Ford posts official Bronco mule off-road testing video

[Skeets]

They took my raptor comparisions as it's what's Fords going to build and that's why I tried to explain it in vain. How many times can you say varied terrain and ride quality. I too owned Grizzly's (GREAT UNITS) and have pulled more than a few elk out of the outback loaded on them. I tried to use the SxS for an example but it was lost on some. If you don't think Ford engineers haven't studied the SXS suspension designs I think you'd be surprised it's a four wheel vehicle and Bronco is the same thing on a larger scale and they can use their cad cam programs to find strengths and weaknesses in their design to see if they have something they could use or build on. That's why they have patents to protect their designs and variants crop up later in other companies vehicles. They buy the compeitors vehicles to tear apart for the same reasons. The new Kawasaki SXS is a hell of a unit and has lots of wheel travel and rides great and the AArms aren't six feet wide in it. Ir even has a better seating position than the Toyota Tacoma does and that's one of the best Trucks that's been made but it's long in the tooth and needs to be updated. That Kawi will literally eat a Tacoma TRD, or Raptor, for lunch in the outback like many SxS will. They don't employ only the best engineers at Yamaha, Honda, Polaris and Kawasaki by a long shot. Their R&D budgets are small compared to Detroits and Toyotas. They can build something that would light your hair on fire but it's not going to fly with the masses and then they have the cost angle and liability concerns to deal with.. It's all good we both know that but an old engineer trying to explain the whys gets lost in the wants vs need angle and then it falls on deaf ears. You and I both know if it's good we'll probably buy it if ir suits our needs and wants. When push comes to shove the smart guy knows, he can come to MOAB and rent a rock crawling unit for far less than building one and get a real rock climbing fix and don't have to worry about breaking your own SUV or SXS in the process.. I'm as excited as the next guy to see what they bring and I'm fairly certain from what I've read it's going to be great for the majority of us!

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[Jalisurr]

Weight to tire footprint ratio, as well as the long wheel base limiting mobility. When the snow is deep, you need to air way down and float on top, so you want light vehicles with big tires and a short wheel base.

I suppose I should qualify that I'm talking about off-roading in 3+ feet of snow (snowwheeling). The vehicle of choice for that kind of thing around here is an 80 series Landcruiser on 37s or 40s, though Jeeps obviously do this well too.

Ah, yep, got it. Yeah for really deep snow where you want to be on top that's a whole different thing to a max of 1-2 feet of snow over an icy trail which is my use case a lot of the time.

Either way the Raptor is too physically large though. That's really all I want, a Raptor-esque vehicle in a small form factor.

 

[Skeets]

That's why I'm asking for recommendations, since you apparently know your way around. Looking at the price of new SxS, I can't afford one.

Ok here you go but if your a brand loyalist you'll hate me. You can buy one of the old 2 seat teryxs and put some chicane STI tires on it (Bigger) and go have fun for less than 15K brand new!! The Kawi's are built like tanks and their new one is a real winner (best built frame ets) if they have the bugs out of it. The Honda Talons are great units and will do well and have a nice beltless system and are really good. The Yamaha YXZ and Wolverine are good units with bigger tires and a few minor mods. The Yamaha's have a 10 year warranty on their belts and based on my experience work like champs. Polaris makes some good stuff BUT they're not nearly as reliable as the other 3. Everybody I know has had multiple issues with doors separating, dashes cracking and burning up belts. Kawi isn't the popular choice and it's my opinion but if buying new today the order i mentioned them in is how I would rate them except the new Kawi and Talon are neck and neck. Hope this helps by the way i don't ride in mud so that's not part of the equation.

 

[OX1]

Now name me some places a raptor won't go

Not very impressive here.............

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aC1YneNFIqA

 

[THEMANatwar]

Not very impressive here.............

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aC1YneNFIqA

I think that was more operator error than the truck. The top youtube comment says it best "...wrong tires , not deflated and taking the wrong approach"

and also it looks like from the channel owner commenting that the drivers were on their first time offroad so take with that what you will.

 

[Skeets]

Not very impressive here.............

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aC1YneNFIqA

 

[Skeets]

True but but given the fact we don't know what tires they were running and if they knew to air down it is what it is. They did have weight in the rear of the truck but they finally made it after getting some mo and picking a little different line......... I'll bet Emmy Hall could have driven right up it and wouldn't have blinked........ or maybe not but every situation has it's limitations. I've seen quite a few jeep wranglers on the sides of roads in canyons too so it isn't always the vehicles fault. Going up to Imogene or Yankee Boy Basin or the trails around Telluride in a F 150 takes some skill too but it can be done in an FX 4 F150 . Conditions can make that a whole different animal from time to time. You know as well as i do things can be easy of tough and just picking the right line is the difference between success and failure or massive screw up. I never said the Raptor was perfect just that many of us on here would love to own one and it has good capability. thanks for the video.

 

[BroncoRevital]

think Fords going to come to market with a new vehicle that doesn't ride well? They have to differentiate themselves from what's already in the market to pick up interest and market share.

People are buying Jeeps like crazy and it’s not because of their smooth ride. They have come a long way though and the ride quality is just fine. All these Jeeps wouldn’t be getting sold if they weren’t. The ride quality with a SFA is fine these days. It’s obviously a decent enough ride quality for people to keep buying them. They feel better then my old Tacoma.

There are already plenty of nice smooth riding SUVs out there. There are already decent off-road vehicles with IFS. That market has been filled the whole time the Bronco has been gone. No one is going to get excited for another grocery getter thats decent off-road. The Jeep stands out because it’s an off-road purpose built vehicle. You see and FEEL it. “There’s only one Jeep”.
The Bronco is going to standout much better as a purpose built trail vehicle like the Jeep. They are owning that market with no real challenger. Why should Ford create a vehicle that more competes with its own product then Jeeps who selling like crazy.

People don’t buy off-road vehicles for ride quality. They buy them for capability and durability.

I get that IFS has come a long way too but on a vehicle like this it’s a compromise more then an attribute.

 

[OX1]

I never said the Raptor was perfect

You implied that it could go pretty much anywhere and that vid right there is not all driver error.
No true front locker in these high speed rigs leads to having to beat the crap out of them for just very mild
WET terrain. Hopefully the top Bronco gets a real front selectable, as has been pointed out, the NE is sloppy
on the best days and the slip part of limited slips is a real problem.

 

[Rogues Gambit]

I'll read what you all said before, but video definitely has me sold

 

[Skeets]

Ox have you spent any time in a raptor in a real gnarly terrain situation? Well I have in fact on roads where guys have said I'll walk and get out of the truck....... Well what goes down must go up and vice versa and you know what they were riding out on the return trip and that footage you showed looked like a highway compared to some of the off roads we have out here where we go hunting big game. Not disputing what you posted but we have some pretty nasty off road situations out here in Az and the companies all use it for off and on road testing due to grades, terrain, rocks, shale, dirt, sand and uneven terrain. The reality is they have test tracks and facilities here for a reason..........steep grades stress transmissions, axles, differentials, engines, a/c and other things. pulling trailers up and down those same grades stress things even more doing it in 115+ degree temperatures stress things even more again day in and day out....... I don't live in NJ and we pull 20 mile grades out here that you don't have. You guys think it's flat & desert, well it isn't and the mountains and grades are pretty long and pretty steep in many places. We've done it for years and years on and off road in old Broncos, bronco 2's jeeps, pickups and certainly on quads and SxS since they're now being built to do just that............on roads that would beat you to death and We're still here and going there every year and talking about it and we managed to live thru it all. Not trying to belittle your point but how about you give a guy a little credit for actually knowing a thing or two, You and I are fine and I can't help wondering if this is an initiation to the site....LOL

 

[Stampede.Offroad]

... The reality is they have test tracks and facilities here for a reason...........

Large parcels of land available for relatively cheap and not many people around to spy on what you're doing. That's why.

The reason the western US has lots of popular off roading spots is fundamentally the same one, the govt couldn't even give that land away during the homesteading era, so now its great big swathes of public land that modern people with lots of time and wealth to spare spend leisure time fooling around on.

 

[Skeets]

Large parcels of land available for relatively cheap and not many people around to spy on what you're doing. That's why.

The reason the western US has lots of popular off roading spots is fundamentally the same one, the govt couldn't even give that land away during the homesteading era, so now its great big swathes of public land that modern people with lots of time and wealth to spare spend leisure time fooling around on.

Funny how many of the test tracks are located on public land in close proximity to big suburban areas, so that's not exactly true. As to your point about vast lands that's partially true but many places we ride in are in national forests and other federal owned land parcels barren in some cases but prohibited from going off road in others. It's a mixed bag sort of deal in many areas. Yes it's vast but make no mistake about it you'll be cited for going off road in area where you can't w/o proper authorization. So you're right and wrong but not living here would put me at the same disadvatage in your area. :^)

 

[BroncoBuyer]

 

[Skeets]

You're right tough crowd........it's easier to just go away and let it shake out on it's own. That way those that can't understand what's being said won't be offended.

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