The Ford Troller TX4 Is One Sweet Brazilian Boulder-Basher

Ford Brazil keeps on trolling the rest of the world with its off-road-ready Troller. The Jeep Wrangler-like SUV is everything we Yanks have ever asked for from the Blue Oval. 
Thankfully, Ford has a reborn Bronco in store for us, which we’ll finally see in the spring. Until then, though, we remain envious of our Brazilian counterparts who are able to purchase a Troller today. Our jealousy is even greater now, too, thanks to the addition of an American-consumer-friendly automatic transmission to the Troller’s options list for the 2020 model year. The six-speed unit comes from the Brazilian-market Ranger, and it supplements the Troller’s standard six-speed manual gearbox. 

Whereas Ford denotes stick-shift Trollers by way of T4 badges, the company christens the newly available automatic Troller the TX4. Opting for the TX4 does more than just bless the Troller with a self-shifting transmission, though, as the model also includes a snorkel intake, exposed steel bumpers, knobby Pirelli Scorpion MTR tires, auxiliary lights by Hella, orange trim bits to the interior, and an electronically activated, locking-rear differential. With a base price of approximately $39,000, the TX4 costs almost $6,000 more than the standard Troller T4. 
Like the lesser T4, the TX4 comes standard with a turbo-diesel 3.2-liter inline-five with 200 horsepower and nearly 350 lb-ft of torque at just 1,750 rpm. With a two-speed transfer case and live axles at both ends, the four-wheel-drive Troller is a proverbial mountain goat. Plus, it includes basic amenities such as dual-zone climate control and a 7.0-inch infotainment system with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay compatibility.

While the Troller TX4’s automatic gearbox surely makes it more appealing to the stick-shift-averse U.S.-market, it’s unlikely the little SUV will ever make its way up north from Brazil. We’re sure we’ll be fine with that once Ford shows off its surely more comfortable and powerful 2021 Bronco (and its front-drive-based Bronco Sport sibling) in the coming months, but for now, we’re pretty envious of the Brazilian market and its Ford off-roader. It turns out Tom Petty was right: The waiting really is the hardest part.

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