2021 Ford Bronco Attempts Real Rock Crawling On Rubicon Trail

Hardcore off-roading – that’s the very concept that the Ford Bronco was born for and that didn’t change for its latest sixth-generation model. We’re glad the Blue Oval keeps faith with that, unlike the reborn Golden Bow Tie counterpart that’s now a crossover, but I digress.

Even before the latest Bronco was launched, Ford has already been teasing it with off-road prototype testing. Now that the returning icon has hit the real world, it’s high time that we see some hardcore off-road action from the bucking horse.

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Bronco6g.com user Volkswaben gave us a sneak peek on a testing event that involved both two- and four-door Bronco models. Where? The Rubicon Trail in California. For the uninitiated, the 22-mile stretch of part-road, part 4×4 trail in the Sierra Nevada has been a testing bed of tried and true off-roaders. In fact, a trim level of the Bronco’s Jeep archrival, the Wrangler (and the Gladiator), was named after this trail.

Photos by Volkswaben documented the event, and there were videos as well. So how did the four-door Bronco do? Let’s just say that it needs a better driver.

As seen on the videos uploaded, it was clear that the Bronco wasn’t taking the right line in approaching one point of the challenging trail. The tires also look inflated well over the optimal pressure for this rock climb, which should affect traction in this type of situation. The rocks look too slick, as well, but that shouldn’t be an excuse, we reckon.

In any case, you’d be the judge. You can watch the footage of the rock climb here and here. Let us know what you think in the comments section below. We’d love to hear from you.