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It would be an understatement to say that the Ford Bronco is expected: even before the official opening of the order books, more than 125,000 bookings were registered for this pure and tough 4×4, excluding options, which sold for between $30,000 and $60,000. Welcome back at this pivotal time when Ford plans to invest approximately $30 billion in the development of its electric vehicle range, which has already generated good profits ahead of time.
In this regard, the Bronco may be the last Ford to approach the American market with only thermal engines. More reasons to go big and supply this 4×4 with the necessary guns defeating its designated rival, the Jeep Wrangler. Aiming for superior walking comfort, not only on the road, but also on rocky terrain, where Bronco has adopted very sophisticated technical solutions.
The ad says: Ford Bronco was raised by mountain goats
Sophisticated but not necessarily new. This is the case for the anti-roll bar, which can be detached from the driving position: although notable on the 4×4 with independent front wheels, it has already been seen on the Jeep Wrangler Rubicon, to name a few. ‘he is. As for the switchable 4×4 transmission, it manages traction according to seven classic distribution modes: a less original technology called GOAT (“for”crosses all types of terrain“), who both a pun and a historical acronym. in english, goat It refers to the goat, a cute animal known to be very good at climbing. This zoological nickname was already used in 1966 to designate the development project of the first Bronco: here’s an anecdote that Ford folklore fans love.
All-around cameras are nice, but Land Rover, GM and Jeep have been offering them for a while. On the other hand, the idea to place a support for the sports camera (GoPro and company) on the top of the dashboard of the Ford Bronco has not been published. But who, besides the social media opinion leaders and Narcissus, should film themselves so often that it costs them to place their suction cups on themselves?
Ford Trail Turn Assist: braking for better turning
On the other hand, if there is a functionality whose originality and usefulness is indisputable, it is the “Trail Turn Assist” system. It gives the Ford Bronco incredible flair. turn the pocket handkerchief, almost in place. Only the Rivian R1T pickup can claim to do better: Thanks to its four electric-wheel motor, it can reverse the direction of rotation of the two inner wheels to turn on its own when cornering. , like a crawler machine. .
For the traditionally powered Bronco, there can be no question of duplicating Rivian’s “Return to the Tank” mod. It is not inspired by the rear wheel steering system of the Ford 4×4, GMC Hummer EV or Tesla Cybertruck. The path he chose is much simpler and also more unexpected. It comes to take advantage of the potential offered by the good old. electronic trajectory corrector (ESC to use the generic name).
Nose on the wall, Bronco can’t go any further. Surprise! Throwing the gas gets it into the spin
Pressing the “Track Turn Assist” button (with or without range reduction, but always with the rear differential on) orders the electronics to prevent any turn of one of the two rear wheels. What if the driver turns the steering wheel all the way to the left; or on the right if pointing right. Simulates locked wheel the effect of a hook planted on the ground : helps the vehicle to rotate around this fixed point. Or semi-solid if the ground is too soft.
Maneuvering is certainly possible on asphalt, but Ford strongly opposes this: the adhesion of the tread is then at its maximum, which causes a large torsional force on the sidewalls of the tire. This restriction is only changingAs with brake pads, the life of the tread is significantly reduced. This is so true that the system is programmed to allow a very slight turn of the wheel on jolts to briefly reduce these restrictions when they are too strong.
Trail Turn Assist culminates collaboration between ESC and differential locks
At the start of the manoeuvre, the driver perceives resistance to movement caused by the locking of the rear wheel: he should see this as an invitation to press the accelerator pedal firmly to encourage the differentials to do their job. Accelerated rotation of the two front wheels “pulls” the nose of the car into the turn, to significantly tighten the turning radius. The “Trail Turn Assist” system thus saves the driver from having to engage reverse gear or make a U-turn on soft ground, especially in a tight corner.
It has been rumored since January 2020 that General Motors may offer a similar feature on the GMC Yukon. A prototype later showed how GM’s “Hurricane Turn” would block one of the Yukon’s front wheels: this large SUV would turn from the rear rather than from the front as the Ford Bronco had chosen to do. This system is not currently marketed.
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