Honest reviews and build quality?

[FerkinBlonco]

I’m rocking a 2-door hardtop/base/manual/2.3. 16k miles so far. It’s got more wind noise than my 96 bronc, although slightly less creaks and cracks… and a similar plasticky interior. Sadly no cassette deck. I’m a big fan of how it drives - it feels peppy and handles well, at least to my somewhat skewed standards. It does everything I’d hoped that it would do, with no mech issues to report, and it’s pretty cool that you can take the top down if feeling spicy. I find the cockpit to be comfortable and functional in a no-BS kind of way. I’m glad that ford has provided some fun paint options. I use the 4WD for about 6 months out of the year (central Alaska) and kinda wish I’d ponied up for the advanced transfer case, but it’s nevertheless served me well.

IMO the main downside is probably wind noise, at least if your expectations aren’t already tempered. You’ll otherwise have a ford-feeling interior and a sick-AF looking bronc exterior.

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[bigblockfox545]

22 bd sas 4 door 2.7 hardtop. 10000km so far.

Pros
1. How great it drives on the street. seriously, shouldn't be this fun for a offroader with 35's

2. Looks. Ford hit it out of the park. Both inside and out.

3. 2.7 is beast especially with the fp tune. How cool a manufacturer lets you add a tune and still maintain the factory warranty. Always drive in sport mode and love it.

4. Factory bilstein suspension. Drove my buddies brand new Rubicon and was not even comparable.

5. Sasquatch package. Has all the goodies with a factory warranty. Nice to not have to re gear for a larger tire.

6. Seating position and comfort. A+

Cons
1. Cluster. No need to go indepth here.

2. Sync is glitchy. Bluetooth is average. My 2018 outback is seemless in comparison.

3. 35" spare with the stock tailgate. Sas trucks should have gotten the raptor parts stock. Hammerbuilt with raptor hinges fixed this and closes how it should have from the beginning now.

3. Electric parking brake. Not a big deal in a auto but definitely not cool with a stick.

4. Brake pedal that makes that weird click sound when pressed just right.

5. Wiper issue that many other members have experienced.

6. Cam phasers. Mine make a bit of noise on cold starts. Will have them replaced closer to the end of the power train warranty. Not a big deal but annoying since it's been a problem for too long.


I was fortunate enough to work at a ford dealer and paid 10% less than mrsp. Therefore bang for buck was off the charts. If I had paid 10k over I think my cons list would be a little longer being these are not cheap vehicles. Having said that I think it is a great buy for its intended use and have zero regrets. Would buy again in a heart beat.

 

[XirallicBolts]

I'm not sure what people are doing with their interiors. The OBX dash looks fine. Yeah it's plastic but the top is nicely textured and there's no reason to be touching the face plastic. Ours still looks brand new.
Sure, the cargo area and rear seat have cheap plastic. Not surprised, but I'm also not upset because it's pretty much the same story in my Flex.

The instrument cluster is disappointing. I don't look at the analog needle at all because the needle is too small and the 20mph increment is annoying -- it's easier to read the digital speedometer. The animations are embarassingly clunky and screen space is poorly utilized. We really got scammed on that "upgraded instrument panel" that became Raptor-exclusive. Too bad there's no chance Ford will send out a firmware update to make it more customizable.

The 22 Silverado's full-LCD instrument panel has smooth animations and is super customizable, you could even have it be purely "Speed and fuel level, nothing more" if you wanted. It's really the one thing I can praise Chevy for over Ford.

 

[67BroncoG1]

My BaseSquatch was $37k and represents a tremendous value. The only fix I have had to do with 10k miles on it is the driver side window coming loose and rattling.

As for quality… it is acceptable for a $37k car. The interior materials are what you would expect in cheap $20k rental car. It’s like Ford really tried to find the worst plastics possible. While I have a base interior, my good friend has a loaded wildtrack with Lux that cost him $68k and frankly it isn’t that much better. Sure the seat material feels better and the 12” screen is sexy but the hard plastics are all $20k rental car.

Really the two completely unacceptable things are the sound quality of the factory audio system and the road noise above 65 mph. Like the plastics, Ford must have really put some effort into making that base audio system sound this bad. You literally can even do that by accident and I know because I have designed consumer audio products. This is worse than just throwing together some low end components and crossing your fingers. I believe they engineered it so sound this bad so people would spend the money to step up to higher trim levels with premium audio.

As for road noise… my base trim lacks extra ”sound deadening“ though I’m not sure where that is. My hunch is that a large portion of the noise is coming from the terrible Goodyear Territory rock throwing tires. At some point I’ll change to Falkens or BFG A/T but that is $1,200 I don’t need to spend right now.

At the end of the day, I absolutely love the Bronco and think it is a tremendous value for $37k. Look at all you get for that money. Nothing comes close in that price range. The issue is that now you have to spend more and most are being ordered loaded up. Unfortunately the options just don’t seem to be worth their price.

 

[Valkaddict99]

Previously had a 17 JKU Recon and then a 05 Power Wagon for my off-road play time. I finally pulled the trigger on a 23 Badlands 2.7 with Sasquatch. Back in the day had a 68 Bronco and was super excited when the rumors of the Bronco coming back started. Just couldn't bring myself to pay the markups that I was seeing. Fortunately, I was able to get this one at a decent price(finally!). I have been thrilled with the ride and performance so far. Far more comfortable as a daily than the JKUR and after spending the last four years daily driving the PW it makes the Bronco's gas mileage feel like I'm driving an economy car, LOL. Doesn't take much to improve on 9-11 mpg. I was not expecting a luxury vehicle and if that was what I wanted there would be a different vehicle in the driveway. For what it is I have been very happy with the purchase. The only downside I see is the hit my wallet will take due to the plethora of aftermarket goodies that I just can't live without.

 

[bigblockfox545]

My BaseSquatch was $37k and represents a tremendous value. The only fix I have had to do with 10k miles on it is the driver side window coming loose and rattling.

As for quality… it is acceptable for a $37k car. The interior materials are what you would expect in cheap $20k rental car. It’s like Ford really tried to find the worst plastics possible. While I have a base interior, my good friend has a loaded wildtrack with Lux that cost him $68k and frankly it isn’t that much better. Sure the seat material feels better and the 12” screen is sexy but the hard plastics are all $20k rental car.

Really the two completely unacceptable things are the sound quality of the factory audio system and the road noise above 65 mph. Like the plastics, Ford must have really put some effort into making that base audio system sound this bad. You literally can even do that by accident and I know because I have designed consumer audio products. This is worse than just throwing together some low end components and crossing your fingers. I believe they engineered it so sound this bad so people would spend the money to step up to higher trim levels with premium audio.

As for road noise… my base trim lacks extra ”sound deadening“ though I’m not sure where that is. My hunch is that a large portion of the noise is coming from the terrible Goodyear Territory rock throwing tires. At some point I’ll change to Falkens or BFG A/T but that is $1,200 I don’t need to spend right now.

At the end of the day, I absolutely love the Bronco and think it is a tremendous value for $37k. Look at all you get for that money. Nothing comes close in that price range. The issue is that now you have to spend more and most are being ordered loaded up. Unfortunately the options just don’t seem to be worth their price.

how could i have forgotten the sound system. definite. zonk

 

[Hank the Tank]

I absolutely despise the wireless charger in mine. It never even actually adds charge, basically just keeps it where it’s at so the battery doesn’t die any further. Which is a huge bummer because I was looking forward to that option.

 

[PrepVet]

Previously had a 17 JKU Recon and then a 05 Power Wagon for my off-road play time. I finally pulled the trigger on a 23 Badlands 2.7 with Sasquatch. Back in the day had a 68 Bronco and was super excited when the rumors of the Bronco coming back started. Just couldn't bring myself to pay the markups that I was seeing. Fortunately, I was able to get this one at a decent price(finally!). I have been thrilled with the ride and performance so far. Far more comfortable as a daily than the JKUR and after spending the last four years daily driving the PW it makes the Bronco's gas mileage feel like I'm driving an economy car, LOL. Doesn't take much to improve on 9-11 mpg. I was not expecting a luxury vehicle and if that was what I wanted there would be a different vehicle in the driveway. For what it is I have been very happy with the purchase. The only downside I see is the hit my wallet will take due to the plethora of aftermarket goodies that I just can't live without.

It's funny you say that. I still have my 2005 PW, still by far my favorite car to drive even with the tired wedgie. It's an early 2000's mopar and the materials are on a par with the 2021 Bronco. I had a factory navi in the PW I swapped out, over a decade ago, for a double din one, so now the components of the "tech" are the same between the two. The Bronco does present in a much better way, but still, for the current world, it is lack luster. I would even compare the two's steering components as close to equal. I have had a few recalls on steering components on the old PW and replacing TRE's is nearly a yearly affair (but I have put on bigger tires and such) with the issues some people have had with similar failures on the Bronco off-roading... it is a wash IMHO.

My last two jeeps were both JK's. I bought a brand new 13 JK and it was garbage. The thing was in the shop twice a month. It wasn't lemon lawed out but it was always in for similar issues. I then bought an 07 JK with 56k on the clock a few years later that needed some love and I drove that well over 225k and loved it! In fact I still miss it. Both of those were exactly what I expect for the price with the materials used and the fit and finish was better.

I like my Bronco, but with the current prices there is no way it lives up to that amount of money with QA, fit and finish, though (or lack there of) put into the interior and materials.

 

[mpeugeot]

I absolutely despise the wireless charger in mine. It never even actually adds charge, basically just keeps it where it’s at so the battery doesn’t die any further. Which is a huge bummer because I was looking forward to that option.

The type C USB port on the dash does a decent job of charging quickly.

 

[pjstans]

22 Badlands 2.3L 7mt soft top base package, 7600miles so far. Aside from the 7mt cold start scraping noise, and a leaky front pinion seal, my Bronco has been an absolute blast to drive. No other issues besides those mentioned above. I love everything about it.

Front Pinion seal leaking here as well...and not just a little. just normal driving and only 16K miles. Dealer will have it over a week - supply chain issue with parts (surprise surprise....) - and also going to have a look at the differential as well. How many think this is a design issue soon to become a problem and an eventual recall?

 

[Kevin Scarbel]

Is there an incoming TSB for the window rattles when opening the door? Mine is terrible and easily my most disliked thing about the bronco.

My window clatters when I close the door because they failed to install nuts (p/n W721426S442) on the adjuster studs.
After raising the top wage over 30% to over $40/hour, and raising the starting wage by 68% to over $28/hour, I don't expect to find any fasteners missing on my new Bronco.
.
.

 

[Valhalla]

That is not the world we live in, pay goes up line speed goes up, bet he had 10 secs. allotted to those nuts.

 

[mpeugeot]

My window clatters when I close the door because they failed to install nuts (p/n W721426S442) on the adjuster studs.
After raising the top wage over 30% to over $40/hour, and raising the starting wage by 68% to over $28/hour, I don't expect to find any fasteners missing on my new Bronco.

Maybe it was built with a different kind of PRIDE?

 

[Kevin Scarbel]

That is not the world we live in, pay goes up line speed goes up, bet he had 10 secs. allotted to those nuts.

I am vice director of quality assurance at my manufacturer's two commercial truck plants. We install all fasteners as specified. We give our people a reasonable amount of time to perform their tasks, while we build on average 450 medium and heavy trucks a day.

 

[Valhalla]

I am vice director of quality assurance for all of my manufacturer's two commercial truck plants. We install all fasteners as specified. We give our people a reasonable amount of time to perform their tasks, while we build on average 450 medium and heavy trucks a day.

I work at an auto factory that is medium production on 3 models.our people have 62 seconds to do everything on each vehicle. We build 900 a day. Our quality team visually inspects on the line. They do not check to see if fasteners are tight enough.. if it is required to be torqued that is computer controlled and will stop production if not achieved. This almost definitely is not required to be torqued. And may be pre assembled by a supplier. IE lowest bidder.

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