I stand corrected, yes I believe the Bronco has coils and trailing arms.

Was it 50s era trucks that had similar set ups - coils and trailing arms?

 

, Ford never had rear coil springs. The '60's era Chevy and GMC pickups had rear coil springs, I remember them being on 1/2 ton and maybe 3/4 ton trucks.

 

Back in the 80s I saw a chassis - apparently a GM - with the coil spring/trailing arm set up - I thought that was pretty interesting.

I guess my point about this system - Ford or not - is that the technology has come around full circle in US mass produced trucks and SUVs. Ford may introduce the rear coils on a solid axle housing soon.

Seriously going retro.

 

When the Expedition was released in 97 it came with rear coils.

 

I had a '97 Eddie Bauer Expedition. You could also order air leveling suspension. They were never available from the factory on the pickups.

 

Yep the air ride was horrible for towing also. Large trailers would throw the Expedition all over the place randomly.

 

My initial thinking was - "Why a four door Bronco? The Bronco has never been a four door!"

After looking at these pictures however, the four door looks pretty good. Meanwhile the two door looks like a cartoon designed with the sole purpose of having the best departure angle on the planet. My 77 had a rear seat and still room to put a couple of suitcases in the back. I don't think there is room for more than a six pack of beer in the back of that two door... who thought that was a good idea?

 

The big Bronco looks pretty tight if the photos are to be believed. It reminds me of my uncle's 85 Toyota Landcruiser when he owned one many years ago. Learned some 4 wheeling in that truck. When I got my Bronco in the mid 90s, I went down to his place for a couple of days. We did some local trails in his area. I loved how the Bronco with 33s performed on soft sand and the like. I see more run for the money on the Toyota side than on the Jeep side of the market. The smaller or Sport model may be in that market.

 

Ford Should have built that way back when it was a concept Vehicle! I think it would have been a HUGE success. FJ Cruiser sales were pretty solid and the JK Wrangler was wildly sucessfully over it's 11 year run.

I agree, the leaked photos show a pretty mediocre SUV to me. For FORD it's a huge upgrade over the Escape and Explorer in terms of off road ruggedness, but a far cry from the Raptor and it won't take any sales away from Jeep buyers who actually offroad them. The lack of a Solid Front Axle is a deal killer and why the FJ Cruiser never was able to dethrone the Jeep Wrangler. Maybe some of the Mall Crawler poseurs will opt to buy a Bronco over Jeep but this Bronco even with 4 doors will never outsell the Wrangler. Maybe if I lived in the Desert SW I'd consider buying one, but seeing as I live in Rock Crawling Heaven no way.

 

This 2004 concept car was built on an Escape unibody and had a transverse engine--a small diesel I think. So there was nothing viable there to bring to market. It also used the half-hex wheel openings that are pretty much a Jeep trademark.

As for rock crawling, I can't imagine that to be a large demographic. In my area (upscale burb of Detroit), the majority of Jeep Wranglers are driven (or more correctly, "worn") by teen-college girls from wealthy families and middle-age-crisis men who "always wanted a Jeep". Mostly leases so they're not modified much and not abused. This is a much larger market for new Wranglers which may become rock crawlers when they get older. But I do think the modern airbags and safety equipment are not going to make a 2020 Wrangler or Bronco an ideal hard off-roader anyway.

 

I had no idea the original concept was built on an escape platform. DEFINITELY not off-roading that! Our Flex is AWD that I’m sure is similar to an escape and my driveway is about the limit for that. No denying the ‘04 concept was fantastic looking! The original Bronco from 65-77 is one of my dream vehicles.

As far as rock crawling and off-roading goes; even if only 10-20% of Wranglers ever hit a trail, it’s the capability that drives the sales. Like I said with the FJ cruiser it wasn’t a flop, but the “inferior front suspension” was a deal killer for many buyers. I do think the convertible is big plus for the Bronco, something else the FJ lacked over the Wrangler.

Here in Colorado there’s plenty of Wranglers that never see a trail but people buy them over the competition because they see stuff like “way a life” thinking they could or may do that some day. Jeep even developed the new JL to have wheel opening to accommodate 37s with minimal lifting (a long with many improvements over the JK specifically for off-roading). I’m not sure Ford hired hardcore off-roaders to help develop the new Bronco like Jeep did with the JL. I’m probably in the minority of buyers who actually take their vehicles off-road, but I just don’t think the Bronco is the better choice over a JL Wrangler; unless it’s significantly less expensive. Seeing the price of most new Fords I guessing $50k for a 4 door Bronco.

 

The pre-2013 Escape (dating back to 2001) was based on an old Mazda 626 platform where the Flex, 2011+ Explorer, and Taurus were based on a Volvo mid-large platform. These are all basically lifted cars. There are some serious off-road vehicles built on unit bodies but these are not among them.

The "way of life" thing is a big thing for owners of Jeeps, Harleys, and people who wear serious rock-climbing clothing to the mall. The big profits and volume sales are important to Ford, and the "impression" of toughness is more important for these volume sales, same as 200 mph top speeds in Corvettes are more for impressing your friends than for any real use. I would like to see the new Bronco hit the "lifestyle" meter, but I think big unemployment numbers will make it a difficult time for middle class people to buy $50k toys in the next year or two.

I still have serious doubts that any modern vehicle with airbags and safety equipment (like crash avoidance stuff) makes sense for heavy off-roading like rock crawling or mudding. I've read accounts of people's cars stopping on the way down a steep driveway because the collision avoidance radar/camera read the street as a crash hazard. For serious off-roaders, the future will be either via older, modified vehicles or dedicated off-road stuff like the Mahindra phony Jeep thing. At a point, you are also better off trailering your sports car to SCCA races than expecting to drive it to the track and back.

 

The 2 door looks closer to 99". XJ Cherokees were 101" and that picture looks that size or smaller. We have a 4 door JL and the steering on the highway is bad enough that I would look forward to IFS if it means better highway tracking. I have seen stock IFS vehicles go through most off-road situations other than extreme rock crawling. IFS will probably make the difference in a test drive between this and a wrangler shocking to the average buyer. Driving a wrangler is an acquired taste. When I bought my first new TJ I spent half the drive home thinking I made a mistake because it drove so much worse than my worn out Cherokee. JKs were a lot better, and the JL with the wandering steering went backwards.

I think the removable hard top with roof rack will be popular. I see a lot of 4 door wranglers with a similar aftermarket setup and then the roof is not removable at all because it is blocked by the aftermarket cage. The 2 door with the hard top looks too short at the back but the picture in the shop you can see one in the background with no top, and it looks correctly proportioned from what you can see.

 

Ram has had them on the 1500 since 2009 model year. They are more stable towing than leafs due to much better lateral stiffness, but they are sprung softer so they can ride rough when loaded up. The fact you can add airbags in the coils for $90 is nice.

 

Agreed 200%. The nose is long as hell