How Hard is it to Drive Manual Bronco Uphill In City and Offroad?

[cracKen]

I've never driven a manual before. I live in the northwest where even cities like Seattle (and suburbs) have some seriously steep uphills in stop and go traffic.

1. So how hard is it to drive uphill in the city in stop and go traffic?

2. Parallel park at an incline?

3. Difficulty off roading on trails that are straight uphills with other cars around in a group?
What about the Colorado trails like Imogene pass or in Moab's rock slabs?

4. Does Badlands without SAS make it any easier or harder? Would a 2door vs 4door be any easier or harder due to size or weight?

I've watched this video multiple times: "Ford Bronco Manual Transmission Tips, Tricks, & Secrets with Our Bronco Life!"

I'm preparing to test drive some manual Broncos around me but the dealership isnt located anywhere with significant hills or traffic. Chime in if you have taken your manual to Moab/Colorado trails or other trails with significant uphills/loose rocks, etc.

Sponsored

 

[zombie]

1. There are posts about this where people talk about crawler gear, etc. The bronco (and just about any modern vehicle with a stick) has hill-hold assist. It will momentarily hold the vehicle while you switch from holding the brake to the clutch. IMO this negates any complaints people have, but they still complain.

2. Parallel parking is no harder with a manual than with an automatic, assuming you don't suck at parallel parking. The hill-hold assist will help here as well, IMO.

3. I don't have any real off-road experience, so I can't comment, but I wouldn't assume you would be shifting enough that this really matters. And the bronco has auto-start, so if somehow you stall it, it automatically restarts as soon as you push the clutch pedal in.

4. I don't think trim really matters much. I don't think 2dr vs 4dr matters much.

All that having been said, if you've never driven a manual and live in a city with dense traffic, as much as I love manuals, and will never own a vehicle without one until I have no choice, I would just go with the automatic.

 

[cobro92]

Unless you live somewhere with no traffic, get the automatic. I owned a stick for years (and I loved them) and although they are more engaging to drive, they are really annoying to live with. Sticks are great for weekend sports cars but the Bronco is my daily and therefore it needs to be automatic.

 

[tock13]

I’m from Seattle and there are some miserably steep hills in the downtown core heading up from the waterfront that in stop and go traffic even an expert on a manual trans would not find enjoyable. You get used to it with time though and in the beginning your figure out routes to skip the hills.

that being said, the clutch in the Bronco is by far the nicest and easiest to drive manual I have ever driven for a body on frame rig.

I have spend some time in a manual SAS and it’s really, really smooth and I think it would be a super easy rig to learn a stick in.

 

[Karl_in_Chicago]

Do they have a rent-a-wreck or similar around you so you could just rent a vehicle with a stick (*ANY* vehicle, doesn't even need to be an SUV) for a day or two and confirm your comfort level driving one in your primary driving area? I learned how to drive on a stick and have driven manual cars and motorcycles my whole life so my opinion on the relative ease (or not) of sticks is going to be naturally biased. With some of the whiz-bang tech that seems common now for hill hold and whatnot I'd imagine it should be even easier (no experience, yet) but you should be the one to decide - preferably before you have to commit.

 

[dejones64]

I struggle with the hill-hold assist, I'm sure I don't know what I'm doing. On a hill, letting out the clutch, I give it some gas but ends up killing because the hill-hold won't let go. Seems to work better if I let it do it's thing, then give it gas after hill-hold releases.

 

[BluebroncoNC]

I drove a manual Bronco and it shifted easier than my Ford Focus RS that I came out of. In fact, had it not been for my pending rotator cuff surgery at the time, I would have opted for the stick. While I do live in a hilly area we do not have harsh traffic. I would have no hesitation about a stick if you enjoy driving them.

 

[cracKen]

Do they have a rent-a-wreck or similar around you so you could just rent a vehicle with a stick (*ANY* vehicle, doesn't even need to be an SUV) for a day or two and confirm your comfort level driving one in your primary driving area? I learned how to drive on a stick and have driven manual cars and motorcycles my whole life so my opinion on the relative ease (or not) of sticks is going to be naturally biased. With some of the whiz-bang tech that seems common now for hill hold and whatnot I'd imagine it should be even easier (no experience, yet) but you should be the one to decide - preferably before you have to commit.

I did a quick lookup for rent-a-wreck near me and they don’t seem to have any manuals. But that’s a great idea to rent a car to learn on for a week. I’ll have to google and see what I can find. Definitely don’t want to commit to buying a 55k vehicle to later regret it.

 

[Karl_in_Chicago]

I did a quick lookup for rent-a-wreck near me and they don’t seem to have any manuals. But that’s a great idea to rent a car to learn on for a week. I’ll have to google and see what I can find. Definitely don’t want to commit to buying a 55k vehicle to later regret it.

Renting is great because . . . it's a rental! Failing that, though, maybe a *good* friend might at least might be willing to ride shotgun for a few hours while you row their gears.

 

[userdude]

I’m from Seattle and there are some miserably steep hills in the downtown core heading up from the waterfront that in stop and go traffic even an expert on a manual trans would not find enjoyable.

Ha ha, I remember back in the mid-90's I had a behemoth granny-geared F-250 that was stiff as a 5am margarita and I spent a summer in Seattle (Burien, really) right after that, doing tree service work.

One time I had to drive the little Ford Ranger with a stick the owner had to pickup some stuff and I literally almost had fifteen heart attacks at every redlight, almost rolling backwards into cars. I sucked at non-stiff clutches!!! Somehow all the roads with redlights go up, never down.

It was somewhere I think around Tacoma/Federal Way going down to the waterway, where he lived. I've thought since then Seattle roads are much steeper in general than San Francisco (where I lived a lot longer 20 years ago). Seattle is no joke, gear-wise.

(Won't even mention except to say that non-geared early 80's box truck I almost slid off the mountain should've killed me dead.)

 

[BlueOvalBandit]

Easiest manual transmission vehicle I've ever driven. Have taken it off roading a couple times on both "easy" and "moderate" trails with zero troubles as well. If you rock crawl, I could see it advantages to an auto.

City and traffic is more a matter of personal preference. It doesn't bother me shifting at all, I've used crawl on the freeway dozens of times.

My old Tacoma, really sucked in the steep hills. No assist for anything and you had to get that sucker spinning past 2800 rpm on a hill to stand a chance of not stalling while getting off the clutch fast enough to not roll back into the car who pulls up and stops under your bumper. It had no balls down low.

 

[jbellousux]

The Bronco manual is the easiest I’ve ever driven. And I’ve been driving manuals for almost 50 years. Everything from 3 on the tree trucks to Porsches.

The Hill assist feature takes the drama out of hill starts. The dash displays what gear you are in. These are features I’ve never had the luxury of enjoying.

My recommendation is to learn how to drive it in an empty mall parking lot. Besides regular shifting, practice backing up, downshifting, coming to sudden stops and simulated parallel parking. If there are any slight hills in the parking lot drive them forwards and backwards, as well. Spend at least an hour getting the feel before heading out and driving on relatively level neighborhood streets. Then advance to level city streets. I wouldn’t drive on city hills until the traffic is very light.
Before tackling anything remotely serious off road

, you must have complete confidence in your shifting abilities. It has to be second nature.

It’s like riding a bike though. Once you have it, you won’t forget it.

The crawler gear makes hilly terrain easy to navigate, both ascending and descending.

Just remember…when in doubt, push the clutch in!!

 

[Lowcountry Bronco]

I'm confused, you've never driven a manual? Ever? Did you order one that way or are you planning to buy one of these that you're test driving?

I don't have my Bronco yet but been driving manuals since I was 10 and have 2 in our driveway plus a motorcycle. A manual is easy enough for most people to learn with some practice; I've taught my wife and all my kids but I wouldn't have them doing all you ask 5 minutes into learning.

Have you spoken to the dealer yet? I wouldn't think they'd let you test drive a manual if you didn't say least know the basics. I'd find a friend to at least teach you the basics, you might not like it from the get go. My daughters hated it and have only had automatics but my wife and son love them. It's at that that point you can decide if you want to learn more to do all those things but it'll take practice and learning with your Bronco how to handle each situation you describe. If you're humble and patient and don't mind stalling out while you learn I think you'd enjoy it.

Good luck!

 

[cowman]

Get in one.... give it the gas... pop the clutch... let the fun begin.....

 

[GreatDaneMom]

I live in Atlanta where it might not be as hilly as your area but we do have significant hills coupled with drivers who will stop so close behind you on a hill that you don't have an inch of leeway. If I have space when someone is coming up behind me at a stoplight on a hill, I roll back just a tad as they approach and most seem to get the message that I'm in a stick and to give me a bit of space. However, when they don't, the hill-start assist feature works fabulously.

It had been years since I drove a manual, and knew I needed a refresher before getting my Bronco. Couple of suggestions to add to the mix... check to see if you have a stick-shift driving course in your area. I took one here in the ATL, and it really helped to brush up on the technique with an actual instructor. Also, CarMax will let you test drive a car for 24 hours... for free. While I was waiting the 900+ days for my two-door Badlands, I bought a Wrangler in the meantime. Wanted to see if the dogs would fit so I test drove one from CarMax.

If you have your heart set on a manual, I say go for it! Even with hills and traffic, I love mine!

Sponsored