Bronco IS better than Wrangler. Goodbye Wrangler Rubicon and Hello Bronco Badlands!

[lakesinai]

I know this is Bronco fan forum and most of you would say 'of course it is'. Others would say they don't compare as Bronco is in a class of its own or it is a different vehicle all together. I had experience driving Wrangler Rubicon on and off-road for five years. After ending the 2.5 year wait with the pick up at Granger Ford in Iowa I drove my new Badlands home 750 miles and can do a first impression comparison to my Wrangler. Even after a day of ownership I can say it is better than the Wrangler. The traded-in 2018 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon was loaded with all kind of electronic goodies, leather, off-road, tow, packages, etc. and with a ton of upgrades like Tazer computer, 2.5 inch lift, and 35-inch wheels. My 2023 Bronco Badlands is loaded too with 2.7 litter engine, hardtop, Sasquatch, lux, leather, tow packages. Here is why I already love the Bronco (just initial impressions):

• Ride quality: Jeep's ride was rough. This is known. But five years of having my back bounce off every pothole made Bronco's smooth and comfortable ride truly a joyous experience. It takes those potholes with ease. I feel that I am in any normal SUV or truck and don't have to sacrifice ride quality for cool status of the vehicle. Jeeps are still cool but I don't think I would ever go back to the rough and tumble ride of the Jeep.
• Steering: My Jeep was one of the ones that had a major steering issue (hundreds of pages worth of discussion on Jeep forums) but even after Stelantis finally replaced my steering box I still had to concentrate on having my Wrangler track in the middle of the lane with constant adjustments to the steering wheel. No issues of this kind on my Bronco. In fact, I can often let go of steering wheel and the vehicle tracks solidly in the center of the lane.
• Engine/Power: So, I had the tried and true 3.6L Pentastar V6 on my Jeep but with a manual transmission (perhaps this is not an apple to apples comparison). Going up hills was a constant battle with my having to shift to lower gears. Especially driving anywhere in the West, and using cruise control, trying to keep Jeep at constant speed was a struggle. You go up a good degree hill and would have to shift down as you see your speed drop 10 mph while semi(s) are passing you. And that's not even loaded! If I towed my Taxa trailer forget about 75 mph up a solid hill. I'd be in 3rd gear with gas pedal all the way to the wall. While my Bronco has an automatic transmission (so may not be fair comparison) it has no problem whatsoever keeping speed at constant and flying up those hills. Have not tried to tow but confident it will do well.
• Seats: OMG, Bronco seats are so much more comfortable! We drove 11 hours straight and, have I had been in my Wrangler, I would have had to make so many more stops to stretch out and rest. My wife swears by her seat comfort too. Her seat also has lumbar support and all seat controls are electronic (both driver and passenger) while that was not the case on my Wrangler!
• Controls: Love the ease of shifting between driving modes or using off-road functions. Wrangler has more of a manual approach to getting your vehicle into 4H or 2L and no modes. It is a toss up on controls for sway bar disconnect. Jeep had strange design for a few controls; e.g. volume control locations - on steering wheel was on the right while the knob was just a few inches away on the dash. Bronco has it on the left - that makes sense to me. I never liked the window controls in the front dash of the Wrangler. I like how Ford put Broncos' near the console. How about automatic down and up! for the windows on the Bronco! Wrangler only had it down and then you had to hold to raise them.
• Electronics: How about that 12 inch screen!. I love it. I haven't had the time to go through all the functions/features and options and my Jeep certainly didn't have all of the new capabilities (at the time the adaptive cruise wasn't available). I think Bronco's Lux package offers a few more bells and whistles than Wrangler's Advanced Safety and other packages. I do miss automatic locking when driving off that I had on my Wrangler but maybe I haven't figured out how to turn that feature on in Bronco (if someone knows please comment).
• Other items to call out:
  • Headliner: Why in the world Jeep would make a compressed styrofoam looking headliner and in white! I have no idea. But I'm glad my Bronco's headliner generally matches the dark interior of the car.
  • Mirrors: When I take the doors of my Bronco I will not have to worry about putting temporary mirrors back on the vehicle that never really worked well (the images in the mirrors always shook)
  • Rear gate: I love three stage open option on the Bronco. Jeep just swings out and with heavy tire on it goes fast.
  • Roof modularity: Haven't used it but I like having the ability to take off the front AND middle panels.

I also like the overall design, fit and finish of the Bronco. It feels higher quality. I haven't yet had any issues with hardtop or other items folks called out (cross my fingers). I'm sure there will be more items to call out and the above is my personal opinion and experience. Even though I liked my Jeep I don't miss it and don't think I would be in market to get it again. Stelantis should rethink the platform Wranglers are built on.

Lastly, Granger Ford is an awesome dealership and people. They stuck with their promise on pricing and quality of service. I stuck with them. They accommodated my picking up the vehicle on Saturday and made the process easy and painless. I recommend them. Give Samantha a call if you are still looking from which dealer to buy your Bronco.

Goodbye Wrangler Rubicon and Hello Bronco Badlands!

Nice, comprehensive article! 25,000 miles and 15 months of ownership, and everything you reported about your Bronco is still true about mine. I previously owned big broncos and scouts, so I never seriously considered a Jeep. But I tried one, just to be reasonable. My 6'5" head hit the crossbar, the seats are uncomfortable and the cockpit feels small and crowded, that was the end. If I cant fit in it, why drive it!

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[Rjacks258]

Same here Jerry! Hope to run into you... will keep my eye out on your yellow 2dr!

Ahem, Cyber Orange

Nice, comprehensive article! 25,000 miles and 15 months of ownership, and everything you reported about your Bronco is still true about mine. I previously owned big broncos and scouts, so I never seriously considered a Jeep. But I tried one, just to be reasonable. My 6'5" head hit the crossbar, the seats are uncomfortable and the cockpit feels small and crowded, that was the end. If I cant fit in it, why drive it!

You have a 6’5” head? How do you fit in anything?
Call Guinness, that’s gotta be a record.

 

[lakesinai]

Ahem, Cyber Orange



You have a 6’5” head? How do you fit in anything?
Call Guinness, that’s gotta be a record.

You couldn't resist, Eh?

 

[irishkpo]

I'm most interested to hear about which Taxa trailer you have..... Wolly Bear, Tiger Moth, Cricket, Mantis? I've had a Mantis in the past and thinking about picking up another one so if you are towing that with the Bronco I'm interested in hearing how that is.

 

[Rjacks258]

You couldn't resist, Eh?

No. No I could not.

 

[Rick Astley]

• Engine/Power: So, I had the tried and true 3.6L Pentastar V6 on my Jeep but with a manual transmission (perhaps this is not an apple to apples comparison). Going up hills was a constant battle with my having to shift to lower gears. Especially driving anywhere in the West, and using cruise control, trying to keep Jeep at constant speed was a struggle. You go up a good degree hill and would have to shift down as you see your speed drop 10 mph while semi(s) are passing you. And that's not even loaded! If I towed my Taxa trailer forget about 75 mph up a solid hill. I'd be in 3rd gear with gas pedal all the way to the wall. While my Bronco has an automatic transmission (so may not be fair comparison) it has no problem whatsoever keeping speed at constant and flying up those hills. Have not tried to tow but confident it will do well.

First off, glad you're enjoying your new Bronco! It's always a treat to experience that new-car feeling, especially when you're really excited about it!

As for the towing/hills and not having to hunt for gears/revs to go up hills, oh, don't worry, that 10AT is absolutely changing gears to make you feel you're in the power band.

On the '19 Ranger we own (Lariat, 2.3/10AT) you can press the "+/-" button on the side of the gear selector to have your current gear shown on screen. If you need to pass at freeway speeds, or Sudden acceleration, the 10AT will slam down from 10th to 5th or 6th to give you passing power. Sometimes these downshift come with a solid THUD! Which is accompanying by the brown-note-inducing sound of gravel in the transmission until it sorts itself out.

You'll also be forced to roll along on 25 or 30 MPH zones in 10th gear so if there is the mildest of inclines it will downshift 3-4 gears just so that nice old lady walking on the sidewalk doesn't pass you as the engine struggles for air and revs.

It's a miracle transmission, but only in that the miracle is how it can always be out of the power band in its unending quest to be in 10th gear at all times. But oh how it's smooth while doing so!

Even this old FmX transmission diagram is still valid with Ford's new 10AT's.

 

[shirokovd]

I'm most interested to hear about which Taxa trailer you have..... Wolly Bear, Tiger Moth, Cricket, Mantis? I've had a Mantis in the past and thinking about picking up another one so if you are towing that with the Bronco I'm interested in hearing how that is.

Hi I have Wollybear. That’s what I plan on towing w the Bronco. I haven’t tried it yet but Jeep did a decent job towing it. I think Bronco will do a better job due to better torque and an automatic transmission.

 

[Coloradonatives]

Objectively speaking Bronco is better; however they now need to improve all their numbers to compete with the extreme recon package offered on the Jeep. This includes approach, departure, break over, ground Clearance, flex, etc…. Also, the cabin noise in the Bronco is much worse than the Jeep despite having independent suspension. The cabin noise needs to improve as well as the little squeaky sounds coming from the hard/soft top. Bronco feels less reliable inside especially those flimsy handles. The tie rods are also failing and long term use offroad is not more reliable than the Jeep In my opinion. There are many things Bronco needs to fix but overall I would still pick it over the Jeep.

"...feels less reliable..." is complete BS- and not any sort of viable content. My brother-in-law is currently spending over $5k to replace the destroyed front-end components on his $80k+ Rubicon. It just came apart slowly enough to create a domino effect of failures. THAT'S real- not "a feeling".

 

[NDM_84]

"...feels less reliable..." is complete BS- and not any sort of viable content. My brother-in-law is currently spending over $5k to replace the destroyed front-end components on his $80k+ Rubicon. It just came apart slowly enough to create a domino effect of failures. THAT'S real- not "a feeling".

My cousin has a Rubicon took it through some extremely tough terrain and nothing ever happened very confidence inspiring vehicle. I think Bronco has to prove itself first, I have seen those tie rods snapping left and right. Speaking of reliability, none of them even come close to Toyota.

 

[Rjacks258]

I have seen those tie rods snapping left and right.

Boy you out there aren’t you?
Was it the left one or the right one? Cuz I feel it ain’t as bad as you make it sound.

 

[Rusty Sheckelford]

Well................. Duuuuuuuuuu'h.

Ford built a Jeep Killer, and it sounds like they succeeded.

 

[NDM_84]

Boy you out there aren’t you?
Was it the left one or the right one? Cuz I feel it ain’t as bad as you make it sound.

Do more research, have you seen those tie rods at all? I will bet anything the Jeep tie rods are not snapping at the same rate as the Bronco's tie rods. As a Ford fan I can admit reality instead of always jumping on these emotional replies. I still like the Bronco more but being able to admit what's wrong with the Bronco cannot be handled by some Ford fan boys.

 

[Rjacks258]

Do more research, have you seen those tie rods at all? I will bet anything the Jeep tie rods are not snapping at the same rate as the Bronco's tie rods. As a Ford fan I can admit reality instead of always jumping on these emotional replies. I still like the Bronco more but being able to admit what's wrong with the Bronco cannot be handled by some Ford fan boys.

You speak for yourself, ‘fan boy’.
I read a lot. And the percentage is small. And it shrinks even more when you account for tire size. Just because your brothers mothers uncle heard his dads first cousin broke one doesn’t mean they are all breaking at the rate you claim. There is plenty of testimony to back this. You post like you witnessed every one of them.
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[TallDude]

Congratulations!

I also went from a Wrangler to a Bronco.

I was on my third Wrangler. A 2021 X-treme Rubicon. The Sasquatch of Wranglers. Loved it. Great vehicle. Drove nicely, was geared perfectly, had the stance, looks and options. Super capable. Had to sell for personal reasons.

When time came to get a new vehicle, I decided to come to a Bronco. A test drive really sold me on the 2.4l. The interior has more space in some aspects. On road manners are great. Which is to be expected with IFS vs Solid Axle. I went with a BD and will build it up.

Overall they’re similar, yet very different vehicles.

Both are super fun, have excellent capabilities (more than most will ever need). Have lots of aftermarket support.

Jeep was kind of in a game of its own without a true competitor. Now with the Bronco this will be great for consumers, on both sides.

Old Jeep:

New Bronco:

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