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Current opinion of the Bronco?

What do you think of the Bronco in person?


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TheHime

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I was contemplating on getting one when they first started reservations but glad I didn’t. In person only the two doors look good. There is also a ton of issues with the first year model. Hard tops, coolant in the oil, dropped cylinders, and broken tie rods when off-roading. But it is still new and brings good competition for the wrangler.
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PDiddy

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We picked up our 4 door badlands with the Sasquatch package on Monday. I’ve been jumping between it and the gladiator all week. It’s been a rough week.

Here’s the skinny on it.

The bronco v6 is amazing. Way more fun to drive than the pentastar.

It does feel big. Much bigger than the gladiator. Seats are really comfortable and it feels a little roomier inside. But not much.

The lockers and sway bar disconnects are easier operate, plus you can lock the front and rear separately.

Interior plastic seems a smidge cheaper than the gladiator, but all the control knobs seem really nice. The user interface is a lot like the gladiators. They both work great. There is a little less lag in the gladiator’s system. The badlands comes with rubberized flooring. I love it and I think I’ll adding it to my gladiator.

For rock crawling, it’s jeep by a long shot. I take for granted how the Jeep is designed for visibility. It’s so much easier to place wheels and feel where the truck is at. The bronco feels more like your in a full sized truck.

For cruising down trails or high speed off road, the bronco all day long. It floats and it’s fast. Reminds me of a baby raptor. Great daily driver too. We decided, long road trips will be in the bronco.

I think they both look awesome. But looks are in the eyes of the beholder. Plenty of people on the bronco form hate the looks of the gladiator.

Go far it is getting less MPG than my gladiator with 35s and 4:88s. It does do better on the freeway though. Just not in our stop and go traffic.

Last thing I’ll say, it’s really a 4runner killer to me. Competes more with it than a wrangler. Most people either buy jeep or buy something else. The Toyota’s were usually the something else. But I had a 4Runner. The bronco is so much better. I think it will be the something else for a lot of people.

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wchevron

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With the top down, can you see anything through rear view mirror? Top looks like it sits kind of high. I like the color you picked.
 

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USMC-SSGT

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Got A good luck at one on a closed lot out west last week. Thought it looked awesome. I’d 100% buy one over a Jeep…but not the gladiator. Reason being is I bought the gladiator because i wanted/could use a pickup bed. The bronco would put me right back where i started, trying to get to our camp with no place for all our stuff.
 

SwankyTiger

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I, like many others, had a bronco res. But ford has crapped the bed so hard with this launch that the only ford I am now kind of interested in is the Maverick. Also I have been driving my dads 2019 4 Door Ranger FX4 for the past month waiting for my JT, and there is just something I dont like about the ride, idk what it is, but i dont care for it.

I will say the Sasquatch Package being available on every trim is much better than Jeeps locking d44's to the rubicon package on the 2door/4door.
 

IRON4TH

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I had one on pre-order since day two of the window opening. I was all in on it. Then they constantly pushed it back, and pulled some serious order shenanigans. I canceled it and bought my JT and have never looked back.

Just like any other first year release it's having its problems. The hard tops being the main one.

I got to ride in one for a long time and compared it directly to my 96 Bronco I used to have with tons of pictures, and can comfortably compare it against my current JT in everything but off road worth. In just about everything outside of smoothness of the ride I like the JT better.
 

redrider

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Pops sold Ford vehicles for 57 years at the same dealership. Started there in 1950. Salesman of the month every month since the award was introduced there except one. We talked cars, trucks. He told me the only sales he ever lost were to Jeep. This was during the run of the original Bronco. Did Jeep appeal to me then? Yes.(Honcho, CJ) Some thing just feels and looks "right" about them still. Hard to describe. A pass on the new Ford-too girly for me.
 

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fun2drum

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I think it's interesting how the poll results (as of this post) are not the usual bell curve. It's a bit polarized.

I chose the middle. I'm not crazy about it but I wouldn't be embarrassed to be seen driving it either.
 

redrider

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I too am that dyed in the wool Ford person, just not the New Age stuff. Too many farkles. After the economy sorts itself out, a sport will come home.
 

Pedal Metal

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I have driven 2 of them. A 2 door and a 4 door. They drive great. Better on the street than any Jeep Wrangler or Gladiator.
I haven’t ridden in a Bronco yet to know, but in fairness to the Mojave, have you driven in one of those? If not, give one a try as I’ve been very impressed with my Mojave’s ride. I do look forward to test driving a Bronco, but now that they canceled their truck platform, I don’t think I’m interested in that platform.
 

Garemlin

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So here's my take. I love Gen 1 Broncos. I love the looks of the new Bronco. The 2 door over the 4 door. Though I would have to have a 4 door. But this whole launch has ben a shit show.

  • Delayed launch
  • Parts shortages
  • Flawed reservation process
  • Stupid packing of options - i.e. You can get the heated seats in the least expensive Mid package but have to upgrade to the most expensive Lux package to get the heated steering wheel. Lux package is only available on higher trims. Cold weather package Ford. Pretty simple.
  • Major quality issues from the start and more still happening
  • They are apparently not as durable off road as Ford attempted to portray. Lots of breakage already
  • Dealer greed with charging astronomical ADMs on abandoned orders and going back on already signed deals trying to charge people $10k or more over MSRP for their ordered Broncos
  • Ford changing the allocation process to screw some smaller dealers that took the initiative to offer and guarantee below MSRP pricing to order holders
Now I test drove a Badlands without the Sasquatch package. It had the 2.3 which IMO was quite the slug. Ride was really nice. I had the soft top back and there was zero turbulence. Nice smooth ride. Everything was laid out nice. The marine grade vinyl seats were very comfortable. My only ding with the interior was the center stack. It is just a jumbled mess. Analog speedo to the left with a big square screen to the right of it. Would have looked much better with a traditional speedo and tach left and right of a center display.

I wanted a Bronco since it was first confirmed. Held off reserving until I could actually drive one. I had honestly lost interest earlier this year due to the issues that were arising. After test driving I got excited again and finally put in an order. Then more and more of the above issues. I have officially pulled out.

I'm thinking I will wait until the announced 2024 mid cycle refresh to see where things stand. But I'm not holding my breath on things being any better.

Here is the Badlands I test drove.

Jeep Gladiator Current opinion of the Bronco? IMG_3224
 

FrankFrqnkFrank

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My JT replaced an older Mustang convertible and an older F150. I couldn’t be happier.

I’ve only (minorly) offloaded once. Hopefully more after I retire.

But I open my warmer weather softtop all the time, remove my colder weather freedom panels a lot and remove my doors too. All easy for an old man in his 60’s. And the open air in a truck is what I truly love.

So what makes me say no to the Bronco is the difficulty of reinstalling the doors. And then softtop rubbing the paint off the roll bars.
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