245 horsepower and 275 lb.-ft. — provided you’re running premium fuel — is available. That’s the annoying way some automakers now present their power numbers to make them as high as possible, so expect a little less grunt on the regular-grade gas most people will use. Both engines come with an eight-speed automatic.

Bronco’s target customers prefer to drive into the wilderness, while Sport buyers tend to park at the edge and venture in themselves. So, two mountain bikes can fit standing up in the Sport’s cargo area, and accessories include a tent and ladder for sleeping on the roof. The liftgate includes floodlights, and you can get a slide-out table to go under them.

Like its rougher-tougher sibling, the Bronco Sport will offer the the Trail Control low-speed cruise, front camera, skid plates, drive modes with rock-crawl setting, and a washable rubber floor. Emergency front braking, blind-spot monitoring, lane-keep assist, and automatic high-beam headlights are standard, and adaptive cruise control and lane centering are available.

The Bronco Sport is also meant for those who want comfort during the week and blackflies on the weekend, and will get them there with more off-road capability than Ford’s other compact sport-utes. But it’s that hard-core Bronco that’s the big news here, and I can’t wait to get this thing on a trail to see what it’ll do.

There’s no question the Bronco looks the part. Now we just have to see if Ford really did out-Jeep the Jeep.

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