{"id":29415,"date":"2022-06-30T09:32:12","date_gmt":"2022-06-30T13:32:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/?p=29415"},"modified":"2022-06-30T09:32:12","modified_gmt":"2022-06-30T13:32:12","slug":"payne-ford-bronco-everglades-conquers-drummond-island","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/2022\/06\/payne-ford-bronco-everglades-conquers-drummond-island","title":{"rendered":"Payne: Ford Bronco Everglades conquers Drummond Island"},"content":{"rendered":"

Drummond Island<\/em>\u00a0\u2014 So this week I\u2019m chewing up Drummond Island\u2019s labyrinth of soggy off-road trails in a Ford Bronco Everglades. It\u2019s the latest in a stream of Bronco trims aimed at conquering every corner of God\u2019s green earth.<\/p>\n

First there was the base Bronco optioned with ginormous\u00a035-inch Sasquatch trim tires and dual-locking diffs so you could commute via the Rouge River bed to work.<\/p>\n

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Then came Bronco Badlands with detachable front sway bar and rock-resistant armored plating so you could climb Mount\u00a0Rushmore.<\/p>\n

Next up: the Bronco Raptor with ridiculous\u00a0live-valve Fox shocks so you can avoid L.A. traffic and take a shortcut through the desert at 75 mph.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s next? Maybe Bronco Sleeping Bear Dunes so you run a shuttle up and down the world\u2019s most formidable sand dunes?<\/p>\n

Or the Bronco Moon so astronauts have something to drive through the Sea of Tranquility?<\/p>\n

My latest, $54,595\u00a0Everglades tester fills a nice off-roader\u2019s niche between the Black Diamond trim and the purist\u2019s\u00a0Badlands.<\/p>\n

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Built on the same bones as Black Diamond \u2014 five skid plates, rock rails, seven GOAT (Go Over Any Terrain) modes, standard 35-inch tires \u2014 Everglades then adds more standard features for customers who want an extreme off-roader without having to dig deep into the Badlands toolbox and assemble accessories themselves.<\/p>\n

Significant Everglades upgrades include WARN winch, engine intake snorkel, plastic bumpers\u00a0and roof rails. Dude, you\u2019re ready to chase Star Wars\u2019 speeder bikes through the forests of Endor.<\/p>\n

But let me recommend Drummond Island. It\u2019s closer.<\/p>\n

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Just five hours up I-75 from Detroit, cross the mighty Mackinac Bridge, then hook a right and go to the east end of the U.P. Hop the ferry and five minutes later you\u2019re on Drummond, the seventh largest lake isle in the world \u2014 and the only island in the Manitoulin island chain that belongs to the USA (the rest of the archipelago is Canadian).<\/p>\n

Once aboard Drummond, I joined a convoy of Everglades and headed to the island\u2019s eastern forests. Drummond\u2019s 134 square miles is covered by 100 miles of off-road trails \u2014 one of the largest closed-loop ORV parks in the United States. And for some reason, the trails are wet all the time, which is perfect for a vehicles named Everglades sporting a snorkel.<\/p>\n

Bronco engineers Seth Goslawski and Jamie Groves played Lewis and Clark and guided us through the labyrinth. Let me recommend downloading the GAIA GPS app if you come here with your own groups of trailblazers \u2014 it provides good trail guidance. Here\u2019s another tip: bring waders.<\/p>\n

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Swampy Mounds ORV park in Flint is the only park I\u2019ve found comparable to Drummond, but the latter is much bigger and combines swamp with spectacular views of Lake Huron.<\/p>\n

I shifted Everglades to Neutral. Spun the GOAT mode selector to Mud\/Ruts putting me in 4WD High. Shifted back to DRIVE. Punched it.<\/p>\n

With the 35-inch Goodyear Territory tires aired down to 33 PSI (from 40) the beast romped happily thought the woods. Splashed through puddles. Danced over rocks. Sliced between trees.<\/p>\n

This ain\u2019t the 75-mph desert running I did in the Bronco Raptor earlier this month.<\/p>\n

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Everglades doesn\u2019t have Raptors\u2019 418 horse, twin-turbo\u00a03.0-liter V-6 beast under the hood. Heck, the 87.5-inch wide Raptor wouldn\u2019t have fit through some of the tight Drummond trails, which were apparently cut by years of Jeep Wrangler and side-by-side owners.\u00a0Nor is Everglades optioned with the 2.7-liter, 330-horse V-6 available on the Badlands buffet. For the Everglades’ simplified menu of options, the standard 300 horse, 2.3-liter turbo-4 is enough.<\/p>\n

Ford\u2019s logic? With that 100-pound winch hanging off the front bumper, the 2.3 saves 100 pounds from the V-6 for good weight balance. Which makes sense when you\u2019re front end starts sinking in Drummond mud and needs to power out. This is the same peppy engine found in the Mustang High Performance model.<\/p>\n

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A spirited run through the forest suddenly opened into a beautiful beach, Lake Huron\u2019s crystal-clear water lapping at the stones. Sprayed with mud, our Everglades Broncos were equipped with washable vinyl seats and drain plugs so you can hose down the interior.<\/p>\n

They are also equipped with Rock Crawl, which would come in handy for our next trail: Drummond\u2019s famed Marblehead Steps.<\/p>\n

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Shift to Neutral. Spin GOAT to Rock Crawl mode, enabling 4-LOW for extreme rock crawling. Engage both front and rear lockers for max traction. Time to climb.<\/p>\n

This is where the Badlands and Raptor editions excel, thanks to detachable front sway bars allowing their craft to walk up steps like a horse. Without the detachable sway bar option, Everglades is less deft, but that\u2019s where its truck-like rock rails prove their worth.<\/p>\n

GRONK!<\/em>\u00a0The rails landed on a marble step.\u00a0ROWWWRRRR!<\/em>\u00a0Deft use of the accelerator pedal spun the rear end around, allowing for better grip.\u00a0RROOOMP!<\/em>\u00a0The beast was on to the next step. We gathered around to help each other up the steps. Coaching. Directing. Congratulating.<\/p>\n

The steps reward their visitors with a spectacular cliff view of the lake. Freighters dotted the horizon, and beyond that,\u00a0Cockburn Island, the next step in the archipelago.<\/p>\n

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At this point, I felt like Superman. Is there nothing this Bronc can\u2019t do? I started playing with other electronic toys on Everglades. Trail-turn assist, which brakes the inside wheel to enable quicker rotation on tight trails. One pedal-drive, which allowed me to drive Everglades like the electric Mustang Mach-E.<\/p>\n

And my favorite: Trail Control to manage the car\u2019s speed feet-free. Traversing\u00a0an 800-foot stream bed \u2014 30-inches deep in water \u2014 I used only my left hand on the steering wheel\u2019s cruise button.<\/p>\n