2-Door Bronco Black Diamond Review After 600 Miles and 3 Weeks

[Boxer4]

This site desperately needed more 2dr content, thanks. Seeing nothing but 4dr soft tops day after day is an excitement killer.

Hang in there. The 2 door is near perfect.

Sponsored

 

[RBF 1401]

Thanks for the detailed write up. I've got a 2-door Black Diamond on order and it seems like most of the off-road reviews have been with a Badlands or a Wildtrak.

And I'm super stoked to hear she's a champ on some of the exact roads I will take her! We disperse camp a lot in the Coconino Forest. Which parts of the forest have you been through with the BD?

 

[DebbieEF]

I decided I've driven this thing enough for a decent first impressions review. It is an Iconic Silver Black Diamond with the 2.3 manual, hard top, roof rack, and tow package. It was an abandoned delivery with the green window sticker and all. I have the same trim on order in Cactus Gray minus the tow package. I am not cancelling my original order because I would like to see what the market for used vehicles is like when I actually receive it, or if I have any friends or family that want the one I ordered or the silver one at that time (7/14 res.). I will keep them both if I win the lottery or something like that. For background, I 've had 93 Toyota 4x4 small pickup, 95 Toyota 4runner, 19 Tacoma, 86 Subaru GL, 2006 and 2013 Forrester.

First, I love the look of this thing. The silver is great with the black steelies, MIC top, flares, and grill. I like the 32's. They seem well proportioned, and I will drive them until they need replaced. I may consider going with larger tires , at that point, but not set on that at all and it does not seem necessary for me. I love the looks of the two door and how it harkens back to the first gen.

Driving this thing is FUN! The manual is pretty easy, given that I have driven manuals extensively in the past. My 15 year old son has learned it pretty quickly, though he is still working on the nuances. The handling is slightly sporty on the road. There is a little bit of nose dive at quick stops, but not as bad as the Tacoma. On the trails it eats up loose dirt, mud, and rocky roads. Not to stiff or too bouncy to me. The 2.3 is plenty of power for me. I don't really race around town, but it has no problem accelerating into traffic. There is plenty of power for the trail driving that I do - forest roads and some two track. Turbo lag is not crazy, but noticeable from time to time. I like the length and width a lot. It fits into parking spaces easily, and in between trees and tight spaces off the pavement. Visibility is mostly good, and I can tell where the edges of the car are better than most cars I've driven. The visors seem too big and it is hard for me to see under them when they are down, but I do ride with the seat raised because I like the visibility that allows. I am averaging a little over 18 MPG according to the computer with mostly short trips around town, off pavement driving, and one day trip of a little over 100 miles on the interstate.

I love the vinyl interior. The plastic surfaces seem mostly appropriate, though I wouldn't mind a little more vinyl around the dash. I'd really love an old school steel dash, but you just don't seem to see that nowadays. The grab handles are ok, although the center console one does not seem 100% solid, not wiggly, but it does seems to flex more than I would like. The blue accents work pretty well, and are not obnoxious. There is not a ton of nooks and crannys for storage, but I think that can be overcome using the molle system and a cargo box in the rear cargo area. The seats are a little weird in that they don't lock in the fully tilted and slid to the front position, so I have to hold them forward for people or dogs to get in or out. I wish they would lock in that position. The dogs have been on the back seat a couple of times, and I have thrown a blanket or dog bed back there to protect the seats a little, but no real damage noticed at this point. I have not had any leaks in the hard top despite some really heavy monsoon rains. The hard top does rattle/squeak a little. I am not sure if this is just the nature of a removable hard top or poor design since I have never had a car with that feature. It is glorious to drive with the top off, and I have also driven it with the front panels off, and the back cap off with the front panels on. All seemed solid despite the little rattles and squeaks. One of the pins that guides the back cap was bumped or scraped on the roll roll cage when removing the top today and the fiberglass pretty much broke there (picture below). I am hoping the replacement hard top will be less noisy, and that these guide pins are more reinforced. It was pretty loud on my road trip, but that stretch of highway is always windy with a lot of crosswinds. The stock stereo definitely needs a sub woofer or better speakers with more bass, but it depends on the music. It seems like a lot of classic rock and punk sounds pretty alright, whereas music that relies more heavily on bass...not as much.

I have added a Yakima roof basket for camping and other trips, and am buying a drop hitch extension so that my hitch bike rack will clear the tailgate and tire a little better. It is an adjustment as far as cargo space going from the Tacoma to this, but I am certain I can make it work. Taking the top off is not too bad, and I did notice that there are some threaded holes in the roll cage where the roof rack would fit (picture below), so I am wondering if there is an accessory coming out thot would allow for the rack to be on when the top is removed. I would like that.

I did test drive a Wrangler unlimited sport and a four door Badlands recently. I think the Bronco was more well mannered than the Wrangler, not loose and unpredictable on turns and during breaking. I thought the Badlands drove pretty similar to the Black Diamond, and did not feel too big, but I did have only about 20 minutes in it.

Overall I give the Black Diamond about a 4.3 out of 5. It is the most fun to drive 4x4 I have ever had and the overall performance, styling, and functionality have made it my favorite car to date. I might be a little biased because I have always wanted a Bronco with a removable top, and this is the first one I have had.

What a fabulous review, Willard - thank you so much. I am getting a 2dr Black Diamond (non-SAS), so it was wonderful to read your thoughts! Enjoy!

 

[ausherpharmd]

I decided I've driven this thing enough for a decent first impressions review. It is an Iconic Silver Black Diamond with the 2.3 manual, hard top, roof rack, and tow package. It was an abandoned delivery with the green window sticker and all. I have the same trim on order in Cactus Gray minus the tow package. I am not cancelling my original order because I would like to see what the market for used vehicles is like when I actually receive it, or if I have any friends or family that want the one I ordered or the silver one at that time (7/14 res.). I will keep them both if I win the lottery or something like that. For background, I 've had 93 Toyota 4x4 small pickup, 95 Toyota 4runner, 19 Tacoma, 86 Subaru GL, 2006 and 2013 Forrester.

First, I love the look of this thing. The silver is great with the black steelies, MIC top, flares, and grill. I like the 32's. They seem well proportioned, and I will drive them until they need replaced. I may consider going with larger tires , at that point, but not set on that at all and it does not seem necessary for me. I love the looks of the two door and how it harkens back to the first gen.

Driving this thing is FUN! The manual is pretty easy, given that I have driven manuals extensively in the past. My 15 year old son has learned it pretty quickly, though he is still working on the nuances. The handling is slightly sporty on the road. There is a little bit of nose dive at quick stops, but not as bad as the Tacoma. On the trails it eats up loose dirt, mud, and rocky roads. Not to stiff or too bouncy to me. The 2.3 is plenty of power for me. I don't really race around town, but it has no problem accelerating into traffic. There is plenty of power for the trail driving that I do - forest roads and some two track. Turbo lag is not crazy, but noticeable from time to time. I like the length and width a lot. It fits into parking spaces easily, and in between trees and tight spaces off the pavement. Visibility is mostly good, and I can tell where the edges of the car are better than most cars I've driven. The visors seem too big and it is hard for me to see under them when they are down, but I do ride with the seat raised because I like the visibility that allows. I am averaging a little over 18 MPG according to the computer with mostly short trips around town, off pavement driving, and one day trip of a little over 100 miles on the interstate.

I love the vinyl interior. The plastic surfaces seem mostly appropriate, though I wouldn't mind a little more vinyl around the dash. I'd really love an old school steel dash, but you just don't seem to see that nowadays. The grab handles are ok, although the center console one does not seem 100% solid, not wiggly, but it does seems to flex more than I would like. The blue accents work pretty well, and are not obnoxious. There is not a ton of nooks and crannys for storage, but I think that can be overcome using the molle system and a cargo box in the rear cargo area. The seats are a little weird in that they don't lock in the fully tilted and slid to the front position, so I have to hold them forward for people or dogs to get in or out. I wish they would lock in that position. The dogs have been on the back seat a couple of times, and I have thrown a blanket or dog bed back there to protect the seats a little, but no real damage noticed at this point. I have not had any leaks in the hard top despite some really heavy monsoon rains. The hard top does rattle/squeak a little. I am not sure if this is just the nature of a removable hard top or poor design since I have never had a car with that feature. It is glorious to drive with the top off, and I have also driven it with the front panels off, and the back cap off with the front panels on. All seemed solid despite the little rattles and squeaks. One of the pins that guides the back cap was bumped or scraped on the roll roll cage when removing the top today and the fiberglass pretty much broke there (picture below). I am hoping the replacement hard top will be less noisy, and that these guide pins are more reinforced. It was pretty loud on my road trip, but that stretch of highway is always windy with a lot of crosswinds. The stock stereo definitely needs a sub woofer or better speakers with more bass, but it depends on the music. It seems like a lot of classic rock and punk sounds pretty alright, whereas music that relies more heavily on bass...not as much.

I have added a Yakima roof basket for camping and other trips, and am buying a drop hitch extension so that my hitch bike rack will clear the tailgate and tire a little better. It is an adjustment as far as cargo space going from the Tacoma to this, but I am certain I can make it work. Taking the top off is not too bad, and I did notice that there are some threaded holes in the roll cage where the roof rack would fit (picture below), so I am wondering if there is an accessory coming out thot would allow for the rack to be on when the top is removed. I would like that.

I did test drive a Wrangler unlimited sport and a four door Badlands recently. I think the Bronco was more well mannered than the Wrangler, not loose and unpredictable on turns and during breaking. I thought the Badlands drove pretty similar to the Black Diamond, and did not feel too big, but I did have only about 20 minutes in it.

Overall I give the Black Diamond about a 4.3 out of 5. It is the most fun to drive 4x4 I have ever had and the overall performance, styling, and functionality have made it my favorite car to date. I might be a little biased because I have always wanted a Bronco with a removable top, and this is the first one I have had.

Can't wait for my Cyber Orange.

 

[Tricky Dick]

Hang in there. The 2 door is near perfect.

But I didn't get a hammock yet.

 

[mspaz789]

I decided I've driven this thing enough for a decent first impressions review. It is an Iconic Silver Black Diamond with the 2.3 manual, hard top, roof rack, and tow package. It was an abandoned delivery with the green window sticker and all. I have the same trim on order in Cactus Gray minus the tow package. I am not cancelling my original order because I would like to see what the market for used vehicles is like when I actually receive it, or if I have any friends or family that want the one I ordered or the silver one at that time (7/14 res.). I will keep them both if I win the lottery or something like that. For background, I 've had 93 Toyota 4x4 small pickup, 95 Toyota 4runner, 19 Tacoma, 86 Subaru GL, 2006 and 2013 Forrester.

First, I love the look of this thing. The silver is great with the black steelies, MIC top, flares, and grill. I like the 32's. They seem well proportioned, and I will drive them until they need replaced. I may consider going with larger tires , at that point, but not set on that at all and it does not seem necessary for me. I love the looks of the two door and how it harkens back to the first gen.

Driving this thing is FUN! The manual is pretty easy, given that I have driven manuals extensively in the past. My 15 year old son has learned it pretty quickly, though he is still working on the nuances. The handling is slightly sporty on the road. There is a little bit of nose dive at quick stops, but not as bad as the Tacoma. On the trails it eats up loose dirt, mud, and rocky roads. Not to stiff or too bouncy to me. The 2.3 is plenty of power for me. I don't really race around town, but it has no problem accelerating into traffic. There is plenty of power for the trail driving that I do - forest roads and some two track. Turbo lag is not crazy, but noticeable from time to time. I like the length and width a lot. It fits into parking spaces easily, and in between trees and tight spaces off the pavement. Visibility is mostly good, and I can tell where the edges of the car are better than most cars I've driven. The visors seem too big and it is hard for me to see under them when they are down, but I do ride with the seat raised because I like the visibility that allows. I am averaging a little over 18 MPG according to the computer with mostly short trips around town, off pavement driving, and one day trip of a little over 100 miles on the interstate.

I love the vinyl interior. The plastic surfaces seem mostly appropriate, though I wouldn't mind a little more vinyl around the dash. I'd really love an old school steel dash, but you just don't seem to see that nowadays. The grab handles are ok, although the center console one does not seem 100% solid, not wiggly, but it does seems to flex more than I would like. The blue accents work pretty well, and are not obnoxious. There is not a ton of nooks and crannys for storage, but I think that can be overcome using the molle system and a cargo box in the rear cargo area. The seats are a little weird in that they don't lock in the fully tilted and slid to the front position, so I have to hold them forward for people or dogs to get in or out. I wish they would lock in that position. The dogs have been on the back seat a couple of times, and I have thrown a blanket or dog bed back there to protect the seats a little, but no real damage noticed at this point. I have not had any leaks in the hard top despite some really heavy monsoon rains. The hard top does rattle/squeak a little. I am not sure if this is just the nature of a removable hard top or poor design since I have never had a car with that feature. It is glorious to drive with the top off, and I have also driven it with the front panels off, and the back cap off with the front panels on. All seemed solid despite the little rattles and squeaks. One of the pins that guides the back cap was bumped or scraped on the roll roll cage when removing the top today and the fiberglass pretty much broke there (picture below). I am hoping the replacement hard top will be less noisy, and that these guide pins are more reinforced. It was pretty loud on my road trip, but that stretch of highway is always windy with a lot of crosswinds. The stock stereo definitely needs a sub woofer or better speakers with more bass, but it depends on the music. It seems like a lot of classic rock and punk sounds pretty alright, whereas music that relies more heavily on bass...not as much.

I have added a Yakima roof basket for camping and other trips, and am buying a drop hitch extension so that my hitch bike rack will clear the tailgate and tire a little better. It is an adjustment as far as cargo space going from the Tacoma to this, but I am certain I can make it work. Taking the top off is not too bad, and I did notice that there are some threaded holes in the roll cage where the roof rack would fit (picture below), so I am wondering if there is an accessory coming out thot would allow for the rack to be on when the top is removed. I would like that.

I did test drive a Wrangler unlimited sport and a four door Badlands recently. I think the Bronco was more well mannered than the Wrangler, not loose and unpredictable on turns and during breaking. I thought the Badlands drove pretty similar to the Black Diamond, and did not feel too big, but I did have only about 20 minutes in it.

Overall I give the Black Diamond about a 4.3 out of 5. It is the most fun to drive 4x4 I have ever had and the overall performance, styling, and functionality have made it my favorite car to date. I might be a little biased because I have always wanted a Bronco with a removable top, and this is the first one I have had.

Must be nice to have 2 Broncos when some of us still waiting on theirs

 

[Judy]

Wait wait wait you are allowing:
1. a teenager to learn to drive a manual with this
2. dogs in the vehicle

I feel faint.

 

[bcb1]

Sorry to hear about the hardtop roof squeaks and rattles. We have an 18 wrangler JL and the roof is quiet. Weird that the few reports we have heard on the bronco hard tops mostly all mention them rattling. I have to say this worries me. I am a fanatic about squeaks and rattles, I have an entire cabinet full of various fixes. Lubricants, rubber seal treatment, 3M anti squeak tape, felt tape, foam, dynamat, and so on. I get the feeling I’m gonna have to be fixing the squeaky roof on mine. Y’know, sometime in 2023 when it finally gets built lol.

 

[Blue's B6G]

I'm working on using a crane to lift the MIC straight up. Are you saying that it will not clear the roll bar ? The times I took the top off we lifted and walked it back. Thanks

It’ll clear, just be mindful of the tight tolerance. I was hoisting it up and not guiding it with my other hand, to keep it from rubbing against the roll bar on either side. It’s hard to park in the same exact spot, within fractions of an inch, each time, so the tight tolerance requires guiding the top up in addition to hoisting.

 

[Boxer4]

It’ll clear, just be mindful of the tight tolerance. I was hoisting it up and not guiding it with my other hand, to keep it from rubbing against the roll bar on either side. It’s hard to park in the same exact spot, within fractions of an inch, each time, so the tight tolerance requires guiding the top up in addition to hoisting.

Thanks

 

[Hornet]

Thanks fir the review. As for the top squeeks and rattles... I have a Jeep with a hard top. No rattles, squeaks, or leaks. Ford needs to a handle on these top issues.

 

[KingWillard]

Must be nice to have 2 Broncos when some of us still waiting on theirs

Well, I have one. One on order no vin or anything. But you’re right. I’m extremely fortunate that I had a Tacoma with low miles so that I could make up for some of the dealer markup, and that it was essentially what I wanted.

 

[KingWillard]

Thanks for the detailed write up. I've got a 2-door Black Diamond on order and it seems like most of the off-road reviews have been with a Badlands or a Wildtrak.

And I'm super stoked to hear she's a champ on some of the exact roads I will take her! We disperse camp a lot in the Coconino Forest. Which parts of the forest have you been through with the BD?

151, and some of the spurs off of that, 300 (Rim) road and spurs, and the road that cuts between 180 and Snowbowl road (9164?), and spurs off of that. Thinking Schnebly hill is in my near future.

 

[ab_slack]

Damn same as what I have on order except for the color.

 

[King Luis]

fantastic review. i'm leaning back towards the manual BD versus going a squatch'd base.

Sponsored