Sam Krahn 
Even with a reveal right around the corner, it turns out Ford isn’t quite done teasing the Bronco. Last time, we got a sneaky look at it under a sheet when President Trump toured the Ford plant it’ll be built in. Now, the Ford-endorsed Bronco Nation website has released footage of the new Ford Bronco deep mud testing. You may notice the video, below, is extremely well produced for a forum site spy shot video, and that’s because Bronco Nation has an affiliation with Ford and is managed by one of their marketing agencies. Nonetheless, the video did give us some hints at the Bronco’s off road capabilities.
Bronco Nation says the Georgia mud is especially terrible to drive a vehicle in, so the Bronco’s ability to go right through it is pretty remarkable. The Bronco’s wading depth, the tire’s ability to shed mud to regain traction is tested, and the performance of the four-wheel-drive system is demanding. There is also some impressive slippery hill climbing in there too. The Bronco scampers right up without issue.
At 24 seconds into the video, keen eyed viewers have noticed another interesting feature. The Bronco performs what’s known as a “front dig.” The vehicle locks up the inside rear wheel to decrease the turning radius, to get around a tree in this case. Toyota does something similar using the rear brakes, so chances are Ford will do the same. Importantly, this is a feature the Jeep Wrangler doesn’t support. One wonders if the “Hurricane Turn” that will reportedly be found on the 2021 GMC Yukon AT4 will operate in a similar way.
This video shows the Bronco will be a true off-road machine. The mud testing handles slippery and deep sticky surfaces all at once, while testing hill climbing and wade depth. Engineers can also test if mud is easy to clean after a day at the trails.
With the all-new 2021 Ford F-150 reveal slated for June 25, we expect to see an announcement for the Bronco in the very near future also.
