Review: 2021 Ford Bronco 2-Door Black Diamond

Back in January 2017, Ford announced that they were bringing back the Bronco after a 20+ year hiatus, and I for one couldn’t have been more excited, as I’ve always loved these trucks.

Now, nearly 4.5 years later, the new Broncos are (slowly) rolling off the assembly line, and we were lucky enough to get the keys to a bright Cyber Orange 2021 Ford Bronco 2-Door Black Diamond for a few brief days to put it through its paces and see if it was worth the wait.

Visually, Ford knocked it out of the park, with the styling a retro yet modern throwback to the first-generation Bronco. It’s available as a two-door, or for the first-time ever as a four-door (much like the Wrangler that it’s competing against), and you can get it with either a hardtop or soft-top. Lastly, you can choose between 32-inch all-terrain tires or beefy 35-inch tires with optional beadlock-capable wheels.

Ironically, our tester was spec’d out exactly as I would have ordered it – A 2-Door Bronco Black Diamond hardtop with the 2.7L EcoBoost V6 and the Sasquatch Package, in Cyber Orange. It looks like a real-life Tonka truck, it’s ready to go off-roading with the best of them, and with a sticker price of $47,990, it’s pretty reasonably priced to boot.

First impressions: This truck looks AMAZING! It’s just so cool looking, this is retro done right. Driving around, the new Bronco got attention like you wouldn’t believe, with more than a few people coming up to ask questions about it. The massive 35-inch tires that come with the $4,500 Sasquatch Package really adds to its rough and tumble look, but it comes with its own set of compromises, which I’ll talk about later in the review.

Step inside, and it’s a simple but functional affair, with marine grade vinyl, six-way manual driver/passenger seats, manual climate control, an 8-inch color LCD capacitive touchscreen running SYNC 4, terrain management system with 7 G.O.A.T. modes, wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, and more. There are a slew of optional features to choose from if you want more bells and whistles, but our car kept it simple with standard equipment.

Getting in and out of the Bronco is a bit tricky, as the 35-inch tires really brings the ride height up. And since this is an off-roader, there aren’t running boards or a step or anything. Even me at 6’2″, I had to use the grab handle and basically pull myself into the truck every time, and then slide out of it when exiting. It’s even worse for people in the back, as the two-door config makes it that much harder to get in and out of the back seats. If you’re going to regularly have people in the back seats, get the four-door Bronco.

On the road, the Bronco has PLENTY of get-up-and-go, with the optional 2.7L EcoBoost V6 engine ($1,895) delivering an impressive 330 horsepower and 415 lb-ft of torque, and the 10-speed automatic keeping you in the sweet spot throughout. Given how heavy these trucks are (between 4,500-5,100 lbs), it seems like a no-brainer to spring for the V6 engine, even if you are sacrificing some fuel economy in the process.

Sadly, the downside of those big tires is compromised ride quality, and they’re noisy to boot. In addition, there’s a lot of wind and interior noise while driving on the highway. So much so that when I tried taking a call, the person on the other end couldn’t even hear me over all of the noise, forcing me to pull over on the side of the road to talk. All of the noise and vibrations really wore on me after awhile. I don’t remember it being that bad in the 2020 Jeep Wrangler I tested, despite that truck also having larger tires.

Where the Bronco reportedly shines is when you take it off-roading, with Ford claiming a best-in-class 94.75:1 crawl ratio, ground clearance, suspension travel and water fording capabilities, plus breakover and departure angles. The Sasquatch Package kicks things up another notch, with those large 35-inch tires, electronic-locking front and rear differentials, HOSS 2.0 System with Bilstein PSDs, high clearance ride height, and 17-inch beadlock aluminum wheels.

I say reportedly because we only had the 2021 Ford Bronco for a very short amount of time due to it being new and in high depend, and as such we weren’t able to take it off-roading like we would have liked to. But plenty of our colleagues have done so and have had nothing but great things to stay about it. Hopefully we get some more seat time with the Bronco in the future so we can get it down and dirty with it!

Likewise, Mother Nature was being a little fickle with us, so we didn’t have a chance to take off the doors or roof (the latter requiring some help, as it’s definitely a two-man job). But it seems like it would be cool rolling down the street in the summer with the top and doors removed, just enjoying that cool ocean breeze. It’s features like that which help you to overlook some of the truck’s shortcomings for sure.

It’s been a loooooong wait for the new Bronco to finally come to fruition, but it’s like they say, good things come to those who wait. It’s clear that Ford did their homework with the Bronco, and it’s sure to shake up the 4×4 community that the Jeep Wrangler has dominated for decades now. Is it going to dethrone the Wrangler? Unlikely, as Jeep owners are a loyal bunch. But I’m sure you’ll see more than a few owners come to the dark side.

Pricing for the 2021 Ford Bronco starts at $28,500 for a base 2-door and goes all the way up to $63,500 for a First Edition 4-door, with a variety of trim levels in between. So regardless of your budget, there’s a Bronco that is sure to fit your budget. Our advice is to do your research and find the model/packages that best suit your needs. And of course, there’s sure to be plenty of aftermarket support in the near future, if you want a truly custom ride. 🙂

While Ford’s currently having issues getting Bronco’s produced and delivered fast enough, rest assured that once they do so, you’ll be seeing a whole lot of these bad boys on the road. Kudos to Ford on a job well done!

What do you think about the 2021 Ford Bronco, was it worth the wait?