Test-Driving The 2023 Ford Bronco Everglades

The new Ford Bronco is a certified winner and a perfect example of a badge resurrected to best results. It’s great-looking, it’s suitably rugged, it’s toy-like (in a good way) and was thoroughly enjoyable over a recent week’s test which took me two miles into the snowy, bumpy woods at dawn one morning and provided a winter blast, literally and figuratively.

The 2023 model is a carryover from 2022, according to an email I got from Ford representatives. You can get a hard or soft top as well as four-door and two-door styles and a choice of just two engines - a 300-horsepower, turbocharged four-cylinder or 330-hp, twin-turbo V-6. Your turbo-four can be coupled with a seven-speed manual or 10-speed automatic transmission; the turbo V-6 comes as an automatic only.

The Everglades consists of a Ford’s Black Diamond trim equipped with a variety of delightful extras such as the Mid package, the off-road Sasquatch package, a molded-in-color hard top with a roof rack and crossbars, and a blistering 2.3-liter turbocharged EcoBoost I-4 with a 10-speed automatic.

Other goodies included in the package include:

An air snorkel to keep out water, debris, snow or any other foreigners in your engine intake

A raised air vent plumbing for the front and rear axles, transfer case and transmission, increasing your safe wading depth from 33.5 to 36.4 inches. Dudes, this practically begs you to drive straight through that (minor) flood and have a great time.

A heavy-duty modular Ford Performance bumper outfitted with a Zeon 10-S Warn winch and protective safari bar. I didn’t get a chance to use the winch but me and my buddy were considering it for what seemed like an abandoned Impreza in front of my house, which were going to pull to the end of the block.

Alas, after 7 days, its owner showed up with his own buddy, and jumper cables. But it’s nice to know we could have if we wanted to.

Also included are marine-grade vinyl seats for easy cleanup after a day of mudding. The Bronco Everglades starts at $54,495.

Interior

It’s comfy-comfy with enough space for the big and tall, all controls laid out well with enormous knobs you can find in a split second and a kick-ass sound system. I loathed that the window buttons are placed on the center console, but that’s probably because I’m left-handed and it was ever-awkward to use my right hand to raise and lower the windows. The climate system was a sweet furnace, the sound system was adequate and the apparently hearing-impaired voice command system gave me the usual hard time. I just gave up and used my phone to get where I wanted to go.

The ride

It’s bibbity bobbity boo mostly, banging you over that log or this curb, and noisy as a busy coffee shop at speed. You’ll still get the hang of wresting the best from the vehicle, though, and you get much respect on the road. The acceleration and braking are not especially sharp, and you really don’t want or need them to be with vehicles of this type.

Manual shifts are available but my tester was automatic, and it’s just as well. As soon as I entered the mountain woods with its mini-boulders and the vehicle started lurching like an airplane missing one wing, I had enough to concentrate on, forget shifting. I was also too busy laughing. I was not gentle and the vehicle just plowed over every dip, hill, divot and rock I aimed it at. Good God, this thing is fun on-road or off.

The G.O.A.T. mode was a big help - it stands for “Goes Over Any Type of Terrain.” Modes include Normal, Eco, Sport, Slippery, Sand, Mud/Ruts, Rock Crawl and Baja. “Rock Crawl” gets swapped in for Sport on Badlands and First Edition trims. Each setting adds to the two- or four-wheel-drive setting.

You only get 14-ish miles to the gallon but we know that about off-roaders, yes?

And about those removable roof and doors. I didn’t touch them, not because I didn’t want to feel the open chilly air, but because it had been been snowing of late and I was loath to have to pull over and quickly get the tops and doors back on while my interior got dusted by God. I was hoping for a completely sunny day, but it never happened. Next time, perhaps.

The 2023 Ford Bronco Everglades is a great seller and deservedly so.