You Don’t Have to Own a Ford Bronco to Off-Road One Now
Ford’s “Off-Roadeo” experience used to be exclusive to Bronco owners, but now it’s open to the public.
Until now, if you wanted to check out one of Ford's cool off-road experience centers, you had to own a 2021 or newer Ford Bronco SUV. Sure, the experience was then "free" to owners, but not really. That's all changing now, because if you just wanna have fun and kick up some dirt in a Bronco, Ford is making half-day off-road experiences available to the general public at its Bronco Off-Roadeo locations.
According to Ford, a decent number of people who accompanied Bronco owners to these off-road experiences (spouses, parents, friends, etc.) ended up buying a Ford vehicle themselves—and more than half of those purchases were Broncos. So, someone with a keen business sense at the Blue Oval must've thought, why not open it up to everyone?
Starting now, anyone can book a half-day off-road experience at the Bronco Off-Roadeo in Mt. Potosi near Las Vegas; Moab, Utah; and Horseshoe Bay, Texas. The cost for a four-hour experience is $795 per vehicle, and it allows one driver and up to three guests to join in on the fun. That's not exactly cheap—though somewhat comparable to Jeep and SxS rentals in tourist hotspots—but it does include more than just a nice drive through some dirt.
The itinerary for the half-day adventure is a condensed version of the 10-hour off-road experience Bronco owners get. And according to Ford, participants still receive hands-on coaching to learn the dos and don'ts of off-roading, which is nice considering the program welcomes people of all experience levels. It turns out not everyone is a Baja champion, I suppose. The coaching also features expert trail guiding once the car's out in nature, which takes place on actual trails and also courses designed to highlight the SUV's abilities.
While this is clearly a cool business venture designed to sell more cars, I am also pretty happy about the fact that more people can now experience off-roading even if they don't have a rugged vehicle. Like a lot of outdoor powersports, it's not always easy to explore it for the first time, and programs like this one make it easier for everyone from young folks to grandparents to get involved. As for me, I can imagine this would be a hell of a surprise for someone like my dad or wife, given that they love the idea of off-roading but neither have their own rig.
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