I think no matter what the road noise will be there, it’s a dang convertible, most everyone that has received their soft top Broncos have nothing but positive reviews for it, so I will go with that over the mannequin bronco...My dealer had their mannequin arrive and I got to have a long interaction, including test drive.
The vehicle: Big Bend Sasquatch, Race Red, 10-Auto, 2.7L v6, soft top, tow package, upgraded bumper and upgraded headlamps.
Here are my impressions and things I found that were interesting to me.
- The soft top was surprisingly loud for exterior noise. It was rather shocking to hear other vehicles at a distance to the point I was checking to see if the windows were open… often.
- The driving noise for wind was not obnoxious or loud for the vehicle itself. Most of the wind noise comes from the back half of the vehicle. I suspect that the hard top will be the same. However, the road noise I was not expecting to hear were other vehicles near me. They sounded like they were right on top of me. Not a bad thing when the top is off or the windows are down, but it was unexpected. Likely normal (I’ve owned a convertible before, so this was a bit unexpected.)
- The cross bars are not tightly integrated with the roof material in a consistent manner. I did not see a firm connection with the frame of the roof, so the free movement of the roof might also contribute to the noise I heard, or a more taught fit to snug the roof to the crossmembers would help, maybe?
- The soft top shell was not well fitted. There was a lot of unexpected slack in the top and not pulled tight for a taught fit (likely adding to some of the aft half wind noise). The rear quarter windows will have what will be known as the Bronco Wave… yeah, the soft top Bronco has a wave, but it’s not what you think. Careful about asking for a special wave, like the Jeep wave...
- Personally for me, the sasquatch was not a good fit. I’d need steps or a running board to get in because of my situation. My better half would likely not even attempt to ride because it’s too high for her. I did not get the sasquatch package on my build because I knew beforehand it was too much. However, I will say that on the 4-door – it looks really well matched and sweet!
- I pushed several buttons and had a long time to search the on-board digital manual. I did NOT find the transmission code related to the transmission type on the bronco, but was told that it is the 10R40, same as the Explorer.
(Reflection in the window as the Bronco must be in drive for the daytime running lights to be on.)
- It feels like a truck and drives like a truck with huge tires.
- The transmission-motor communication from no acceleration to "tapping" for maintaining traffic speed was awful. It was very jerky trying to make a minor speed adjustment or cruise in traffic. I attribute this to a new transmission under 8k miles and has not learned how to handle the minor speed changes. I was in normal driving mode throughout my test drive. The v6 wanted to go, but the transmission was not ready. By time the transmission was ready, the transmission kick-in period was much higher in RPM than where it should have been.
- The power to spin those massive 35” tires was adequate. 4-speed turbo Honda CR-V has more butt dyno power than this beast. It was NOT underwhelming by any means, but red-light shenanigans might be a stretch stock-configured sasquatch.
- I did feel a lot of tire lateral roll doing an in-lane S-swerve maneuver to feel for handling at 50 MPH. It was not uncontrollable, nor did it feel unsafe. Adjustment to driving style on the 35s might be something the Bronco Off Rodeo addresses.
- I like that the daytime running lights do not switch off when signaling. It’s a bonus touch from Ford to provide this feature per regulations. Normally the lights must switch off if the turn signal is not significantly brighter than the normal light. Most car companies cheap out on the brightness of the turn signal by placing the turn signal way away from the daytime lights or just switch them off when signaling. Kudos Ford.
- I found the cabin nice and well fitted for me and my 6 foot size.
- The arm rest does not enter into the driver/passenger space. Likely a bonus for having the rounded door exterior. I compared it to a Wrangler and saw that the door did crowded me at the arm rest.
(Wrangler for comparison)
- The instrument panel, arm rest, and door sill were strategically placed exactly where I wanted them. Kudos to Ford for making every Bronco custom made for me (sorry better half).
- I found it refreshing that every setting on the A/C could be activated at once. Long has it been that I’ve wanted my A/C to blow from every opening simultaneously to provide an ambient cooling feel without being overwhelmed by blasting from one or two openings. In the deep south it’s easy for your vehicle to quickly get hot when you open a door or have the cooling off for more than 3 seconds. The ability to have total cooling from feet to windshield at the same time is very welcoming.
- There is no pocket below the cup holder for the key fob in case of battery loss. I’m assuming that you hold it to the starter or between the cups in the holder. I’m glad there is no special pocket to clean from mud, rain, or sloshing big gulp.
- The radio sounded fine for a truck. I have no issues with the sound. It was more focused on the front as previously reported. I did opt for the B&O, so maybe it will be worth it to me, maybe not.
- The view from the driver seat was not crowded, diminished, or obstructed.
- I could adjust the mirror to occupy the same visual space as the road monitoring sensors, so there was no real loss of visual field. The Wrangler cannot do this as their mirror is fixed in its position. The window is sufficient distance as to not feel like a second pair of glasses. I took a perspective photo from my view point using the same wide angle in both the Wrangler and the Bronco for comparison. I did sit in the 2-door Badlands mannequin last week and was not impressed with the view. I found that raising the seat to the proper driving height makes a huge difference… I suggest that when you have a drive, adjust the seat height for a better experience.
2-Door Wrangler, same camera settings. You can see starting from the left of the steering wheel in both photos how much larger the Bronco cabin feels in comparison to the same perspective in the Wrangler. (subjective and not scientific.)
- Other photos I took while looking over the mannequin.
Blend QR Code.
Plus everyone perceives things so wildly different...
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