A true bumper replacement VFPS (bull bar) is designed to protect against animal strike and replaces the front bumper. All bull bars are not created equal, with different designs and construction materials suited to various applications.
Animal strike is more likely when travelling in offroad situations where grazing or wild animails are not conditioned to regular traffic, but in any part of Australia and even on bitumen highways, there is an increased risk of collision between sunset to sunrise.
As anyone who has seen the damage caused to a vehicle by an animal strike, even a small kangaroo or emu can do a lot of damage. A bullbar at the front of the vehicle can protect from headlight and radiator damage and should deflect an animal before it strikes the windscreen.
Unfortunately, the issue of pedestrian safety has raised recent concerns with the anti-4WD lobby groups suggesting that bull bars pose serious danger in urban environments. The best response to these concerns is to accept that the bull bar is not an item that is easily removed from the vehicle after trips, so be sure that you select a bull bar for your vehicle that best suits your driving environment. This means that if you are driving an AWD, or 4WD vehicle but only using for urban use, then avoid fitting a serious bull bar for looks, that really only belongs on a vehicle that is used offroad. There are plenty of softer options for bull bars as we will outline below.