Photo: Ford
Be it a gimmick or an off-roading feature, the folding windshield helps the Wrangler stand out in the SUV crowd. The Ford Motor Company couldn’t make a case for one, but did you know that the original design for the 2021 Bronco had fold-down glass?
Chief designer Paul Wraith told Ford Authority why the Bronco reverted to fixed glass, and his explanation is rather simple. “It does provide the user with a fairly rare event since you start getting into things like flat windshields, which is a compromised construction around pillars.” Otherwise said, the Blue Oval found this design more complex from a production standpoint.
Off-roading peeps like to get dirty, make no mistake about that. But do you like bugs hitting your face at any speed, be it on the trail or the freeway? The folding glass makes some sense in theory, but not so much in real-world driving scenarios.
“What we actually really wanted to do is to provide a very open-air feel, thin out the pillars as much as we could, which is why we have the airbags in the sport tubes,” said Wraith, and he’s not bluffing about the airiness considering the roof options and the removable doors that can be stored in the trunk of the four-door Bronco.
As a brief refresher, the two-door Bronco comes with three- or four-section roof options designed to be removed by one person instead of two. Level up to the larger body style, and you are treated to a cloth top as standard or a four-section hardtop.
Ford is confident that anyone can remove the roof without an extra set of hands, and wrenching the doors off won’t pose a problem either. Lest we forget, the frameless windows and the pillar-mounted side mirrors translate to easier handling.
If you’re planning on giving the Bronco a chance over the Jeep Wrangler, the bad news is that you’ll have to wait a lot for delivery. The first units will arrive in customers’ garages in June 2021, but the U.S. configurator also says that “deliveries may extend into the 2022 calendar year” due to the high number of reservations.
Off-roading peeps like to get dirty, make no mistake about that. But do you like bugs hitting your face at any speed, be it on the trail or the freeway? The folding glass makes some sense in theory, but not so much in real-world driving scenarios.
“What we actually really wanted to do is to provide a very open-air feel, thin out the pillars as much as we could, which is why we have the airbags in the sport tubes,” said Wraith, and he’s not bluffing about the airiness considering the roof options and the removable doors that can be stored in the trunk of the four-door Bronco.
As a brief refresher, the two-door Bronco comes with three- or four-section roof options designed to be removed by one person instead of two. Level up to the larger body style, and you are treated to a cloth top as standard or a four-section hardtop.
Ford is confident that anyone can remove the roof without an extra set of hands, and wrenching the doors off won’t pose a problem either. Lest we forget, the frameless windows and the pillar-mounted side mirrors translate to easier handling.
If you’re planning on giving the Bronco a chance over the Jeep Wrangler, the bad news is that you’ll have to wait a lot for delivery. The first units will arrive in customers’ garages in June 2021, but the U.S. configurator also says that “deliveries may extend into the 2022 calendar year” due to the high number of reservations.
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