In Ford’s war with the Jeep Wrangler, the game of ‘one upmanship’ between the two manufacters is exciting to watch and fantastic to experience first hand. This current generation Bronco was devised to take on the venerable Wrangler and not just match it…but to beat it at every conceivable metric. From power, price, room and lastly, the entire reason you buy a Wrangler…accessories/parts.
It’s been said that the Wrangler is like a gigantic Lego, you just plop any sort of part (cheap, expensive, bulky, svelte, off-roady, performance-y and everywhere in between) and you can create your own interpretation of a ‘Jeep’. Modifying Wranglers are such commonplace that it is as easy as just picking one that’s already ‘kitted out’ from the dealership and be along your merry way. Granted it doesn’t matter if your modified Wrangler is from a dealer or your driveway, they all end up looking exactly the same. All lifted to roughly the same height, with black wheels, squinty lights and a ‘Salt Life’ sticker on the rear window.
All of that is to say, there is a LOT of money on the table with factory ‘modified’ models and Ford weren’t going to rest on their laurels. This brings us to the Bronco Everglade. The Everglade trim takes a base Sasquatch model Bronco and adds on a bevy of upgrades to transform the already stout looking Bronco Sasquatch to a overlanding best of a thing! From the massive wheels, to the snorkel to the winch that gleams in the sun, the Everglades is a rolling middle finger to the Wrangler…and I LOVE it.
There is so much…personality to the Bronco Everglades. It’s more of a big, fluffy dog than car. It bucks, hops, gurgles and lunges about that you cannot help but pat the top of the steering wheel and exclaim:
Even its faults are a things you grow to appreciate it. From the jiggly ride, the hilarious amount of noise on the highway all the way to the 14 MPG. You can’t help but smile at this darn thing!
Does the 2023 Ford Bronco Everglades make any sense? Oh God no. If you were a smart person, you just get the base Bronco. Heck, if you were even a smarter person you would just get a Ford Escape.
BUT
If you can afford it, the absolute absurdity of the Bronco Everglades cannot be matched.