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- Aug 25, 2019
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- '72 Rover, '85 CJ7, '98 TJ, '14 BRZ, '23 Bronco
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- #1
I saw the new Bronco (Saturday, April 24) at an event in the western suburbs of Chicago. Very impressed. In my opinion, Ford hit it out of the park .
My angle? I'm a long time owner of open top 4x4s since 1989 (Jeep and Land Rover). I did a lot of off-roading while living out west. Majority rocky trails rather than mud. And I'm mostly a utility buyer. Meaning, I buy items with key features that I will actually use. (I'm not an image or "just in case" or "use someday" buyer.)
There were two Broncos on display:
A) 4-door First Edition auto trans (Cactus Gray)
B) 4-door Badlands manual trans (Area 51)
Some info I collected:
1) **** The Sasquatch suspension provides a 1/2 inch lift over the Badlands.
I crawled underneath the Badlands and FE Sasquatch, and measured the vertical distance from the top of the rear axle tube, to the bottom of the vehicle frame. Here are the measurements:
FE Sasquatch = 6.5 inches
Badlands = 6.0 inches
I measured that way, because it provides accuracy, and cuts out other variables such as tire size differences. If someone can provide the same measurement for a base model, that would be great. Then we will have a more complete picture, in terms of suspension lift between the key versions, without all the other variables.
Here is a photo of me measuring. Don't go by the photo, the angle is off. The numbers above are the accurate measures.
2) **** The manual shift lockout ring works well.
I had been concerned about having a lockout on the stick shift, after a not so good experience with a rental car. Happy to say - I now have no concern with the Bronco implementation. The lockout ring has a good feel, and pulls up smoothly. I shifted through the gears, in and out of Reverse and Crawl, with no problem.
3) **** Some stuff going on inside the frame.
The two main frame rails are not completely open, and have some supports or frame-within-a-frame stuff going on inside certain portions. (See arrow in photo below.) The frame rails appear to be several sections joined together with welds. Unlike my TJ frame having single piece hydroformed rails, and my CJ frames having two simple c-channels welded together. Regardless, overall the Bronco frame appears strong. The inside seems covered in a cosmoline-like substance, probably for rust prevention. Time will tell how well the frame holds up.
4) **** 4-door cargo area size is a revelation.
I'm a 2-door guy, but from my perspective, the 4-door cargo area is large. I'm coming from smaller vehicles, including TJ/CJs with not much room behind the seat. Count me a fan of the 4-door cargo area.
5) **** Side windows press into a groove when closed.
I pushed on the rubber gasket, where the top of the sides windows will contact, and underneath there is some supporting structure, that will make kind of a lip. Meaning the closed window will compress the gasket, and the underlying structure will create a mild groove for a tighter fit. Also, I asked the Ford rep (who had overall good knowledge based on my other questions), and he said yes, the windows drop down a slight amount automatically, when opening/closing. So it has that feature common to many newer vehicles.
6) Cactus Gray was surprisingly nice in person.
This was a shocker to me. I don't generally care for greyish paint on vehicles. But it looked nice in person. Still not my color, but I can now see why some folks are ordering it. (Also my 21 year old son very much liked the Area 51 color, and I also thought it looked nice.)
7) Fold down rear seats worked well.
Seat back has a largish lever for folding, rather than having to fiddle with a strap as in some of my other vehicles. And I didn't find the step up much of an issue, and the seat got close to flat. A generally good design in my opinion, given the body on frame design constraints.
SUMMARY: Impressed and looking forward to seeing a 2-door in person and test driving. Informative event, nice reps, thanks Ford!
My angle? I'm a long time owner of open top 4x4s since 1989 (Jeep and Land Rover). I did a lot of off-roading while living out west. Majority rocky trails rather than mud. And I'm mostly a utility buyer. Meaning, I buy items with key features that I will actually use. (I'm not an image or "just in case" or "use someday" buyer.)
There were two Broncos on display:
A) 4-door First Edition auto trans (Cactus Gray)
B) 4-door Badlands manual trans (Area 51)
Some info I collected:
1) **** The Sasquatch suspension provides a 1/2 inch lift over the Badlands.
I crawled underneath the Badlands and FE Sasquatch, and measured the vertical distance from the top of the rear axle tube, to the bottom of the vehicle frame. Here are the measurements:
FE Sasquatch = 6.5 inches
Badlands = 6.0 inches
I measured that way, because it provides accuracy, and cuts out other variables such as tire size differences. If someone can provide the same measurement for a base model, that would be great. Then we will have a more complete picture, in terms of suspension lift between the key versions, without all the other variables.
Here is a photo of me measuring. Don't go by the photo, the angle is off. The numbers above are the accurate measures.
2) **** The manual shift lockout ring works well.
I had been concerned about having a lockout on the stick shift, after a not so good experience with a rental car. Happy to say - I now have no concern with the Bronco implementation. The lockout ring has a good feel, and pulls up smoothly. I shifted through the gears, in and out of Reverse and Crawl, with no problem.
3) **** Some stuff going on inside the frame.
The two main frame rails are not completely open, and have some supports or frame-within-a-frame stuff going on inside certain portions. (See arrow in photo below.) The frame rails appear to be several sections joined together with welds. Unlike my TJ frame having single piece hydroformed rails, and my CJ frames having two simple c-channels welded together. Regardless, overall the Bronco frame appears strong. The inside seems covered in a cosmoline-like substance, probably for rust prevention. Time will tell how well the frame holds up.
4) **** 4-door cargo area size is a revelation.
I'm a 2-door guy, but from my perspective, the 4-door cargo area is large. I'm coming from smaller vehicles, including TJ/CJs with not much room behind the seat. Count me a fan of the 4-door cargo area.
5) **** Side windows press into a groove when closed.
I pushed on the rubber gasket, where the top of the sides windows will contact, and underneath there is some supporting structure, that will make kind of a lip. Meaning the closed window will compress the gasket, and the underlying structure will create a mild groove for a tighter fit. Also, I asked the Ford rep (who had overall good knowledge based on my other questions), and he said yes, the windows drop down a slight amount automatically, when opening/closing. So it has that feature common to many newer vehicles.
6) Cactus Gray was surprisingly nice in person.
This was a shocker to me. I don't generally care for greyish paint on vehicles. But it looked nice in person. Still not my color, but I can now see why some folks are ordering it. (Also my 21 year old son very much liked the Area 51 color, and I also thought it looked nice.)
7) Fold down rear seats worked well.
Seat back has a largish lever for folding, rather than having to fiddle with a strap as in some of my other vehicles. And I didn't find the step up much of an issue, and the seat got close to flat. A generally good design in my opinion, given the body on frame design constraints.
SUMMARY: Impressed and looking forward to seeing a 2-door in person and test driving. Informative event, nice reps, thanks Ford!
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. ‘23 Bronco
