Manoli Katakis 
It only makes sense that a country as wild, exotic and tropical as Brazil gets a bruiser of an SUV such as the Ford Troller T4. What doesn’t make sense, however, is that America of all places, is on the outside looking in. We thankfully have the Ford Bronco on the way, and we wouldn’t be surprised if it resembled the Troller. In this case, the newly announced Ford Troller T4 Trail. Just look at this thing.
Despite the spartan appearance, the new Ford 4X4 SUV has niceties such as Apple CarPlay and Android Auto on the inside, as well as dual zone climate control, power windows and locks, panoramic sunroof, a JBL Harman audio system, 6.5-inch touchscreen, USB input and Bluetooth.
Now that we covered the boring stuff, here’s the long list of the fun stuff. The Ford Troller T4 Trail puts itself at the top of the range with a special set of winch-ready steel off-road bumpers, rocker panels, fender flares, steel skid plates, a snorkel, and even trail identification software. While these trail punching mods are unique to the Troller T4 Trail, under the hood is the same Duratorq 3.2 Diesel five-cylinder engine with 200 hp and 346 lb-ft as lower-end models – an engine we otherwise see in high-use Ford Transit panel vans. A six-speed manual is the only transmission available. To save weight, the body of the Troller T4 is made of composite fiberglass material – which doesn’t rust. The C7 Corvette is made of similar stuff.
Approach and departure angles of the Ford Troller T4 Trail measure 51 degrees, with a 30 degree break-over angle, and the ability to climb up a 45 percent grade. Additionally, the Troller T4 Trail comes with a removable rear towbar bracket, front anchor points for hooks, and hermetically sealed LED tail lights. Lastly, the interior floor is rubberized with integrated drain plugs for easy cleaning after a day out in the mud.
The Ford Troller T4 Trail will come in the following colors: White Diamond, Arizona Red, Dakar Yellow, Mendoza Black, Frost Silver, Maresias Blue, Maragogi Green, Moscow Gray and Red Tuscany. And while the consumer market will welcome this new 4X4, so will Brazilian police, firefighters and security officials in remote regions of the country.
To build this special off-road SUV, Ford built the “ModCenter”, which is an extension of the Troller Horizonte, Ceará manufacturing plant. Its purpose is to outfit vehicles like the Ford Troller T4 with high-end accessories and other equipment that may otherwise not be feasible on the assembly line. In a way, it’s similar to how Chevrolet builds the Colorado ZR2 Bison, but in that case, American Expedition Vehicles handles all of the upfitting.
The Ford Troller T4 Trail will start at a price of R$144,990 in Brazil. That’s just over $38,000 USD using today’s conversion rates. Sounds about right where the 2021 Ford Bronco should come in at when it launches in the not-too-distant future. We can hardly wait.
Troller Veículos Especiais S/A is a Brazilian off-road vehicle manufacturer founded in 1995 in Horizonte, Ceará. Ford Motor Company, which has been in Brazil since 1919, acquired Troller in 2007. Troller currently builds just the T4 4X4 SUV, which has been battle tested in several rally races around the world, including the Dakar Rally. The Troller name means “troll” in Portuguese.
Ford will shut down Troller as 2021’s end. It’s a very capable and strong offroader, but it’s also very insecure by any standards. It has no Air Bags, no ABS brakes and it has a rigid structure that has no programable deformation or any kind of impact studies whatsoever. You crash it and you are dead. It could never ever have been sold in any place in the civilized world. In Brazil, Ford manged to ” convince” govern that this is an agricultural vehicle and therefore no need to have air bags or any passive security. Troller owners die like men…