Big G has completed its replacement, and Land Rover Defender will be updated soon. They are all sticklers for off-road. Under the current situation, such models are becoming increasingly rare, and Ford will release a tough guy that has been dormant for 24 years-Bronco.
Who is Bronco?
Bronco was once an off-road off-road model owned by Ford and was born in 1965. Historically, Bronco is an early civilian hardcore off-road model. At that time, the Jeep CJ series (the predecessor of the Wrangler) and the Land Rover Series II (the predecessor of the Defender) both had strong military characteristics. However, with the trend of road-oriented SUV models gradually replacing hard-core off-road vehicles, the Bronco could only be discontinued in 1996.
Bronco is originally a Mustang breed in North America, so Bronco can be regarded as Ford's Mustang in the off-road field. It also enjoys the same exclusive Mustang logo as Mustang, which shows that it is an icon in the field of Ford off-road models. status. The running state of the horses in the Mustang Logo shows its status as a sports car, while the horses in the Bronco Logo are more like strong horses that can cross mountains and ridges.
The Bronco and Ranger pickup trucks will use a frame and use standard hard-core off-road chassis configurations such as front and rear hard axles. At this point, it can basically be imagined to be very similar to the Wrangler. Its body will likely feature an all-aluminum construction, as its sheet metal coverings are expected to come from the same stamping plant as the F-150.
What does the resurrected new Bronco look like?
The square appearance is obviously the standard for hard-core off-road vehicles, and the Bronco is no exception. The photos of test cars leaked from the factory production line explain it all - Bronco's light strip is located in the center of the air intake grille, which is very conspicuous. The new car is described as having a five-door shape, about 16 feet long (about 4.87 meters), with extremely short front and rear overhangs, providing huge approach and departure angles to improve vehicle passability.
In addition, there is also a Bronco?Sport model in product planning, similar to the relationship between Land Rover Discovery and Discovery Sport. The two will use similar design languages, but Bronco? Sport will be developed based on Ford Escape, which is Ruiji's passenger car platform. Interestingly, its name may be Maverick (before it was called KUGA, we also called it Wing Tiger back then).
Regarding the three-door version of Bronco, most sources believe that it exists, but only one relatively accurate photo was taken.
Detachability is a major feature of Bronco. The roof, doors and other parts can be quickly removed to fully enjoy the fun of exploring the wild. Moreover, the Bronco is more "exposed" than the Jeep Wrangler. A patent shows that the upper ends of the B-pillar and C-pillar of the Bronco can be removed, which seems to restore the most original hard-core off-road convertible form (also the convertible form of the first-generation Bronco).
It is reported that Ford has also applied for a patent that allows the main beam of the car to expand and contract when the door is removed to ensure the safety of the occupants in the car in the event of a collision. However, if the detachable B/C pillar design is applied to a mass-produced vehicle, there are still doubts whether it can meet the current safety regulations. We look forward to Ford engineers coming up with corresponding solutions.
Bronco’s headlight styling details have been exposed in advance by spare parts suppliers, and they have basically restored the classic square and round shape of the year.
What powertrain will the Bronco use?
According to information leaked in advance on the accessories supplier Canadian Tires website, the Bronco is likely to be equipped with Ford's 2.3T EcoBoost four-cylinder engine, matched with a 10-speed automatic transmission. This is consistent with the 2.3T+10AT powertrain equipped in the 2019 Ranger, so it is completely reasonable. This engine has a maximum power of 270 horsepower and a maximum torque of 420N·m.
Foreign media speculate that the high-power version of Bronco may also be equipped with the EcoBoost? 2.7T? V6 twin-turbocharged engine on the F-150, with a maximum power of 325 horses and a maximum torque of 542N·m (maximum torque ratio The Ruijie ST that domestic users know is higher). In addition, Ford CEO Hackett said that the Bronco will have a hybrid version (expected to compete with the Wrangler hybrid version). The high-performance version of the Bronco "Raptor" equipped with a V8 engine is also among the legends.
As a hard-core off-road vehicle, is it possible for Bronco to be equipped with a diesel engine? Logically speaking, Ranger currently has the Duratorq family 2.2/3.2T engine and the latest EcoBlue? 2.0T engine, so the possibility of Bronco equipped with a diesel engine still exists, but it seems that the Duratorq family engine, which is nearly 10 years old, will not become a New car options.
How much does the Bronco cost?
The T6 platform on which Ford Ranger is based has a strong Australian R&D background. The Ford Everest produced in Australia, which is the domestic version of the Jiangling Ford Everest, sells for about US$40,000 (about 278,000 RMB).
The production of the Bronco will be transferred to Ford's Wayne County plant in Michigan. Its North American competitors, such as the Jeep Wrangler and Toyota 4Runner, have an average selling price of around US$35,000, so the starting price of the Bronco is expected to be only Only a little over 30,000 US dollars (208,000 RMB).
However, Ford’s abacus is still very smart. When it is launched, Bronco is expected to release more than 150 accessories, which will not only allow users to customize their own personalized Bronco, but also earn huge profits from accessories ( Yes, I learned this trick from the Jeep Wrangler).
There is no news of domestic production of Bronco, but if analyzed rationally, under the background that Jiangling Ford Everest is already domestically produced, the possibility of domestic production of Bronco is higher than that of Wrangler or other hard-core off-road vehicles. As for the price, the Everest currently sells for 265,800-358,800. If the Bronco is really made in China, the price will be very reasonable in this range.
Postscript
Previous news said that the Bronco five-door version may be released in March, and the Bronco Sport will be released later. However, currently, the raging new coronavirus has caused the New York Auto Show to be postponed to August, and it is not ruled out that the Bronco will be released at this node.
Although hardcore off-roading is declining, market demand still exists. Ford has a unique position in the field of pickup trucks. From the perspective of cost amortization, it is very reasonable to develop the new Bronco based on the pickup truck platform - without large-scale additional investment, it can use its own expertise to seize a unique segment. market share.
In fact, Ford has always had experience in developing SUV products based on pickup truck platforms, and the Everest is a very typical case.
However, the Everest’s popularity is too low, both at home and abroad, and it seems to be isolated from Ford’s SUV product line. Therefore, Ford needs a more powerful IP to enhance the overall performance image of the Ford SUV family. Therefore, the Bronco, the "Mustang" in the off-road field, was naturally recalled.
Ford's thinking is very clear: Bronco may not be popular, but the emergence of Bronco Sport may become a real choice for users to pay for it. In the future, Ford is also very likely to separate the Bronco series style products in the SUV product line, which will be in the same category as the urban-style Yibo, Ruiji, Ruijie and other models, further improving users' choice space.
Let’s look forward to the official debut of Mustang among SUVs!
The author of this article is Kiche Gang? Taotao
This article comes from the author of Autohome Chejiahao and does not represent the views and positions of Autohome.