We’re still several months away from the 2021 Ford Bronco actually hitting the streets en masse, but plenty of enthusiastic buyers are shopping one out right now and considering putting their name down with their local dealer. But even with all the fanfare, there’s still one important question: Buy the Bronco or go with the tried-and-true Jeep Wrangler? We’ve looked at how they compare on paper, but these new photos from Gatone13 at Bronco6G forums gives us a physical look at how they compare side by side.
From outside his hotel, he managed to snap a shot of a Cactus Gray Bronco Badlands with the “Sasquatch Package” next to a Jeep Wrangler Sport. The Shadow Black Bronco, on the other hand, looks like an Outer Banks without the Sasquatch Package. According to one post, “The Jeep came off the same trailer as the Bronco.”
What is the Sasquatch Package?
You’ve probably seen that name tossed around quite a bit, and the package comes as standard equipment on the Wildtrak, but it’s optional on every other trim (including the two we see here). The Sasquatch Package is even available on the base trim, which would make it more of an apples-to-apples comparison against something like the Jeep Wrangler Sport S on the far left in the photo above.
Tick that box, and Ford will fit 17-inch beadlock-capable wheels and 35-inch tires to any Bronco you’d like. You also get an electromechanical transfer case, front and rear lockers and better ground clearance against most of the standard models. You also get larger fender flares (as you can see between the two Broncos in the photos above), and you get off-road ready Bilstein shocks.
What you cannot get with the Sasquatch Package — and we’ve had a few people ask about this — is the seven-speed manual transmission. Per Ford, the package is currently only available with the 10-speed automatic transmission. The Blue Oval may change their minds on that, but the take rate on manual transmissions in general is fairly low anyway.
Tire options on these Ford Broncos
Gatone13 also took a couple photos of the tire options you’ll be able to get with the 2021 Ford Bronco. As part of the Sasquatch Package, Ford is fitting Goodyear Wrangler Territory mud-terrains. Get something like the Outer Banks without that package, and you’ll get Bridgestone Dueler all-terrains instead. The latter is a decent tire for occasional light off-roading, but you may want the Goodyears for serious off-road capability from the factory, if you don’t want to source some more aggressive all-terrains yourself. On the Jeep side, opting for the Willys Sport trim nets the same effect. On that trim, Jeep fits 32-inch Firestone Destination A/Ts.
The stock 2021 Ford Bronco Badlands, without the Sasquatch Package, comes with 33-inch all-terrains as standard equipment — same size as the Jeep Wrangler Rubicon. Across most of the range, including the Big Bend, Black Diamond and Outer Banks, you get 32-inch tires. The base Bronco packs 30-inch tires on 16-inch steel wheels.
Differences in height
On stock suspension, the Bronco6G forums member noted this Jeep Wrangler has the smallest tires of the three. With 245/75 R17 tires that come standard on the Wrangler Sport S, the two-door model’s Michelins measured out to 31.46 inches. The Badlands Bronco in the center has 315/70 R17 tires, coming out to 34.36 inches. Finally, the Bronco on the outside has 255/70 R18 tires, which measured 32.05 inches.
Admittedly, even if the Jeep is a model Ford’s using to Benchmark the Bronco, we know using a Sport S doesn’t give a direct comparison, at least against the Badlands. However, these photos do give a better idea of what the 2021 Ford Bronco will look like in the real world, with and without the Sasquatch Package.
Ford has not released pricing for the Sasquatch Package yet. What’s more, even leaked dealer price lists haven’t fleshed that out, but it’s likely to start at least somewhere in the $5,000 range. Fortunately, Ford’s letting you put that money where you want it, so you can sacrifice features on the upper trims to get it — you won’t necessarily have to spend that money on top of the most expensive trims like the Outer Banks and Badlands. Again, bear in mind the package comes standard on the Wildtrak, so that’s already factored into its hefty $50,370 price.
Check out this post for a closer look a 2021 Ford Bronco pricing by trim, and see how it compares to the Jeep Wrangler Rubicon and Toyota 4Runner TRD Pro in the video below:
