The Bronco Trail App Is the Hardcore Google Maps for Off-Roaders, But There's a Catch

The Bronco Safari is a Ford-sanctioned event, so the carmaker will be there in the Moab desert in a sort of an official capacity. It won't bring something truly spectacular to the show, in the way of an actual vehicle designed for this gathering. So the app we're here to discuss now should do the trick and be more than enough for those present there (and others of course). And a quick look at it shows it just might be.

Enter the Bronco Trail App, a solution that's not only supposed to give drivers more choices when it comes to the adventures they plan, but also a bunch of tools to make each trip one to remember, brag about, and repeat, if need be. Before going into it, you should note that despite the app being available for both Apple iOS and Google Android devices, it will only work for Bronco owners. So, if you're a Jeep fan trying to get some inside info on cool trails, tough luck.

How is this a Bronco-owner-only app? Well, for it to work it needs to be connected to the FordPass account. From there, it should be smooth sailing to drives best told in photos and videos.

The Bronco Trail app has been designed to cover 18,000 miles (29,000 km) of off-road trails spanning across Canada, the U.S., and Mexico. Because these are not roads that can easily be surveyed from space, Ford promises each of those miles has been carefully curated by professionals, so that should ensure some sort of certainty that aside for fun the trails are also safe.

Drivers can select the trail they want to take but also filter them based on location, length, or difficulty. Each trail is dotted with its own points of interest. In this case, of course, we're not talking about drive-ins, hotels, and such, but about tough challenges, scenery, and even photo opportunities.

Each trip can be saved by the one taking it, and enriched with a wealth of personal waypoints and even notes. The app also allows bookmarking of important points on the trail, so you'll know where to come back and what to avoid.

Maps for each trail can be viewed in different styles, and they are supposed to also work offline (they need to be downloaded for that), an important aspect considering the remote locations some of these trails are located in.

Depending on how demanding a trail is, the Bronco app goes as far as even to show how much pressure you need in your tires to safely navigate through treacherous areas. This feature too works without the need for an Internet connection.

No trip in the great outdoors, especially by car, is not worth it if you can't brag to your friends about it. To handle this task, the Bronco app comes with the "ability to record drives with waypoints, photos and video."

Using the smartphone as a camera, the app records and stores drives, which can then be viewed wherever thanks to them being automatically stored inside the smartphone itself. From there, they can be spread to the whole wide world via whatever social network its maker uses the most.

Unlike most videos made using smartphones though, these ones are a tad richer, as they are backed by data on speed, RPM, distance traveled, or elevation. And that data does not come separately from the video but can be overlayed for the ultimate off-roading analysis experience.

All of the above details on the Bronco app describe what it can do now, at the time of its release. Ford says future updates will expand the solution's capabilities, depending on what other needs adventurers develop over the years.

Because at least at the time of writing the Bronco is only available in North America, Apple's and Google’s European app stores do not offer access to the Bronco Trail.

That might change soon, as the Blue Oval already confirmed the off-roader will hit the roads of the Old Continent by the end of this year. The version to be sold there is of the "extreme Built Wild off-road," variety, as Ford itself said, so it's to be expected European customers would love something similar to be designed for their continent as well.

As for the Bronco Safari, the event offers those attending anything from impromptu get-togethers to organized trail rides. There are still tickets available for the event if you plan a trip down there, and the asking price for one is $165.