No soft top
Regarding the top: all 2-door Bronco trucks get a hard top, which is a fine look, but to not have a soft top option is a bit of a bummer. Both look fine on the four-door (although the soft top does look awkward when rolled back), but having driven the 4-door equipped with the soft top before, I can say the hard top-equipped 2-door is the louder truck of the two on the highway, as the panels creak against each other and there are more surfaces for noises to bounce off of in hard-top form.
Of course, the 2-door can be switched to convertible mode by flipping a few simple latches – which would be easy, were it not for the fact that getting the roof panels off with roof rails attached is a pain and storing them takes some creativity as they don’t easily fit anywhere in the 2-door’s stubby cabin.
The stubbiness of said cabin doesn’t really affect front-seat room, but the rear seats are of course a little tougher to access than they are in the 4-door. There are child seat anchors back there, but unless your kids can access the seats themselves and strap themselves in – not a given – I’m not sure how best to get them back there, because the front seats don’t come forward quite enough for ease of access.
This model also compromises on rear cargo room. It’s rated at 668 litres with the back seats in place, but the bigger issue is how short the load floor is. That space expands to 1,481 litres when they’re folded, though they don’t fold anywhere close to flat.
The Wildtrak being pretty much the most hardcore off-road version this side of the Raptor, I did want to know how it worked in those conditions. We’ll get to that in a minute but first, the on-road experience deserves some time because it properly surprised me.
For all the things the Wrangler is – cool, hip, cultish, ultra-capable off-road – it is not a regal ride on the highway. Or even the cityway. Jeep has remedied that a little with the introduction of the 4xe hybrid, but if the Bronco is going to pull buyers away from the Jeep, one way to do it is to be superior on more “normal” roads.
On the road
And it is. For all its toughness, the Bronco on a highway is much closer to your traditional SUV than the Wrangler. Bumps are better metered out, it’s quieter (even considering the hard top’s shenanigans) and since the engine is turbocharged, it’s a heck of a lot quieter than most of the engines the Wrangler comes with.
Also, the Bronco just feels more drum-tight than the Wrangler, even with those Jeep-like removable panels. Actually, in Sasquatch form, the Bronco does one better by allowing you to pop off the fender flares like those tear-off Adidas pants college athletes used to wear.
Ford has provided that option because it knows that for all its on-road comfort characteristics, those that buy the Bronco are going to want to off-road it and they’ll gladly sacrifice some mud-stained trousers for fenders that don’t get in the way when it comes to moving through tight, rocky trails – all the better to see the tires with.
Off the road
I was able to spend some time off-road and it’s here that you really miss the effects of the disconnecting stabilizer bar, which you can’t get in the Wildtrak Sasquatch, hardcore as it is. The way the entire chassis relaxes and the truck drops down as it settles more comfortably on the terrain when equipped with one of these is a unique experience, and gives all sorts of confidence when traversing extreme terrain. With my tester, however, you’ll have to make do with front and rear locking differentials – both easily accessible via a button bank atop the dash -- for your off-roading boost. Not that that’s a problem as the Bronco Wildtrak remains incredibly capable in an off-road setting thanks to the big rubber, locking differentials and increased ride height.
There’s also the Trail Turn Assist feature which, when activated, applies the brakes to the inside wheel while turning, thereby shortening the turning radius. It’s an eerie feeling to be sure you’re going to clip that tree trunk during a turn, only to have the rear brakes step in and swing you ‘round. You’re not going to get any Ken Block-style pivot-on-the-spot moves, but when attempting certain ultra-sharp turns while off-roading, it was a big help.
Most of this falls under the auspices of the HOSS suspension system, which stands for “hi-speed off-road stability suspension” and makes use of independent suspension up front and a sold five-link rear axle. The former is what the Ranger pickup gets, while the latter is unique to the Bronco. As a result, the Bronco is covered for any kind of terrain (its “GOAT” drive mode nomenclature means “goes over any type of terrain”, after all) and as result, should be adaptable to a number of different driving styles and vehicle uses.
…but is it too many uses?
There are six available 2-door trims, and when you count the two body styles that number stretches to 14. Then, throw in the Sasquatch package and the fact that there are three additional packages – Mid, High and Lux – that you can get on the various trucks and it all gets a little confusing. I think they could have trimmed all this a little to make the buying process a little easier as it’s asking customers to do a little more trim-walking than they might otherwise.
The last word
Of course, once that’s done, you do get one heck of an off-road vehicle. It’s not a Ford Wrangler but then, it doesn’t have to be because as much as these two are variations on a theme, they are surprisingly different in one important way: the Bronco is the newer vehicle, and it feels it. With its one-pedal off-road driving option (set the cruise control while off-roading, and all you have to worry about is the steering), Trail Turn Assist, big infotainment display and so on the Bronco is the more digitized of the two, the Wrangler being more analogue and old-school. Some may prefer that, mind you, but many may not.
We like
Looks are bad to the bone
Deep-chested turbo power
Off-road unstoppable
Did we mention the looks?
We like less
Loud
Storage comes at a premium
No disconnecting sway bar
The competition
Jeep Wrangler
Land Rover Defender 90
