Revisiting the "High Level Instrument Panel" Mystery [Update: There Is No Such Thing]

[jaruss01]

@Beach_Bum

IDK - Personally, i'd heavily wager that those material upgrades are here to stay. Too much false advertising to have it on the road show trucks that are going all across the country with dealer events every day. It seems like a bit of a liability for consumers paying for an upper tier trim, and feeling the wrapped upper doors and dash. Then on delivery day get what's on the BD and below - which is super plasticy and knocks hollow. I feel that if those two changes were not making it to production, then the reps would be instructed to convey to us at dealer events. I'm not sure what happened with the literature and the removal of HLIP. Maybe it had to do with a better gauge cluster that went to the wayside a long time ago....or maybe it was a simple omission.

take your example - the capable bumper. If half the road show trucks had a capable bumper installed and were shown around across the country, the reps would be advised to tell us it’s not available for 2021.

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[Atomicdog]

I could attest it’s scratchy, thin, and knocks hollow.

“Doctor it hurts when I go like this.”

 

[Beach_Bum]

@Beach_Bum

IDK - Personally, i'd heavily wager that those material upgrades are here to stay. Too much false advertising to have it on the road show trucks that are going all across the country with dealer events every day. It seems like a bit of a liability for consumers paying for an upper tier trim, and feeling the wrapped upper doors and dash. Then on delivery day get what's on the BD and below - which is super plasticy and knocks hollow. I feel that if those two changes were not making it to production, then the reps would be instructed to convey to us at dealer events. I'm not sure what happened with the literature and the removal of HLIP. Maybe it had to do with a better gauge cluster that went to the wayside a long time ago....or maybe it was a simple omission.

take your example - the capable bumper. If half the road show trucks had a capable bumper installed and were shown around across the country, the reps would be advised to tell us it’s not available for 2021.

I'm hoping so not just for my own selfish interest, but for others to get what they are paying for.

 

[jaruss01]

Now that I look at it, the HLIP dash material looks kinda of....reptilian. Scaly. Snake boots on the dash!

 

[Beach_Bum]

Now that I look at it, the HLIP dash material looks kinda of....reptilian. Scaly. Snake boots on the dash!

MY23 Everglades Edition will have a locally harvested python skin HLIP. Maybe - probably not but would be cool.

 

[BroncMO]

Here’s a BD for comparison.

@BroncMO It sounds like the upper door panels are definitely better. But was the upper dash any different than what is shown in this video? It sounds like the answer is yes, like it’s simply the same plastic but wrapped in some rubbery material but still hard and flexes to the touch. But an improvement nonetheless

Hard to say - I didn't tap on it, and they have a similar visual look (maybe one is "printed" and one is the actual wrap?) Given the slightly softer feel, I would think it would not have this type of response from tapping on it.

 

[jaruss01]

@Zach@Granger

hey Zach - not sure if you’ve been following this thread. However you seem to be more in the know with Ford reps than anyone else on this board. Have you heard anything about HLIP being dropped? Hopefully some of these higher end materials on OBX and up we are seeing on the road show cars are here to stay

 

[LSU Jonno]

I compiled some photos in one post comparing the two for guys to keep a look out at road show

HLIP dash - raised pock marks. Looks richer/thicker. The pattern is very dense, and similar to carbon fiber, gives off a moire effect depending on the lighting. It’s like a rubbery material overlay as others have noted

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....Versus non HLIP dash - Basically cheap raw plastic stamped with a pattern that gives off more glare than the HLIP dash since the graining is shallower and it’s more reflective. I could attest it’s scratchy, thin, and knocks hollow.

TBD on the HLIP feel, however others have noted it has some flex to it. Probably because it’s just a rubber material applied to the non HLIP plastic dash which is hollow. Sounds like a slight improvement but not a massive improvement. HLIP does not sound like it will be injection mold soft touch, but somewhere in between that and the raw plastic found on non HLIP dashes.

Here’s the non HLIP

Looking at these pics side by side like this, and taking into account the words in the updated order guide, and taking into account the pre-production puzzle of different materials...It really feels like you guys are grasping at something that isn't here...

The updated order guide seems to refer to HLIP being the cluster gauge. And the HLIP may not have been dropped, it may have just made its way into lower trims to reduce build complexity. We really don't know what was originally planned, nor do we have a solid demo of HLIP vs. non-HLIP.

Further, I'm not sure I see a huge difference in those pictures. It looks like the bigger difference is the reflectivity of the materials, combined with different lightning, combined with different camera angles, which is either accentuating or muting the texture of the material. And if there is a difference in materials, we have no way to know if this difference can be attributed to the HLIP! Again, I would assume it has nothing to do with HLIP given the wording of the new order guide.

 

[Andrew Bynum]

The high level is nice.

 

[davesell]

Will be interesting to see how the "leather" seats wear. Of course, they're NOT actually leather, they're "leather trimmed vinyl." I wanted vjnyl seats on my OBX, but they're not available. I wanted electric adjustable cloth seats, but they're not available. But the leather/vinyl seats on OBX come with electric, so that's what i paid an extra 2,000 for. For tall people, the extra adjustability that electric seats provide is crucial.

So has it been 100% confirmed that cloth seats won't be electric? Why won't they be in a LUX pkg? I have cloth seats in other Ford vehicles and they are electric.

 

[markregel]

This discussion started in another thread by @Lilj4425, @jaruss01 and @Beach_Bum , but I thought it was valuable to pull it out and get more eyes and data on it.

Now that we are getting our hands on Broncos, we may be able to suss out exactly what the High Level Instrument Panel means once and for all. It seems that it is tied to what materials are used on the dash and doors, with the HLIP being soft-touch, and the other trims being hard plastic.

In the the latest B&P, it is only mentioned two times. Both under "Interior/Comfort" and only in OB and BL standard equipment descriptions. It does not appear tied to package (lux) or seating material (leather). (WT and FE both include all standard equipment found on OB and BL, respectively, so while not listed separately, it's suggested the HLIP is included on those trims as well.)

I think if more people could weight in and confirm/dis-confirm if and what dash and door panel materials are unique to the OB and BL trims, we might be able to know exactly what it is and which trim pieces differ.

So far it appears it's dash and the upper door panel area above the armrest.

Here is the discussion from the other thread for context, data, and credit:

I'm just fine with hard plastic. Hard plastic is more durable and lasts longer than so called soft touch. At least in photos the Bronco dash looks great in my opinion, and not like every other car and car based SUV out there.

 

[jaruss01]

@LSU Jonno The visual appearance of the patterns is pretty meaningless. Its how they feel in person. Also, I am not 100% sure if this even falls under what Ford calls HLIP. However, we are seeing the road show cars from OBX and up have an upgraded dash and upgraded upper door cards. After seeing the quality of these two items on the BD in person, any improvement to that is seriously welcomed. Although, the jury is still out on how big of an improvement this is on touch and feel. We've heard the upgraded dash is still wipe clean / rubberized, so it's difficult to make the hard plastic is better argument.

 

[ZackDanger]

I'm just fine with hard plastic. Hard plastic is more durable and lasts longer than so called soft touch. At least in photos the Bronco dash looks great in my opinion, and not like every other car and car based SUV out there.

I don't totally agree with this... it may technically be more durable, but at least in a dash material situation, how durable does it need to be?

If you are stabbing the dash, or stepping on it with metal cleats or something, then yes... I would want hard plastic because it is more durable.

But we've got a fleet vehicle with a "soft touch" dash that is very durable and easy to clean... it seems a little thicker and sound absorbing than just a straight sheet of plastic.

 

[ZackDanger]

So has it been 100% confirmed that cloth seats won't be electric? Why won't they be in a LUX pkg? I have cloth seats in other Ford vehicles and they are electric.

Only the leather seats on the 4-door are electric.

All other seating materials, and all combinations on the 2-door, are manual.

 

[LSU Jonno]

@LSU Jonno The visual appearance of the patterns is pretty meaningless. Its how they feel in person. Also, I am not 100% sure if this even falls under what Ford calls HLIP. However, we are seeing the road show cars from OBX and up have an upgraded dash and upgraded upper door cards. After seeing the quality of these two items on the BD in person, any improvement to that is seriously welcomed. Although, the jury is still out on how big of an improvement this is on touch and feel. We've heard the upgraded dash is still wipe clean / rubberized, so it's difficult to make the hard plastic is better argument.

Yeah, I get that, except we are using the visual appearance of the pattern to justify that it is a different material...which is just nonsense. Moire patters are a function of light, distance between the camera and the object in the picture, angle of attack of the camera vs. object in the picture, focal length, and finally the camera sensor itself. None of this photo detective work is meaningful.

But yeah, I'm definitely not poo-pooing the idea that there MIGHT be a difference in materials, but I'm not sure how we confidently attach those differences to "HLIP", nor do I think any of this photography work tells us anything.

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