First In-Depth Owner’s Review: 2021 Bronco Badlands 4-Door 2.7L

[Aardvark53]

You rock! Keep us posted. Thank you.

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[Dads_bronze_bronco]

So and big-tire-wanderlust at 70mph?

Wondering how those 315’s behave on the highway.

 

[TRACKTOY]

hi
felicitation i am happy for you CONGRAT....

PLEASE can you post some tape mesure ( inch) from your REAR clamshell MIC top wide, hight, long exterior. It's for built a storage shed for my future top. please many people appreciate this.
thank you
best regard
TRACKTOY

 

[SirBenimen]

So and big-tire-wanderlust at 70mph?

Wondering how those 315’s behave on the highway.

I’ll try to get some tests at highway speeds. The nearest “highway” is approx 40min away so it’s more difficult to have a prolonged run of 70mph.

 

[SirBenimen]

hi
felicitation i am happy for you CONGRAT....

PLEASE can you post some tape mesure ( inch) from your REAR clamshell MIC top wide, hight, long exterior. It's for built a storage shed for my future top. please many people appreciate this.
thank you
best regard
TRACKTOY

 

[TRACKTOY]

THANKS A LOT YOU MAKE MY DAY. I am so happy
Now i can start to built my dedicated shed for wheels,clamshell center pannel and 2 front pannels. i have order hard top for winter and soft top for summer.
thank again
TRACKTOY

 

[618TRVLWILD]

Bronco wave!!
Fellow race red on order too. Loved after seeing it in person.

 

[ReimundKrohn]

….Did I read earlier that the 2.3L Manual comes with a proper analogue tach? I hope so….

 

[Demoncleaner]

….Did I read earlier that the 2.3L Manual comes with a proper analogue tach? I hope so….

Man I hope it does. Love me some analog tachometers in manual trans vehicles…

 

[Wanted33]

Wow Ben, if you were trying to make me jealous...it worked. If you weren't, I'm still jealous.

Again congratulations, and please keep us updated as you go. BW, the wife decided she wanted the Area 51 instead of the Race Red. I may have to have a long conversation with her.

 

[BroncoTodd]

@SirBenimen Thank you for your service.

 

[Cbiggs]

DRIVABILITY: Comparing this to my 2016 F150 the Bronco with the sasquatch is pretty dang good! It’s obviously noisier but it's really not that much noisier. I do have the hardtop with the sound deadening. I downloaded a Db app on my phone to measure noise levels and according to my phone the Bronco was only 6 Db louder than my F150 at 50mph. Take that for what it's worth but it's not overly noisy.

This thing is torqy! My wife is used to driving a corolla and it was hard for her to feather the gas when taking off. As a passenger It felt kinda jerky at first. She has since got used to the torq and is fine but there was a small adjustment period for her. I myself enjoy the torque and speed. Makes for a fun ride! It corners and handles nicely. Some body roll but not bad. I haven't experienced any “canoeing” or darting thus far and this thing eats Michigan potholes for breakfast.

The little off road driving I did, I used mud and ruts mode. In this mode I noticed it held the gear for longer and revved up to a higher RPM. I was able to shift with the plus and minus buttons on the automatic shifter in this mode to find different gears. The badlands doesn't have a sport mode and according to a forum member the work around is to put it in Baja mode and then shift into 2H instead of 4H. That did work but it does remove traction control and states its for off road use only. Going down a seasonal logging road at good speed it just eats up the holes, bumps, puddles etc… It's incredibly smooth and controlled. It's pretty amazing really.

One of the issues I had was with the G.O.A.T. mode selector dial. It seemed it was bound up on something like a piece of plastic maybe from the moulding process? I had to turn it pretty hard to get it to free up. It's working normally now, but it took me a minute to figure it out as the dial wasn’t working as it should at first.

I tested out the stay bar disconnect and the trail turn assist on an old logging road. All the features worked great but every once in a while during the trail turn assist I would hear a loud pinging noise. Almost like a spring or something being sprung. It didn't sound normal. I went looking through the manual and apparently it’s considered normal and Ford says it's part of the antilock brakes? I don’t know enough to know what all is going on when that feature is activated but it can be startling if you're not expecting it. It was wet sand where I tested this feature out and it states in the manual it's meant for slick conditions. Maybe that's why I was getting the noise? Maybe it wasn't “slick” enough?

Airflow is good in the back seat. I had this question come up a few times. I have the MIC hardtop with sound deadening but I did feel like the cooling was more than adequate. My wife drove with the salesman in front and myself in the back to fill up with gas. While in the back seat I actually thought the hardtop was letting in a draft so I started feeling around the seams for an air leak. It was actually coming from the front cab vents. The AC was on which was quiet enough I didn't notice it was on. So there is good airflow in the entire cab. Will it keep warm enough in the -20’s we sometimes get in northern Michigan? I’ll let you know!

As far as 0-60 mph, drive mode characteristics, or other drivability questions, I am going to wait until the break in period is over. (1000 miles). I’m almost certain the Bronco is detuned from the factory until the break in period is complete to protect the drivetrain. My mustang was that way and I could feel it once the break in period was complete.


FIT AND FINISH: The overall quality of materials is pretty darn good. The MIC hardtop is easy to take off. The back portion does take 2 people to do but it's actually surprising light. I was able to take off the second row myself but it's not recommended. The top fits together nicely and it's easy to re-install. I had the Bronco out in a steady rain and didn't notice anything that would resemble water leakage. I will say that when washing the Bronco there are a ton of nooks and crannies for water to hide, especially in the MIC top. No leaking but it's a PITA to get the vehicle dry after a wash. Water drips out from the top down the side of the vehicle for a long while. A blower might help but I was trying to use a drying towel and it seemed like a losing battle.

I think the seats are really comfortable and the feel of the MGV seats is nice. I opted for the floor liners and while they are good with good coverage they are more flimsy than say weathertech or husky. I got them for the bronco logos and they snap into place in the front and the rear liner is one piece so that's nice. The rear seats fold down easily. The quality of the hard top case that was supplied is actually really high quality. I dont have the door storage case but I imagine it's the same quality and wouldn’t hesitate to buy them. I do like the looks of the interior and I’m loving the big screen of the high package. It's very responsive compared to my syc3 in my F150. Pretty close to smartphone responsiveness. Audio is ok. A tin can kind of sound but they do offer soundbars as an accessory addon. I do not have the upgraded speakers the lux package has but the sound system is probably the thing I dislike the most but overall it's not a big deal for me. The first time I tried closing the hood it was difficult to do. The spring in the latching mechanism wouldn’t allow the hood to fully seat. I ended up dropping the hood from 3 or 4 feet to get it to latch. I couldn’t even push it shut. I thought maybe it was the bumpers and made adjustments to those but that didn’t do it. I ended up opening and closing the hood several times to work the spring a bit and that seemed to work.
It comes with a prop rod not struts. Not a big deal for me but it might be for some others.

OVERALL: I really love this thing. It's good looking, it's very capable on road and a beast off road. It catches eyes everywhere! People are talking to you at stop lights, approaching you as you are parking asking to look at it. The jeep guys and gals are pretending they don't care as you pass them, but you can tell they are looking out of the corner of their eye trying to catch a look. I know Ford could have done a better job rolling these out but I suspect that the unforeseen issues threw a wrench in their plans and the only option was to delay and delay and delay. I'm a Ford sympathizer and optimist. No one wanted the scenario that we’re in, especially Ford. For crying out loud their factory flooded. They took over the MIC production. I truly believe they are doing everything they can to fulfill customer orders and the hiccups in the rollout will eventually be forgotten and the Bronco will be a hit for years to come. Those willing to wait will be rewarded with an excellent vehicle and if you can't wait and want to buy a jeep or tacoma instead that's fine too. I'll be happy to pull you out on the trail!

I’ll be posting photos and short videos on instagram.

I will try to answer questions the best I can and will post updates on Bronco 6G as they come, good or bad.

If you see me out and about just wave or say hi! I plan to have this thing out on the trails throughout the state of Michigan this summer. Silver lake sandunes, drummond island, etc… Do Bronco owners have a “Bronco wave”? Maybe just number 1 ?

Great write up! You’ve far exceeded your review obligations!

 

[BBSBronco]

Did your hardtop have material falling off of it from the inside? I've seen evidence in some videos and some posts here have hinted at it.

 

[stonerdoom]

The jeep guys and gals are pretending they don't care as you pass them, but you can tell they are looking out of the corner of their eye trying to catch a look.

Currently, every time I see a Jeep, I think "Aww, they don't even know what's comin'." I can't wait. Actually, I don't want people coming up to me trying to talk me up about my truck. Go buy your own. Do you know the kinda trauma we've all had to endure to get here!!

...Well, maybe a pretty girl can ask about it.

 

[Santos]

Awesome! Thanks for the review!

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