“Plastic” Interior

[Lord Bronco]

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.

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[cowinsawdents]

This plastic feels cheaper than other plastics. I can't think of another way to say it, wife said the same thing. It's not throw your hands up forget it , but it feels cheaper than my f150...which is plastic. I don't think anyone is looking for exotic woods...but some of it feels like a 15k honda civic, not a 60k truck.

just my 2c

 

[Mattbar1]

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.

I had a $4500 Napa Leather dash in a BMW X5 (yes on top of plastic and metal). The leather delaminated prematurely and I had to have it replaced twice (under warranty). It looked great, but I can't justify that again. Hence....I am looking forward to the Bronco, and hopefully a maintenance-free plastic dash.

 

[Lord Bronco]

I’m getting MVG and washout floors, so I find it ironic that for some reason the BD has a leather-wrapped steering wheel and shift knob. Why?

 

[cardinalsfan]

This plastic feels cheaper than other plastics. I can't think of another way to say it, wife said the same thing. It's not throw your hands up forget it , but it feels cheaper than my f150...which is plastic. I don't think anyone is looking for exotic woods...but some of it feels like a 15k honda civic, not a 60k truck.

just my 2c

This is exactly what sent me back on the fence when I sat in one a couple weeks ago. The plastic just felt cheap and would have been fine in a $35k Bronco but, as I sat in that one, there was no way I could justify my $60k build.

 

[Rivdog07]

I would have liked to had a leather dash accent component as part of the lux or leather package on the OBX. My JLU Sahara has a leather dash that dramatically changes any plastic feel.

 

[604Bronco]

There’s higher-end plastics out there. For example, I really like the interior of my Jeep Grand Cherokee Trailhawk. It is plastic, but it has this fake “wood grain” black plastic trim which I think looks great. I’m hoping with the more “basic” interior finishing on the Bronco it’ll hold up better than some of the examples provided by posters above me.

 

[Ksjrb03]

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.

 

[Hamhands]

This is a off-road vehicle that the top and doors come off. I expect a cheap dash, I expect cheap seats. I expect a cheap steering wheel. This is not a luxury or even an attempt to be luxury vehicle. Even if you blow an extra 20 on options it still will not be luxury, it'll just be a well optioned truck.

 

[jaruss01]

It's pretty bad. The upper dash and upper door inserts are most noticeable. I cant remember the last vehicle I've been in that had a true hard plastic, knock hollow upper dash. Theres always some degree of injection mold to soften this up some. At least on OBX and up, the upper door inserts are replaced by a slightly better material (that's the only difference across the trims in term of material BTW). But the upper dash is very bothersome. I'll live with it. But i think deep down it bothers me the most since its such a glaring item, that I know it will be swapped out with something better in a couple years. Same goes for the rear A/C vents. Its like an obvious 1st year omission.

 

[ColtN0ir]

Seems fine to me. I'm used to sitting in an 06 jeep so...

Spend your money how you want to.

 

[ReimundKrohn]

There’s higher-end plastics out there. For example, I really like the interior of my Jeep Grand Cherokee Trailhawk. It is plastic, but it has this fake “wood grain” black plastic trim which I think looks great. I’m hoping with the more “basic” interior finishing on the Bronco it’ll hold up better than some of the examples provided by posters above me.

You can buy dash kits that allow you to add this (synthetic wood grain, or carbon fibre, or brushed aluminum) to any vehicle’s dash. I added an ebony wood grain kit to my wife’s base 2011 Pathfinder at one point as a present. Really dressed it up from the “Plain Jane” it used to be her beloved “Black Beauty”. If a wood grain look is what folks want, I recommend these kits:

https://www.carid.com/wood-dash.htm...fOMT2uKg7UmAhU2Dbpcnj8-VFoVluTbxoClF8QAvD_BwE

 

[604Bronco]

You can buy dash kits that allow you to add this (synthetic wood grain, or carbon fibre, or brushed aluminum) to any vehicle’s dash. I added an ebony wood grain kit to my wife’s base 2011 Pathfinder at one point as a present. Really dressed it up from the “Plain Jane” it used to be her beloved “Black Beauty”. If a wood grain look is what folks want, I recommend these kits:

https://www.carid.com/wood-dash.htm...fOMT2uKg7UmAhU2Dbpcnj8-VFoVluTbxoClF8QAvD_BwE

Good option for sure; you could even vinyl wrap some pieces I’m sure. I think the main point by the OP though is it should come from the factory with a “higher trim” interior. I have mixed emotions on that; I need to see it first but don’t expect the same level of “luxury” (I use that lightly) as my Trailhawk. I want it to be quality and last/not fade, etc. Vs. Needing wood grain and other fancy stuff.

 

[BOLD Renegade93]

My 2018 Pacifica minivan has soft touch dash and other materials. I'm sure it has plastic in it, but it's soft and not cheap feeling. That being said, I fully expected the Bronco interior to be as described. Not bothered by it!

 

[Gamecock]

I like the interior, it's very good for what it is. They only element that I thought was cheap feeling were the interior door handles/pulls. They are ridiculous, but as long as they hold up: no problemo. Everything else is good to go.

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