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The Ford Bronco Made Me Understand the Wrangler

Photo credit: DW Burnett
Photo credit: DW Burnett

I love the idea of the Jeep Wrangler. But I’ve never liked the reality of it. I rarely go off-road in any situation that requires such a focused vehicle, so I find the sloppy steering, jittery ride, and ever-more-absurd pricing distasteful. Naturally, I shouldn’t like the Ford Bronco either. Yet I do love it. And that helped me understand why people love the Wrangler, too.

Part of it is pure refreshment. Few things in this business annoy me like a company that seems to be coasting. Be it the new BMW M3 or the last Toyota Tundra, I muster little patience for any name to which buyers are so loyal that they will not consider other options. In that regard, no nameplate beats the Wrangler. Even in 2017, in the twilight of the ancient and unrefined JK, people continued to pull into Jeep dealers with wheelbarrows of cash demanding the most expensive possible version of a nameplate founded on simplicity.

Photo credit: DW Burnett
Photo credit: DW Burnett

The same thing now happens at Ford dealers, with over-MSRP being a near necessity if you want a Bronco delivered before the next census. That, however, means Jeep has an incentive to improve the Wrangler. More compelling variants, almost always serendipitously announced around key days in the Bronco’s never-ending news cycle have appeared. Even as overburdened ships clog our ports and expose the over-consumption of the system, the market forces of capitalism score a victory. Competition is spurring better products.

Putting aside the V-8 and hybrid Wranglers, the standard Bronco is a clear advancement of the form. It was created with a deep understanding of what Jeep buyers value versus what they say they value. Of course everyone wants their off-roader to be good off-road. But there’s no doubt that the vast majority of examples of either breed spend most of their time on pavement. Trading a bit of articulation for independent front suspension isn’t only a worthwhile deal for comfort, it also means the Bronco gets a proper modern rack-and-pinion steering system. This saves the driver from the thousands of small corrections any Wrangler requires with its vague and loose recirculating ball steering box, which is pure “Sixties dump truck” and not “sixty grand.”

Photo credit: DW Burnett
Photo credit: DW Burnett

That’s not to say that the Bronco is a luxury product. Even on 35-inch tires courtesy of the aptly named Sasquatch Package, the Bronco was more comfortable and less tiring on a long drive than any Wrangler. A loud cabin in the two-door hard-top model and noticeably cheap materials mean this Bronco doesn’t feel like a $47,990 vehicle, but the open-top experience and the sheer number of thumbs up and stares bring cultural and socio-psychological affirmation.

Though loud, the Bronco’s cabin is thoughtful. Everything is chunky, durable, and easy to use. The infotainment is easy enough to use, even though Ford’s system looks and feels dated. The gauges are worse, with a bizarre layout and a linear vertical tachometer seemingly designed to prevent ever accurately reporing what the engine is doing. All in, the Wrangler’s interior— compromised though it is —still has the Bronco beat on execution.

Photo credit: DW Burnett
Photo credit: DW Burnett

Where Ford wins back points is in the day-to-day usability thing. The doors are frameless and easier to take off than on a Wrangler, the top is easy to remove, and the mirrors don’t come off with the doors. Four-door models even have enough space to store all four doors on board, even if doing so takes up most of the cargo area’s real estate. That’s not even close to a possibility on a Wrangler.

These things are minor, but reflect the broader theory of the Bronco. It’s everything likable about the Wrangler, minus many annoyances. Steering that doesn’t exhaust the driver by demanding constant corrections. Doors that aren’t comically unwieldy. A roomier cabin. Mirrors that are permanently affixed to the truck. A suspension from this, or an adjacent, century. Modern, potent powertrains. Huge tires even on the cheap one.

Photo credit: DW Burnett
Photo credit: DW Burnett

These make driving the Bronco a joy. I did a 200-mile round trip drive to Philadelphia with the 2.7-liter, Bronco Black Diamond towo-door Sasquatch, a bunch of urban driving, a windy trek upstate, and an off-road trail. At every point, it felt special and interesting without being a chore. It was just refined enough to not be a chore on a long trip—something that can’t be said for a Wrangler—while still feeling rudimentary enough to communicate a clarity of purpose. Its 10-speed transmission is seamless and slick for the road, with low ratios that make off-road control easy.

All of this made me want to take it to the trail. By removing the nuisances of dropping the top and the doors, cutting out the tedious aspects of the driving experience, and smoothing over the rough edges, the Bronco is good enough to be enjoyable on road. And when something drives well on-road, the options for great off-roading increase exponentially.

Photo credit: DW Burnett
Photo credit: DW Burnett

This time, it was just a simple trail in the forests up above New York City. Some water features, some mud, and some rocks. Nothing a Wrangler or even a Forester couldn’t do. But because I was in a truck I love, capable enough that I didn’t have to worry, I could fly down it, splash in the mud, and take weird angles on obstacles just to see what the Bronco could do. I got to daydreaming about the possibilities, about what I could do with the right terrain, the right gear. About how to maximize the things these vehicles allow.

It’s the exact magic missing in the Wrangler. These vehicles aren’t just about the capabilities, they’re about knowing that you won’t be limited by the vehicle. That your rig is an enabler of adventure, never the limiting factor. Even if most days are spent on the commute, it’s easy to understand why that lurking greatness is worth the tradeoff.

Photo credit: DW Burnett
Photo credit: DW Burnett

All it took to see this, blindingly obvious though it may be, was a rig that didn’t annoy me as much as a Wrangler and was delightful in many others. Something that took that formula and recognized that the on-road compromises are themselves limitations. That knows that adventures are less desirable when they involve countless hours on the highway in a vehicle that hates the highway. For that reason, I love the Ford Bronco. But now that I understand it, I think I love the Wrangler, too.

Photo credit: DW Burnett
Photo credit: DW Burnett

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