First impressions of Manual Bronco Badlands & Black Diamond Sasquatch in person. Pleasantly surprised, with couple concerns

[Richie]

Made it to Beach Ford in Virginia Beach to see the Bronco in person for the first time. They had a 4 dr Black Diamond SAS in Antimatter Blue and a 4 dr Badlands in Iconic Silver.

Just walking up to the Bronco for the first time after spending countless hours watching youtube and social media, and constantly reading through this forum. All the hype about this vehicle is real. It 100% lives up to it's reviews in my opinion. It seemed perfectly proportioned and not overwhelming at all. The seats were very comfortable in the front and back. The 12 in screen is enormous. If you are a not a tech person, the 8in seems more than enough in my opinion. We ordered an auto but I did run through the gears on the manual and the length of throw is spot on. I was expecting very long throws but it almost feels like a sports car. It will not feel like a chore to change gears at all for an off road rig. I think what I was most impressed with was the doors. Not having a full frame door makes the whole feel of the vehicle way more open. Easier to take on and off with one person as well. Watched the Bronco nation reps putting the doors back on with the bag still on did not look very difficult.

My big concern was seeing if the Bronco SAS was going to be to big for my gf to daily drive. Great news! it's not at all. The height of the SAS felt lower and easier to get into than my 2013 f150 with a 2in lift and 34.5's. Her opinion of the 35's was that it was just right. She said any bigger would be to much for her, but she liked the SAS much more than the 33's on the badlands right next to it.

Some minor things that I hope are addressed for production.
The upper control arms are mounted to something inside the engine bay and it leaves a massive gap in the fender well for mud/debris to go straight into the engine bay. I didn't get a picture but I remember thinking, this is going to be a firehose of mud going straight into the engine bay if they don't seal this up better. Maybe someone else on the forum who has seen this can provide pictures.

The doors extend out further than the rock rails that ford provides. I will be waiting to find a nice set of rails from the aftermarket that can double as a step and a slider so the doors don't get smashed by people not paying attention.

Other than that, I was blown away by the attention to detail in this vehicle. After spending over an hour examining this thing from the ground up. went to dinner and parked next to a new sahara Jeep. The Jeep looked like it came out of a cereal box compared to the Bronco. (I own an XJ)

Hope this helps with perspective for some.

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[Panmort]

That’s silver, not gray, btw.

 

[ColoradoGuy]

Thanks for sharing your perspective! How tall is your gf?

That Badlands looks like Iconic Silver.

 

[Broncolli]

Thanks for the pictures ? Not intended to be a weird question - but how tall are you both ?

 

[flatlander40]

Nice catch, I don’t think anybody else has mentioned the opening in the engine bay. I am getting a two door, But what’s your thoughts on the stance of the four-door with the regular Badlands 33 inch tires?

 

[Toccoa]

Very cool. Thanks for sharing.

 

[Brongo]

Thanks for the pictures ? Not intended to be a weird question - but how tall are you both ?

Legit question I think. Now if you asked him his GF's shoe size, well then, that would be weird.

 

[Brongo]

Made it to Beach Ford in Virginia Beach to see the Bronco in person for the first time. They had a 4 dr Black Diamond SAS in Antimatter Blue and a 4 dr Badlands in Carbonized Grey.

Just walking up to the Bronco for the first time after spending countless hours watching youtube and social media, and constantly reading through this forum. All the hype about this vehicle is real. It 100% lives up to it's reviews in my opinion. It seemed perfectly proportioned and not overwhelming at all. The seats were very comfortable in the front and back. The 12 in screen is enormous. If you are a not a tech person, the 8in seems more than enough in my opinion. We ordered an auto but I did run through the gears on the manual and the length of throw is spot on. I was expecting very long throws but it almost feels like a sports car. It will not feel like a chore to change gears at all for an off road rig. I think what I was most impressed with was the doors. Not having a full frame door makes the whole feel of the vehicle way more open. Easier to take on and off with one person as well. Watched the Bronco nation reps putting the doors back on with the bag still on did not look very difficult.

My big concern was seeing if the Bronco SAS was going to be to big for my gf to daily drive. Great news! it's not at all. The height of the SAS felt lower and easier to get into than my 2013 f150 with a 2in lift and 34.5's. Her opinion of the 35's was that it was just right. She said any bigger would be to much for her, but she liked the SAS much more than the 33's on the badlands right next to it.

Some minor things that I hope are addressed for production.
The upper control arms are mounted to something inside the engine bay and it leaves a massive gap in the fender well for mud/debris to go straight into the engine bay. I didn't get a picture but I remember thinking, this is going to be a firehose of mud going straight into the engine bay if they don't seal this up better. Maybe someone else on the forum who has seen this can provide pictures.

The doors extend out further than the rock rails that ford provides. I will be waiting to find a nice set of rails from the aftermarket that can double as a step and a slider so the doors don't get smashed by people not paying attention.

Other than that, I was blown away by the attention to detail in this vehicle. After spending over an hour examining this thing from the ground up. went to dinner and parked next to a new sahara Jeep. The Jeep looked like it came out of a cereal box compared to the Bronco. (I own an XJ)

Hope this helps with perspective for some.

Great pics! Thanks for sharing. So strange how SAS looks huge in some pics and modest in others.

 

[Richie]

Thanks for the pictures ? Not intended to be a weird question - but how tall are you both ?

I am 6'1 and she is 5'7. Forgot to mention that for reference.

 

[Richie]

Thanks for sharing your perspective! How tall is your gf?

That Badlands looks like Iconic Silver.

Good catch. I updated the thread to reflect the correct color. Thanks!

 

[Richie]

That’s silver, not gray, btw.

Fixed it! Thanks for catching that.

 

[Bronco4lyfe85]

Thanks for sharing your perspective! How tall is your gf?

That Badlands looks like Iconic Silver.

I could be wrong but I think she’s about 2-3” tall, depending on how much you zoom in.

...I’m hoping people get this joke.

 

[Fly by Nite]

How does the Bronco size compare to your XJ? Is it a lot bigger?
From the specs, Interior of Bronco seems to in between XJ and a F-150.

 

[Richie]

Nice catch, I don’t think anybody else has mentioned the opening in the engine bay. I am getting a two door, But what’s your thoughts on the stance of the four-door with the regular Badlands 33 inch tires?

I really hope they address the opening for production models. we shall see. My personal opinion is that the 35's make the stance much more aggressive mostly due to the extra width. The 35's line up more evenly with the fender flares. You could put spacers on the 33's if you wanted to have perfect symmetry but then that opens up the whole spacer can of worms. the 33's still look great but, when it's right next to a SAS you notice the little gap.

 

[Nickp]

Great pics! Thanks for sharing. So strange how SAS looks huge in some pics and modest in others.

In person the 35’s are pretty dang big. Especially on the 2 door, but the 4 door they are still plenty.

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