A New Ford Bronco for a New Century

The original Ford Bronco was one of the most iconic vehicles of its time. Not only did its exceptional performance and versatility make it immensely popular with American drivers, but they helped to define the modern SUV. However, all good things must come to an end, and the original Bronco left production back in 1997. Today, Ford has revived the Bronco name for a new family of rugged off-road vehicles. But the question remains, does this new 2021 Ford Bronco live up to the legacy of the original? While the original vehicle was incredible for its day, the only possible answer to this question is a resounding yes. The new 2021 Bronco is quite simply an outstanding vehicle with unmatched power, technology, and performance.

The Original

Ford first introduced the Bronco back in 1966 as a bare-bones utility vehicle. Available as a hatchback, a half cab pickup, or a roofless roadster, this little two-door soon made a name for itself in off-road racing, picking up wins at Baja races. And while it may not have been fancy, the first-generation Ford Bronco remained in production for over a decade, finally being replaced by the second generation Ford Bronco for 1978. However, the second generation only lasted two years, and it was the third generation that defined the Bronco for the remainder of its production run. Rather than being a small purpose-built platform, the third generation Ford Bronco was a much larger vehicle based on the Ford F-150. While this meant that it lost some of the off-road utility of the original design, it became an overall more comfortable vehicle that was better suited to on-road use.

The basic pattern of the third generation Bronco was followed for the 1987 and 1992 generations, both of which coincided with refreshes of the Ford F-150. However, by the late 1990s, two-door truck-based SUVs were falling out of favor, and Ford decided to replace the Bronco with the all-new four-door Ford Expedition.

Today’s Bronco

However, the Bronco legacy remained, and despite Ford’s large collection of SUV models, the company lacked a dedicated off-road vehicle. This eventually led to the creation of the current 2021 Ford Bronco. Rather than being a single vehicle, this is a family of three different models. There is the fairly conventional Ford Bronco Sport, the rugged Ford Bronco Four-Door, and the agile Ford Bronco-Two Door. All three of them have been designed with off-road performance in mind, and even the tamer Ford Bronco Sport comes with an impressive 8.8 inches of ground clearance and can drive through 23.6 inches of water without issue.

The higher performance Ford Bronco Four-Door and Two-Door models are even more capable with 35-inch tires, 11.6 inches of ground clearance, and a 33.5-inch fording depth. And to truly experience the outdoors, these two models also come standard with a quick detach roof and doors for the ultimate open-air driving experience. But how do these three new Bronco models compare to the Bronco of the past?

New vs Old

Because the new Ford Bronco is a family of vehicles and the original Ford Bronco went through five different generations, a direct comparison is a little complicated. The new 2021 Ford Bronco Two-Door is nearly identical in concept and design to the original 1966 Ford Bronco. However, the large F-150 based third-generation and later Ford Broncos are a rather different type of vehicle than either the 2021 Ford Bronco Four-Door or the 2021 Ford Bronco Sport.

In terms of size and ruggedness, the older Broncos line up well with the new Four-Door. However, the new vehicle is far more off-road-ready and has the advantage of two additional doors. In some ways, the late model Broncos are actually more comparable to the new Bronco Sport, as both were really designed for a mix of on-road and off-road use. But again, the new vehicle is more versatile thanks to its additional doors. Still, what really matters for the Bronco name is not the shape of the vehicle, but how it performs out in the wild. And here, the 2021 Ford Bronco has some real advantages over the old model even if it does do some things quite differently.

Bronco Power

When it comes to engines and drivetrain, the original 1966 Ford Bronco came with the choice between either a 2.8L straight-six with 105 horsepower or a 4.7L V8 with 200 horsepower, and the only transmission option was a three-speed manual. Every generation of the Bronco other than the second continued this pattern of offering a straight-six and a V8, although by the 1997 model year, the options were a 4.9L with 147 horsepower or a 5.8L with 203 horsepower and the transmission could be either a five-speed manual or a four-speed automatic. Each model of the new 2021 Ford Bronco also has two engine options, but they are all much smaller four-cylinder or six-cylinder designs. However, despite their smaller size, they offer far more power and much higher torque thanks to Ford’s excellent turbocharger technology.

The new Ford Bronco Sport has the choice between either a 1.5L turbo with 181 horsepower or a 2.0L turbo with 245 horsepower. This makes even the most basic of the new Broncos able to go toe to toe with the best of the older vehicles in terms of power. And to make things even better, this vehicle comes with either a seven-speed manual transmission or an eight-speed automatic. And for those wondering why seven speeds are needed in a manual, the seventh gear is actually an ultra-low ratio crawl gear for off-roading. But the more capable Bronco Two-Door and Bronco Four-Door are better yet and can choose between a 2.3L turbo with 270 horsepower or a 2.7L turbo with 310 horsepower. And they have a state-of-the-art ten-speed automatic transmission in addition to the same unique seven-speed manual found in the Ford Bronco Sport.

Technology

The original Bronco was an incredible vehicle for its day, but it was designed in a time when having a radio in your car was a luxury and a tachometer was a specialty item. In contrast, the 2021 Ford Bronco is unmistakably a 21st-century vehicle, and it offers a level of technology that is unmatched by any of its competitors. Inside the cabin, you will find not only a massive 12-inch central touch screen but also a digital instrument cluster that can be used to display critical off-roading information such as tire pressure and vehicle angle. It even has an Off-Road Spotter 360-degree camera view system to help drivers monitor the trail around them and a trail navigation mode that will not only provide downloadable trail maps but even record your drives for future viewing. And of course, the Ford Bronco supports seamless smartphone integration through Apple CarPlay and Android Auto for making calls or playing music when you are not conquering the wilderness.

The use of technology in the new Ford Bronco is not confined to big screens and fancy software. It has also been used to improve vehicle performance with features such as seven different drive modes for everything surface from winter ice to desert sand. The smart hydraulic sway bar disconnect can even be activated while under load and will then reconnect automatically when conditions permit. But the ultimate piece of performance technology in the new Ford Bronco is its HOSS or High-performance Off-road Stability Suspension. Inspired by Baja race cars, this system uses Bilstein position-sensitive dampers to unprecedented stability during high-speed off-road driving. With this modern technology, there is simply no comparison with the original Bronco and its four-wheel drum brakes.

While the original Ford Bronco will forever remain an automotive icon, the new Ford Bronco is every bit the worthy successor to the Bronco name.