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Doetsch Off-Road

Badlands
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First Name
Todd
Joined
Jun 10, 2021
Threads
67
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464
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Location
Chandler, AZ
Website
www.doetschoffroad.com
Vehicle(s)
2021 Badlands 4dr, 2021 Wildtrak, 2021 Rubicon 392
Your Bronco Model
Badlands
Theres no cliff-notes for this. Read it or pass.

For the last 10 years I have been a Jeep enthusiast. Starting with 2 Grand Cherokees (wk2 platform) Which I heavily modified, at least as far as was reasonable at the time. www.wk2project.com.
After that, I jumped in to JL Wranglers both as a hobby and then as a builder.
www.jlrubitron.com The 1st Wrangler Build.
www.thecustomjeepbuilder.com The Passion
www.doetschoffroad.com The Shop

I am currently building my own Bronco Badlands for SEMA 2021. I will also be building for the show a 1st edition SAS, a Wildtrak SAS and another Badlands.

My Badlands (non SAS) arrived Friday so here is the initial impression of the vehicle itself, followed by a more direct comparison to Wranglers.

Initial impression Day 1-
Looks:
Looks cool. I appreciate that while they were certainly using the Wrangler as their model, there are a ton of important physical differences that give it its own personality strictly from a visual perspective. Interior is definitely nice to look at and be surrounded by while driving. Seat design and bolster are comfortable and attractive. Gauge cluster is a bit weak with top off and bright outside. Not a huge fan.
Materials: Seating, Skip the vinyl. Not impressed and gets VERY hot. Plastics in most places are very cheap (too cheap) too thin. "Oh shit" handles are too loose and flimsy to be a reassuring handle. Rear cargo plastics are very thin and off. There will be a lot of things that will come loose and make noise/rattle over the 1st few years of ownership, especially if used. Semi-normal in this segment, but if they wanted to excel they could have spent more time here.
Engine/Trans: I chose the 10spd/2.7 setup so I cannot speak to the other. While there is certainly some significant lag off the line the rest of the powertrain is quite nice. I cant imagine it with less power, (2.3) but like I said, I dont really know. It has, for its size, great around town power, passing power and fantastic gearing all around. It also really knows its place when offroading in different slow and fast situations but ill dive back in to that later.
Soft Top: I like it. I dont care for the look of the rear flap but thats my only major gripe. Taking the windows out (and back in) is straight forward. The positions of opening it are nice, and the "click" to secure it when its all the way back is nice, although it still makes some noises. Removing it completely is easy, as long as you are two tall-ish, strong-ish guys. My 5'9 16yr old kid gave it his best but scraped my roll bar on the way up and out. A bit noisier than expected.
Audio: I did not opt for the upgraded audio. BIG MISTAKE. Its really horrible. Really.

Day 1.5 real world driving
Put about 120 miles on it in the 1st day, mix of city and highway. I loved it all. Drives fantastic. It does drive BIG. If you are coming from a Jeep, a small SUV...this will feel big and wide. Bigger and wider than it really is. 1st time through tight parking lots etc youll be a bit more careful as you learn it. It felt as wide as my full size trucks. In traffic (even though it seems like it takes up the whole lane), its actually quite nimble. it glides around the road effortlessly. It likes faster. Everything with this platform seems to reward a bit of speed and momentum. Slow speed turns are a lil more awkward and require more steering effort than most in this segment. 10 spd! 10 spd! 10 spd!!!! Absolutely fantastic transmission and programmed perfectly IMO.

Day 2 off-roading. Basic Trails. (With 12 Wranglers)
So today I took it on a couple of trails mostly rated in the 3-4.5 out of 10. I spent 7 hours wheeling around Arizona at Butcher Jones, the Rolls OHV, and Bulldog Canyon. This is mostly basic trails with loose dirt, rock, river rock, banked turns, a few hill climbs, a couple of waterfall decents and some really fun high speed sandy washes.
The Bronco really shines in this category. Again, Ill make comparisons later but just straight impressions here. The 4wd modes/GOAT is all fairly intuitive. Its nice that if you shut the Bronco off on a break, it will ask if you'd like to resume that same mode at startup. Yes, thank you I do! I spent a majority of the day in 2wd, but used 4hi/baja as well as 4low/rock crawl as well.
The Bronco soaks up everything. The IFS and Bilsteins were clearly in their element.
On the trail at and avg of 13mph things were simple, comfortable and enjoyable.
The Hill climbs I mostly used baja and momentum and it conquered them all without breaking a sweat. One hill climb had very loose rock at the top 1/4 of the hill as well as a very high angle. It did require 4lo and both lockers but once engaged it pulled up it like it was nothing. It did take a bit longer to engage than I cared for though.
The washes. Oh my. It is very hard to unsettle this Bronco! Baja engaged and foot to the floor. The electronic nannies allowed a perfect amount of "fun-having" while keeping it all well balanced. Ruts/woops were very much welcome and soaked up by the suspension much better than expected. I have a Ram TRX as well so this is high praise. The Bronco had poise throughout all of the paces I put it through. I very much want to run a wildtrak through this same section.

OK, so how does it compare to a Wrangler?!?!
Dammit...I really wish this wasnt a question, because it SHOULDNT be. Yet here we are.

-It is NOT a Wrangler. Stop the comparisons, stop the wiener measurements, stop the hate. They are different and thats a good thing! The Bronco 100% has better daily driver manners, there is no question. The Bronco definitely enjoys high speed anything more than the Wrangler. The Wrangler 100% excels in Rock Crawling. Everything else comes down to a matter of opinion. They arent the same nor were they meant to be.

-GO OUT WITH WRANGLER GROUPS! If you do not come from an offroad background, the Wrangler guys will teach you alot even though they are vastly different. Other IFS rigs (tacomas and the like) honestly do not hold a candle to the Bronco and in most cases you can run similar lines to the Wranglers. Plus theres lots of them doing lots of things. Be friendly, we do not bite. Whatever trash talking you hear at 730am at the trailhead will be gone by 9. ;)

-The Bronco both fills a gap, and takes away some of Jeeps thunder. A large majority of Wrangler owners have Sports and Saharas. They are still very capable off-road, sans lockers and low range. They have great articulation (especially once modified) that allow them to do so fairly difficult things easily. Rubicons are a different creature and at the end of the day whatever level Sasquatch you get stock vs stock or modified vs modified will never be able to rock crawl (7 and up trails) like a Rubicon. Please do not think it will. It cannot. It isnt supposed to (yet).

-The Bronco is a better place to spend time in. It looks good, it feels good. If you are commuting a lot, or love road trips...it wins.

-The Wrangler fit & finish is better all around, and thats not saying much for either of em!

-Bronco wins the transmission war and I really love the JL 8speed.

-2.7 is > 2.0 or 3.6
-2.7 is < 3.0d or 6.4

-The power of the 2.7 and its very smart 10spd is phenomenal offroad both in slow and high speed offroading. The additional tuning changes with the GOAT modes make it enjoyable in all situations. There was really no where I was expecting or needing more power or being in the proper gear.

-Bronco braking is better.

IMO
In my opinion, most Wrangler sport/sahara owners that test drive a Bronco (if they like the looks of it) will strongly consider moving to a Bronco. Rightfully so. Rubicon owners like myself (ones that use them to the extreme) will stay put. But I sure like having the Bronco in the stable!!

Now comes the fun part! I cannot wait to begin building these 4 Broncos. Each will have a different use/purpose/look. I promise to keep the forum up to date on them with much shorter posts.

Ford Bronco A Wrangler Owner/Enthusiast/Builder honest review of the 2021 Bronco -- long... 20210801_083358



Ford Bronco A Wrangler Owner/Enthusiast/Builder honest review of the 2021 Bronco -- long... 20210801_083604




EDIT...ADD-on 4/18/22

reviving this from the dead for an important public announcement....


Lets chat about a few things.
I'm sure a lot of you have seen all of the Bronco Breakage that went down this past week at Moab. I want you to know that your new Bronco (or one en route) is NOT a problem waiting to happen. They are not weak, or under-engineered. Let me explain...
The Bronco was engineered to off-road, but not quite in the same fashion as the Jeep. The Bronco is the better driver. The Bronco is capable of more speed on trails, and desert running. It is highly capable in stock form, for what it was designed to do. However there are some short falls to it when rock crawling. At least at higher levels. The breakage that youve seen, and is the most common is the Tie Rods. More times than not, this is due to DRIVER ERROR. It is a weak point, and it is small...but its the same you see on Raptors, Tacomas, etc. Its typically caused by trying to "bump" up an obstacle, or having heavy load on one of the tires while turned putting climbing torque on the driveline. Your tie rod is about the size of my pinky. In comparison the one on my Jeep is 2" thick. Breakage also has a lot to do with how you modify the vehicle. More on that coming in this long winded message.
Spacer lifts. This is a great option if your goal is mostly to make the vehicle look better for daily driving and youll be using it only for light duty offroad. When doing this, please also consider geometry correcting parts (Upper control arms) if you go this route. 35s or 37s are ok on spacer lifts, but just know that if you do offroad your Bronco on more than basic trails...the extra weight, extra traction and the ability to get over higher or more challenging obstacles will put more stress on breakable parts. If your wants or needs become more heavily offroad oriented...look to upgrade some other pieces.
If you are more serious with off-roading, put your money in to quality parts. Fabtech, King, & Fox coilovers are the way to go. Also upgrade your tie rods to the available Fabtech or RPG full replacement units and consider also the BroncBuster steering bushing. The Fabtech kit comes with Upper control arms and rear trailing arms. Kings/Fox you need to source the control and trailing arms from another source such as RPG/Camburg/Zone, etc. Yes, those parts are necessary at this level. Consider some of the underbody skids that are beginning to come out as well.
If you are new to off-roading, or came from the Jeep life...take some time to learn the difference in how to drive the Bronco. Enjoy it stock at least a little bit to learn it. Learn the different lines you should take in comparison to a Jeep or other solid front axle 4x4s. They are different! Go out with some more experienced IFS offroaders and dont be shy, ask for help....I promise they will. And hopefully you will share that info down the road as well.
Speak to a professional or someone with personal experience before making decisions. This is more than just business to me and our crew. We are all active in the offroad community and have been for many years. We have built over 30 Broncos from Mild to Wild over the past 6-7mos. Regardless of where you source your parts or who installs them for you, I am here to offer my advice which will be catered to your needs specifically. Message me directly on here, email me at [email protected] or call in to Doetsch Off-Road and we would be happy to discuss specifics or just BS about your Bronco a bit. We were all new to this at some point, Im here to make that easier for you..

Ford Bronco A Wrangler Owner/Enthusiast/Builder honest review of the 2021 Bronco -- long... 272687460_494677502253815_1178656641317734987_n
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Last edited:
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Doetsch Off-Road

Doetsch Off-Road

Badlands
Well-Known Member
Base Sponsor (Level 1)
First Name
Todd
Joined
Jun 10, 2021
Threads
67
Messages
464
Reaction score
1,830
Location
Chandler, AZ
Website
www.doetschoffroad.com
Vehicle(s)
2021 Badlands 4dr, 2021 Wildtrak, 2021 Rubicon 392
Your Bronco Model
Badlands
Sounds good. When can I go out driving with you guys? I only have a tiny little Ranger Tremor for now but I don't mind if you guys make fun of me.
Anytime brother! We have winches. ;)
 

Theherofails

Badlands
Well-Known Member
First Name
Thomas
Joined
Apr 7, 2021
Threads
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2,045
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Location
Phoenix
Vehicle(s)
2022 e-tron Sportback, 2021 Bronco Badlands Sas
Your Bronco Model
Badlands
Anytime brother! We have winches. ;)
Just did Broken Arrow, The Rolls (hard side) and the OHV area across the 87 from that area, cant remember the name. Great washes for high speed running on the north side of the highway. So far its done well but the factory steps are just a killer. You'll hear me scrape them constantly if I find my way out with you guys. PITA.

Thanks for your honest opinion! It tracks incredibly close to my own. I dont know that the Bronco will ever win out in the most extreme 1% use case when rock crawling, but everything outside of that I feel like its a contender. The faster it goes, the better it seems to get.. Same with the Tremor, actually. Hitting 60+ MPH down sand covered washes is a real rush.
 

Broncodave

Black Diamond
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First Name
Dave
Joined
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Threads
26
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Location
Seattle
Vehicle(s)
Dodge Challenger/Nissan Xterra
Your Bronco Model
Black Diamond
Clubs
 
Seating, Skip the vinyl. Not impressed and gets VERY hot.
And do what? The two best Broncos (Badlands and Black Diamond) come in MGV.

p.s. Good review. It wasn't overly long. Easy read. (y)
 

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ramblinwreck

Wildtrak
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Joined
Sep 25, 2020
Threads
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864
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Location
Georgia
Vehicle(s)
`22 Wildtrak, '21 Wrangler Rubicon 4xe
Your Bronco Model
Wildtrak
Sound honest to me. I am disappointed that the interior plastics are cheap feeling. I am also not surprised that it’s better on road than the wrangler.

I would imagine that the Sasquatch would easily outperform non rubicon wranglers all the way around. I would also imagine that it would outperform rubicon’s in 95% of circumstances as well, and 99.9% of owners would never take the vehicle in that 5% where the Rubicon is needed anyhow.
 
Last edited:

Raptor911

Raptor
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First Name
Raptor911
Joined
Jun 17, 2020
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Location
Broadlands, VA
Vehicle(s)
2021 F150 Raptor, 2022 Wildtrak
Your Bronco Model
Raptor
Thank you for the write-up.

About the interior fit and finish, please remember this is the 1st iteration for Ford. It will get better. The Wrangler has a better interior because they have really not done much else to the wrangler for many years. I think improving the interior is low hanging fruit while improving driving dynamics is not.
 
Last edited:

ramblinwreck

Wildtrak
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Joined
Sep 25, 2020
Threads
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864
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Location
Georgia
Vehicle(s)
`22 Wildtrak, '21 Wrangler Rubicon 4xe
Your Bronco Model
Wildtrak
Theres no cliff-notes for this. Read it or pass.

For the last 10 years I have been a Jeep enthusiast. Starting with 2 Grand Cherokees (wk2 platform) Which I heavily modified, at least as far as was reasonable at the time. www.wk2project.com.
After that, I jumped in to JL Wranglers both as a hobby and then as a builder.
www.jlrubitron.com The 1st Wrangler Build.
www.thecustomjeepbuilder.com The Passion
www.doetschoffroad.com The Shop

I am currently building my own Bronco Badlands for SEMA 2021. I will also be building for the show a 1st edition SAS, a Wildtrak SAS and another Badlands.

My Badlands (non SAS) arrived Friday so here is the initial impression of the vehicle itself, followed by a more direct comparison to Wranglers.

Initial impression Day 1-
Looks:
Looks cool. I appreciate that while they were certainly using the Wrangler as their model, there are a ton of important physical differences that give it its own personality strictly from a visual perspective. Interior is definitely nice to look at and be surrounded by while driving. Seat design and bolster are comfortable and attractive. Gauge cluster is a bit weak with top off and bright outside. Not a huge fan.
Materials: Seating, Skip the vinyl. Not impressed and gets VERY hot. Plastics in most places are very cheap (too cheap) too thin. "Oh shit" handles are too loose and flimsy to be a reassuring handle. Rear cargo plastics are very thin and off. There will be a lot of things that will come loose and make noise/rattle over the 1st few years of ownership, especially if used. Semi-normal in this segment, but if they wanted to excel they could have spent more time here.
Engine/Trans: I chose the 10spd/2.7 setup so I cannot speak to the other. While there is certainly some significant lag off the line the rest of the powertrain is quite nice. I cant imagine it with less power, (2.3) but like I said, I dont really know. It has, for its size, great around town power, passing power and fantastic gearing all around. It also really knows its place when offroading in different slow and fast situations but ill dive back in to that later.
Soft Top: I like it. I dont care for the look of the rear flap but thats my only major gripe. Taking the windows out (and back in) is straight forward. The positions of opening it are nice, and the "click" to secure it when its all the way back is nice, although it still makes some noises. Removing it completely is easy, as long as you are two tall-ish, strong-ish guys. My 5'9 16yr old kid gave it his best but scraped my roll bar on the way up and out. A bit noisier than expected.
Audio: I did not opt for the upgraded audio. BIG MISTAKE. Its really horrible. Really.

Day 1.5 real world driving
Put about 120 miles on it in the 1st day, mix of city and highway. I loved it all. Drives fantastic. It does drive BIG. If you are coming from a Jeep, a small SUV...this will feel big and wide. Bigger and wider than it really is. 1st time through tight parking lots etc youll be a bit more careful as you learn it. It felt as wide as my full size trucks. In traffic (even though it seems like it takes up the whole lane), its actually quite nimble. it glides around the road effortlessly. It likes faster. Everything with this platform seems to reward a bit of speed and momentum. Slow speed turns are a lil more awkward and require more steering effort than most in this segment. 10 spd! 10 spd! 10 spd!!!! Absolutely fantastic transmission and programmed perfectly IMO.

Day 2 off-roading. Basic Trails. (With 12 Wranglers)
So today I took it on a couple of trails mostly rated in the 3-4.5 out of 10. I spent 7 hours wheeling around Arizona at Butcher Jones, the Rolls OHV, and Bulldog Canyon. This is mostly basic trails with loose dirt, rock, river rock, banked turns, a few hill climbs, a couple of waterfall decents and some really fun high speed sandy washes.
The Bronco really shines in this category. Again, Ill make comparisons later but just straight impressions here. The 4wd modes/GOAT is all fairly intuitive. Its nice that if you shut the Bronco off on a break, it will ask if you'd like to resume that same mode at startup. Yes, thank you I do! I spent a majority of the day in 2wd, but used 4hi/baja as well as 4low/rock crawl as well.
The Bronco soaks up everything. The IFS and Bilsteins were clearly in their element.
On the trail at and avg of 13mph things were simple, comfortable and enjoyable.
The Hill climbs I mostly used baja and momentum and it conquered them all without breaking a sweat. One hill climb had very loose rock at the top 1/4 of the hill as well as a very high angle. It did require 4lo and both lockers but once engaged it pulled up it like it was nothing. It did take a bit longer to engage than I cared for though.
The washes. Oh my. It is very hard to unsettle this Bronco! Baja engaged and foot to the floor. The electronic nannies allowed a perfect amount of "fun-having" while keeping it all well balanced. Ruts/woops were very much welcome and soaked up by the suspension much better than expected. I have a Ram TRX as well so this is high praise. The Bronco had poise throughout all of the paces I put it through. I very much want to run a wildtrak through this same section.

OK, so how does it compare to a Wrangler?!?!
Dammit...I really wish this wasnt a question, because it SHOULDNT be. Yet here we are.

-It is NOT a Wrangler. Stop the comparisons, stop the wiener measurements, stop the hate. They are different and thats a good thing! The Bronco 100% has better daily driver manners, there is no question. The Bronco definitely enjoys high speed anything more than the Wrangler. The Wrangler 100% excels in Rock Crawling. Everything else comes down to a matter of opinion. They arent the same nor were they meant to be.

-GO OUT WITH WRANGLER GROUPS! If you do not come from an offroad background, the Wrangler guys will teach you alot even though they are vastly different. Other IFS rigs (tacomas and the like) honestly do not hold a candle to the Bronco and in most cases you can run similar lines to the Wranglers. Plus theres lots of them doing lots of things. Be friendly, we do not bite. Whatever trash talking you hear at 730am at the trailhead will be gone by 9. ;)

-The Bronco both fills a gap, and takes away some of Jeeps thunder. A large majority of Wrangler owners have Sports and Saharas. They are still very capable off-road, sans lockers and low range. They have great articulation (especially once modified) that allow them to do so fairly difficult things easily. Rubicons are a different creature and at the end of the day whatever level Sasquatch you get stock vs stock or modified vs modified will never be able to rock crawl (7 and up trails) like a Rubicon. Please do not think it will. It cannot. It isnt supposed to (yet).

-The Bronco is a better place to spend time in. It looks good, it feels good. If you are commuting a lot, or love road trips...it wins.

-The Wrangler fit & finish is better all around, and thats not saying much for either of em!

-Bronco wins the transmission war and I really love the JL 8speed.

-2.7 is > 2.0 or 3.6
-2.7 is < 3.0d or 6.4

-The power of the 2.7 and its very smart 10spd is phenomenal offroad both in slow and high speed offroading. The additional tuning changes with the GOAT modes make it enjoyable in all situations. There was really no where I was expecting or needing more power or being in the proper gear.

-Bronco braking is better.

IMO
In my opinion, most Wrangler sport/sahara owners that test drive a Bronco (if they like the looks of it) will strongly consider moving to a Bronco. Rightfully so. Rubicon owners like myself (ones that use them to the extreme) will stay put. But I sure like having the Bronco in the stable!!

Now comes the fun part! I cannot wait to begin building these 4 Broncos. Each will have a different use/purpose/look. I promise to keep the forum up to date on them with much sho
Theres no cliff-notes for this. Read it or pass.

For the last 10 years I have been a Jeep enthusiast. Starting with 2 Grand Cherokees (wk2 platform) Which I heavily modified, at least as far as was reasonable at the time. www.wk2project.com.
After that, I jumped in to JL Wranglers both as a hobby and then as a builder.
www.jlrubitron.com The 1st Wrangler Build.
www.thecustomjeepbuilder.com The Passion
www.doetschoffroad.com The Shop

I am currently building my own Bronco Badlands for SEMA 2021. I will also be building for the show a 1st edition SAS, a Wildtrak SAS and another Badlands.

My Badlands (non SAS) arrived Friday so here is the initial impression of the vehicle itself, followed by a more direct comparison to Wranglers.

Initial impression Day 1-
Looks:
Looks cool. I appreciate that while they were certainly using the Wrangler as their model, there are a ton of important physical differences that give it its own personality strictly from a visual perspective. Interior is definitely nice to look at and be surrounded by while driving. Seat design and bolster are comfortable and attractive. Gauge cluster is a bit weak with top off and bright outside. Not a huge fan.
Materials: Seating, Skip the vinyl. Not impressed and gets VERY hot. Plastics in most places are very cheap (too cheap) too thin. "Oh shit" handles are too loose and flimsy to be a reassuring handle. Rear cargo plastics are very thin and off. There will be a lot of things that will come loose and make noise/rattle over the 1st few years of ownership, especially if used. Semi-normal in this segment, but if they wanted to excel they could have spent more time here.
Engine/Trans: I chose the 10spd/2.7 setup so I cannot speak to the other. While there is certainly some significant lag off the line the rest of the powertrain is quite nice. I cant imagine it with less power, (2.3) but like I said, I dont really know. It has, for its size, great around town power, passing power and fantastic gearing all around. It also really knows its place when offroading in different slow and fast situations but ill dive back in to that later.
Soft Top: I like it. I dont care for the look of the rear flap but thats my only major gripe. Taking the windows out (and back in) is straight forward. The positions of opening it are nice, and the "click" to secure it when its all the way back is nice, although it still makes some noises. Removing it completely is easy, as long as you are two tall-ish, strong-ish guys. My 5'9 16yr old kid gave it his best but scraped my roll bar on the way up and out. A bit noisier than expected.
Audio: I did not opt for the upgraded audio. BIG MISTAKE. Its really horrible. Really.

Day 1.5 real world driving
Put about 120 miles on it in the 1st day, mix of city and highway. I loved it all. Drives fantastic. It does drive BIG. If you are coming from a Jeep, a small SUV...this will feel big and wide. Bigger and wider than it really is. 1st time through tight parking lots etc youll be a bit more careful as you learn it. It felt as wide as my full size trucks. In traffic (even though it seems like it takes up the whole lane), its actually quite nimble. it glides around the road effortlessly. It likes faster. Everything with this platform seems to reward a bit of speed and momentum. Slow speed turns are a lil more awkward and require more steering effort than most in this segment. 10 spd! 10 spd! 10 spd!!!! Absolutely fantastic transmission and programmed perfectly IMO.

Day 2 off-roading. Basic Trails. (With 12 Wranglers)
So today I took it on a couple of trails mostly rated in the 3-4.5 out of 10. I spent 7 hours wheeling around Arizona at Butcher Jones, the Rolls OHV, and Bulldog Canyon. This is mostly basic trails with loose dirt, rock, river rock, banked turns, a few hill climbs, a couple of waterfall decents and some really fun high speed sandy washes.
The Bronco really shines in this category. Again, Ill make comparisons later but just straight impressions here. The 4wd modes/GOAT is all fairly intuitive. Its nice that if you shut the Bronco off on a break, it will ask if you'd like to resume that same mode at startup. Yes, thank you I do! I spent a majority of the day in 2wd, but used 4hi/baja as well as 4low/rock crawl as well.
The Bronco soaks up everything. The IFS and Bilsteins were clearly in their element.
On the trail at and avg of 13mph things were simple, comfortable and enjoyable.
The Hill climbs I mostly used baja and momentum and it conquered them all without breaking a sweat. One hill climb had very loose rock at the top 1/4 of the hill as well as a very high angle. It did require 4lo and both lockers but once engaged it pulled up it like it was nothing. It did take a bit longer to engage than I cared for though.
The washes. Oh my. It is very hard to unsettle this Bronco! Baja engaged and foot to the floor. The electronic nannies allowed a perfect amount of "fun-having" while keeping it all well balanced. Ruts/woops were very much welcome and soaked up by the suspension much better than expected. I have a Ram TRX as well so this is high praise. The Bronco had poise throughout all of the paces I put it through. I very much want to run a wildtrak through this same section.

OK, so how does it compare to a Wrangler?!?!
Dammit...I really wish this wasnt a question, because it SHOULDNT be. Yet here we are.

-It is NOT a Wrangler. Stop the comparisons, stop the wiener measurements, stop the hate. They are different and thats a good thing! The Bronco 100% has better daily driver manners, there is no question. The Bronco definitely enjoys high speed anything more than the Wrangler. The Wrangler 100% excels in Rock Crawling. Everything else comes down to a matter of opinion. They arent the same nor were they meant to be.

-GO OUT WITH WRANGLER GROUPS! If you do not come from an offroad background, the Wrangler guys will teach you alot even though they are vastly different. Other IFS rigs (tacomas and the like) honestly do not hold a candle to the Bronco and in most cases you can run similar lines to the Wranglers. Plus theres lots of them doing lots of things. Be friendly, we do not bite. Whatever trash talking you hear at 730am at the trailhead will be gone by 9. ;)

-The Bronco both fills a gap, and takes away some of Jeeps thunder. A large majority of Wrangler owners have Sports and Saharas. They are still very capable off-road, sans lockers and low range. They have great articulation (especially once modified) that allow them to do so fairly difficult things easily. Rubicons are a different creature and at the end of the day whatever level Sasquatch you get stock vs stock or modified vs modified will never be able to rock crawl (7 and up trails) like a Rubicon. Please do not think it will. It cannot. It isnt supposed to (yet).

-The Bronco is a better place to spend time in. It looks good, it feels good. If you are commuting a lot, or love road trips...it wins.

-The Wrangler fit & finish is better all around, and thats not saying much for either of em!

-Bronco wins the transmission war and I really love the JL 8speed.

-2.7 is > 2.0 or 3.6
-2.7 is < 3.0d or 6.4

-The power of the 2.7 and its very smart 10spd is phenomenal offroad both in slow and high speed offroading. The additional tuning changes with the GOAT modes make it enjoyable in all situations. There was really no where I was expecting or needing more power or being in the proper gear.

-Bronco braking is better.

IMO
In my opinion, most Wrangler sport/sahara owners that test drive a Bronco (if they like the looks of it) will strongly consider moving to a Bronco. Rightfully so. Rubicon owners like myself (ones that use them to the extreme) will stay put. But I sure like having the Bronco in the stable!!

Now comes the fun part! I cannot wait to begin building these 4 Broncos. Each will have a different use/purpose/look. I promise to keep the forum up to date on them with much shorter posts.

Ford Bronco A Wrangler Owner/Enthusiast/Builder honest review of the 2021 Bronco -- long... 272687460_494677502253815_1178656641317734987_n



Ford Bronco A Wrangler Owner/Enthusiast/Builder honest review of the 2021 Bronco -- long... 272687460_494677502253815_1178656641317734987_n
any chance you can elaborate on the MGV? I have yet to see it in person. I was concerned it would feel cheap so I ordered the leather on my Badlands. It seems like you are one of the first I have seen give a bad review of it.
 

Bronco4lyfe85

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Great write up. I was torn between getting a 4XE Rubicon, a Rubicon and than a Sasquatch Bronco. I opted for the Bronco for the better overall road manners because let’s be honest it’s going to spend 80% of its time on city streets and I’m not rock crawling as you mentioned. You kind of confirmed my thought process, the Bronco will be a better overall vehicle for most people who want a vehicle of this type. I do have to add I did drive a Sasquatch 2.3L and I didn’t have any concerns with its power output. But, I definitely agree on the cornering. I had a blast taking corners faster and digging back into the gas without the turbo lag kicking in.
 

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Thank you for the write-up. About the interior fit and finish, Please remember this is the 1st iteration for ford. It will get better. The wrangler is better because they have really not done much else to the wrangler for many years. I think interior is easy to improve while driving dynamics is not.
Interior is always an after thought on new model vehicles attempting to hit a price point. I’ve said it a few times but my 2013 Camaro interior was about as plastic as the Broncos. By 2017 when they hit the next refresh, it got SIGNIFICANTLY nicer. I expect after 3-5 years the Bronco will start getting nicer trim options on some of the upper models. Soft plastics, leather wrapped dashes etc.
 

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Materials: Seating, Skip the vinyl. Not impressed and gets VERY hot.
Can you expand on this a bit? Hard to pass if you're getting a Black Diamond or Badlands...

Edit: whoops...didn't realize I'm the 3rd person to ask about this already haha
 

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Just did Broken Arrow, The Rolls (hard side) and the OHV area across the 87 from that area, cant remember the name. Great washes for high speed running on the north side of the highway. So far its done well but the factory steps are just a killer. You'll hear me scrape them constantly if I find my way out with you guys. PITA.

Thanks for your honest opinion! It tracks incredibly close to my own. I dont know that the Bronco will ever win out in the most extreme 1% use case when rock crawling, but everything outside of that I feel like its a contender. The faster it goes, the better it seems to get.. Same with the Tremor, actually. Hitting 60+ MPH down sand covered washes is a real rush.
Dang I wish I could hang out there maybe a road trip once I get mine is in order trails look great
 
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any chance you can elaborate on the MGV? I have yet to see it in person. I was concerned it would feel cheap so I ordered the leather on my Badlands. It seems like you are one of the first I have seen give a bad review of it.
Maybe its just a new material to me, but it screams cheap. I truly feel that it can easily be punctured by a key, or a kid or that it simply wont wear well after a year or 3. And I simply cannot explain the type of the Devil in a hottub of lava kind of hot these seats get. Oh wait, maybe I just did.
 

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Maybe its just a new material to me, but it screams cheap. I truly feel that it can easily be punctured by a key, or a kid or that it simply wont wear well after a year or 3. And I simply cannot explain the type of the Devil in a hottub of lava kind of hot these seats get. Oh wait, maybe I just did.
Absolutely agree with this, I thought it would be similar to my 4Runner SofTex seats, it’s not even close. I ordered MGV, at this point I regret it. Further, nothing worse to me than seeing worn seats in cars with less than 30k miles. I don’t think any bronco seat configuration is going to hold up for a decent amount of time.
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