5 ways the Ford Bronco makes off-roading easy for all

HORSESHOE BAY, Texas — About halfway through the most challenging off-road trail prepared for journalists here — ominously labeled the Ghost Pepper course, as opposed to the easier Jalapeño and Habanero paths — a reporter a few vehicles away in our caravan of Ford Broncos radioed that he was stuck at a steep, mud-caked rock formation.

"You're not stuck, you're just momentum-ly challenged," our trail guide called back. "You're not stuck unless you turn off the keys and give up."

Sure enough, once a spotter surveyed the situation and offered some advice, the SUV scaled the rocks and was back to crawling over the Texas terrain in a matter of minutes. It was the only real hang-up on an otherwise problem-free excursion, even with a few off-road novices — myself included — sprinkled among the participants.

That's exactly what the Bronco's developers intended.

While the most die-hard Bronco owners are eager take their new steeds across the sands of Baja and up the mountains of Moab, many have never left the relative safety of the pavement. Ford Motor Co. designed the Bronco to make off-roading easy even for first-timers, and for those who don't go to the Off-Roadeo driving school. It's that ease that most struck me when I took the SUV though the mud, ruts and rocks of Texas Hill Country last month.

Here are five features that made me feel like an expert on my inaugural off-roading experience.

1. Hero switches: Ford essentially made an off-road "easy button" for the Bronco with a row of hero switches at the top of the dashboard. There's one each to lock the front and rear differentials, allowing both wheels on an axle to rotate at the same speed and evenly apply the same power to conquer rough terrain. A "trail turn assist" switch locks the inside rear wheel while turning to create a pivot point, helping the Bronco around tight corners. On some models, there also is a front stabilizer bar disconnect switch, which gives the vehicle better articulation over rough terrain.

2. One-pedal/no-pedal driving: Models with the optional 2.7-liter V-6 engine have one-pedal mode, which automatically applies the brakes when the driver eases off the accelerator. It's supposed to make climbing up rough, uneven rock faces easier by taking the guesswork out of when to brake — and it takes some getting used to. But as a novice off-roader, I found that if my brain didn't have to worry about when to move my foot from one pedal to the other, I could better concentrate on steering, or listening to the trail guide, as I maneuvered up the bigger rocks.

The Bronco also has a feature called "trail control," a sort of off-road cruise control that pushes the vehicle along at a low, set speed so the driver can focus on steering up or down hills.

3. Removable doors: Half the point of off- roading is to get out into nature, and that's more fun in a door-less vehicle. Disassembling any part of a $40,000 to $60,000 machine can be daunting, but Ford simplified the process. Each door is attached with two screws and a bolt that can be removed in a couple of minutes using a provided toolkit. Owners also get protective covers for each door that, on four-door models, show the order in which to store them. There's even a QR code that links to a tutorial video in case of difficulty.

4. Fender flares: The plastic fender flares over each wheel come off even easier than the doors. Each pops off after unhooking five quarter-turn latches. Ford turned the fender-flare removal process into a race for journalists to see who could take them all off and put them back on fastest. I breezed through most of it, but fumbled reattaching the last flare. Even then, my total time barely exceed two minutes.

5. Phone/camera mount: If you go off-roading but don't post video on social media, does it even count? Ford added a do-it-yourself phone or camera mount to the top of the dashboard so owners can record their adventures. There also is a charging port up there, to avoid having wires dangling down the front of the center console. I used the phone mount Ford loaned to media members to record parts of my drive and, yes, snap a few selfies (while parked). But I forgot to properly tighten the mount before a hot lap with professional off-road driver Shelby Hall, so halfway through the high-speed "Fun-Haver 5-Smile Loop," the phone flopped down. That meant you couldn't watch us bound over hills or speed around dirt embankments, but you could hear the laughter. Five smiles, indeed.