“Plastic” Interior

[dcmdon]

I'm definitely not one of these "WELL DAMN Y'ALL ARE MALL CRAWLERS!" people, and mine will be my daily driver most of the time, but I started this thread to get insight into the complains about the plastic dash, and I still don't understand it.

Hate to sound like one of those "BUT YUR NOT OFF-ROADING" bros, but maybe the upper trim levels should be available with suede dash and 2WD, with embroidered Disney characters on the headrests and a hardtop Gorilla-glued to the body to hinder removal.

You seem to forget that ALL of these vehicles, will spend the majority of their time on the road.

In my case, the off roading will be in NH. I live in MA. It will also be used as a ski vehicle.
Like I said, even Jeep gets it with their Wrangler, where a well optioned Wrangler is a nice place to spend time.

Your false choice between a 2wd mall crawler and a "real" off-road vehicle is ridiculous. You can have all the good hardware and a decent interior.

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[guerro]

Of course not. I'm still getting it. No car is perfect. But I'd expect more.

If you get a leather interior in a jeep a lot of the normal plastic parts arecovered in leather. There is at least an upgrade path.

Having sat in and touched the MGV, I'm not impressed. If all I cared about was the interior, I'd get a jeep. But I will be using this vehicle for road trips in addition to everything else. So on-road manners are important. The jeep is mediocre at best. The bronco should drive better with equivalent off road performance. (far in excess of my needs)

Again, remember that a $35k Bronco Sport has a nicer interior.

So, you are buying a Bronco Sport, then?

 

[88to21bronco]

I digress... The M3 is a much more capable and enjoyable track car than the Lotus Exige, and the finish is significantly better. Lotus is a nightmare, and since we're talking of dashes, their dashes are just shit. They're known for tightening in the sun and the leather rolling up. The M3 has shit plastic throughout, it's not nice at all. I see what you're trying to do there, but from experience, not the best comparison for this argument.

Good point. My intent was to say the Bronco is more Lotus--a purpose-built machine--than BMW--a luxury brand. Yet both are more expensive than a Honda Civic.

 

[Joker352]

As someone who's never owned a new vehicle (the newest I've ever owned was already seven years old when I bought it) and will be stepping from a 98 Tacoma to a brand new bronco...plastic whether it "feels" cheap or not is not even on my radar as a concern. Is the rig going to drive well? Is it going to perform the way I want it to? Is it going to look great? Is it going to be more comfortable than my 23 year old seats? Can I hook my phone up to the entertainment system (I've never had that ability)? Don't care what the dash "feels" like. I haven't sat in one yet, but from all the pictures and video I've seen the interior looks good and will meet my requirements of it. Want luxury? Go but a damn range rover or something. I plan to get mine dirty. Doors and roof off rolling down dirt roads and the like. Rant complete.

 

[TheWoo]

One thing I always enjoy about these threads is just how much is dependent on perception and taste. I've sat in a Bronco, and I love the interior. I didn't get "cheap" out of my experience at all, and I like bells and whistles. It's a bit utilitarian, but I love it so much more than either of the Wranglers we've owned. Is it up to par with my F-150 Platinum? No, but I actually like the layout and functionality of the interior more.

I don't expect everyone to have the same perception as me, but I think the Bronco interior is efficient, modern, and minimalist in the good ways.

I'll also enjoy some refinement to it when I trade on a new one in 3-5 years, I'm sure.

 

[MoabRox]

Compared to my 98 Jeep Cherokee Sport, the Bronco interior is a big upgrade. So, no complaints here, as long as it's durable and doesn't quickly start the squeak and rattle. The touch and appearance is not that important to me. Maybe if I was buying a $55K to $65K model/build, rather than a $42K basic BD, I'd expect/want more (like some of you).

 

[R11]

Your missing the fact there is a difference between hard plastics and soft touch plastics. Material thickness and tooling (texture) play a big part as well. The Bronco interior feels pretty cheap, no reason to sugar coat it, it is what it is at this point. Basically, we all get the Base interior, plans for upgraded interior touch points got cut for whatever reason.

Seems like that’s true, and the heart of the matter, but his post did point to the specific wording of the common complaint. So seems to me he wasn’t ‘missing the point‘ - you’re just doing a better job articulating the point complainers intend to make.

 

[da_jokker]

You clearly don't get it.

Rather than charging me 55k for it it the way it is. Charge me 58k and get rid of all the shitty plastic.

Sorry but I don't think you get it. A capable off-road vehicle with a well-built interior puts you much higher than just and extra 3k.

Sure it may only cost them a few thousand more to make, but that's not what they're going to charge you for it.

Believe me (or don't) But the Mazdas, kias, and hyundias simply save their money elsewhere.

Actually reminds me, if the Bronco wasn't being built in America with union labor and environmental policies, you might be able to get a better interior cheaper.

Pick your poison....

 

[Maxmillian1]

I was going to make this a reply in a thread, instead of a new thread, but it seems to be mentioned and griped about in every thread eventually.

What cars have y’all had in the last few decades that DIDN’T have plastic dash materials? What do y’all think dashboards are made of? Unless you have maybe a Jaguar Vanden Plas with luxurious, exotic woods on top of—you guessed it—plastic, your dash is made mostly of plastics.

I’ve had some pretty nice vehicles, and every dash of every car since the Spartan metal dash panel (with vinyl padded dash top added) of my early Bronco has been plastic.

I’m just curious, because the griping about “plastic interior” has become its own culture, and I’m puzzled why.

When I rushed to reserve a Bronco on 7/13/2021, I didn’t even care what the dash looked like. Turns out, it looks like a space ship, it to hear y’all tell it, it’s a Barbie Jeep.

My Corvette, But I don't know what the big problem is? Who didn't figure the dash would be plastic with a gentle rinse out interior?

 

[guerro]

You clearly don't get it.

Rather than charging me 55k for it it the way it is. Charge me 58k and get rid of all the shitty plastic.

Let's think about this from Ford's point of view.

Spend an extra $3k putting in a softer dash and some other softer pieces and then have to listen to all the complaints and possibly warranty issues when the soft dash and pieces fail.

Or... save $3k up front, put in a hard plastic dash and remain patient while all the hard plastic nazis and their complaints very quickly fade away into obscurity. Look no further than this thread to see that hard plastics aren't hurting sales of this vehicle.

 

[MoabRox]

You clearly don't get it.

Rather than charging me 55k for it it the way it is. Charge me 58k and get rid of all the shitty plastic.

I dare say that you are in the minority, and that the majority either don't care enough to pay the extra $3000 or are priced out of the market at that point. Ford has done their research and developed the Bronco for the masses, not for the 10%. Maybe their marking research screwed up and there are enough buyers like you to make it profitable for Ford to offer a Swanky trim package, above and beyond Lux. If so, I'm sure it will be an available option in the next couple years. As has been posted multiple times in this thread and others, if it matters that much to you, take your Bronco to a shop and spend your extra $3000 to upgrade the interior.

 

[Dr.Detroit]

I am pretty sure this is what duct tape was invented for. Two strips. Easy peasy

old skool

 

[XxGearheadxX]

This entire thread kinda floors me..... we do realize that no one outside of Ford and the one dealer that got their demo unit yesterday has even sat in the Production Interior. Also, most of the units going around to dealers were from earlier in the Pre Production cycle so I dunno that I would take the plastic quality and such you saw there as final. I think you can expect materials and fit and finish that are on par with all the other current Ford vehicles when production units start getting delivered. From what I saw the finishes are already better than the Wrangler and people are paying 70-80k for those.

 

[MadMan4BamaNATL]

I'm definitely not one of these "WELL DAMN Y'ALL ARE MALL CRAWLERS!" people, and mine will be my daily driver most of the time, but I started this thread to get insight into the complains about the plastic dash, and I still don't understand it.

Hate to sound like one of those "BUT YUR NOT OFF-ROADING" bros, but maybe the upper trim levels should be available with suede dash and 2WD, with embroidered Disney characters on the headrests and a hardtop Gorilla-glued to the body to hinder removal.

I just love it when the new guys bring the high heat!

I have yet to see a Bronco in person and will be coming from a string of Bimmers (all plastic dashes). Some guys lament the "feel" of a cheaper or thinner feeling plastic, but I personally don't care; it's just a Ford and my Bronco will take a beatin so often that I might get arrested for assault with mud, dirt, and rocks.

However, this vehicle will be the most expensive ever for many people here, so there may be some elevated expectations where there shouldn't be.

Even if my dash ever cracks, I assume it won't be too expensive to replace just like everything in Bronco seems to be modular or like a Lego kit.

 

[gentlemanbronco]

The argument that its a "cheaper" feeling plastic is hilarious!
Plastic is cheap feeling, point blank. Some feels thicker than others but it definitely still feels cheap because again its plastic. Add that with the bronco being an off road utility vehicle, bronco engineers probably weren't looking at the finest mink pelts or composite carbon fiber for a dash that is very easily going to get used and abused to high hell on some peoples.

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