The new Ford Bronco comes in a multitude of flavors: two-door and four-door, and then distinct trim levels that range from the Base up to the newly revealed Bronco Raptor. This allows you to choose from a stripped down, rugged off-roader to a reasonably comfortable daily driver with a full menu of capability and convenience features at hand. Right about in the middle of that pack is the Black Diamond trim, with a standard locking rear differential, steel bumpers, rock rails, skid plates, numerous drive modes and an easily washable interior. This rough-and-tumble Bronco, starting at $37,945 for the two-door and $40,290 for the four-door, is ready to hit the trail. We've written about how the Bronco drives, including off-road, but you might wonder what it's like inside the vehicle.
Well, get in.
We advise you use the grab handles built into either side of the dash to help pull yourself inside the mighty Bronco. There's no Jeep-style "Oh s***!" bar directly in front of the passenger, but there's another grab handle for the co-pilot's left hand below the center stack, with some nice blue accents to help locate it quickly.
Rightfully, Ford expects you to get this thing dirty — especially if you hit a dusty trail with the roof and/or doors off. As such, this Bronco features "marine grade" vinyl seats, meant to be easy to wipe down. They're not pretending to be leather by any means. They're slick and rubbery. They're not uncomfortable, but they feel more accommodating to rough denim jeans than they do to dress slacks. This Bronco's were black trimmed in gray. The bucking horse embossed on the seatbacks remind you what you're about to drive.
Likewise, the designers rightly anticipated that the floors would get filthy, too. The rubberized floors even have drain plugs through which you can empty out the mud, snow and sand that will inevitably make their way inside. Just a quick, easy twist, and they're open — there are no tricks or childproof obstacles to thwart you. If it was any other car, it would be a little unsettling to be able to see the pavement between your feet, but anyone who has had to step into their vehicle directly from a mud puddle, or who has had their kid spill an entire bottle of milk on the floor will immediately appreciate the ability to let gravity do the bulk of the cleanup.
Although it's a historical nameplate with rugged utility, the Bronco does offer some modern amenities. Take, for instance, the 8-inch infotainment touchscreen, as well as the 8-inch it-didn't-have-to-be-digital-but-it-is driver display. Ford may be going back to its off-roading roots with the Bronco, but you don't have to be a complete luddite to enjoy it, nor must you abide some futuristic fantasy land.
Apart from the displays, analog is the name of the game. You gotta love rotary dials and hard buttons for the audio controls. You need to be able to quickly mute that terrible Aerosmith song that comes on the radio when trying to concentrate on the trail through the dust and mosquitos. Nobody should put up with that. Hard buttons for the climate controls — and seat heaters — are appreciated, too. Below those is a phone-sized storage cubby complete with 12-volt outlet, plus a USB and USB-C port.
Surrounding your precious beverage storage are a couple neat focal points. G.O.A.T. modes and 4WD settings are easily accessed and manipulated. There's also a slick little plaque, the type usually reserved for special edition vehicles, that gives the Bronco interior a special, personal touch.
Gotta love steering wheel controls, but here the rubbery covering feels almost too soft and loose, as though they've already seen years of use. They're reminiscent of those in some budget GM products. The Chevy Cruze comes to mind (R.I.P.).
Hard plastic with simple patterns and graphics are to be expected in your hardcore off-roader. The grip on the door panel is sturdy and tactile, and we're again reminded of the branding on the dash in front of the front passenger seat. This stuff feels like it could take repeated beatings and still hold up over time.
Even if you never use the locker or wire anything to the auxiliary switches, the mere presence of their controls on top of the dash and on the overhead binnacle, respectively, clue you in to the Bronco's dedication to its off-roading intentions. The big, rubbery buttons on top of the dash are especially fun to fidget with. It's like they're inviting you to push this ute into precarious off-road situations just so you can press them in earnest. Furthermore, the mostly level top of the dash, complete with divided depressions, seems like it's designed to hold personal items in place. Indeed, the surface serves as a fine spot to set your kung pao while you snarf a quick meal in your child's school parking lot trail maps and walkie talkies.
There are some necessary oddities in a vehicle with removable doors. Just like a Jeep Wrangler, some electronic controls usually found on an outboard armrest or door panel are moved further into the interior. In this case, the window controls are on the front of the center console storage bin, and are oriented in a way that looks like they're upside-down when viewed head-on, but are more easily understood and manipulated from either of the front seats. Likewise, the side mirror controls are upside-down alongside them. The rear passenger window controls are on the back of the center console bin, just above the rear USB ports and three-prong inverter plug.
Do you like storage nets? Rugged, right? You can also attach items to the backs of the front seats using the plastic Molle grates above that netting.
The back seat cushions are angled upward rather severely. It makes installing a child car seat interesting. There'sjust enough room for a 6-foot driver to sit comfortably in front of a rear-facing seat if you inch up the manual seat adjustments a notch or two.
Finally, we reach the cargo area. It's a nice, flat, uniform load space behind 60/40 folding rear seats. There's built-in lighting and a 12-volt outlet, plus a little cutout into the side that would be a great place to stash a bottle opener for the beer you're going to crack open once you get back to home base after a long day on the trail. Check out Riswick's Bronco Luggage Test to see how much you can fit back there.
You also gotta love the body-color interior D-pillars to remind you that this this is happy to shed its outer layer and play in the dirt in the nude.
And of course, let us not forget the removable roof panels. The big, chunky handles are easy to use, even if you're wearing gloves. Praise be.
And, no, the roof panels don't do much to keep the noise out of the cabin, if that's something you care about.
The Bronco Black Diamond interior is not meant to be some cushy haven to keep you perfectly isolated from the discomforts of the trail. It's meant to be used and abused, to serve as a platform to help you get out off the beaten path — with or without shielding from the elements — and bring you back in one piece. That it does so without completely eschewing practical comforts you'd want for use in your day-to-day driving duties is great. That it's nottoomuch content (and the added price that accompanies it) is also a plus.
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