It's Official: Ford Bronco Sasquatch to Get a Stick After All

Tim Healey
by Tim Healey

We wrote last week about rumors that Ford was testing a Bronco with the Sasquatch Package and a manual transmission. That was remarkable because Ford initially said the off-road-performance package would only be available on automatic transmission vehicles.

Which, of course, caused enthusiasts to howl. Especially on Twitter.

In what may be one of the few examples of social media being used as a force for good (your author may be a bit down on social media after watching The Social Dilemma) here in the year 2020, the backlash has prompted Ford to make the manual available in Broncos equipped with Sasquatch, after all.

“The Bronco community spoke and we heard them,” said Mark Grueber, Ford Bronco consumer marketing manager, in a statement. “Our team moved quickly to add Sasquatch with a manual transmission – another example of our focus on giving customers the best possible off-road vehicles and accessories that we can.”

Ford claims that this will make a Bronco so equipped the only 4×4 with a seven-speed manual and 35-inch tires, at least in its class. “Class” here is a bit fuzzy, in terms of what other vehicles are in it, but the Jeep Wrangler fits. An argument could be made for the base model of the new Land Rover Defender, too. Others would argue for the Toyota 4Runner.

The Sasquatch Package includes the 35-inch mud tires, 17-inch wheels, front and rear electronic locking axles from Dana, a 4.7:1 final-drive ratio, a higher-clearance suspension, a wider track (almost 2 inches), Bilstein shocks, and wider fender flares.

The package will be available on base, Big Bend, Black Diamond, Outer Banks, and Badlands trims, and standard on Wildtrak and First Edition models.

“Capability is always a priority, and pairing Sasquatch with a manual transmission and available advanced 4×4 system gives it a maximum crawl ratio of 94.75:1, providing even more off-road capability across the line-up,” said Dave Pericak, Ford icons global director, in the same statement. An aside: We think Icons is a silly name for the Bronco and Mustang, but that is Pericak’s title, like it or not.

Ford is targeting availability in late 2021 for manual-transmission Broncos with the Sasquatch Package.

There’s another news nugget tucked into Ford’s press release – the consumer configurator, also known as the build and price tool, goes live in October. So if you’re curious what the MSRP would be for a Bronco built to your preferred trim and option spec will be, you’ll be able to find out soon. That’s useful whether you put down a reservation or just like to daydream.

If you’re planning on actually buying a Bronco, you’ll be able to print and save your information. Ordering is scheduled to begin in December, with sales beginning next spring.

[Image: Ford]

Tim Healey
Tim Healey

Tim Healey grew up around the auto-parts business and has always had a love for cars — his parents joke his first word was “‘Vette”. Despite this, he wanted to pursue a career in sports writing but he ended up falling semi-accidentally into the automotive-journalism industry, first at Consumer Guide Automotive and later at Web2Carz.com. He also worked as an industry analyst at Mintel Group and freelanced for About.com, CarFax, Vehix.com, High Gear Media, Torque News, FutureCar.com, Cars.com, among others, and of course Vertical Scope sites such as AutoGuide.com, Off-Road.com, and HybridCars.com. He’s an urbanite and as such, doesn’t need a daily driver, but if he had one, it would be compact, sporty, and have a manual transmission.

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  • Jack4x Jack4x on Sep 21, 2020

    Great news, now do a V8.

  • EBFlex EBFlex on Sep 21, 2020

    Ford is really going to lie that boldly to us? After the ridiculous amount of time it took them to poorly clone the Wrangler, during all the focus groups, all the feedback sessions, all the comments on articles they actually are going to try and tell us that this was a last minute decision based on what the “Bronco community” had to say AFTER it was released? “Capability is always a priority, and pairing Sasquatch with a manual transmission and available advanced 4×4 system gives it a maximum crawl ratio of 94.75:1, providing even more off-road capability across the line-up,” Ok so you just admitted one of two things. Yeah f capability was always a priority why wasn’t this a thing from the start? Or was capability not that much of a priority? Which one is it? Man I don’t know whose the bigger liar, Ford or Tesla. Bold Moves indeed.

    • See 1 previous
    • Garrett Garrett on Sep 21, 2020

      Poorly clone the Wrangler? Ford actually has delivered a far more appealing product.

  • Carson D At 1:24 AM, the voyage data recorder (VDR) stopped recording the vessel’s system data, but it was able to continue taping audio. At 1:26 AM, the VDR resumed recording vessel system data. Three minutes later, the Dali collided with the bridge. Nothing suspicious at all. Let's go get some booster shots!
  • Darren Mertz Where's the heater control? Where's the Radio control? Where the bloody speedometer?? In a menu I suppose. How safe is that??? Volvo....
  • Lorenzo Are they calling it a K4? That's a mountain in the Himalayas! Stick with names!
  • MaintenanceCosts It's going to have to go downmarket a bit not to step on the Land Cruiser's toes.
  • Lorenzo Since EVs don't come in for oil changes, their owners don't have their tires rotated regularly, something the dealers would have done. That's the biggest reason they need to buy a new set of tires sooner, not that EVs wear out tires appreciably faster.
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