Motor Mouth: Ford Bronco aims for the heart of Jeep-ness

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If imitation really be the sincerest form of flattery, then Ford has just paid Jeep the very highest of tributes. That’s because this car, the all-new — and hugely anticipated — Bronco is aimed directly at the core of the Jeep brand. Indeed, in my 37 years of testing cars, I have never seen any new vehicle so obviously targeted at its competition.  

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Oh, to be sure, Porsche benchmarked Tesla when its began engineering its new Taycan EV and you just know that, the BMW versus Mercedes rivalry being what it is, Merc’s engineers probably know the M4 as well as they do their own C63. And vice-versa. Nonetheless, in all the time I’ve been reporting on the auto industry, I have never ever seen anything like the laser-like focus with which Ford has focused its energy on beating Jeep at its own game.  

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That Ford is just now obsessing with Wrangler has always surprised me. I mean, why in 2021? The Bronco has been out of production for almost 25 years and one can easily make an argument that it, in fact, hasn’t really been itself since 1978, when the F-100-based second-gen basically abandoned its off-road roots. So why now, when accepted wisdom would seem to dictate that actual off-road bona fides are not hardly necessary as long as you boast the requisite bad-ass image?

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Let there be no doubt the Bronco has those bona fides . Or the fact certain trademark features — like the hose-out interior, removable doors, and wildly articulating suspensions — are aimed directly at heart of the Jeep crowd. Powertrains aside, it’s obvious that even the Bronco’s trim levels — starting with the “Base” model all the way to the top-of-the-line Badlands — are meant to match, step-for-step, the Wrangler’s model “walk.” Base trims are meant as mere starting points in the road to customization and only one model — the Outer Banks — is truly aimed at the urban dilettante looking for image over substance. Badlands and Wildtrak versions, meanwhile, are as singularly focused as Jeep’s Rubicon and Mojave (respectively) and upgrades like the Sasquatch package — which rocks 4.70:1 gears, 35-inch 315/70R17 “mudder” tires, and, of course, the requisite raised, Bilstein-controlled suspension — fairly match what Stellantis offers to customers who take their off-roading seriously.

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But dig even deeper into the Wrangler’s spec sheet and it’s obvious that Ford dissected the Wrangler literally bolt by bolt in its quest for off-road credibility. Indeed, in a test that pitted the Bronco versus Wrangler in the workshop , Car & Driver found that removing some parts of their respective bodyworks were all but identical — the rear shell and parts of the roof — while others (doors, for instance) were different but about equally time-consuming. It’s also worth noting that both vehicles come with the requisite tool kits to remove the offending appendage and the Bronco — four-door only — has room to store them onboard when not in use.

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On the other hand, seeing an opportunity to beat Jeep at its own game, Ford upped the ante, for instance, in adding a seventh cog to its manual gearbox. Combined with the optional 3.06:1 transfer case and the aforementioned 4.70:1 rear axle that makes up the Sasquatch package, that added gear results in a rock-crawling overall gear ratio of 94.8:1. That represents an improvement of more than 10 per cent in torque multiplication and speaks to a Bronco that can crawl over outcrops and ford streams even more cautiously than the Wrangler.  

That being said, the Bronco was always supposed to be the more civilized off-roader — more “versatile,” was how C&D pegged the original 1966 model. So Ford, looking for a better ride, has eschewed the Wrangler’s live axle for an independent suspension up front (the rear axle, rest assured, remains steadfastly solid) for a superior on-road ride. But before all you loyal Jeepsters think you’ve found your “ah, ha!” moment, know that Ford has introduced some novel technology that improves the wheel articulation of an independent such that it all but matches a solid system.

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Essentially, what Ford does is take the electronically-controlled sway bar to its logical extreme, completely disconnecting the bar that prevents body sway during cornering. Hit a button high atop the dashboard and the front wheels are completely released from their tether and free to move completely independently. An embargo on impressions prevents me from offering up an evaluation before next Monday, but smug Jeep owners looking for a reason to deride Bronco will probably have to look elsewhere.

It’s obvious that Ford dissected the Wrangler literally bolt by bolt in its quest for off-road credibility

Another bit of technical trickery that will distinguish the Bronco is its novel Trail Turn Assist system. Using the ABS sensors and actuators, TTA locks the inside rear wheel so that the Bronco will, quite literally, pivot round its rear axle. Again, formal evaluation will have to wait ‘til we publish our First Drive , but it’s certainly an efficient way to make trail navigation easier. I am not certain it’s as effective as the new GMC Hummer EV’s CrabWalk mode, which sees all four wheels turn in the same direction so the giant SUV can slither sideways. But, considering that Ford’s system requires but a software update and a few sensors fitted to its anti-lock brake system, its cost-benefit ratio is exemplary.  

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Where Ford’s modus operandi eschews direct comparison with the Wrangler is in the powertrain department. Oh, base models of both are powered by a turbocharged four — a 2.3L 300-hp version in the Bronco — and both offer V6s (the Ford’s turbocharged; the Jeep’s not), but the Wrangler offers both a diesel and an electrified version that the Ford can’t, at least initially, match. The latter is particularly surprising because a) the 4xe version of the Wrangler is selling like hotcakes and b) Ford is pushing electrification in its other important model, the F-150, so vociferously. Whether Ford misjudged the appeal of plug-in off-roaders at the planning stage or it’s just teasing us ’til it introduces a battery-powered Bronco in the future, I don’t expect we’ll have to wait long for an electrified version.

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Still, the big question remains: Is there a market for another hard-core off-roader? Ford has big plans for the Bronco, hoping it can sell in the same volumes — 224,017 in Canada and the U.S. in 2020 — as the Wrangler. And, in fact, the Blue Oval says it has about 150,000 reservations for the new Bronco. Is that sustainable, especially in these environmentally-conscious days (Bronco’s official fuel economy ratings are even worse than the Jeep’s) where the love of motoring is seen almost as pejorative? Is there really room for another high-volume, died-in-dirt off-roader or is the “Wrangler” segment really more of a Jeep thing than a true love for all things off-road? Stay tuned as Driving brings you even more coverage of the iconic Bronco in the near future.