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PWillette

Badlands
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Parrie
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Badlands
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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How did the 2.3 engine bay compare to the 2.7? Equally as busy?
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Richie

Richie

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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.
My XJ has a 4in lift and 33's. It is a higher step to get into than the SAS Bronco. The width is about the same as the XJ but the length in height is where you feel a major difference. The back seats of the Bronco are way more comfortable and trunk space is bigger in the Bronco than the XJ. My f15o feels way bigger than the SAS length and width-wise. height is about the same.
 

Big_Ed

Badlands
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Badlands
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.
I've always been of the opinion that on the 4 door models the 33s look very slightly too small and the 35s look perfect. I feel the opposite about the 2 doors though, on them I think the 33s looks perfect and the 35s are just a tad too big. That's all personal opinion though.
 
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Richie

Richie

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How did the 2.3 engine bay compare to the 2.7? Equally as busy?
Equally as busy for sure. Hoses going in every direction. Wondering if they are going to put a cover on it for production models.
 
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Richie

Richie

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s


I've always been of the opinion that on the 4 door models the 33s look very slightly too small and the 35s look perfect. I feel the opposite about the 2 doors though, on them I think the 33s looks perfect and the 35s are just a tab too big. That's all personal opinion though.
That makes sense to me, unfortunately, they didn't have any 2 doors to look at so I don't have much to go off beside the photos and videos.
 

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Lakelife36

Big Bend
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Big Bend
Clubs
 
@Richie thank you so much for letting us know the length of throw. It's those kind of details that have been conspicuously missing from many drive alongs and reviews. Did you pump the clutch at all? Impossible to get the full feel with the engine off but anything is better than nothing at this point.
 

indio22

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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
+1 thanks for the manual shifter info. Also agree about the frameless doors. Was just looking at some images of the latest Wranglers with top off but doors on, and those window frames take away from some of the openness compared to the Bronco.
 

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BadSquatch21

Badlands
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Clubs
 
I am 6'1 and she is 5'7. Forgot to mention that for reference.
By any chance were you able to measure the difference from Badlands to Sasq? Was there much difference in height between the two?
 
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Richie

Richie

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@Richie
Any thoughts or opinion on the soft top?
I went with the Mic top. I think it would be nice for cruising around town in the summer but the Bronco nation guy was telling me he could barely have a conversation on the phone when driving down the highway with the soft top. I also am not a fan of how it flips up in the trunk area. Just my opinion though. I think it would be nice to have both.
 

swooshdave

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I went with the Mic top. I think it would be nice for cruising around town in the summer but the Bronco nation guy was telling me he could barely have a conversation on the phone when driving down the highway with the soft top. I also am not a fan of how it flips up in the trunk area. Just my opinion though. I think it would be nice to have both.
Wait for some aftermarket soft top options.
 

swooshdave

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Oh lord... Making purchase decisions based on the GF's wants and needs....
WRONG!
Making purchase decisions based on a cluttered engine bay...
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