2023 Ford Bronco Black Diamond RHD Review

I know exactly what the Ford Bronco is going to drive like. Sitting on the same T6.2 platform and virtually identical in size and weight, the Bronco will drive just like an Everest. But you know what they say about assumptions – this is a very different beast.

This feature isn’t some amazing scoop announcing that the US Bronco is suddenly available in local dealerships. This car is one of two that have been privately imported and converted by Melbourne’s Crossover Car Conversions. At the time of writing, you can buy this one tomorrow or order your very own, though the entry price – which we’ll get to – is unsurprisingly steep. The purpose of this exercise is to discover if the Bronco would be a worthwhile addition to Ford Australia’s range, either as a factory-produced vehicle or converted locally like the F-150. Being based on the same platform as the Ranger and Everest, there’s nothing except economics preventing Ford from offering it in right-hand drive – doing so at an acceptable price is the sticking point.

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Speaking of price, the well-optioned Ford Bronco Black Diamond you see here is $199,990. A huge amount of money, obviously, but when you consider it cost about AUD$90,000 in the States, then had to be shipped here, converted, and engineering certification completed, that’s the cost of doing business. With a couple under its belt, Crossover Car Conversions can offer a base Bronco for about AUD$150,000, all the way up to the Bronco Raptor at about $250,000 with a dizzying array of choices in between.

Ordering your Bronco is like dining at a Chinese restaurant where the menu runs to 10 pages and hundreds of items. To begin with, there are nine evocatively named variants: Big Bend, Black Diamond, Outer Banks, Heritage Edition, Badlands, Everglades, Wildtrak, Heritage Limited Edition and Raptor. Let’s forget the last one for a moment as, like the Ranger version, it’s very much its own thing.

All bar the Outer Banks and Everglades are available in two- or four-door guises. All the four-doors can be had as a soft or hard top (both removable) and all bar the Wildtrak come with a 2.3-litre turbo four-cylinder as standard. Big Bend, Black Diamond and Badlands models come standard with a seven-speed manual, though there’s also a 10-speed auto and selecting the 2.7-litre twin-turbo V6 automatically equips this.

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From there you can select from Mid, High, Lux or Sasquatch (yes, really) equipment packages, though as you might expect as you climb the range, more and more of this becomes standard, and only certain packages are available on certain variants.

Our test car is a four-door, soft-top Black Diamond optioned with the V6 and the Sasquatch Package. So equipped, it’s the ultimate off-road beast, with marine-grade vinyl seats, drain plugs in the rubberized floor to hose out the interior and heavy-duty bash plates almost the full length of the car.

The Sasquatch Package takes this to the extreme with enormous 315/70 mud terrain tyres (Bigfoot, geddit?), beadlock-capable wheels, the Advanced 4x4 system, shorter 4.7:1 diff ratio, a locking front diff to join the one at the rear, high-clearance suspension and Bilstein position-sensitive dampers. Most buyers would want to also select the Mid package as it adds keyless entry, dual-zone climate control, heated front seats, reverse sensors, auto headlights, blind-spot monitoring, lane-keep assist and more. Dimensionally, the comparison with the Everest is apt. The Bronco measures 4811mm in length, 1928mm in width and 1854mm in height, with a 2949mm wheelbase, while an Everest Trend is 4914/1923/1841/2900mm. Hauling capabilities are modest, with a payload of 534kg and 1563kg braked towing compared to the Everest’s 704kg and 3500kg respectively.

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But if you want a workhorse, buy a Ranger. The Bronco is more of a lifestyle machine. It’s why the roof and all the doors come off, though this is no doubt of greater appeal in Arizona or California than in a Melbourne winter. Personally, I’d spec my Bronco with the removable hard top, as driving the soft top at highway speeds is like being caught in a cyclone.

Higher-spec versions like the Wildtrak score leather-trimmed seats and a 12.0-inch infotainment touchscreen, but the Black Diamond makes do with plastic, vinyl, rubber and a functional – there’s wired smartphone mirroring but little else – 8.0-inch screen.

Rear accommodation is ample, though there’s only two seats, and the rear row folds virtually flat to expand the boot to mountain-bike-carrying levels of capacity. Another benefit of the removable hardtop is the flip-up rear window gives it a split-tailgate arrangement.

The Bronco’s optional engine is strong. Perfectly square with an 83mm bore and stroke, the 2694cc V6 is fed by twin mono-scroll turbos and produces 235kW at 5500rpm and 556Nm at 3250rpm on low-octane fuel, or another 11kW and 6Nm on premium juice. Even saddled with 2230kg it provides ample performance, and it wouldn’t be difficult to see this engine proving popular with Aussie Ranger buyers should it be offered like it is in the States (though it does like a drink, especially when turning 35-inch tyres).

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On the road the Bronco behaves in the manner you’d expect of a ladder-frame SUV with a live rear axle. The Bilstein dampers soak up big bumps without fuss – what speed hump? – but poor surfaces with small-amplitude corrugations can have it shimmying and shuddering.

Where Bronco differs substantially to its T6.2 siblings is its steering. It’s very quick by SUV standards and quite weighty – an unusual choice for a lumbering off-roader. Weirdly, both the small steering wheel and the weight and response of the steering itself remind me of an FK8 Honda Civic Type R.

Of course, where the Bronco – and this one in particular – really shines is off road. It’s not a stretch to say this is as capable as standard vehicles come. But it’s not infallible, grinding to a halt in 4H crossing a rut, the traction control completely flummoxed as to what to do with the unladen wheel – a situation most dual-cabs would’ve quickly sorted out.

However, the tougher the challenge, the more the Black Diamond shines.

All three diffs locked, the combination of those tyres, incredible approach and departure angles – compare Bronco’s 43.2/37-degree figures to the Everest’s 30.4/25.3 degrees, for instance – and 292mm of ground clearance make it borderline unstoppable.

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It also has some neat tricks. The Sasquatch Package brings Advanced 4x4 and G.O.A.T (Goes Over Any Terrain) modes such as mud/ruts, sand and rock crawl, which set the car up automatically at the press of a button. In addition, there’s trail turn assist, trail control (off-road cruise control) and the clever trail one-pedal drive, which means that when you back off the throttle it will quickly bring itself to a stop as if it has strong regenerative braking.

Those who privately import a Bronco will likely do so for its rarity and the awesome retro looks rather than its capability, but it’s clear there’s definitely a place for Ford’s off-road icon in Australia – IF the price is right. There’s no doubt buyers would line up around the block for a Bronco, but how many of them would be willing to stump up the required funds? That’s the likely $100,000 question.

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Ford Bronco Black Diamond Specifications