9 Day Road Trip in a 4-Door Big Bend Bronco 2.7L -- First Impression Review

[Squatchn']

yep. i have that button also. i was hoping after hitting it then 'ok' on the dash alert it would stay off but it must reset every time you start it. I just dont like having to remember to push it every time i get in. first car i have owned with the feature so it will just take me some time to get used to.

My current vehicle is a 2019 Ranger and it has this same horrible feature. I will say that it's become second nature to me that after I start the engine I hit the ASS disable button without even thinking about it now.

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[Bunk M]

One Steeler fan /Bronco owner to another. Have you had any issues with the AC randomly increasing? Drove to Pittsburgh 2 weeks ago and it happened a couple times…drove to Greensboro last weekend and the same thing happened.

 

[Glue Guy]

I have a Badlands 2.3 4-door. Just passed the 500 mile mark, and did an extended drive today at highway speeds. Averaged 22.3 MPG, by the gauge. Now, I drive pretty conservatively, so take it for what it is. On the otherhand, engine isn’t totally broken in yet, so I expect the MPG will improve a bit.

on the power, I don’t see any lack with the 2.3, and I’m coming from an F150 with 3.5 eco boost. I was concerned about the bronco being too much for such a small engine, but hope and expect those concerns were unwarranted. So far, no issues.

perhaps the difference in MPG is more related to final drive ratio.

Picked up our Cactus Grey Big Bend 4D MIC top Mid-Luxury package 2.7 eco boost (no sasquatch - ours is an every day driver and will not be going off road) on 7/17, loaded up on 7/24 and went on a 9 day road trip of the south east coast. Wanted to get a good first impression right out of the gate plus play with all the new buttons.

Entire trip was right at 2000 miles. Killed me to put that many miles on it from the start but it was more than worth it.
I left it in Normal GOAT mode the entire trip and averaged 23 mpg over the 9 days.

Started in Lexington NC and drove interstate to Savannah Ga on Day 1 then worked our way up the Ga, SC, NC cost to Holden Beach before returning to Lexington.
The only major highway we were on was from Lexington to Savannah on day 1-- which gave us a great opportunity of road noise at 70+ mph.

Here is what we came away this from our trip.

Cargo Space - More than enough room in the cargo area with the 2nd row seats up for 2 adults on a 9 day road trip. 2 suit cases, food, drinks, cooler, hanging clothes, etc

Leg Room in back Seat - More than enough. I am 6-2 and a friend of mine is 6-0. I had plenty of room behind the driver seat when he drove it.

Road Noise - Absolute no complaint here. Could have a conversation at a normal voice. I think the radio volume was set on 3 or 4 to drown out the minimal road noise we had.

V8 - I was one of the early cry babies about not having the V8 - We have 302's or 5.0's in all of our early broncos. I am a changed man. the 2.7 ecoBoost is more than enough for us to get moving down the road when we mash on it.

Auto Off Feature - It does have the auto start/stop feature (shuts off at traffic lights) (worst automobile invention ever-not just bronco) which is a complete pain in the tail. I need to figure out how to turn this off permanently. The button on the dash is fine but it is going to get worn out quickly.

MIC top - We did get caught in a pretty heavy down pour while driving and 1 night it monsooned while it was parked. We did not notice any leaks at all.

Removing MIC Top - My wife was easily able to remove the 2 from panels by herself. I dont think each panel weighs more than 15 lbs. We have not taken the entire top or the doors off yet.

We did put the Ford Bronco rubber floor mats in the front and rear floors and the cargo area. The mat in the cargo area covers up the hooks in the cargo floor. The bags for the 2 from roof panels has clasps so they can lock into the hooks in the cargo area but with the cargo mat you cant do that. Would be nice if the cargo mat was cut out for the hooks (mine will be shortly).

Head Rest - The best I can tell is that the head rest does not adjust front to back, only up and down. I found it to be annoying as it just barely touched the back of my head while driving, drove me crazy so I ended up taking it out. My wife doesnt have any issues with it.

Simply put---well worth the wait and worth every single dime.

Hope this helps those that are waiting on delivery.

Delivery Note / Schedule:
We went into production on 7/1 and it was delivered to the dealer in Florence SC on 7/15, picked it up on 7/17.

Ford sight said it was still in production and dealership didnt know it was coming. I got an email on 7/20 saying it had arrived at dealer (3 days after I already picked it up)

So does this mean you and the Bronco reside in the Florence area? I’m in Hartsville, and am the proud owner of an Area 51 4 door badlands. Only ‘21 Bronco I’ve seen in these parts!

congrats on the Bronco, and thanks for posting!

 

[mpeugeot]

The V6 Ecoboost motors have a way of winning over even the most ardent V8 fan boys... I know, I was one of them, right up until I drove my first 3.5 ecoboost in an F-150 and was left stunned by the shear amount of gnads it had stock.

100,000 miles later (approaching 240k on the motor with no major repairs... Yet). I am still stunned, although I realize that it is due a timing chain replacement. Other than the now worn timing chain at near 240k miles (doesn't throw a code yet, but I can tell it needs service), the engine runs perfectly... And I am dead serious, it's perfect.

I don't want to sound like an ecoboost fan boy, but Ford really knocked it out of the park with the ecoboost (even though it's certainly not perfect and does harbor some demons). That's why I ordered a 2.7, and yes, I would have preferred a 3.5, but I know that the 2.7 is a beast too.

 

[STLRFAN]

I have a Badlands 2.3 4-door. Just passed the 500 mile mark, and did an extended drive today at highway speeds. Averaged 22.3 MPG, by the gauge. Now, I drive pretty conservatively, so take it for what it is. On the otherhand, engine isn’t totally broken in yet, so I expect the MPG will improve a bit.

on the power, I don’t see any lack with the 2.3, and I’m coming from an F150 with 3.5 eco boost. I was concerned about the bronco being too much for such a small engine, but hope and expect those concerns were unwarranted. So far, no issues.

perhaps the difference in MPG is more related to final drive ratio.


So does this mean you and the Bronco reside in the Florence area? I’m in Hartsville, and am the proud owner of an Area 51 4 door badlands. Only ‘21 Bronco I’ve seen in these parts!

congrats on the Bronco, and thanks for posting!

Congrats on your Bronco.
No we live in Lexington NC. Only FORDs we own are Broncos so we didnt have a relationship with a local FORD dealership. In our little group of 14 early broncos one guy had a relationship with Richenbach so several of us (6 reservations) followed him there. We were more than pleased with the dealership experience and level of customer service. If I were to buy another FORD I would go back even though they are 3 hours from me.

 

[STLRFAN]

One Steeler fan /Bronco owner to another. Have you had any issues with the AC randomly increasing? Drove to Pittsburgh 2 weeks ago and it happened a couple times…drove to Greensboro last weekend and the same thing happened.

Nice attention to detail on the Steelers.
I did not notice that on our trip and we had the air set to low and the fan on a lower setting.

Have you seen any others around the CLT area. I have not seen any in my area but that is about to change. My brother-in-law is scheduled for delivery in 2 weeks, got his 'built' email this morning.

 

[STLRFAN]

Does anyone out there know how to decode the VIN number to see what production number you are? I would be interested to know on mine. Last 5 digits are 68265. I assume its not 68,265 because I think total orders were about 120k and we all know they have not delivered that many yet.

Also, who is going to start a business to reproduce the little metal tag in from of the automatic shifter (assume its the same on the manual) that looks like an early Bronco grill that has the plant location on it and start producing the same looking tag with our production number on it. $29.95 all day long.

 

[mpeugeot]

Does anyone out there know how to decode the VIN number to see what production number you are? I would be interested to know on mine. Last 5 digits are 68265. I assume its not 68,265 because I think total orders were about 120k and we all know they have not delivered that many yet.

Also, who is going to start a business to reproduce the little metal tag in from of the automatic shifter (assume its the same on the manual) that looks like an early Bronco grill that has the plant location on it and start producing the same looking tag with our production number on it. $29.95 all day long.

It would not work that way. The easiest way to determine it would be based on the production date and blend sequence. What you would need to know is how many Broncos were built prior to your build week (or production month would probably be close enough in most cases). The sequence number rolls over every 10,000 vehicles on the production line. Each day a portion of the production is Bronco and a portion is Ranger. If you could get stickers from each of the blend dates prior to the completion of your month, then the exact production number could be derived. In other words, short of calling Ford, it would take a great deal of research.

 

[Silver-Bolt]

Are you sure the headrest is not adjustable? Ford's typically have a ratchet mechanism for adjustment. Try tipping the top of the headrest forward.

 

[STLRFAN]

Are you sure the headrest is not adjustable? Ford's typically have a ratchet mechanism for adjustment. Try tipping the top of the headrest forward.

Yep. Our tahoe had that feature. Even had someone else try to make sure I wasnt just a complete DA. No Go. I would love for someone to tell me I am a complete DA and here is how to do it but crickets so far.

From what I have read I think the OBX and higher trim levels have it when you move into the vynil or leather seats.

Another - What were you thinking FORD. Its not like it is a $10k car. Mine priced out at $47k and I cant get an adjustable head rest or rear cup holders. I bet the sport has both features.

 

[Silver-Bolt]

Yep. Our tahoe had that feature. Even had someone else try to make sure I wasnt just a complete DA. No Go. I would love for someone to tell me I am a complete DA and here is how to do it but crickets so far.

From what I have read I think the OBX and higher trim levels have it when you move into the vynil or leather seats.

Another - What were you thinking FORD. Its not like it is a $10k car. Mine priced out at $47k and I cant get an adjustable head rest or rear cup holders. I bet the sport has both features.

I bet Ford uses the same frames/posts for all vehicles. Measure your post distance and check it against F-Series and others. Might be able to swap in from another model.

 

[Jabberwock]

Head Rest - The best I can tell is that the head rest does not adjust front to back, only up and down. I found it to be annoying as it just barely touched the back of my head while driving, drove me crazy so I ended up taking it out. My wife doesnt have any issues with it.

I hate to make things dark, but as a nurse in a trauma ICU for 13 years feel I have a duty to say this is just a really bad idea. Please don't do this or give anyone the idea its a good idea.

Do a google search for "atlanto-occipital dislocation" aka internal decapitation and you'll likely be cured of the urge to remove your head rest. Unfortunately I've seen this a number of times over the years and its not pretty.

Thanks for the trip report though- some very helpful observations. Similar build to what I have coming (even the color.)

 

[Ford Motor Company]

Someone please tell me there is a way to stop the auto off feature. I cant imagine wheeling up some hill, hitting the brake to pause and plot your course AND THE ENGINE TURNS OFF!! CMON!!

We do have an Auto On/Off switch that you can disable while off-roading! The off switch for Auto Start/Stop functions just like other Ford vehicles. When you get into the car, you can engage it so that when stopped, the engine never shuts off. When you turn the car off completely, it will reset, triggering the Auto Start/Stop to be on once again with every key cycle.

 

[vrtical]

We do have an Auto On/Off switch that you can disable while off-roading! The off switch for Auto Start/Stop functions just like other Ford vehicles. When you get into the car, you can engage it so that when stopped, the engine never shuts off. When you turn the car off completely, it will reset, triggering the Auto Start/Stop to be on once again with every key cycle.

The most hated button said every F150 owner, but yet continue the functionality to new vehicle lineups.

 

[nminus1]

We do have an Auto On/Off switch that you can disable while off-roading! The off switch for Auto Start/Stop functions just like other Ford vehicles. When you get into the car, you can engage it so that when stopped, the engine never shuts off. When you turn the car off completely, it will reset, triggering the Auto Start/Stop to be on once again with every key cycle.

Gotta be a way permanently disable it, why would FORD force an owner to press the button every time they get into the truck!!??

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