Business)The Jeep Wrangler has cornered a very nice slice of the auto market for a long time. But that appears to be over now that the new full-size Ford Bronco has arrived. Based on test drives on road and off, Jeep should be worried.
We're not talking about the Bronco Sport, which you may have already seen driving around. That model is smaller, and somewhat related to the Ford Escape and the new Ford Maverick small pickup. This new Bronco is bigger and taller and it's made to take on far more serious off-road terrain. It's somewhat related to the Ford Ranger truck.
So while the small Bronco Sport can drive off-road, the Bronco can drive places where "road" shouldn't even really be part of the word.
The Bronco has just gone into production in Michigan. Prices start at about $28,500, a little higher than the Bronco Sport. Prices for nicer, better equipped versions start at more than $40,000, though.
A nice perk buyers get with the Bronco is a free ticket to one of the four off-road driving parks, called Bronco Off-Roadeos, that Ford is opening around the country.
The Ford Bronco is aimed squarely at the Jeep Wrangler.
Ford invited journalists to try out the first one it opened just outside Austin, Texas. We were able to drive Broncos up and down its steep hills, through its rain-swollen creeks and across its slippery rock-faced inclines.
We also drove a variety of Broncos with both optional turbocharged V6 engines, the 270 horsepower base motor and the larger 310 horsepower engine. Both come with standard four-wheel-drive, and, with the smaller engine, a manual transmission is also available with seven speeds, including a low-speed "crawler" gear for off-road.
I'm not an experienced off-road driver, but I've done it before in Land Rovers, Jeeps and, just recently, Nissan Pathfinders. I've gotten used to the apparently physics-defying capabilities of a good four-wheel-drive system and proper off-road tires. But the Bronco seems to genuinely be on another level. It can do things a sane person would never think a four-wheeled vehicle could.
For example, it has something called Trail Turn Assist, which locks the brakes on the inside rear wheel during a turn so the SUV essentially pivots around that wheel. That allows for super-tight turns in small spaces. After I reached the top of a steep, rocky hill, the trail turned nearly 90˚ to the right. I pressed the Trail Turn Assist button and steered around to face across the narrow ridge.
I also tried out the Bronco's one-pedal driving feature, which allows the accelerator and brakes to be operated using just the accelerator pedal. I've had practice driving electric cars that way so it was easy to get the hang of it and it made going over undulating surfaces easier than having to use two pedals.
Some of the Bronco's off-road prowess is simply a matter of design. The wheels are way out close to the front and back ends. This allows the Bronco to drive right up to a steep hill and, just when it seems the front bumper is about to smash into it, the front wheels grab at the base of the hill and pull it right up.
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