About to get a Defender but turned to Bronco after test drives :)

[Bsenecal]

Hi Everyone!!!! So the the story goes, I actually test drove the new Land Rover Defender about 2 days before my Bronco arrived. On my test ride, I drove a fully loaded, $101K , 9K mile, ride that some rich dude turned in to get into a Range. I figured, "hey...why not test drive one that has EVERY option?" AND........I walked away from that test drive so disappointed. The steering wheel felt oversized, the controls were "plasticky" and its road handling manners were really not that impressive - for an $85K machine (which is what my build would have been).

Fast forward 2 days and my guy at Ford calls me and says "hey man your Bronco is here." At this point I still kinda wanted the Defender and allllllmossst told him that I didn't want the Bronco. He convinces me to come test drive it and I did. I was so darn impressed I bought it the next day, with the intention of flipping it and making $15K+ on it. But after a week of driving it I just fell in love with it. Ford did such an AMAZING job with this thing. I don't even have all the options.....Big Bend w/ a mid package, cloth seats, etc. I currently still have my BMW X3 and I've been a BMW owner since 2007, driving M cars pretty much all the way. I'm still so impressed with what Ford did and the build quality. I was honestly expecting some "creaks" or "rattles", but no weird noises to date. It even handles better on corners and turns than the Defender, in my opinion. Planted and steady. The Defender you could feel it sway when you turned a little aggressive. With that being said - I do wish I got the Fox Setup. Would have smoothed out all the little bumps I feel and made the ride perfect. But hey, I can still upgrade in the future!!!

I'm getting the Rigid light setup installed next week and really looking forward to that Just like in this video (go to 1:55):




I found some nice mud flaps that actually FIT the Sasquatch package well and are not STUPID expensive:
https://www.stickerfab.com/products/21-offroad-no-drill-mudflaps-front-and-rear-2021-bronco

So, glad to be a part of this community and looking forward to learning so much! Here's a pic of my ride

Untitled by P.L. L, on Flickr

Looks great congratulations and thanks for the compassion info.
Brian

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[Gnomad]

Ahhh Land Rover-95% of the LR's ever built are still on the road, the other 5% having actually made it to the destination.
I'm coming to the Bronco (9/26 build week) from a LR3 HSE, and at one time my wife and I owned matching LR3's in Buckingham blue. I got mine and expected the "usual" LR reliability and instead found it to be rock solid, utterly reliable, comfortable and damn capable. Based on the experience with mine we found one for the wife and it started out bad and rapidly grew worse. 2 units less than 1000 apart on the VIN's and they could not have been more different.
Honestly I think the LR3 may have been the sweet spot for Land Rover. They are built stout, the V8 is a great motor, yes it's thirsty but it's plenty powerful. And those seats....they cosset you in such an amazing fashion. Based on my experience with the LR3 I was looking forward to the new Defender and when it arrived I was not enthused. We did drive one when they came out and it was nice. Yep, and so are many other vehicles.
I ordered a base to replace an LR3. Might seem to some to be a big step down. I sold the LR3 when I ordered the Bronco back on 12/30/21, and in the meantime have found a Wrangler Rubicon, which has let me know that I do not need every lovely luxury to enjoy the ride.

 

[Spider Jeff]

I drove a 2020 Defender 110 for a year until my 21 Bronco came in, sold it for more than I paid for it with 8000 very hard trouble free miles….was my second Land Rover and far more reliable than my first. I put it in the deepest swamps I. East Texas and it performed unbelievably well.
I sold the 21 Big Bend 4 cyl for ten K over sticker when my 22 Black Diamond, six cylinder Sasquatch hardtop came in, which was enough to make it an equal trade. The difference between the 4 cylinder soft top and 6 cylinder hard top is night and day. Can’t say the Bronco is better, but the Defender is positively not $30 k better!!!

 

[PacoFitz]

Welcome! Doors and top no longer come off the Defender and it’s not offered with a manual transmission so even if it were $40k, I wouldn’t buy it. Same goes for Bronco. For me, 2 door, removable top and doors, manual 4x4 are why I got a Bronco.

Amen brother. love my 2 door, badlands, manual.

 

[SROC3]

I drove a 2020 Defender 110 for a year until my 21 Bronco came in, sold it for more than I paid for it with 8000 very hard trouble free miles….was my second Land Rover and far more reliable than my first. I put it in the deepest swamps I. East Texas and it performed unbelievably well.
I sold the 21 Big Bend 4 cyl for ten K over sticker when my 22 Black Diamond, six cylinder Sasquatch hardtop came in, which was enough to make it an equal trade. The difference between the 4 cylinder soft top and 6 cylinder hard top is night and day. Can’t say the Bronco is better, but the Defender is positively not $30 k better!!!

Agreed 100% - the Defender is a nice ride, BUT NOT $30K nicer!!!

 

[FormerJeepJunkie]

I’ll just admit- I’m leaning towards it after driving. The dealership had a used wildtrak and a new defender (x dynamic). People are going to want what they want- but that defender is crazy nice. If you haven’t seen or driven it in person, you really can’t say the bronco is the only option out there.

 

[SROC3]

I’ll just admit- I’m leaning towards it after driving. The dealership had a used wildtrak and a new defender (x dynamic). People are going to want what they want- but that defender is crazy nice. If you haven’t seen or driven it in person, you really can’t say the bronco is the only option out there.

Agreed - if the pricing was closer than yes, perhaps i would have considered the Defender a bit more. It is a beautiful ride but I just expected way more for $85K.

And the Wildtrak I Believe does have the better suspension than my regular Sasquatch package. Mine has Bilsteins and the Wildtrak has Fox. It apparently makes a big difference in ride quality. I just came from a night off-roading session and did wish I had the Fox setup.......now instead of "ticking that box" online for $3600 or so.......now if I do my own upgrade it will be around $8K after labor....lol

 

[DryYourTears]

Agreed - if the pricing was closer than yes, perhaps i would have considered the Defender a bit more. It is a beautiful ride but I just expected way more for $85K.

And the Wildtrak I Believe does have the better suspension than my regular Sasquatch package. Mine has Bilsteins and the Wildtrak has Fox. It apparently makes a big difference in ride quality. I just came from a night off-roading session and did wish I had the Fox setup.......now instead of "ticking that box" online for $3600 or so.......now if I do my own upgrade it will be around $8K after labor....lol

You can get a very nicely equipped Defender for less than $85k, though. I started with an SE (which is already nicely equipped), optioned the off-road and advanced off-road packs (air suspension, locker), heated/cooled seats, adaptive cruise, clearsite rear-view mirror, and paid extra for the black headliner and white roof, and it came in just under $75k after taxes and everything. Yes, it was $15k more than my Badlands build, but I know where the money went.

I still hope Ford makes a better "lux" in the future. In the meantime, I'm closing in on 10k miles (lots of work from home, one long road trip) in the first year of ownership and still love the thing, and no issues. Valet drove it up last night after a celebratory meal out, and I love how it looks (I know the look can be polarizing, but I love it). Only change it needs is better tires, and I'm getting Falken Wildpeaks installed in a week or so.

 

[NatureMan]

Hi Everyone!!!! So the the story goes, I actually test drove the new Land Rover Defender about 2 days before my Bronco arrived. On my test ride, I drove a fully loaded, $101K , 9K mile, ride that some rich dude turned in to get into a Range. I figured, "hey...why not test drive one that has EVERY option?" AND........I walked away from that test drive so disappointed. The steering wheel felt oversized, the controls were "plasticky" and its road handling manners were really not that impressive - for an $85K machine (which is what my build would have been).

Fast forward 2 days and my guy at Ford calls me and says "hey man your Bronco is here." At this point I still kinda wanted the Defender and allllllmossst told him that I didn't want the Bronco. He convinces me to come test drive it and I did. I was so darn impressed I bought it the next day, with the intention of flipping it and making $15K+ on it. But after a week of driving it I just fell in love with it. Ford did such an AMAZING job with this thing. I don't even have all the options.....Big Bend w/ a mid package, cloth seats, etc. I currently still have my BMW X3 and I've been a BMW owner since 2007, driving M cars pretty much all the way. I'm still so impressed with what Ford did and the build quality. I was honestly expecting some "creaks" or "rattles", but no weird noises to date. It even handles better on corners and turns than the Defender, in my opinion. Planted and steady. The Defender you could feel it sway when you turned a little aggressive. With that being said - I do wish I got the Fox Setup. Would have smoothed out all the little bumps I feel and made the ride perfect. But hey, I can still upgrade in the future!!!

I'm getting the Rigid light setup installed next week and really looking forward to that Just like in this video (go to 1:55):




I found some nice mud flaps that actually FIT the Sasquatch package well and are not STUPID expensive:
https://www.stickerfab.com/products/21-offroad-no-drill-mudflaps-front-and-rear-2021-bronco

So, glad to be a part of this community and looking forward to learning so much! Here's a pic of my ride

Untitled by P.L. L, on Flickr

 

[FormerJeepJunkie]

Well, I’m a person with very little patience- so I pulled the trigger on a new 110. Guy ordered one and backed out. Was exactly the build I wanted. Did a last minute comparison with the bronco next door and it really isn’t even in the same ballpark. Maybe once Ford gets things in order in a couple years, I can look again. For right now- this is an amazing ride…

 

[SROC3]

Well, I’m a person with very little patience- so I pulled the trigger on a new 110. Guy ordered one and backed out. Was exactly the build I wanted. Did a last minute comparison with the bronco next door and it really isn’t even in the same ballpark. Maybe once Ford gets things in order in a couple years, I can look again. For right now- this is an amazing ride…

Nice color too!!! Funny, that was going to be pretty much my exact build on the exterior. Haha!

 

[FormerJeepJunkie]

Nice color too!!! Funny, that was going to be pretty much my exact build on the exterior. Haha!

The blackout option is exactly what I wanted. The only thing that the order had that I wouldn’t have cared about was the ionic filtration. But, whatever. And it has vents in the back and very back. Still don’t understand why Bronco couldn’t at least give passengers an air vent.

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