Auto review: 2021 Ford Bronco boasts features to make Jeep owners envious

As I listened to the Bronco brain trust outline highlights of Ford's upcoming off-roader, I could practically hear Jeep Wrangler strategists slapping their heads: 'Why didn't we think of that?'

Because they didn't have to. The Wrangler, direct descendant of nearly 80 years of vehicles with great off-road ability, doesn't have anything to prove.

The 2021 Ford Bronco, due to go on sale next spring, does. It's heir to a modest tradition of quirky and customizable pickups and SUVs Ford built from 1966 to '96. Most drivers have never seen one on the road. The Wrangler, with image-building predecessors all the way back to the World War II Willys Jeep, is ubiquitous on American roads, trails and in film, TV and streaming around the world.

Wranglers have a loyal, built-in audience. The Bronco needs to create passion for a family of SUVs, inspiring buyers to choose a nameplate they may never have heard of.

It needs to be so head-slappingly innovative and good that owners will dedicate themselves to proving they're smarter and better than Jeep drivers they never gave much thought to before they became Bronco-nistas.

That's why Ford's best and brightest pulled out all the stops, from a rail to mount GoPros and iPhones to onboard space to store the Bronco's removable doors.

On paper, the results looks good. Here's some of what the Bronco team did.

Some new ideas 

• Standard Bronco four-wheel drive, though a rear-drive model will probably follow in a few years.
• Trail control to apply power, braking, etc. so the driver only needs to steer in challenging terrain
• A frame-based chassis that's the second generation of Ford's global midsize pickup architecture
• A seven-speed manual transmission that will have a "crawl" gear for ratios as high a 95:1 for the most extreme terrain
• Standard 10-speed automatic transmission
• Standard 2.3L turbocharged four-cylinder producing 270 horsepower and 310 pound-feet of torque
• Optional 2.7L twin-turbo V-6 with 310 hp and 400 pound-feet of torque

On- and off-road features

• Removable doors and hard and soft tops
• Four-door models have standard soft top, two-doors a hard top
• Lightweight doors that are easy to remove and can be stowed in the vehicle
• Side mirrors mounted on the body, so they're still available when the doors are off
• Optional marine-grade vinyl seats
•  A slide-out tailgate you can sit on
• Built-in bottle opener
• An available app with maps of off-road trails
• 360-degree cameras, including spotters for each wheels

Why buy a Bronco Sport?

The smaller Bronco Sport will go on sale late this year, months before the Bronco. Using the same platform as the Ford Escape and Lincoln Corsair, it has a unibody construction and less off-road capability than the truck-based Bronco. All-wheel drive is standard, though it wouldn't be shocking to see a front-drive model at some point.

The Bronco Sport shares key Bronco design elements, including round headlights and an upright windshield. Its success is likely to depend heavily on the larger Bronco's ability to create an aura of off-road capability.

Early Ford materials highlight the Sport's maneuverability in town and ability in deep sand and for "high-speed" off-roading as opposed to the Bronco' emphasis on rock crawling, fording water and the like. The base engine is a 181-hp 1.5L turbocharged three-cylinder. A 2.0L turbo four-cylinder producing 245-hp will be optional.