Ford have just officially confirmed the 2020 Ford Bronco is coming, reviving the historic and iconic two-door 4X4 wagon nameplate for their market.
This also comes along with the confirmation of the Ranger ute for their market, which will join the larger, best-selling F-150 and similarly-sized Chevrolet Colorado. It’s what Americans call a ‘mini-truck’… it’s all about context, I suppose.
This announcement confirms what people have been speculating and suggesting for quite some time now, the return of the 4WD wagon that was popular in the USA between the 1960’s and 1980’s. They were sold in Australia for a short period of time, but were never really overly successful.
In saying that, the Australian connection with the 2020 Ford Bronco is quite strong. The Bronco is currently under development in Australia, alongside the 2019 Ford Ranger. This is building upon a strong Australian research, engineering and development centre in Australia, which is credited with the great success of the Ford Ranger in the lucrative and competitive 4X4 ute market.The Bronco is currently under development in Australia, alongside the 2019 Ford Ranger.
Details are scant still, except for the fact that it’s definitely going to happen. Ford Australia aren’t able to confirm anything at this stage either. We aren’t sure what it will look like, but that hasn’t stopped a big selection of non-official renderings popping up online. It has been causing a fair buzz online for the past few years, and the confirmation has really set the internet land alight.
Repeat: It’s not an official rendering, there isn’t any idea of what the 2020 Ford Bronco will look like. Likewise, with the 2019 Ford Ranger that it will share much blood with. But seeing as the Bronco will join the Everest and Ranger, we think it will follow the template that the FJ Cruiser took with the LandCruiser Prado: Steal the bones and drivetrain, but remodel it with a retro-cool, two-door lifestyle wagon operation, and trade off the legendary icon that is the Toyota LandCruiser FJ40.
Ford Australia aren’t able to confirm anything yet, and we’ll probably have to wait until next year to hear anything solid. We do know that the Ford Ranger heading for the USA market will have it’s own unique ‘styling, engines and features’, so perhaps the Bronco will leverage off these.
Straight two-door mid-wheelbase replications of popular wagons like the Prado and Pajero haven’t worked in the past, but adding that vintage flavour made the Toyota FJ Cruiser a strong niche seller in Australia. We think the 2020 Ford Bronco will make it to Australia, joining the Everest and Ranger. Let’s just hope Ford have learnt their lesson from the MA/MC classification debacle…
