This week, Ford revealed an even more capable version of the Bronco. No, not the Bronco Raptor — something a little less insane. It’s called the Everglades and the special edition slots in between Sasquatch package Bronco (triple locked with 35s from the factory) and the presumably ultimate Bronco Raptor.
Everglades builds on Sasquatch package and adds a class-exclusive Ford-designed snorkel as well as a Ford Performance heavy-duty modular front bumper with safari bar that is fitted with one of WARN’s 10,000-pound 10-S winches with 100 feet of synthetic rope.
Ford designers rounded out the Everglades with rock rails and steel bash plates borrowed from the Black Diamond and Badlands trims as well as 17-inch wheels, which are tremendous looking if you ask me, and some 35-inch Goodyear mud-terrain tires.
The result is a four-door 4×4 that boasts 36.4 inches of water fording and a final crawl ratio of 67.8:1, which is pretty good from the factory. Though it’s a far cry from the Wrangler Xtreme Terrain’s 100:1 crawl ratio. But who’s counting?
Everglade’s power comes from Ford’s potent 2.3-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine. It produces an ample 300 horsepower and 325 foot-pounds of torque, which is routed through a 10-speed automatic transmission. You cannot get the Everglades in the V6 variant because — and I am guessing here — the snorkel doesn’t work with the twin-turbo V6’s air intake system.
READ MORE: Ford Bronco 4-Door Black Diamond Review
All told, the Bronco Everglades is a pretty compelling truck. It’s priced at $54,495 including destination charges. Orders begin in March but only for existing Bronco reservation holders.
It’s funny, when Ford revealed the Sasquatch package for the all-new Bronco, I naively thought it would be the ultimate expression of the standard (i.e. non-Raptor) Bronco — at least in the first generation of the reborn 4×4.
I mean, why would the blue oval undercut its own efforts by making obsolete the Sasquatch before most Bronco Sasquatch reservation holders had even taken delivery of their rig? And yet here we are. Go figure.
