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Configurator Challenge: 2021 Ford Bronco

Ford's reborn off-roader is one of the most highly-anticipated vehicles unveiled in the last year – here's how the CarAdvice/Drive team would spec theirs.


Customisation is in vogue at the moment, but choice can be seriously confusing. In our configurator challenge, we let the CarAdvice team loose on a manufacturer’s website to create their ideal spec of a certain model.

We're kicking off the return of this series with one of the most customisable vehicles on sale (overseas, albeit): the reborn 2021 Ford Bronco.

Let us know how you'd spec your ideal Bronco in the comments, and which cars you'd like to see us configure next!


Ben Zachariah, Journalist

Given a blank chequebook, my choice for a new one would be a 2021 Bronco Black Diamond four-door.

A few reasons why I chose this spec: the first is that it comes standard on black steel wheels. Besides the fact that they look excellent when paired with black paint, steel wheels are far better for serious off-roading than alloy wheels, as they can be hammered back into place and welded with cheap equipment and basic skills.

But the main reason is the Black Diamond comes as standard with the seven-speed manual transmission. While it's a shame you can't option the 2.7-litre with the manual gearbox, the 2.3-litre is hardly underpowered with 224kW and 441Nm.

While the two-door is arguably cooler, I've spent a lot of time in a short-wheelbase 4x4, and it's more comfortable and practical to have the extra wheelbase and seats, and I love that it's a four-door with a removable roof.

I've added a hard-top for winter duties, along with the off-road assistance pack, brush guards, floor liners, and a tow pack. All up, I'm in for US$42,635 – or AU$55,000 before on-road costs.

That'll do me just fine, thanks.



Alex Misoyannis, Journalist

As you might notice, the specifications chosen by my colleagues generally (and accidentally) fall into one of two camps (spoiler alert): a stripped-out, low-spec Black Diamond with four doors, or a hardcore, high-priced Wildtrak with the Sasquatch pack, two doors and the 'shorty' wheelbase.

However, I believe the best Bronco you can buy sits firmly in between those two perspectives. Meet my Outer Banks four-door, which balances the four-door practicality and low(-ish) price of the Black Diamond duo, with the off-road capability and luxury features of the Wildtraks.

Cyber Orange exterior paint (the best colour on offer, fight me) and a removable hard-top roof clothe the mid-spec Outer Banks’ humble wheel and tyre package, comprising a pleasant set of 18-inch alloy wheels wrapped in all-terrain tyres.

Unfortunately, the Outer Banks grade can't be specified with lower-spec variants' seven-speed manual transmission, so if you're forced to have the auto, you might as well pair it with the biggest engine on offer, a 246kW 2.7-litre turbocharged V6.

Options? The mid-grade High package adds niceties like a 12-inch touchscreen, 360-degree camera and additional sound deadening – and as much as I'd like to splurge on the flagship Lux pack, I've tried to keep the price down and save the additional $2000.

Leather seats and the quieter hard-top are must-haves for me, though, given this car will realistically spend 99 per cent of its time in the urban jungle.

All up? Ford asks US$50,265 (AU$64,900) for my specification – if only there was right-hand-drive production to allow me to put my money down.



Emma Notarfrancesco, Senior Journalist

I chose the 2021 Bronco Wildtrak. I wish we had these in Australia! It makes a tonne of sense for our market and I'm personally all for its tough and beefy-looking exterior.

I went for Shadow Black paint, adding front steel bash plates, and tubular side steps to the exterior. The interior had most niceties fitted as standard already, but I did add extras such as the storage bag and the 'Lux' equipment package for an additional US$3590.

The total cost comes out to US$53,655 (AU$69,300).



Kez Casey, Production Editor

My ultimate spec wish-list was pretty simple. I would accept nothing less than steel wheels and Ford's nifty six-speed-plus-crawler-gear manual.

Is it the ultimate off-road spec? Heck no. There are better tyres, better diff ratios and better engines once you head up the range.

The Black Diamond packs all the right visual cues though, with plenty of black plastics and the addition of a front brush guard, all offset by the glowing Cyber Orange paint. Otherwise my spec is bare Black Diamond, from the cloth roof to the 'marine grade' vinyl seats.

The 224kW 2.3-litre turbo four may not be the most brutal engine on offer, but I'll take it to avoid Ford's shuffly 10-speed auto. The four-door body looks like a less popular choice around the CA office too, but the proportions work well, and it can only be handy to stuff passengers and gear in for rock-crawl weekends.

If you want to ride with me, my only rule is that we do so with either roof on and doors off, or doors off and roof on. I'm not sure why that is – but from the pics I think you'll see why that makes sense.



Tom Fraser, Journalist

The desire to go full OJ Simpson-spec was strong, but sadly the configurator wouldn't bend to that iconic look. Instead, I've opted for the spectacularly-named Antimatter Blue, which if it comes out looking anything like the configurator in real life, will be a winner.

I've gone for the Wildtrak specification, as it's the only name I recognised. It adds the Sasquatch package as standard, which brings cool black 17-inch beadlock wheels fitted with mud terrain tyres, high clearance fender flares, lifted suspension and a 4.17 final drive ratio with electronically-locking axles.

I would have liked to have mated my 2.7-litre Ecoboost V6 engine with a manual transmission, though I'm resigned to the 10-speed automatic which should do a good job anyhow.

Interior specification has remained two-tone Sandstone/Black Onyx cloth specification, leather is overrated.

Likewise, graphics packages are only cool in select circumstances and the Wildtrak stickers are decidedly not cool. Fight me.


Bonus: Ben's Bronco memories

I have good memories of the Ford Bronco. My best mate grew up in the back of a two-door from the mid-1980s – the classic red with a white roof exterior package often seen on Australian roads back then.

It sat in a carport at his family's farm in Queensland for a decade, before we spent one Christmas holiday recommissioning the old girl. Our ambitious plan was to fly up, get the Bronco back on the road, and use it to tow his Toyota Stout back to Melbourne – and that's exactly what we did. Its 6.9-litre non-turbo diesel 'IDI' V8 wasn't fast, but it was unkillable.

New wheels and tyres, brakes, fluids, and a battery, and we got home in two days, despite multiple tyre blowouts on the trailer. I have fond memories of installing a stereo at speed from the passenger seat in a torrential rainstorm somewhere near Goondiwindi.

Some months later, I ended up driving the Bronco back up to the border for him, and it cemented my love for the Bronco badge.


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Alex Misoyannis

Alex Misoyannis has been writing about cars since 2017, when he started his own website, Redline. He contributed for Drive in 2018, before joining CarAdvice in 2019, becoming a regular contributing journalist within the news team in 2020. Cars have played a central role throughout Alex’s life, from flicking through car magazines at a young age, to growing up around performance vehicles in a car-loving family.

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