Hesitant buying Bronco with soft top

[Squatchn']

I've had mine exactly one year as of yesterday. No issues at all with the soft top. I love the convenience of being able to flip it back in a matter of seconds. Road noise is fairly loud at higher speeds but it doesn't really bother me, I just turn the stereo up.

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[SubmarineNuke]

been driving my soft top since April...I have no "issues", it's a little louder than my wife would like at highway speeds so she hates trying to have a conversation...but hey, better for me right?

seriously though, I have no complaints about it, and love being able to quickly flip it back to position 1 on nice days.

 

[prospectfour]

I bought the IAG struts for the back of the soft top. Makes a huge difference on how easy it is to open and give you a bit more opening. With kids any little bit helps.

The IAG struts are a game changer for the soft top.

As for OP's concern about the top. Mine was one of those "problematic" ones with the delaminating overhead panels. Replaced it under warranty last week with no issue and it wouldn't change my decision to go soft top. Ease of going open air is second to none for me.

 

[broadicustomworks]

I echo several sentiments here.
Originally had a hard top on my order, was 100% sure that's what I wanted.
Caved in to get it before 2024 and actually quite glad I did.
A bit over a year and 20K miles later I am still glad.
We ran with the top down pretty much from late April until September, and it was very handy and a life saver to be able to pull off of the road and throw it back up when we hit any substantial rain.

A trick to getting the side panels latched into place easier is to leave it open in position 1, latch those difficult plastic clips, then flop it over and do the front two windshield frame latches.
I fought mine and cussed it every time until I read on here somewhere where someone else suggested it.

Also to note- no leaks, no wear, no odd stuff.

The practical use of being able to ride with it open and have the ability to close it back up for weather is immense. And exactly what I needed for my usage.

 

[Tayerv]

The first photo is the exact rig I ordered, so I may be a bit biased. After 2 weeks with it, I added the IAG roll bar covers. No matter how hard you try, the top frame will contact the rollbar when putting it full top down. I got the full plastic ones, not the PPF. Pretty nice and super easy to install. Until there is a modular hard top, you can't beat the functionality of the soft top. I've had two Isuzu softies, BMW 650Ci and a Mustang Convert. If you want sun on your face and an open-air feel without having an entire garage hoisting system, this is the ticket.

You aren't doing this with a hard top in 5 minutes or less. No regrets. This photo is less than 48 hours into ownership. It's not even intimidating to remove the top. I did buy the windows bag about 30 days in.

I'm going to test drive the exact same one in your picture same color too any issues with engine or manual tranny

 

[jehines3]

I'm going to test drive the exact same one in your picture same color too any issues with engine or manual tranny

I'm only at 1200 miles running a 2.7L Auto. I wanted both the V6 and stick badly and waffled back and forth on this. My configuration would have lost the trail turn and the remote start, so I went with the bigger motor in auto. I would not have turned away that rig on the lot. If the stick didn't lose the trail turn, I'd have kept the smaller motor to get the stick. The remote start with the Flow FX is sort of a neat party trick. Miles of smiles in my 6 weeks of ownership.

 

[BigBendBW]

I'm supposed to go test drive a 2022 soft top today but after reading so many issues with these tops I'm kind of hesitant to even consider buying one

I’m thankful mine is a softy

 

[Merc4x4]

I echo several sentiments here.
Originally had a hard top on my order, was 100% sure that's what I wanted.
Caved in to get it before 2024 and actually quite glad I did.
A bit over a year and 20K miles later I am still glad.
We ran with the top down pretty much from late April until September, and it was very handy and a life saver to be able to pull off of the road and throw it back up when we hit any substantial rain.

A trick to getting the side panels latched into place easier is to leave it open in position 1, latch those difficult plastic clips, then flop it over and do the front two windshield frame latches.
I fought mine and cussed it every time until I read on here somewhere where someone else suggested it.

Also to note- no leaks, no wear, no odd stuff.

The practical use of being able to ride with it open and have the ability to close it back up for weather is immense. And exactly what I needed for my usage.

This ^ exactly. Thanks for saving me the typing!

Also an IAG soft top strut user. Game changer, as others have said.

 

[KompressorV12]

The biggest problem with the soft top is it looks ugly and it doesn't have a rear wiper or defrost. Outside of that I think all soft top owners were pleasantly surprised how convenient it is. I can flip the top back within about 10 seconds, and flip it entirely back but keep my windows in a bag and go traveling away from home but still button it up at night if I wanted. If you intend on using the bronco how it was designed (topless) the soft top is the absolute winner.

 

[Rockett]

I just placed my order for my second reservation and didn't think twice about ordering another soft top. I originally wanted a hard top, and do not regret changing to a soft top at all. Had mine since Aug of last year.

Ditto. I am driving a Big Bend with a soft top and went back and changed my badlands order from hard top to soft top After having this Big Bend for only a few months. I love the ease of having the soft top.

 

[shieldsy]

Today is a good day for a test drive in PO. Lots of slushy conditions with water\snow\slush going everywhere. A great test case for you.

 

[sameoldeddie]

6,000 miles and two hurricanes in the soft top and zero complaints here. Also, get the IAG struts they’re a gamechanger

 

[JLC64UK]

I have had mine since March and no issues at all. Be sure to get some soft top cleaner and protectant to keep it in good shape.

 

[dahoneybadga]

As others have said, the Soft Top has been great and haven't had any issues. Live in SLC and I have it parked outside yet I've never had water issues with the snow we get. Nothing beats the convenience of pulling the top off in nice weather - totally worth it. I still want a hard top (for accessories and roof rack and softop options kind of suck) so I did order the Advanced Fiberglass hardtop. This soft top is way more convenient than the jeep soft top I had - love the IAG gas struts.

 

[broadicustomworks]

The biggest problem with the soft top is it looks ugly and it doesn't have a rear wiper or defrost. Outside of that I think all soft top owners were pleasantly surprised how convenient it is. I can flip the top back within about 10 seconds, and flip it entirely back but keep my windows in a bag and go traveling away from home but still button it up at night if I wanted. If you intend on using the bronco how it was designed (topless) the soft top is the absolute winner.

Yeah the back window gets dirty in a hurry. Good thing it has a backup camera because I live on a dirt road, main drive at work is gravel.
So even after a good shine-up it lasts literally one day and it is back to dusty. It is the one thing I really miss about a hard back glass, but have learned to deal with it.
ST Jeep owner prior, so I was fully aware and prepared for this exact thing. Difference is I can still see (mostly) clearly out of the Bronco rear window. The Jeep one had long turned some weird opaque color but I couldn't bring myself to replace it due to nostalgia stickers and character.

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