The aim was to really understand both the Jeep’s appeal and if Ford could do it better, says Krenz: Jeep owners don’t complain about their cars, because they have a high tolerance for what their product is. But we kept asking: ‘How do we objectively do everything better?”
Two examples that Krenz gives are the handling “which is why we don’t use a solid front axle” and the removable doors. “When Jeep owners take the doors off, they can’t store them in the vehicle, so they end up chaining them to a cactus or something,” says Krenz. “And because the mirrors are on the doors, when they take them off they don’t have mirrors.”
As a result, the Bronco’s doors are designed to fit in the boot, while the mirrors are mounted on the front wings, so they stay in place when the doors come off. “It was never going to be good enough to show up with a replica and convince the market to buy something other than the Jeep they loved,” says Krenz.
From behind the wheel, a Bronco offers an undeniably similar experience to that of a Wrangler, especially in my car’s Badlands spec, with more ground clearance, upgraded HOSS suspension, Bilstein dampers and 33in off-road tyres. As an aside, most Bronco variants are named after US national parks and other wild locations, so Badlands sits above Big Bend and Outer Banks.
You can add a Sasquatch package with extra off-road bits to any of those or, for the most hardcore variant, opt for Raptor spec. It’s all very rugged and outdoorsy.
