Puget Sound Bronco Brigade

For those going Sasquatch: If Ford offered the manual with Squatch (apparently they are testing it) would you go manual or stay with the auto?
Why?
Automatic seems to be better for actual rock climbing/serious offroad, but are there any advantages to having a manual if you are doing rock climbing?

I’m sticking with Auto because I want the 2.7

Indeed. I wouldn't dare get that 4 cylinder myself.

Yeah. I would love the manual if I could also get the 2.7L. My fear is that I'm going to get the auto with 2.7L and then a few months later they're going to announce that they're making the truck everyone wants with a manual 2.7.

I kind of want the manual because eventhough driving a stick in traffic sucks, i feel more engaged with the vehicle. It's more fun to drive.
Plus it's always somewhat of an anti theft device because it's old tech.

Much as I enjoy a solid manual transmission, I'm not getting younger and my knees and hips don't always share my love of clutches. I'll miss driving stick, but I think I'll stay with my plan to get the auto with the 2.7.

The Bronco will be the first automatic I have owned. I have come to the conclusion that for off-roading I like an auto better. Here are some of the reasons why I am going auto. When I am climbing hard obstacles and I need to go slower than 1st gear 4low allows I have to slip the clutch and often smell it. When I need to stop on a steep spot or rock crawling it is hard to jump off the gas and onto the brake & clutch without it rolling back some, also starting again I have to pull the e-brake to get off the brake and start to engage the clutch until I feel the forward drive and release the ebrake. My wife flat out won't drive the manual off road, occasionally my back goes out and it would be much easier to get out with her driving in an automatic.

On the plus side the one pedal driving and trail turn assist sound great!

@robepa

@robepa Pretty much spot on there. If you've never seen this guy's videos, check him out. Crazy Aussie fella that often has some real good info and tips when it comes to offroading. This particular video is his comparison of manual vs auto when it comes to offroading and while he himself admits to enjoying a clutch, has to admit that auto, in many cases, is better.

@Joker352

@Joker352 Ronny Dahl is a legend! I furst found his stuff when I was searching for offroading WA

@robepa

@robepa I've come to quite like this guy hah hah!

One reason for auto - 2.7L. I'm getting the 4dr and I worry about the 2.3L with the extra weight.

@grewhi

@grewhi From what I've seen about the construction of the 2.7l, I'm completely sold on it. Even if I really wanted to stick with a manual, I like what I'm seeing about this 2.7l engine. Compacted graphite iron block with an aluminum cage. Lighter than cast iron, but just as strong and from what I understand less prone to warping due to heat. I could be wrong on that last aspect, but that's more or less what I've seen. The engine was built from the ground up to be a turbocharged engine, while the 2.3l is your run of the mill ford engine with a turbo strapped to it. Doesn't seem like it would hold up nearly as well as the 2.7l.

I have always been natural asperated engine guy and this will be my first venture into turbo. I read that lag can be annoying and that engine stale thing hopefully can be disabled but overall I read good things about the 2.7l.

@grewhi

@grewhi the low end torque on these modern turbos has really been great. All our cars since 06 have been Turbo and it has worked really well. The 05 F150 with the 5.4 feels super sluggish by comparison to the 2.0L angry turbo in the VW.

@grewhi

@grewhi From what I've been hearing about the engines offered in the Bronco, there is some lag on the 2.3, but once the boost hits, it really hits. I've seen reports that it's a rather 'peaky' engine, in that the power stabs quick at higher revs. Mind you these are accounts of people having test driven the current Ranger. The 2.7 on the other hand, seems to have a fairly wide power band and less lag. Not as sudden onset of power. You're going to get lag with most any turbo setup, but as t3n2and4 said, modern turbocharged engines are quite good at keeping lag to a minimum.

If you're going with the automatic, I don't think you'd have to worry too much about lag. The manual on the other hand, you may have to fiddle with shift points to get a feel for it.

It there any worries about reliability? I have had friends who's turbos die and they basically throw away there car. Of course this was long ago, I am guessing things have improved. That is one of the reasons I'm going with the lifetime warranty at Bowen.

@grewhi

@grewhi I’ve never had a turbo failure on mine. I know someone who had an expensive repair on an MKT with the 3.5, but those are anecdotes mine was good his wasn’t. It’s one more spinny part. I’m not sure how reliability can be answered in a clear empirical way. Both engines have been used on other lines for a while, so you can check into them for common trouble spots and things to check.

I have a 1986 F150 Flareside, 4x4, manual (that I drove off the showroom floor, btw). I love it, but also like the convenience of automatic transmission. Either way is fine...I will go with less expensive..

Puget Sound Bronco Brigade

Skagzoola

Puget Sound Bronco Brigade

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