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My wife and I have had our 4-door Badlands Bronco for one year and it has been great! We have just under 20,000 miles on it and it has not been a Pavement Princess. Here is a list of the off-road adventures that we have been on.
• White Rim Trail in Canyonlands NP
• 2 times on Hog’s Back Rim Trail - Kanab, UT
• Fins & Things, UT
• Toroweap Overlook, Grand Canyon
• Multiple trips to San Rafael Swell, UT
• Boulder Mountain, UT
• Mount Logan, UT
• American Fork Canyon, UT
• Millville Canyon – Cache Valley, UT
• Beaver Creek - Logan Canyon, UT
• Exploring Island Park, ID
• Exploring Brian Head and Duck Creek, UT
• Exploring La Sal Mountain Range, UT
• Latour Baldy, ID
• Box Elder County, UT
The things we love most about the Bronco are:
1. The power and torque! Driving the 2.7 engine and the 10-speed auto has been magical! It is fun to drive!
2. The handling on-road and off-road is great!
3. Interior comfort and room. We have the High package and love the technology. Also love the MGV seats and rubberized flooring.
4. Off-road capability.
The things we do not like about the Bronco and wish Ford would fix.
1. Allow the sway bar to be disconnected while in 4A. Come on @Ford Motor Company , even the Jeep Wrangler Rubicon can do this!
2. Harsh ride. Most of our off-road driving is on moderately rocky roads between 5 and 20 miles per hour. The shock valving is very stiff for this type of riding. We almost always air down which does help.
3. Instrument cluster – Analog speedometer is a waste of space. Also wish it had a gear indicator while in auto mode.
One of our bigger complaints was with the noisy hard top. But we just had it replaced a week ago with MIC 2.0. Due to a dealer mistake, our original hard top did not have the sound deadening headliner. The new one came with it and I am happy to say that there is a noticeable reduction in sound. We are very happy with it!
The only warranty issue we have had is with the transfer case. It was leaking oil and our dealership replaced the rear seal. Another shout-out to Frank at Ken Garff Ford!
NOTE: I have owned at least one 4-wheel drive vehicle at any given time for the past 35+ years. My first was when I was 16. None of these vehicles have ever had a catastrophic failure. Things have stopped working on some of them and have needed to be repaired but none have ever left me stranded.
Our Bronco replaced a 2005 Chevy Suburban with the 5.3 V8. It had the Eaton locking rear differential which made the Suburban very off-road capable for what it was. We did a lot of off-road exploring with it and the powertrain was always very reliable. Overall, it had uninspiring performance but was boringly reliable. Change the oil, clean the air filter, fill it with gas and away we would go.
The Bronco’s performance and off-road capability is superior to the Suburban in almost every way. The only thing I miss about the Suburban is it's more comfortable ride when on rough and rocky roads. But the Bronco is WAY MORE FUN to drive. It has more torque than any other vehicle we have ever owned. And my wife makes fun of my grin every time I crest a steep incline faster than we ever could have with our other vehicles. I LOVE IT!
I have never headed out on a trip and thought to myself, “Maybe we shouldn’t go because we might break down.” That is important, even critical, to me because I am in a wheelchair. If we ever did have a catastrophic breakdown, it may be catastrophic for us as well. Usually when we go on our adventures, we have another vehicle with us. But not always. My passion is the out-doors and one of my favorite things to do is go exploring and see new things.
But our Bronco with its 2.7 engine has been giving me some anxiety lately because the engine falls within the “danger zone” of valve problems. Now that we have 20,000 miles on her, are we “out of the woods”? Only Ford can answer that (I hope) but their silence on the issue doesn’t inspire any confidence. So do I change my lifestyle because of the increased risk? Do I park it until all this gets sorted out? Probably not. More than likely, we will just continue to explore and pray that “it” never happens to us.
Enjoy the photos!
White Rim Trail
White Rim Trail
Fins & Things
Fins & Things
Hogs Canyon
Hogs Canyon
Toroweap Overlook - Grand Canyon
San Rafael Swell
• White Rim Trail in Canyonlands NP
• 2 times on Hog’s Back Rim Trail - Kanab, UT
• Fins & Things, UT
• Toroweap Overlook, Grand Canyon
• Multiple trips to San Rafael Swell, UT
• Boulder Mountain, UT
• Mount Logan, UT
• American Fork Canyon, UT
• Millville Canyon – Cache Valley, UT
• Beaver Creek - Logan Canyon, UT
• Exploring Island Park, ID
• Exploring Brian Head and Duck Creek, UT
• Exploring La Sal Mountain Range, UT
• Latour Baldy, ID
• Box Elder County, UT
The things we love most about the Bronco are:
1. The power and torque! Driving the 2.7 engine and the 10-speed auto has been magical! It is fun to drive!
2. The handling on-road and off-road is great!
3. Interior comfort and room. We have the High package and love the technology. Also love the MGV seats and rubberized flooring.
4. Off-road capability.
The things we do not like about the Bronco and wish Ford would fix.
1. Allow the sway bar to be disconnected while in 4A. Come on @Ford Motor Company , even the Jeep Wrangler Rubicon can do this!
2. Harsh ride. Most of our off-road driving is on moderately rocky roads between 5 and 20 miles per hour. The shock valving is very stiff for this type of riding. We almost always air down which does help.
3. Instrument cluster – Analog speedometer is a waste of space. Also wish it had a gear indicator while in auto mode.
One of our bigger complaints was with the noisy hard top. But we just had it replaced a week ago with MIC 2.0. Due to a dealer mistake, our original hard top did not have the sound deadening headliner. The new one came with it and I am happy to say that there is a noticeable reduction in sound. We are very happy with it!
The only warranty issue we have had is with the transfer case. It was leaking oil and our dealership replaced the rear seal. Another shout-out to Frank at Ken Garff Ford!
NOTE: I have owned at least one 4-wheel drive vehicle at any given time for the past 35+ years. My first was when I was 16. None of these vehicles have ever had a catastrophic failure. Things have stopped working on some of them and have needed to be repaired but none have ever left me stranded.
Our Bronco replaced a 2005 Chevy Suburban with the 5.3 V8. It had the Eaton locking rear differential which made the Suburban very off-road capable for what it was. We did a lot of off-road exploring with it and the powertrain was always very reliable. Overall, it had uninspiring performance but was boringly reliable. Change the oil, clean the air filter, fill it with gas and away we would go.
The Bronco’s performance and off-road capability is superior to the Suburban in almost every way. The only thing I miss about the Suburban is it's more comfortable ride when on rough and rocky roads. But the Bronco is WAY MORE FUN to drive. It has more torque than any other vehicle we have ever owned. And my wife makes fun of my grin every time I crest a steep incline faster than we ever could have with our other vehicles. I LOVE IT!
I have never headed out on a trip and thought to myself, “Maybe we shouldn’t go because we might break down.” That is important, even critical, to me because I am in a wheelchair. If we ever did have a catastrophic breakdown, it may be catastrophic for us as well. Usually when we go on our adventures, we have another vehicle with us. But not always. My passion is the out-doors and one of my favorite things to do is go exploring and see new things.
But our Bronco with its 2.7 engine has been giving me some anxiety lately because the engine falls within the “danger zone” of valve problems. Now that we have 20,000 miles on her, are we “out of the woods”? Only Ford can answer that (I hope) but their silence on the issue doesn’t inspire any confidence. So do I change my lifestyle because of the increased risk? Do I park it until all this gets sorted out? Probably not. More than likely, we will just continue to explore and pray that “it” never happens to us.
Enjoy the photos!
White Rim Trail
White Rim Trail
Fins & Things
Fins & Things
Hogs Canyon
Hogs Canyon
Toroweap Overlook - Grand Canyon
San Rafael Swell
Sponsored
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