San Antonio Express-News (Sunday)
Ford SUV and truck lineups for 2024
For 2024, Ford Motor Co. again offers a comprehensive lineup of SUVs, crossovers and pickup trucks. The Ford band is headlined by the F-series pickups on the truck side, and by the newest generation of Broncos on the sport-utility side.
Two years ago, Ford introduced its new Maverick compact pickup, which is the lowest-priced new pickup and one of the lowest-priced new vehicles overall for sale in the U.S. market.
Ford also recently has reintroduced its Bronco full-size sport-utility vehicle after a nearly quartercentury absence, including the reincarnation of the classic two-door model, and the first four-door version ever.
Also in the lineup is the new Bronco Sport, a compact crossover based on the Escape architecture, with many of its big brother’s styling cues, including four-wheel-drive systems for offroad adventuring.
The Broncos are the flagships of Ford’s stable of sport utility and crossover utility vehicles, which also include the full-size Expedition SUV, midsize Explorer SUV, midsize Edge crossover, compact Escape crossover, and special Mustang Mach-E allelectric compact crossover.
In the truck lineup are Ford’s best-selling F-150 full-size half-ton pickup (including the new F-150 Lightning EV), three-quarter-ton F-series Super Duty pickups (entering a new generation for 2023), the midsize Ranger pickup, and the new Maverick.
Ford Bronco
Ford rolled out the re-invented Bronco full-size sport-utility vehicle three years ago after a nearly 25-year absence, including the classic two-door version and the first four-door model.
They are the flagships of an all-new family of rugged Ford off-road vehicles.
Ford says the new, all four-wheel-drive Bronco brand is “Built Wild and ready to deliver thrilling experiences with its heritage-inspired style, engineering and smart off-road technology, plus innovative features to help outdoor enthusiasts create adventures in the most remote corners of the world.”
The big Broncos are traditional body-on-frame truck-style SUVs, based on the F-150 pickup architecture. But the Bronco Sport is a unibody vehicle based on the Ford Escape compact crossover.
Bronco owners can choose from an extensive lineup of more than 200 factory-backed accessories for maximum personalization, enabling dealers to provide outfitting-on-demand for each customer’s individual adventure needs.
Up to seven driver-selectable modes are offered including Normal, Eco, Sport, Slippery and Sand, with Baja, Mud/Ruts and Rock Crawl for offroad driving. Two 4x4 systems are offered on all Bronco models, a base version with a two-speed electronic shift-on-the-fly transfer case, and an optional advanced system with a two-speed electromechanical transfer case with auto mode.
The big Broncos have best-in-class 11.6-inch ground clearance, maximum 29-degree breakover angle and 37.2-degree departure angle, plus best-inclass water fording capability of up to 33.5 inches.
Ford Bronco Sport
Also part of the new Bronco family is the Bronco Sport, which is smaller and significantly different from the bigger Bronco. It’s a unibody-style “crossover” utility vehicle based on the architecture of the compact Ford Escape.
It’s not like the previous generation’s Bronco II, which was a body-on-frame SUV based on Ford’s compact pickup.
The Bronco Sport could be considered the “Pepsi Light” of the Bronco lineup, but it does come with standard four-wheel drive and some light off-road capabilities, even though it isn’t quite the same as its bigger sibling.
There are four Bronco Sport trim levels.
Although it’s essentially a car underneath, the Bronco Sport does share some of the big Broncos’ styling cues, and its four-wheel-drive systems are suited to some quasi-serious off-road adventuring.
Two engines are available. The base engine, which comes in the Base, Big Bend and Outer Banks models, is a 1.5-liter EcoBoost inline three-cylinder, producing 181 horsepower and 190 foot-pounds of torque. Also offered is a 2.0-liter inline four-cylinder engine, cranking out 245 horsepower and 275 footpounds of torque.
Both engines run on gasoline and come with an eight-speed automatic transmission.