Sponsored

Consumer Reports Review Rates Bronco 47 points, but ahead of Wrangler

Mr_Scoutmaster

Badlands
Well-Known Member
Joined
Jun 29, 2021
Threads
2
Messages
134
Reaction score
257
Location
Austin TX
Vehicle(s)
'22 Bronco Badlands / '22 BMW X5 45e M Sport
Your Bronco Model
Badlands
Clubs
 
I just got this issue as well and read the Bronco article (was gifted the subscription) - I stopped caring at the end when they call out that the window and door locks on the center console are "awkward" while NOT noting that this is a deliberate design feature. Negating that to me is willfully misleading. CR car reports are in fact made for anyone you know who owns a damn Chevy Blazer - they deserve each other.
 

vzqhsg

Banned
Badlands
Banned
Banned
First Name
Dave
Joined
Dec 8, 2021
Threads
37
Messages
1,034
Reaction score
973
Location
MI
Vehicle(s)
F-150, Badlands
Your Bronco Model
Badlands
Clubs
 
Blazer looks like a Camaro suppository.

No one buys an open air midsize 4x4 as a carefully considered, analytically solid purchase.
No they buy a 4x4 that can't be produced, has many, many issues, that the MFG can't get fixed or has the parts for. Oh...ya...and they pay 10 to 30K more then it's worth.
 
OP
OP
TroutHunter

TroutHunter

Badlands
Well-Known Member
Joined
Jan 26, 2021
Threads
12
Messages
195
Reaction score
564
Location
Michigan
Vehicle(s)
BMW 550
Your Bronco Model
Badlands
Clubs
 
I just got this issue as well and read the Bronco article (was gifted the subscription) - I stopped caring at the end when they call out that the window and door locks on the center console are "awkward" while NOT noting that this is a deliberate design feature. Negating that to me is willfully misleading. CR car reports are in fact made for anyone you know who owns a damn Chevy Blazer - they deserve each other.
Totally agree - I cracked up when I read that. Add in the loose aux wires in the engine bay, the exposed metal pillars everywhere, vinyl seating, no storage for the spare tire, small console storage, plugged holes in the floorboard, etc. What was Ford thinking?! They should really reduce the price.
 

Sponsored

Broncoder

Outer Banks
Well-Known Member
First Name
Michael
Joined
Nov 7, 2021
Threads
3
Messages
270
Reaction score
606
Location
Chardon, OH
Vehicle(s)
'22 Bronco OBX
Your Bronco Model
Outer Banks
Clubs
 
I'm not sure I would take any of the top 6 offroading.
Also note the "Owner Satisfaction" ratings for each of the top six. Whose opinion matters more when you own a vehicle, yours, or some person getting paid to write about it?
 

Bronco cat

Banned
Outer Banks
Banned
Banned
First Name
Carl
Joined
Jun 23, 2021
Threads
11
Messages
1,300
Reaction score
2,458
Location
Morgantown wv
Vehicle(s)
‘20 Explorer ST, ‘19 GT350, ‘21 Bronco Sport
Your Bronco Model
Outer Banks
Clubs
 
CR is good for some things and not so great for others. Overall they’ve lost some credibility for me over the past few years. The Murano and Blazer are in the top 3? Really?
They do okay with rating appliances though.
Using CR for anything other than to level a crooked table is silly
 

AZ_BRONC

Outer Banks
Well-Known Member
Joined
Nov 16, 2021
Threads
9
Messages
912
Reaction score
2,154
Location
Tempe, AZ
Vehicle(s)
‘17 4Runner, ‘16 BMW 328i, ‘96 Stang GT, ‘19 Mini
Your Bronco Model
Outer Banks
Clubs
 
Guess we all should have bought Chevy Blazers rofl
 

Broncodave

Black Diamond
Well-Known Member
First Name
Dave
Joined
Nov 5, 2020
Threads
26
Messages
1,846
Reaction score
5,088
Location
Seattle
Vehicle(s)
Dodge Challenger/Nissan Xterra
Your Bronco Model
Black Diamond
Clubs
 
They can only test so much and for so long.
Yes, this is right. An example is dishwashers. My brother just recently had a technician tell him to just buy a dishwasher over $1000, because the ones he's repairing are the sub $1000 models that rate well for cleaning, but don't hold up. Consumer Reports can only test so much. The reliability has to come later from reports from owners, but by then there is a different model out.

Bash CR all you want, but don't forgo the elephant in the room. The terrible rating for the Bronco stems mostly from reliability (are you really going to argue that Ford vehicles are the epitome of quality?) and from the fact that the Bronco has a horrible braking distance. As they said " the worst they've seen in years". This is a real concern, not a bias. No matter how cool your car is, you want it to be able to stop.

Finally, I don't know about Chevy Blazers, but CR gives Land Rovers a terrible rating. I would say that goes along exactly with the thoughts of people here on B6G. So think about that. You agree Land Rovers are shit, but won't take criticism of a Bronco.
 
Last edited:

Broncodave

Black Diamond
Well-Known Member
First Name
Dave
Joined
Nov 5, 2020
Threads
26
Messages
1,846
Reaction score
5,088
Location
Seattle
Vehicle(s)
Dodge Challenger/Nissan Xterra
Your Bronco Model
Black Diamond
Clubs
 
I just got this issue as well and read the Bronco article (was gifted the subscription) - I stopped caring at the end when they call out that the window and door locks on the center console are "awkward" while NOT noting that this is a deliberate design feature. Negating that to me is willfully misleading.
Some truth to this, but what you are reading is just a tiny blurb in the back of an issue CR. A very quick take and not in depth at all. They don't have space for a full review. Pony up some money and you might get some more detail. Here's from their full report:

Those other controls: Somehow Ford outdid Jeep when it came to making the window and mirror controls frustrating to use. It makes sense to have them on the center console (so you can operate them when the doors are off), but the way they are angled away from the driver takes too much focus to use and find. The mirror setup also isn’t great because the four-way controller looks and feels like a single button.
 

Sponsored

Bronco cat

Banned
Outer Banks
Banned
Banned
First Name
Carl
Joined
Jun 23, 2021
Threads
11
Messages
1,300
Reaction score
2,458
Location
Morgantown wv
Vehicle(s)
‘20 Explorer ST, ‘19 GT350, ‘21 Bronco Sport
Your Bronco Model
Outer Banks
Clubs
 
Hmm, similar to Bronco thirst. Wonder if it will be as reliable 😭
I bet it will. It’s easy to be reliable (talking about you Toyota) when you never innovate and only change your design once a decade. Take the new tundra for instance. They did just enough to modernize it and nothing more and it’s still behind its American counterparts. I mean they still only offer remote start through a paid for app.
 

Marauder

Badlands
Well-Known Member
First Name
Josh
Joined
Jul 13, 2020
Threads
22
Messages
1,002
Reaction score
2,528
Location
St Louis
Vehicle(s)
2021 Bronco
Your Bronco Model
Badlands
Clubs
 
Me looking at CR ratings and thinking of my Bronco…

Ford Bronco Consumer Reports Review Rates Bronco 47 points, but ahead of Wrangler 1644378486548
 

Bronco cat

Banned
Outer Banks
Banned
Banned
First Name
Carl
Joined
Jun 23, 2021
Threads
11
Messages
1,300
Reaction score
2,458
Location
Morgantown wv
Vehicle(s)
‘20 Explorer ST, ‘19 GT350, ‘21 Bronco Sport
Your Bronco Model
Outer Banks
Clubs
 
Yes, this is right. An example is dishwashers. My brother just recently had a technician tell him to just buy a dishwasher over $1000, because the ones he's repairing are the sub $1000 models that rate well for cleaning, but don't hold up. Consumer Reports can only test so much. The reliability has to come later from reports from owners, but by then there is a different model out.

Bash CR all you want, but don't forgo the elephant in the room. The terrible rating for the Bronco stems mostly from reliability (are you really going to argue that Ford vehicles are the epitome of quality?) and from the fact that the Bronco has a horrible braking distance. As they said " the worst they've seen in years". This is a real concern, not a bias. No matter how cool your car is, you want it to be able to stop.

Finally, I don't know about Chevy Blazers, but CR gives Land Rovers a terrible rating. I would say that goes along exactly with the thoughts of people here on B6G. So think about that. You agree Land Rovers are shit, but won't take criticism of a Bronco.
Landrovers are shit for twice the price. And I have owned dozens of new vehicles in my lifetime and have never looked or thought about using CR to make a decision. I feel bad for anyone that does Bc 90% of their rating and opinions are subjective. They knock a car down Bc they don’t like the storage room or how the radio works. So if you chose to use that rag to decide what you buy god help you. I’ve owned fords, Chevy, Mercedes’, Honda, Acura, Subaru, Mazda, bmw, Audi, Pontiac, Toyota and they have all been fairly reliable. Any modern car is. That’s the funny thing about this. The most trouble free car I’ve owned was a jeep. 1 issue in 50k miles. (Loose sunroof track bolt) so anyone that gets in here and swears one car maker is significantly better than another is smoking crack. Modern cars even the bad ones are miles ahead of the vehicles produced 20 years ago. Hell my 2020 explorer ST had three assembly issues from the factory that were fixed under warranty. Then I drove it 40k miles with 0 issues. The point is assembly issues are the usual culprit the engineering is very sound today. Old school rovers had well known engineering flaws that took clean sheet redesigns to fix which tata did when they bought them.
 

Mr_Scoutmaster

Badlands
Well-Known Member
Joined
Jun 29, 2021
Threads
2
Messages
134
Reaction score
257
Location
Austin TX
Vehicle(s)
'22 Bronco Badlands / '22 BMW X5 45e M Sport
Your Bronco Model
Badlands
Clubs
 
Some truth to this, but what you are reading is just a tiny blurb in the back of an issue CR. A very quick take and not in depth at all. They don't have space for a full review. Pony up some money and you might get some more detail. Here's from their full report:

Those other controls: Somehow Ford outdid Jeep when it came to making the window and mirror controls frustrating to use. It makes sense to have them on the center console (so you can operate them when the doors are off), but the way they are angled away from the driver takes too much focus to use and find. The mirror setup also isn’t great because the four-way controller looks and feels like a single button.
Thanks for the full context on their report - that does make me feel like there was some actual analysis behind this - but where is this located? I already have a magazine subscription. Does CR expect you to pay even more for this full write up? I'd wager the vast majority of people read the tables in the mag (like my wife does) and just take all of it at face value.
 

Broncodave

Black Diamond
Well-Known Member
First Name
Dave
Joined
Nov 5, 2020
Threads
26
Messages
1,846
Reaction score
5,088
Location
Seattle
Vehicle(s)
Dodge Challenger/Nissan Xterra
Your Bronco Model
Black Diamond
Clubs
 
Thanks for the full context on their report - that does make me feel like there was some actual analysis behind this - but where is this located? I already have a magazine subscription. Does CR expect you to pay even more for this full write up? I'd wager the vast majority of people read the tables in the mag (like my wife does) and just take all of it at face value.
I got this one online. It's $1 a month to add online access to a printed subscription. They may print the whole review in another issue, or the auto issue, or maybe neither. I can't say for sure.

I do agree it seems misleading when you can't the full scoop in the short little review they give.
Sponsored

 
 


Top