Ford Bronco: out to out-Jeep Jeep
The Blue Oval’s long lost o -roader is resuscitated to great e ect
In LA’s super-saturated vehicular landscape, the exotic is expected. Heads swivelling for a sub-£50k ride is tantamount to a thunderstorm – possible, but unlikely.
Rather than a wedgy supercar silhouette or camo-wrapped battleship armour, the new Ford Bronco plunders hearts and minds by dishing up star-spangled nostalgia with a side of sincerity. Not to be confused with the smaller, more workaday Bronco Sport, the big model’s body-on-frame construction makes it capable of venturing off Route 66’s well-worn pavement into legitimately wild terrain, from the jagged Sierra Nevadas to the desolate stretches of the Mojave desert… and yes, back to your agent’s Sunset Boulevard parking garage.
Rather than a one-size-fits-all take on packaging, Ford shotguns the model range with a laundry list of variants, evocatively named like Quentin Tarantino Western sequels: Black Diamond, Outer Banks and Badlands. The chassis capabilities are varied, but the powertrain combos can be whittled down to a curious trio: a 2.3-litre turbo four coupled with a 10-speed auto or seven-speed manual, and a slushbox-only 2.7-litre turbo V6. Not that the 10-speed isn’t a quick and silky smooth ’box – it is. But since when were big motors and clutch pedals mutually exclusive in the Land of the Free? At least the auto works well with the 2.3’s limitations, extracting the right amount of power from the turbo four-banger.
Though the cabin cribs quite a bit from its Mustang stablemate, don’t expect pony car handling from this plus-sized player. The predominant mood is squishy and squatty, with occasional sprinklings of list and roll: good for off-road adventure seekers, bad for would-be canyon carvers. Silver linings come in the form of generous approach angles, trail busting clearance, and up to 10.2 inches of suspension travel. Optional G.O.A.T. mode settings manage steering, stability control and drivetrain settings to help the Bronco go over any type of terrain – see what Team Michigan did there?
The softly sprung set-up isn’t terrible in the city, where potholes are soaked up with the cool indifference of a poolside starlet hiding behind her Oliver Peoples. Doors and roof panels can be removed, Wrangler style, lending a Tonka appearance that’s complemented by options like 37-inch tyres and rubberised wash-out floors.
Darting through trac in the small-engined two-door may lack the V6’s gratification (which, in turn, will never match the all-American appeal of a sonorous V8) but what the lump lacks in torque, the 10-speed gearbox makes up for in flexibility. The transmission is remarkable in its invisibility, hustling effortlessly to make the engine look good. With kerbweights for even the lightest Broncos starting at almost 2000kg, the powertrains bear a significant burden.
The Bronco can’t boast the uninterrupted success of the Wrangler or the Velar’s posh punch. But it does serve up beloved American off-road tropes in an authentic and complete package. It’s Don Henley’s Boys of Summer and The Beach Boys’ Good Vibrations smashed into one mega-mix. And who wouldn’t want that?
First verdict
One of those rare instances in which the redux reboot brings all the feel and magic of the original – believe
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