The new Ford version of the classic is rising eyebrows and has many competitors worried since it is reporting a sales success The all redesigned B
The new Ford version of the classic is rising eyebrows and has many competitors worried since it is reporting a sales success
The all redesigned Bronco in all its versions is a trusty vehicle for urban and off road adventures
Gto News presents the results of the analysis by Howard Walker of the new Ford Bronco for the Palm Beach Illustrated, a new version that has many turning their heads towards Ford
This year’s hottest newcomer is Ford’s reimagined Bronco.
We will have the Bronco ultimate off-roader, the one that will lock horns with Jeep’s go-anywhere Wrangler. That version comes with removable doors, rock-crushing tires, and an old-school, ladder-frame chassis reputed to be made of Kryptonite.
The Bronco Sport
But one of the highly-anticipated versions is the Bronco Sport, also and better-described as the Bronco Lite, or even Baby Bronco. It’s based on Ford’s crossover Escape, and you can get it with a three-cylinder engine.
Both versions are priced pretty similar. The four-door Sport runs from $27,215 to $38,160, while the bad-boy Bronco kicks off at $28,500 for the base two-door and climbs to $49,475 for the four-door Wildtrak version.
A product of Mexico
The Bronco Sport went into production at the end of last year at Ford’s Hermosillo plant in Mexico, the first Bronco Broncos came off the line in Detroit plant in the second week of June.
Die-hard Bronco fans brand the Sport “The Great Pretender” and have it as brilliantly capable.
It has a smart terrain management system that offers five distinct driving modes, from Eco, Normal, Sport and Slippery, to Sand. Dialing up the Sand mode, and giving it a little gas, the baby Bronco just clawed itself right out of a sandy test.
4WD standarized
The four-wheel drive comes standard with every Bronco Sport.
There are three Sport models to pick from, but the Badlands version, named after South Dakota’s Badlands National Park could be your favorite.
It’s the most rugged and capable of the bunch, with its metal bash plates to protect the undersides, 8.8 inches of ground clearance, and knobbly Falken Wildpeak tires on lovely retro pressed-steel wheels that are actually aluminum. It’s a steal at $36,300.
Nice to have it
Better than the base 181-hp turbo three-banger, the Badlands gets the more muscley 250-hp turbocharged 2-liter EcoBoost four-cylinder mated to an 8-speed automatic transmission. You may not need such power, but when the apocalypse comes, or Hurricane what’s-her-name floods the streets, it’s nice to know you have it.
What’s surprising however, is that this Badlands Sport scoots along with all the smoothness and refinement of its Escape soft-roader sibling.
A nice ride
Off the line there’s little-to-no turbocharger lag, it’ll hit 60mph from standstill in just 5.9 seconds, and is happy to cruise at 75 with hardly a hint of tire roar. Impressive.
Through the curves it feels agile and planted, with nicely-precise steering and plenty of grip from those chunky-treaded gum balls.
Interior space
Inside, the cabin feels bigger than a PODS storage unit, thanks to that mile-high roofline which offers plenty of headroom. While there’s no shortage of space up front, rear-seat knee room is pretty tight.
But that boxy exterior makes for impressive load-carrying. Open the hatch and a couple of mountain bikes can fit standing upright with the rear seats folded. And the rear window can open separately from the tailgate – perfect for throwing in a gym bag.
More on its way
Already this new Bronco Sport is a runaway sales success. And it paves the way nicely for the more rugged Bronco that’s on its way to dealers now.
For adventures of the urban kind however, this new Bronco Sport might just turn out to be the better steed.
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