Sport Utility Vehicle
The All-New Ford Bronco Story by Howard J Elmer, photos courtesy of Ford Canada
T
he new Ford Bronco is billing itself as an icon. It may be a bit soon to give it that title, but it does legitimately hold the title of inventor of the Sport Utility Vehicle (SUV) label. Back in 1964, Ford used that term in an advertising campaign – and it’s been with us ever since. Of course, there were the original Broncos built for a decade or so. Then the Bronco II was launched, and finally in the later ‘80s came the full-size Bronco. Each was related in name only. Now, after more than 25 years of sitting on a shelf, the Bronco name is once again being dusted off and fixed to a new vehicle, one that is aimed to compete with its arch rival – Jeep. Frankly, it’s the success of the Jeep brand over the past 10 years that no doubt spurred the boys in Dearborn to resurrect the Bronco. Well, today I have seen it and had a chance to drive it and it is impressive. Now, just to make sure there is no confusion, there is a Bronco Sport, launched this past Spring, based loosely on the Ford Escape. Meanwhile, the Bronco is a completely different animal, heavily engineered towards tackling the off-road world – and knocking Jeep off its rock-crawling pedestal. Like Jeep, Bronco comes as a two-door and four-door model. Both are capable, but the shorter wheelbase two-door will be the better of the two off-pavement. On my first 3-hour test drive, I had only the four-door model to test, so I’m guessing the two-door will be better, because the four-door truck was a beast in the mud. 18 OFF-ROAD Plus MAGAZINE DEC/JAN 2021
