Ford Bronco Badlands is invincible, but not suitable for big cities

Ford Bronco Badlands is interesting both literally and figuratively, except for Amsterdam. Standing 1.94m tall, most car parks have a maximum entrance height of 1.90m, and marked with a red and white checkered entrance gate, it is not to be underestimated. In the Guess Forest car park, I saw a Hummer driver ignore the order. He took away half of the Laren.

The baboon in me thought: We’re going to give this pig a bath. Still, when I was a student I used to drive into the 020 Center, but Femke Halsema no longer lets me enter anything. Parking on the street is impossible. After 45 minutes of wandering in the narrow, crowded alleys, with hateful looks from all cyclists, I found a parking space in the Artis parking lot. A blessing in disguise. Here he is almost at home, and the wildlife here forms a virtual bridge to the destination. I should go on a trip with this Mustang. I can use it to push down bad animals in the wilderness and feed leaves to the giraffes from the roof.

That won’t happen, at least not in the Netherlands, because nobody there will buy it. No one except a few Ami fans knows about this Ford vehicle, one of the first American all-terrain vehicles. Its latest version is a brave and nostalgic tribute to the first-generation Bronco. It is designed to be as minimal as possible. He is like a box on wheels, straight ahead. With its horizontal, partially illuminated signature strip running through the round headlights, it is exactly what it was originally. It’s just that the price is a far cry from what it has been since 1966. Country Bum Paid for their Mustang. Here it costs one hundred and sixty thousand euros. Immediately in front of you are two cars. Almost everything can be disassembled. Roof, windows, doors. A little tinkerer can have a convertible in half an hour.

Zoom in to see all the details of the Ford Mustang BadlandsClick on a point to view detailed instructionsPhoto: Merlijn Doomernik

Why should I test it? My love for Jeep is inextricably linked to the cultural grandeur of the authentic American Jeep and its long, honest lineage. Jeep is both a real brand and a collective name for all the off-road vehicles, from pickups to seven-seaters, that have become indispensable in rugged America. Jeeps remind us of the golden age of rugged off-road joy and anti-literary leisure culture, of real life that only wants to be in a book or a movie. For an American, the Jeep is a versatile object. He takes it to work, and on weekends he goes out with the villagers. I’ve experienced it. Next to an ancient off-roader, I drove his Jeep CJ5 to climb an impenetrable rock near Moab, Utah. When we reached the top of the mountain and admired the desert beauty, I asked him, why do you want this. Because I can, he said. I thought with admiration: no writer sees what you see unfiltered.

Photo: Merlijn Doomernik

Invincibility

Its six-cylinder engine develops 335 hp thanks to two turbochargers, but this power is only symbolic. This should be enough to make the Mustang roar slowly. It’s all about torque and traction, grabbing all possible obstacles from snow hills to rocks. With 563 Nm of pulling force, an electronically adjustable terrain management system, front and rear limited-slip differentials and a wading depth of 85 cm, it is theoretically invincible, especially the Badlands version with rough-surface all-terrain rubber, which feels great on the highway. This is the first car in which it is not the engine but the tires that make the body tremble, although the comfort is not bad even on paved roads. In addition, he is ready for the next level of adjustment, and they will not turn a blind eye to this in Moab. Winch, on-board pump for adjusting tire pressure. The required additional switches are mounted on the roof, and all the normal buttons are protected from mud and moisture by a layer of rubber.

Badlands, I love its name. Or love him because his death is near. He didn’t add water to the wine. The Bronco shows the sacrifices the world has made for efficiency. These cars solve practical problems no matter what the weather. Since the Defenders were hyped up inside the A10 ring, they are now revealed as Canal Belt terrorists. In any case, as long as the Zuida denounced those excellent workhorses for doing shitty jobs, they are. Rent it once in the United States and show every corner of the unpaved world and you will understand its splendor. With the Bronco, a pre-psychological, prehistoric happiness disappears, it makes you experience the pain of that loss.

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