First Drive: 2021 Ford Bronco Badlands Four-door

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I have to apologize. I’m not going to be able to definitively tell you what you want to know about the new Bronco, namely whether Ford’s newest sport-brute can match the Jeep Wrangler’s unparalleled off-road abilities or not. I know that’s what you want to hear, but I simply can’t deliver. For that I am truly sorry.

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Rest assured it wasn’t for lack of trying. I certainly bounded the Badlands over yonder hill and dale as hard as I could, but try as I might, the off-road course at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park — that’s “Mosport,” to you and I — simply didn’t have anything that could even remotely challenge the new Bronco’s bona fides.

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First Drive: 2021 Ford Bronco Badlands Four-door Back to video

For that, we’re going to have to take it to a seriously Rubicon-ish trail and, better yet, have a Wrangler on-hand — preferably a Rubicon — to compare it with. You deserve it, and we plan on conducting just such a test as soon as we can. In the meantime, this is what I can definitively tell you about the 2022 Bronco Badlands four-door.

You’re going to have to believe in Sasquatch to compete

All the suspension articulation and walking-speed transfer case gear ratios in the world aren’t going to matter a whit if you ain’t got any ground clearance, and the first thing we can say with absolute certainly is that if you want your Bronco to climb outcrops and bound over trees, you’re going to have to fork over up to $7,000 to Ford of Canada for what it calls its Sasquatch package. Bigfoot’s compendium of off-road goodies includes not only tractor-like 4.70:1 axle ratios — which works out to a truly creeping (not creepy) 94.8:1 overall gear reduction when mated with the seven-speed manual transmission — but, more importantly, 35-inch 315/70R17 Goodyear Territory tires and raised Bilstein-controlled suspension. Without them, the Bronco might get hung up on that stump out in the back forty.

In the approach angle department, for instance, Jeep’s Wrangler remains supreme, every Wrangler besting the equivalent Bronco. However, while the base two-door Bronco trails its Wrangler counterpart by some 5.9 degrees (a significant advantage), the most off-road-worthy Jeep — the two-door Rubicon — only beats out the Sasquatched Badlands I tested by about three-quarters of a degree. That’s not nearly such a big deal.

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Likewise, 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 four-door entry-level models in departure angle. But Bronco gets it back when you start Bigfooting it, the four-door Badlands matching the Rubicon’s 37.0-degree angle, and the two-door version actually 0.2 degrees up on the equivalent Wrangler. Minuscule, yes, but besting a two-door Wrangler at anything off-road-oriented is not to be sniffed at.

Bronco extends that advantage in break-over angles. Oh, base-model superiority — at least with two-door models — still rests with Jeep and by a significant margin. In abominable snowman mode, however, both the two- and four-door versions of the Bronco best their Wrangler counterparts by significant margins, the long-wheelbase four-door Badlands offering up a 3.7-degree advantage over the Jeep. Interestingly, there’s a historical context for Ford’s positioning, with base versions of the original 1966 Bronco trailing its then CJ-5 Jeep counterpart, but getting its own back with the upscale model, especially in break-over angle. I have no idea what this says about Ford’s design philosophy but at least it shows they’re consistent.

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Trail Turn Assist is a model of cost/benefit performance

Ford’s novel Trail Turn Assist system is a model of simplistic effectiveness. 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
— because the left and right wheels will need to turn at different speeds, precisely what locking diffs are meant to prevent — and the big Bronco literally pivots around the inside rear tire.

It’s amazingly effective. I didn’t have a yardstick along with me to measure the difference in turning radii, but the Bronco is able to pull significantly tighter 360s with TTA engaged than without. In practical off-road terms, it really does make the difference between three-point turns, or scooching around an off-road hairpin directly. As I said, it can’t be used with the rear differential locked, which means that there may be some compromise in tractive abilities in tight uphill turns, particularly in mud and sand. But it’s still an imminently worthwhile feature. Besides, it can be shut off at the flick of a switch (on the upper dashboard).

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The disconnectable front sway bar is the killer app

Ford’s new Bronco breaks with tradition in trying to marry an independent front suspension with maximum off-road ability. The Wrangler’s live front axle may offer all manner of disadvantages compared with the Ford’s short-/long-arm coil-over suspenders on road, but, say the traditionalists, nothing matches a solid axle’s wheel articulation, absolutely essential when the trail gets serious.

Ford counters with its what it calls its semi-active hydraulic stabilizer bar disconnect system. Independent suspension systems need anti-sway bars to prevent roll during high-speeding cornering on the road, particularly if there’s a lot of travel and the springing is soft. Unfortunately that much-needed rigidity prevents the wheel articulation so necessary when one wheel’s damper is completely compressed and the other side is extended.

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So Ford just built in a hydraulic actuator that completely disconnects the two ends of the sway bar at the flick of a button. Its effect is huge. Park the Bronco on some uneven whoop-de-doos and, as soon as you flip the switch (again, on the upper dashboard) the whole front end settles by as much as two inches, as the front wheels are now able to move completely independently. I do not know if the Bronco can match the Wrangler’s articulation — and won’t until we compare them directly — but the system was nonetheless quite impressive and demonstrably superior to other independent suspension off-road. In fact, I left it on most of the time I was traipsing through the trails. Even when I didn’t need the articulation, the ride was demonstrably better with the sway bar disconnected.

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The on-road ride is better

Of course, the real reason that Ford ISR’ed the front end of the new Bronco was to improve on-road comportment. And, indeed, this 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 steering, thankfully modern rack-and-pinion, felt more direct, though it felt just as heavy (no doubt because my four-door Badlands weighed in at 2,216 kilograms).

Of course, the rear axle was still of the “live” variety and brought all the limitations that engenders, but adding an au courant SLA system up front has really modernized the ride. We’ll need more time behind the wheel for a full report, but you’ll hear back from us shortly.

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Turbocharging is the way to go

The Bronco’s powertrains were exactly what you’d expect from FoMoCo, various iterations of its EcoBoost lineup. The base 300-horsepower 2.3-litre four, which we didn’t test, is mated to a new seven-speed manual gearbox with, as I mentioned, 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 EcoBoosted four’s 325 pound-feet of torque, there should be no dearth of low-end grunt.

The optional 2.7-litre EcoBoost V6 ups the ante to 330 hp, but more importantly maximum torque increases to 415 lb-ft. It’s only available with the 10-speed automatic but it’s hard to imagine a situation where the engine runs out of puff before the tires run out of traction. On the road, performance is merely adequate. The Bronco will never be mistaken for a Ferrari, though the V6 version will keep up with any of the Wranglers other than the electrically-fortified 4xe version. The motor has the jam, but as I said, it weighs almost five thousand pounds.

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That said, none of my powertrain complaints have anything to do with internal combustion. I did, however have some issues with gear selection, the 10-speed autobox sometimes a little fuzzy with its shifting, particularly between second and third while accelerating hard — or at least as hard as a two-and-a-half-ton SUV on “mudder” tires can accelerate — on the road. Also, even though the electromechanical transfer case selector is electronically-actuated — by a rotary knob in the centre console — it could be as cranky as the old-school, floor-mounted shift mechanisms adorning millions of Wranglers. More than once, what was supposed to be a simple twist of a knob from 2H to 4L required a little to-and-fro’ing, as well as an occasional switching off of the engine before gears would mesh. Yes, twisting a knob is easier than forcing a manual selector through its gates, but don’t expect the procedure to be completely automated.

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As for the price for the new Bronco, base two-doors with the Dana 44 Advantek differential out back and a Dana Advantek independent diff up front start at $40,499; while a fully-outfitted Wildtrak will set you back $59,994 without options. Depending on the model, the Sasquatch option will cost between $4,500 (Badlands) and $7,000 (base and Big Bend models) while it is standard on that top-priced Wildtrak edition. Various interior upgrades are available from the Mid package (heated front seats, Sync 4 with voice recognition, dual-zone climate control, air conditioning, and a whole raft of safety electronics); High (a 12-inch centre stack touchscreen, 360-degree camera, and some LED approach lights); and Luxury (adaptive cruise control, 10-speaker B&O sound system, heated steering wheel, and wireless charging pad) with pricing varying from $1,750 to $5,500 depending on the application.

And that, my friends, is all I could divine about the new Bronco in the two hours I had behind the wheel ’round Mosport’s off-road track. On one hand, I’m sorry I can’t pass a more definitive judgement on the Bronco’s performance. On the other, I did experience 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.