The Ford Bronco is finally coming to Australia, and it arrives with a range extender hybrid system, a pop-up roof designed to help you soak up the stars and an optional bed in the back.
Due here in the second half of 2027, the Bronco Basecamp is a five-seat, all-wheel-drive wagon built around an extended-range electric (E-REV) drivetrain, aimed squarely at people who want a mid-sized SUV that does more than a Toyota RAV4 or Hyundai Tucson does once the bitumen ends.
The Basecamp is a very different beast to the butch full-size Bronco sold in the United States, and Ford is not pretending otherwise.
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Monocoque, not ladder frame
The most important detail for anyone weighing the Basecamp against a Ranger or an Everest is what sits underneath it.
Where those two use body-on-frame construction with a live rear axle, the Basecamp is built on a monocoque platform with independent suspension front and rear.
While we haven’t driven it, the set-up is typically designed for better on-road manners at the expense of off-road prowess.
Ford has been open that this is not a vehicle built to replace its ladder-frame models.
“When we looked at how Aussies and Kiwis spend their time outdoors, the national parks, the coastal trails, and the distances they travel, the fit was immediate,” said Ford Australia marketing director Ambrose Henderson.
“Outdoor life here isn’t a trend, it’s just life. Bronco Basecamp was almost purpose-built for these customers.”
Read that as gravel roads, forestry tracks, beach access and station tracks rather than the High Country or the toughest tracks to Cape York.
But we also reckon it could work pretty well as an overlander and probably venture into places such as the Simpson Desert.
Signs it is meant to leave the black top
Two details suggest Ford has engineered the Bronco Basecamp to go a lot further than a RAV4 that it may in some ways compete with.
The flagship Outcamp gets genuine all-terrain tyres rather than the road-biased rubber usually fitted to soft-roaders, and every variant in the range gets a full-size spare wheel mounted on the tailgate.
Plenty of electrified SUVs – and more than a few utes – arrive with a space-saver or a can of goo, which is close to useless anywhere from a main centre.
A full-size spare as standard is a clear signal about where Ford expects these vehicles to be driven.
In China, where the car is already on sale, it boasts a 220mm ground clearance, an approach ange of 30 degrees and a departure angle of 32 degrees.
They’re decent numbers.
Range-extender hybrid uses petrol engine as a generator
The drivetrain may be the Basecamp’s most relevant feature for remote travel.
A 49kWh battery feeds two electric motors, with a 1.5-litre turbocharged petrol engine acting purely as an onboard generator.
Unlike a plug-in hybrid, the engine never drives the wheels.
Ford is estimating a combined WLTP range of between 800km and 900km, although those figures are preliminary.
The company has not disclosed electric-only range, but a 49kWh battery should be good for something in the order of 200km between plug-ins.
The practical upshot is that the Basecamp refuels at a bowser rather than a charger. In a country where the DC charging network thins out rapidly once you leave the highway, that removes the single biggest objection to taking an electrified vehicle bush.
Henderson described it as “electric power for the everyday and a petrol engine to charge the battery when the road keeps on going”.
Bronco Basecamp built around the campsite
Where the Bronco Basecamp does look genuinely thought through is at the campsite.
The flagship gets an electrically operated Pop-Up Lift Roof that raises at the press of a button to add headroom and ventilation, with the seats folding flat to create a bed. Ford will offer a full-length inflatable mattress as an accessory, and has positioned overhead LED lighting, air vents and charging points with overnight stays in mind.
There is also a 7.5-litre central storage compartment that doubles as a fridge or a warmer.
The side-hinged rear swing gate carries what Ford calls the “Wild Kitchen”, with a fold-down table and access to the vehicle’s electrical system.
Up to 6.6kW is available through Ford’s Pro Power Onboard, which is plenty to run an induction cooktop, lights, fridge and laptops without dragging a generator along.
“It really is built from the campsite out,” Ford studio design director Simon Brook said at the Australian unveiling.
That 6.6kW output is arguably the strongest touring argument in the whole package.
A vehicle carrying 49kWh of usable storage and able to recharge itself from its own engine makes it more appealing than a dual-battery setup.
What the Bronco Basecampo means for touring buyers
The Basecamp is part of a broader Ford Australia push to compete in more of the market, and it has been developed through Ford’s partnership with Chinese manufacturer JMC.
Ford Australia president and CEO Fadi Mawal said the company is increasingly open to Chinese-developed product where it suits local buyers.
Pricing is not confirmed, but expect a starting figure of somewhere in the mid-$50,000 bracket, before on-road costs, which would put it up against the Toyota RAV4 PHEV and Nissan X-Trail E-Power rather than anything with a transfer case.
Judged as a 4WD, the Bronco Basecamp will not trouble an Everest, and Ford does not claim it will.
Judged as a touring wagon for gravel, sand and forestry tracks – one that sleeps two, runs a fridge indefinitely and covers up to 900km between fuel stops – it is a more interesting proposition than the badge on the tailgate might suggest.
Australian specifications, variants and pricing will be confirmed closer to its 2027 launch.
