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

[BroncoAZ]

I dont sugar coat things. Most prefer it that way.
I also stay in my lane. Im good at what I do, and know a decent amount about this game. Experience, not ego.

Looks like Cliffhanger. Unfortunately I lost all the digital pics of my late 1990’s and early 2000’s pics of my 87 Bronco in Moab.

Ford generally does a good job with HVAC. Toyota as well.

I have to say VW is one of the WORST for HVAC, from a performance or reliability standpoint.

Having lived in Phoenix for 11 years and driving VW TDI’s for much of that time I agree. The AC in the Touareg was better than the Jetta/Passat. The AC in my 2020 Raptor with ventilated seats was amazballs.

Sycamore Creek is the area on the west side of the 87 across from Rolls. Great area especially when there is some water in the creek like now after all the recent rain we have had.

Sycamore was spoiled too many times by drunks and retards. I would go out there to shoot and find all the dumbasses. I got to the point of not going out there anymore.

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[RDUBronco]

Don't mind the trolls.

Curious as to your thoughts on the Sway Bar Disco performance. All the vids seem to show moderate articulation gain and its the front locker making the difference on the IFS. It clearly isn't as much of a performance improvement as it is on a SFA Rubicon but do you think it's a necessary feature for the IFS bronco or save the money and go with a basesquatch, especially since the interior materials are so cheap (not worth the other trim upgrades)?

Ditto, did I miss the response on the Sway Bar Disco. Interested to hear if its important to get a Badlands or wait for aftermarket options.

 

[Doetsch Off-Road]

Ditto, did I miss the response on the Sway Bar Disco. Interested to hear if its important to get a Badlands or wait for aftermarket options.

You'll likely not see an elec disco aftermarket. Just quick disconnects.
It's a great system and quite helpful even though it only increases articulation slightly its worth it. Bonus points for Ford over jeep because you can actually disconnect it mid obstacle

 

[Cypher]

Looks like Cliffhanger. Unfortunately I lost all the digital pics of my late 1990’s and early 2000’s pics of my 87 Bronco in Moab.



Having lived in Phoenix for 11 years and driving VW TDI’s for much of that time I agree. The AC in the Touareg was better than the Jetta/Passat. The AC in my 2020 Raptor with ventilated seats was amazballs.



Sycamore was spoiled too many times by drunks and retards. I would go out there to shoot and find all the dumbasses. I got to the point of not going out there anymore.

I lump sycamore creek and Butcher Jones in the same "all the dumbasses" bucket. I really like both areas, but every time I go some moron is out there making it unsafe. If going now I stick to going with a known group like the one posted earlier in the thread.

 

[BOT_ROCKET]

Your concern if you're wheeling and on some rocks is more on the topic of damage. Even a Wrangler on a Dana 40 or 50 with chromoly upgrades or even a 60 with 40" tires can take some serious damage or break an axle. Add too much HP and you'll definitely do damage quickly.

That's fair. The Bronco is heavier, torquier, and has similar crawler gears (not to mention ass-dragger mode) so I could see there being plenty of broken axles. You're right, though. I was only thinking about capability rather than durability.

Looks like Jeep articulates better, keeping tires in contact with the ground. See video of Bronco and Wrangler on same trail segment. I hit this sort of trail terrain often when wheeling in Colorado. Doesn't mean Bronco is bad, but IFS can only do so much, arm length is limited, unless on special race truck.

Like I said, the Jeep articulates slightly better (RTI score of 693 vs 620 according to TFLs by the numbers article) but the Bronco has better ground clearance. Again, I was talking stock vs stock, or close to it, and the stock suspension on both is more limited by the springs and shocks than they are the axle setup.

 

[ssolypop]

All of the Wrangler guys & gals I went out with were more than a little impressed after the 1st hour or so of wheeling.
With my background I chose to take some of the harder lines that the stock and stockish Jeeps in front of me did not, which caught everyones eye. I certainly put the stock skids to the test and found some other areas that need coverage when doing that, but it was well worth it to put it through the paces.

Noice. And they probably love the competition! Let us know what other areas you think need extra armor!!!

 

[Miamibronco7777]

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.

Great post!

 

[Doetsch Off-Road]

Noice. And they probably love the competition! Let us know what other areas you think need extra armor!!!

Will do. I smashed a crossmember pretty good. On a decent size tire that never would have happened, but I dont care for the size of design of those crossmembers anyway.

 

[Dick_Castlesmurff]

I hope customizing Broncos to look like energy drink cans never becomes as popular as it has for Jeeps.

 

[Big Boss]

I've said it before but some the pictures of "trails" in this thread are pure insanity lol

 

[Devil6dog]

Yeah, that’s not gonna cut it.

lol His shop is right down the road from me, trust me..he knows lol

 

[Td66]

I promise to keep the forum up to date on them with much shorter posts.

Please keep the posts as long as you wish, I am looking forward to your builds, opinions, and perspective; based on your first-hand experience with both rigs!

 

[Gen6dreamin]

I’m sorry for the guys that feel attacked by you giving your well earned, it appears by your direct involvement with said matters, opinion. I appreciate the feedback, and without having an opportunity to drive one yet, let alone off-road one, I could have gleaned a similar assessment of the stock Broncos abilities. Don’t see the need to fight it. Bronco will lack in certain areas and exceed in others. Always room for improvement. Looking forward to following your progress on the builds you have planned.

 

[Doetsch Off-Road]

I appreciate all the comments good and bad. Gotta talk through some stuff!

After 5 days in, I still feel all I said is correct. I do really like this. The Bronco will be with me for quite some time.

 

[Efthreeoh]

Not much further than I already explained. Its just a poor system. Just as bad if not worse IMO than the stock system in the Wrangler. If you like your music, youll want to opt for the BO (I have not heard it yet) or aftermarket. I was really disappointed in it.

I'd consider myself as an audiophile. No vehicle will return excellent audio simply because of the platform being used... a truck/car.

But I've listen to the B&O system and it is decent enough, but not worth to cost to get to it thru the options (i.e. buying the Lux package). My preference is no Lux package, so if I think I need better audio than the base system, I'll upgrade it via the aftermarket.

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