First Thoughts After the Reveal

[FlyingSpaceLlama]

So after seeing the reveal, most of us are left with some thoughts regarding the new info. To start, this thing looks absolutely incredible. The design is way better than expected even after seeing all the leaks and renders. It is certainly -- subjectively -- the best-looking SUV on the market by a wide margin.

But unfortunately, it's not all good. After teasing the vehicle for SIXTEEN YEARS, Ford announced a reveal, had everyone, including myself, wetting their pants with excitement, leaked info a little at a time to build interest as much as possible... then instead of an actual reveal, they showed a commercial. Since the reveal date was announced, I've had a viewing party planned to watch the reveal and everyone was stoked. The actual viewing party was held virtually due to the commie flu, but that worked out pretty well because we were able to fill a discord channel with leaked images, renders, specs, and wish lists to drool over. We counted down to 8pm and as the countdown passed ten seconds I'm pretty sure one guy fainted. Maybe it was me. There were tons of "oohs" and "aahs" during the teaser and everyone kept saying how they couldn't wait until they showed details about one feature or another. The teaser/intro went black... and the stream ended. Literally everyone in attendance asked "is that really it?" There's no way Ford could have dropped the ball harder without cancelling the reveal altogether.

Moving on to features, the commercial did skim over a lot of them lightning-fast and confirmed a whole lot of things we already suspected. They threw a few new surprises in that I can't help feeling might have been a lot more impressive if those features had been shown on screen for more than a nanosecond. The sway bar disconnect is phenomenal. Although many would prefer a solid axle, I get the feeling that few if any will be disappointed in the performance of the Dana IFS, especially after seeing the chassis shots of just how well put-together it really is.

Ford, in a show of blatant disregard for their customer base, has decided to only offer the manual transmission with the four-banger. As for me, I was already mostly set on the 10r80 anyway, but that's a market decision that will turn a lot of customers off the Bronco entirely. Speaking of four-bangers, the engine options are something we already knew, but to hear Ford confirm them is still a little disappointing. To even compete with the Wrangler, you'll have to step up to the "top" engine option -- one which should have been the "base" engine option available only on the stripped-down version. Stepping up to that engine option with no other features will likely push the price of the base model to around $40k.

Which brings me to the biggest weak point of all: Ford has said repeatedly that the Bronco will compete with the Wrangler in price. Instead, Ford has chosen not to offer most of the core offroad features independently of fancy mall-crawler trim packages that no one wants or needs. Want sway bar disconnect? That'll be an extra $20k in electronics, bling, and junk that you will never use. Want the low-ratio locking axles? Ditto. If you want vinyl flooring instead of carpet so that you can hose it out, in most vehicles that's a step down in price. Want vinyl flooring in the Bronco? We can do that, but it'll cost more to get less. Automatic 4x4 engagement? Whip out the checkbook. Lots of new cars come with navigation; would you like that too? Sign here, and follow Hacksaw Jimmy through the double doors to have one arm and one leg removed. Oh, and there's a monthly fee to use the navigation (no, seriously, they're charging to use GPS, read the fine print on the options sheet). Will that be cash, card, or the soul of your first-born? Whoever set the pricing and trim levels on the Bronco should be fired. Out of a cannon, into the sun.

Even considering that the engine options are as mouth-watering as stale french fries and the pricing is nowhere near competitive with Jeep, there's still a chance that I'll be buying a Bronco. It is, however, a smaller chance than before the "reveal" commercial. I was ready to reserve immediately had they surprised us with any V8 or diesel option -- or any one of about a dozen un-announced features on my wish list -- but that didn't happen. With the disappointing reveal, I don't currently have plans to reserve one at all. In fact, I'm kind of thinking of waiting until someone blows up a four-banger with an expired or voided warranty, and snatching it up cheap to drop in a better engine.

I've owned a dozen or so Ford vehicles and liked most of them. Every Ford I've had with a V8 I've loved. I own two right now. There's a lot of brand loyalty there. But Ford just ran the best Jeep commercial I've ever seen.

Sponsored

 

[jp23rockstar]

I agree with the exterior and interior styling being a hit. Also, as far as pricing is concerned, I expect the Bronco to be cheaper than the Jeep Wrangler once the newness wears off via rebates. Ford currently says the V8 won't fit, but that's a way for them to save it for a model year down the road. I'm interested in what the resale will be compared to the Wrangler.

 

[indio22]

In my view - Ford Bronco is what I had been hoping for in the new Defender. And that is a very good thing. I like what I saw yesterday. Looks like the 2 door base is around 30k (with the destination charge).

Ford offers the Sasquatch package on the base, for those who want to step up the off-road abilities. I would either do that (depending on cost), or instead swap for my own tires and call it a day. I'd have fun driving open top/doors on-road and on the trails either way.

If I had fun driving all around the Rocky mountains for years in an old Land Rover and CJs without all the extras, I for sure will have fun in a new Bronco. I'm not hung up on the other stuff. I'd rather the V6, but even the base I4 in the Bronco will likely have more power and better fuel economy than my old CJ/Land Rover engines.

 

[TangoUniform]

Ford put a lot of awesome features into the new Bronco, but IMO there are 3 things that they completely jumped the shark on.

First is the IFS. I know, we knew this to be the case already, and they need to be somewhat mindful of on road performance, but it will never be as off-road capable as a Jeep because of this.

Second, the V6 is not available with the manual trans. The sort of people who want the manual trans (me) are the same sort who want the most power available.

Third, and this is the one that really burns be up. Side swinging tailgate like a Jeep, not a vertical truck style tailgate like every previous generation Bronco. This is just lame.

 

[Big Boss]

My first thought was that the one I want is going to be expensive lol.

I personally despise cloth seats, so seeing that leather isn't even offered until you go up 3 trims was disappointing. I need more info on the marine vinyl because that could be a choice for me.

Maybe someone can educate me, since I am new to this type of vehicle but why would cloth seats even be an option on a vehicle where you can take the doors off and go play in the sand mud elements? Seems like they would be impossible to clean/keep clean. Leather/fake leather vinyl just wipe it down and good to go.

 

[csj]

Overall I like it, but it's definitely not as cool as a JLR or JLUR, the styling is sort of odd. I'm very disappointed in the 2.7l hp, and the tow rating. Maybe the aftermarket will help with the motor, and maybe a tow package will help the tow rating? I'm still interested in the Bronco, unless Jeep actually comes out with that 392; cost isn't that much of an issue with me.

 

[FlyingSpaceLlama]

I agree with the exterior and interior styling being a hit. Also, as far as pricing is concerned, I expect the Bronco to be cheaper than the Jeep Wrangler once the newness wears off via rebates. Ford currently says the V8 won't fit, but that's a way for them to save it for a model year down the road. I'm interested in what the resale will be compared to the Wrangler.

I also expect the price to come down into the semi-competitive range. There will be a little extra charge because it's made by Ford, but a little extra is worth it. Full disclosure; I get X-Plan pricing and won't pay all of the premiums and markups anyway, but a whole lot of people will walk when the paperwork crosses the desk and a $30k vehicle has turned into a $275,402.50 price tag.

Ford claims the V8 won't fit, but it's just because they don't own a tape measure. In terms of packaging, the Coyote is absolutely huge, but so is the V6 EcoBoost. There's actually not as much of a difference as you'd think. The Godzilla is smaller and would be absolutely no problem to fit. The only real problem there is that it weighs about seventy-four thousand pounds so the front suspension would need a little work.

You might be surprised by the IFS; Ford can do some incredible things with independent suspensions and I'd be willing to bet that it's better in most situations than the solid axles. In some situations it's going to be lacking, but maybe not as much as you'd think. The solid axle would be my own preference as well, but I think IFS may be just fine.

 

[eBronco]

My first thought was that the one I want is going to be expensive lol.

I personally despise cloth seats, so seeing that leather isn't even offered until you go up 3 trims was disappointing. I need more info on the marine vinyl because that could be a choice for me.

Maybe someone can educate me, since I am new to this type of vehicle but why would cloth seats even be an option on a vehicle where you can take the doors off and go play in the sand mud elements? Seems like they would be impossible to clean/keep clean. Leather/fake leather vinyl just wipe it down and good to go.

Cloth seats are for someone who will be taking it "off road" on a dirt road in a state park, but not really offroading in it. I don't understand how vinyl now became more expensive than cloth?

 

[kodiakisland]

Was disappointed the rubber floor/drains wasn't an option for the base model.
Can't tell, but I don't see where adding just the rear locker to the base is an option other than going the Sasquatch route.
Was disappointed that the model I reserved is coming with General tires.

Everything else was about as expected.

 

[Big Boss]

Cloth seats are for someone who will be taking it "off road" on a dirt road in a state park, but not really offroading in it. I don't understand how vinyl now became more expensive than cloth?

I guess that is what doesn't make sense to me because to me it seems cloth would be much harder to keep clean. You go "offroad" in state park get out do some hiking your going to get dirty dusty then get back in the car. Just seems like cloth would be impossible to keep clean. I know cloth seats have come a long way but just seems so backwards to me.

But like I said I am new to this scene so I am probably wrong lol

 

[harpo]

I'm disappointed at the size, was hoping for more compact (narrower, lower hood, "less mass" but length is OK) but I know I'm in the minority and I understand the benefits of the wider track.

Who else spent an hour in the garage with a a tape measure? ; ) The wife isn't going to let me kick her car out.

Current styling across all vehicles is bigger is better.

 

[eBronco]

I'm disappointed at the size, was hoping for more compact (narrower, lower hood, "less mass" but length is OK) but I know I'm in the minority and I understand the benefits of the wider track.

Who else spent an hour in the garage with a a tape measure? ; ) The wife isn't going to let me kick her car out.

Current styling across all vehicles is bigger is better.

The Bronco Sport looks to be a capable off-roader. That is a smaller vehicle; you may want to look at that one.

 

[battlebornNV]

while many option combinations are not possible Ford has done a pretty good job of offering a lot of choices. the biggest oversight is not offering the manual with the large engine- that is a huge biff. Just like the Jeeps the engine choices will change over time. I will bet the house the Bronco's will do very well. And jeeps will have to get even better now.....

 

[securitysix]

There were tons of "oohs" and "aahs" during the teaser and everyone kept saying how they couldn't wait until they showed details about one feature or another. The teaser/intro went black... and the stream ended. Literally everyone in attendance asked "is that really it?" There's no way Ford could have dropped the ball harder without cancelling the reveal altogether.

I was disappointed in that, too. I was pretty excited and expecting something like the F-150 reveal where they had various engineers come out and talk about the different systems, how they worked, and how they compared to previous versions and the competition. But we didn't get that.

Ford, in a show of blatant disregard for their customer base, has decided to only offer the manual transmission with the four-banger. As for me, I was already mostly set on the 10r80 anyway, but that's a market decision that will turn a lot of customers off the Bronco entirely.

I'm pretty disappointed in that, too, but I will point out that you can only get a manual transmission on a Wrangler with one of the 3 available engines, too. And it is, by all of the numbers except for horsepower, the worst of the engines.

Speaking of four-bangers, the engine options are something we already knew, but to hear Ford confirm them is still a little disappointing. To even compete with the Wrangler, you'll have to step up to the "top" engine option -- one which should have been the "base" engine option available only on the stripped-down version. Stepping up to that engine option with no other features will likely push the price of the base model to around $40k.

Speaking of engines, Jeeps engine numbers are pretty shitty (except for the 3.0L diesel's torque, but diesel engines are torque monsters, so that's not surprising) according to this page. 285 hp, 260 torque for their V-6 (base engine, only one you can get a manual on, btw), 270/290 for the 2.0L turbo I-4 (this is considered an upgrade over the base V-6), and 260/480 for the 3.0L diesel.

The 2.3L EcoBoost is capable of 405 HP and 369 lb.-ft. of torque according to Ford Authority, but I don't expect them to tune the Bronco's 2.3L like the VUHL 05's 2.3L.

I expect tuning closer to the Ford Ranger numbers of 270/310 from the factory. That's the same horsepower as the "upgraded" turbo gas engine in the Wrangler, only 15 hp less than the base naturally aspirated V-6, and 10 more hp than Jeep's 3.0L diesel.

That same Ranger tuning also gives you 50 lb.-ft. more torque than Jeep's base engine and 20 more than their upgraded gas engine. It won't touch the diesel's torque, obviously, but who would expect it to?

So I'd say that the 2.3L EcoBoost is plenty competitive with Jeep's engine options on its own. Looking to Ford Authority again, the 2.7L can be tuned anywhere from 315 to 335 HP and anywhere from 350 to 400 lb.-ft. of torque from the factory. Except for the diesel's torque, Jeep's engines aren't even remotely competitive with the 2.7L EcoBoost.

Which brings me to the biggest weak point of all: Ford has said repeatedly that the Bronco will compete with the Wrangler in price. Instead, Ford has chosen not to offer most of the core offroad features independently of fancy mall-crawler trim packages that no one wants or needs. Want sway bar disconnect? That'll be an extra $20k in electronics, bling, and junk that you will never use. Want the low-ratio locking axles? Ditto. If you want vinyl flooring instead of carpet so that you can hose it out, in most vehicles that's a step down in price. Want vinyl flooring in the Bronco? We can do that, but it'll cost more to get less. Automatic 4x4 engagement? Whip out the checkbook. Lots of new cars come with navigation; would you like that too? Sign here, and follow Hacksaw Jimmy through the double doors to have one arm and one leg removed. Oh, and there's a monthly fee to use the navigation (no, seriously, they're charging to use GPS, read the fine print on the options sheet). Will that be cash, card, or the soul of your first-born? Whoever set the pricing and trim levels on the Bronco should be fired. Out of a cannon, into the sun.

Some of these complaints are legit, some aren't.

The low ratio axles with front and rear lockers are part of the "Sasquatch" package. Yes, it will cost extra, but he Sasquatch package is available on all trims, including the base trim.

The HOSS system is also part of the Sasquatch package, thus available on all trim levels. Same with the 35" tires and 17" beadlock capable wheels.

The upgraded (Dana M210 instead of M190) front suspension is available on all trims, too.

The automatic 4x4 engagement is also an option available to all trim levels.

Some of the stuff, like the GOAT modes, are probably hidden in the software on all trims and the ForScanners will undoubtedly figure out how to unlock them in due time.

Yes, if you start with a lower trim, you're going to have to pay extra for some options that would be standard if you started with a higher trim. That's pretty much the standard across the mass produced auto industry.

 

[harpo]

The Bronco Sport looks to be a capable off-roader. That is a smaller vehicle; you may want to look at that one.

Besides the width of the track I think the 2 door bronco is smaller.

My subaru is also a "capable off roader" ; ) Just teasing, the sport actually looks pretty capable.

Sponsored