“ROOMY ENOUGH TO CAMP INSIDE” reads Ford’s new press release for the 2021 Ford Bronco. Included are examples of people trying their best to look comfortable sleeping on the folded rear bench of FoMoCo’s upcoming Jeep Wrangler fighter. So if you’re confused about how to lie down on a flat rectangular surface, don’t worry, Ford has you covered.
In the car media world, there exist certain headline terms and phrases so irresistible to readers that not clicking the article is a physical impossibility. Among those tempting words is anything having to do with sleeping in cars. Damn near every Jalopnik story ever written that involved sleeping in a vehicle — whether it was a Mitsubishi Montero overlander, a 2 Series BMW, a Volvo big-rig or even a VW camper van — has quickly sent our humble internet publication on the 3:10 to clicktown.
Another term that seems to cause readers to foam at the mouth and frantically engage the leftmost button on their computer mice is “Ford Bronco.” (Admittedly, I myself couldn’t stop reading about the Bronco. Hell, I wrote a 7,000 word article on it, so I get the Broncomania!). When that vehicle debuted, Jalopnik received such an onslaught of clicks from rabid, zip-off-pants-leg-wearing granolas curious about trading in their Subaru Crosstreks that it overflowed our servers, forcing us to accept mail-in clicks. (Some may have come from the dead, but we don’t discriminate.)
So when we saw this new Ford press release about how the 2021 Bronco has enough room behind the front seats to accommodate camping, our first two thoughts were: 1. This isn’t interesting. The press release seems to amount to “Hey, our car is big and the seats fold flat” and 2. But those clicks, though.
So here we are, you having gifted me with a click and me now shamelessly admitting that really, you’ve been bamboozled. This story’s subject — the Ford Bronco being roomy enough for you to lie down — is not worth your time, because damn near every modern SUV (including the Wrangler) has a folding rear bench. And damn near every reasonably large SUV can accommodate a moist, fleshy human body.
Hell, my 1994 Jeep Grand Cherokee — which is a foot shorter than the four-door Bronco — has a rear cargo area with more than enough room for me to sleep in a fully outstretched position. I’m only 5-foot-8, but I’d guess that about another six to eight inches of room remain when I’m oriented diagonally. Check it out:
If you’re curious to know the exact size of the four-door Bronco’s rear cargo area, Ford breaks it down:
With a large rear cargo area in back, the rear sleeping area of all-new 2021 Bronco four-door SUV has more than 21-square feet and a maximum enclosed rear area length of 6 feet, 6 inches with the seats positioned forward and the rear seats folded down and 3 feet, 7 inches wide with 10 extra inches of elbow room in the door area.
The literature goes on to say that, sleeping diagonally, like the guy in the top image, should allow 7-foot-6 basketball player Tacko Fall to sleep stretched out in the back of the off-roader. There’s also a slide-out “tailgate,” that, per Ford, cranks up the diagonal distance to eight feet, nine inches. You know, in case Tacko hits another growth spurt:
The four-door Bronco is big and its rear seats fold flat. Flat surfaces are conducive to human sleep. If you’re taller than 6-foot-6 (the length of the cargo area), it turns out, you can sleep diagonally to get more space. Because of geometry.
Thank you for your clicks, and do extend our appreciation to your distant ancestors, as well.