Bronco Weekly #39

Bronco Crash Tests

Even though the 2021/22 Bronco is engineered and designed to conform with modern safety standards, it nonetheless failed to achieve a perfect score on recent IHS tests.

However, it's still rated “Good” by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety which could be considered a satisfactory grade. It successfully passed 5 out of 6 crash test scenarios and was rated as "acceptable" in the head restraint test and "marginal" in headlight tests. While this may potentially discourage some buyers, there's no real reason for concern. Neither of the Bronco’s direct competitors, including the Jeep Wrangler, nabbed the Top Safety Pick, albeit for different reasons.

So what's the problem with the Bronco's head restraints? Apparently, the Bronco passengers could experience “moderate forces” in the neck area in the event of a crash, which was the reason for losing those valuable rating points. The restrains are supposedly incorrectly mounted, and according to safety authorities, should be 3.5-inches below the top of the driver’s head.

Why the Raptor Managed To Beat The Warthog

You might have noticed that the off-roading community switched from referring to the upcoming high-performance  as the Bronco Warthog and instead now call it the Bronco Raptor -- this name is also officially used by Ford’s marketing team.

Well, even though the Warthog name was the original designation and had been used in all kinds of official and semi-official material for the last year and a half, Ford decided to go with the Raptor designation. While both names had strong support, the company chose the Raptor handle for one strong reason. That reason would be name recognition and its value.

The Raptor is already known worldwide as the top designation on the F-150 series truck and it symbolizes enormous off-road capability, along with upper echelon power and performance. These are precisely the attributes that Ford wants the Bronco Raptor name to evoke. 

While the Warthog label certainly sounds cool and new, Ford decided to go with a proven model name, and we believe that the company's decision is a solid one.