It’s Official: The 2022 Ford Bronco Sasquatch Will Have a Manual Transmission

Sasquatch Package Has Had a Rocky History

Ford launched the Bronco in July last year and it pretty much ticked all the boxes. It seemed like the first off-roader that had in it to take down the Jeep Wrangler. The only caveat was that the Bronco wasn’t offered with a V-8 engine and the company even confirmed later on that it will never happen either.

However, there were other things like a manual gearbox on offer that kept the purists interested. The company even announced that the already-rugged off-roader can be made even more off-road capable by equipping it with the Sasquatch package. In fact, it could be had on any Bronco trim.

When the details about the package came out, it came to light that this impressive package will be available only with the automatic transmission.

This pissed off a lot of people and someone even started a petition to offer it on the manual gearbox option as well. Fortunately, Ford didn’t take too long to rectify the situation and decided to offer the manual gearbox with it.

The Most Extreme Bronco Can Now Be Ferried With A Third Pedal

As stated earlier, Ford had announced that the Sasquatch package would be offered with a manual gearbox. However, the company has bigger fish to fry at the moment, like the well-known roof issues, the semiconductor shortage, and the airbag recall, and it seemed like this would’ve slipped down in its list of priorities. Fortunately, that’s not the case.

The forum reports that the Sasquatch Package is available with a manual gearbox, but only with the smaller 2.3-liter, four-cylinder EcoBoost engine, of course. The V-6 Bronco isn’t offered with the manual stick shift.

What Is The Sasquatch Package?

Ford introduced the Sasquatch Package along with the Bronco to make you off-roader a boulder carver. It can be had on any trim and comes with stuff like:

• 17-inch black high-gloss painted beadlock-capable wheels
• 35-inch 315/70 section BSW mud-terrain tires
• High Clearance Suspension and fender flares
• 4.7 final drive ratio with electronic-locking front and rear axle

The package is priced at $4,995 on two trims: Base and Big Bend. On the Black Diamond, it is priced at $4,495, $4,200 on the Outer Banks, and $2,495 on the Badlands. The Sasquatch Package is included in the Wildtrak and First Edition trims.

What Is Special About the Ford Bronco’s Manual Gearbox?

The Bronco is offered with a seven-speed manual transmission that’s sourced from Getrag and is the third manual gearbox in Ford’s lineup. The other two are the Getrag MT82 six-speed transmission seen in the Mustang and the Tremec-sourced six-speed offered on the Mustang Shelby GT350.

Coming back to the Bronco’s seven-speed gearbox, this setup includes six standard gears and one crawler gear. When paired with the advanced four-wheel-drive system, the crawler gear generates a ratio of 94.75:1. Expect it to work even better when you have the Sasquatch package equipped that comes with other off-road equipment.

Car and Driver had reported that when you pair the shorter 3.06:1 low gear of the optional two-speed transfer case and the shortest 4.70:1 rear axle with the Bronco’s first gear 6.588:1 ratio, it tops out at 7 mph in low range and 21 mph in high range.

Although the emphasis is on off-roading, highway driving won’t be too bad either. The Bronco with the manual gearbox can cruise at 80 mph in its top gear with the engine spinning at 2,400 rpm. To put things into perspective, this is 150 rpm lower than the Jeep Wrangler. Earlier, there was news of Ford engineering a lockout mechanism that would prevent you from going into the low gear unless you’re in four-wheel drive mode and have the transfer case in low range.

Does The Jeep Wrangler Have Any Similar Package?

As a matter of fact, yes. Back in July at the 2021 Chicago Auto Show, Jeep announced a new Xtreme Recon Package for the Wrangler. It includes:

• 1.5-inch Factory Suspension Lift with Uniquely Tuned Shocks
• 17-inch Beadlock-capable Wheels
• 315/70 section 35-inch BF Goodrich KO2 All-terrain Tires
• 4.56:1 Axle Ratio

The company announced that a new 4.88:1 axle ratio will be available for the Rubicon later this year. The 4.88:1 axle ratio will make it better than the Bronco’s 4.7:1 final drive ratio. When paired to the six-speed manual gearbox, it will offer a best-in-class 100:1 crawl ratio. This even beats the Bronco’s 94.75:1 crawl ratio.

The Wrangler equipped with the Xtreme Recon Package will also boast better angles than the Bronco. The Wrangler Xtreme Recon Package’s approach angle is rated at 47.4 degrees, breakover angle at 26.7 degrees, and the departure angle at 40.4 degrees. The Bronco with the Sasquatch Package, on the other hand, boasts an approach angle of 43.2 degrees, breakover angle of 26.3 degrees, and a departure angle of 37 degrees.

Things aren’t good for the Bronco Sasquatch in the ground clearance aspect either. The Wrangler Xtreme Recon Package’s ground clearance is rated at 12.9 inches, whereas the Bronco Sasquatch Package is rated at 11.5 inches.

What Else Is Changed On The 2022 Bronco?

Apart from the Sasquatch manual gearbox confirmation, the forum also reported some other changes made to the 2022 Bronco. This includes:

• Addition of two new exterior shades – Eruption Green and Hot Pepper Red
• Cyber Orange shade can now be had on all the trims
• Deletion of three shades – Anti-Matter Blue, Lightning Blue, and Rapid Red
• Steel front bumper now standard on Badlands and Black Diamond
• A lot of stuff that was earlier available only in packages and combos can now be had individually as well
• Except Badlands, all trims are offered with optional upgraded floor mats
• Roof rails are now available with four-door Sasquatch Package

Ford Also Bumped Up The Power Figures

A few months back, Ford even increased the power output on the Bronco.

The 2.3-liter, four-cylinder EcoBoost engine now makes 275 horses at 5,700 and 315 pound-feet of twist at 3,400 rpm with the regular fuel.

With the premium fuel, it makes 300 ponies and at 5,700 rpm and 325 pound-feet of torque at 3,400 rpm.

In the case of the larger 2.7-liter, V-6 EcoBoost, the power outputs are rated at 315 horses at 5,500 rpm and 410 pound-feet of torque at 3,250 rpm with the regular fuel.

Fill it up with the premium liquid gold and the outputs increase to 330 ponies at 5,250 rpm and 415 pound-feet of oomph at 3,100 rpm.

Conclusion

With the never-ending delays in deliveries, we’ll have to wait and watch if the 2022 Bronco will even be delivered anytime soon. All the hurdles aside, the confirmation on the manual gearbox’s inclusion in the Sasquatch Package will make some folks happy for sure. What do you have to say about it? Share your thoughts with us in the comments section below.

Source: Bronco6G Forums