4-door sport brute a real contender
OFF-ROAD MARKET GAINS BOLD NEW ENTRY AS FORD CHALLENGES JEEP WITH SASQUATCH MODEL
I’m not going to be able to definitively tell you what you want to know about the new Ford Bronco, namely whether it can match the Jeep Wrangler’s unparalleled off-road abilities or not. But it wasn’t for lack of trying.
I bounded the Bronco Badlands over hill and dale as hard as I could, but the off-road course at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park simply didn’t have anything that could even remotely challenge the new Bronco’s bona fides. For that, we’re going to have to take it to a far more serious trail and have a Wrangler — preferably a Rubicon — to compare it with. Until that happens, this is what I can tell you about the 2021 Bronco Badlands four-door.
All the suspension articulation and walking-speed transfer case gear ratios in the world aren’t going to matter a whit if you haven’t got good ground clearance. And if you want your Bronco to climb outcrops and bound over trees, you’re going to have to fork over up to $7,000 for what Ford calls its Sasquatch package. This compendium of off-road goodies includes tractor-like 4.70:1 axle ratios, which works out to a 94.8:1 overall gear reduction when mated with the seven-speed manual transmission. More importantly, it also has 35-inch 315/70R17 Goodyear Territory tires and raised Bilstein-controlled suspension.
In the approach angle department, Jeep reigns supreme, every Wrangler besting the equivalent Bronco. However, while the base two-door Bronco trails its Wrangler counterpart by 5.9 degrees (a significant advantage), the two-door Rubicon beats the Sasquatch-equipped Badlands I tested by less than one degree, not nearly such a big deal.
Base Fords can’t keep up with similar Jeeps in the rear either, there being a more than six-degree disadvantage for both two- and fourdoor entry-level models in departure angle. But Bronco gets it back when you “Sasquatch” it; the four-door Badlands matches the Rubicon’s 37.0-degree angle, and the two-door version is actually 0.2 degrees up on the equivalent Wrangler. Minuscule, yes, but besting a two-door Wrangler at anything offroad oriented is impressive.
Bronco extends that advantage in break-over angles. With the Sasquatch package, the two- and four-door versions of the Bronco best their Wrangler counterparts by significant margins.
The Bronco’s novel Trail Turn Assist system is both simple and very effective. Essentially, it uses the ABS system to brake the inside back wheel when turning at full lock. Disengage the rear Performa-track electronic limited-slip locking differential, and the big Bronco literally pivots around the inside rear tire.
Ford’s new Bronco also breaks with tradition in trying to marry an independent front suspension with maximum off-road ability, using instead what it calls its semi-active hydraulic stabilizer bar disconnect system. A hydraulic actuator completely disconnects the two ends of the sway bar at the flick of a button, and its effect is huge. As soon as you flip the switch, the whole front end settles by as much as two inches, and the front wheels are now able to move completely independently. I won’t know if the Bronco can match the Wrangler’s articulation until we compare them directly, but the system was quite impressive.
On-road comportment is one area where the Ford is markedly superior to the Jeep. There was less hobby-horsing over bumps and far less wandering while cruising the freeway at speed.
The Bronco’s powertrains were exactly what you’d expect: various iterations of Ford’s Ecoboost engines. The base 300-horsepower 2.3-litre four, which we didn’t test, is mated to a new seven-speed manual gearbox with a new super-slow first gear. Its overall gear ratio in its lowest cog offers about 10-per-cent more torque multiplication than Jeep’s steepest ratio, and combined with the engine’s 325-poundfeet of torque, there should be no dearth of low-end grunt.
The optional 2.7-L Ecoboost V-6 ups the ante to 330 hp and 415 lb-ft of torque and is only available with the 10-speed automatic transmission.
Base two-door Broncos with the Dana 44 Advantek differential out back and a Dana Advantek independent differential up front start at $40,499, while a fully outfitted Wildtrak will set you back $59,994 without options. The Sasquatch option will cost between $4,500 (Badlands) and $7,000 (base and Big Bend models), but is standard on the Wildtrak edition.
I experienced enough to be genuinely excited for its arrival and the fact that Jeep will finally have some competition for the hearts and minds of the down and dirty.