First In-Depth Owner’s Review: 2021 Bronco Badlands 4-Door 2.7L

[SirBenimen]

Update #1 Trail turn assist. I Tested out trail turn assist more in deep sand… It works great, so much so I corkscrewed myself into the ground. Had to rock back and forth a couple minutes to get out of the sand rut I made for myself! I could not get trail turn assist to work in reverse. I don’t think it’s supposed to but thought I’d try anyways.

Baja Mode I tried to test out Baja mode. When in this mode it put me in 4H I then switched to 2H and gave it gas to get some speed. It would not let me shift out of second gear. Not exactly sure why. I went back to 4H. Still would not let me shift out of second gear. I tried using the plus button on the shifter. Still couldn’t get out of second. I will mess with it more in the coming days. Maybe it has to be broken in? Maybe I was doing something wrong? Either way I’ll figure it out and keep you updated.

First Thoughts and impressions.

ORDERING: I’ve had a lot of questions about ordering, luck, VIP status, etc... I made my reservation within the first few minutes of the launch live stream. If there was a race to get a reservation in I had to be close to the top in the country. Even before the end of the livestream the reservation website started getting slow and throwing up errors. I believe the timestamp of the reservation is what allowed me to get my Bronco so soon despite the spec I ordered. I have bought a total of 7 vehicles in a span of 20 years through this Ford dealership. I doubt that qualifies me for any kind of VIP status and even my salesman couldn't verify any sort of special treatment.

I ordered the first day I could in January. When I placed my order my salesman told me of the “deadly sins” (which I already knew) but I wanted that spec and decided to risk it even if it meant waiting longer. I had an order priority code of 19 through my dealership. I'm not exactly sure what all the codes mean but that is what's listed on my order receipt. I do know I was #1 on the list for the dealership and there were approximately 200 people behind me with an order submitted. Again I think that's because of my reservation timestamp.

COLOR: When I first laid eyes on the race red Bronco in person I knew that was the right color. We were between Area 51, Velocity Blue and Race Red. Velocity blue was a close second but the red just pops and looks fantastic in person. The MIC top color is lighter than the fender flares but when installed it's hard to tell the difference between the two. It goes together very well.

SIZE: The size is perfect. I thought maybe the 4 door was going to be a bit too big and look a little funny. I actually like the looks of the 2 door better in photos but the 4 door pulls it off and looks great! There is plenty of seating for 4 big guys comfortably. The seats are darn comfortable with a good amount of space in the rear to haul. Overall height… it's just a tad shorter than my F150. With the sasquatch package and no roof rack the height to the top of the roof is 75 inches give or take. It fits comfortably through my 7ft garage door. I dont have the roof rack but I would guess it would still fit in a 7ft door without any problems.

[Part 2 Continued in next post]

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[SirBenimen]

DRIVABILITY: Comparing this to my 2016 F150 the Bronco with the sasquatch is pretty dang good! It’s obviously noisier but it's really not that much noisier. I do have the hardtop with the sound deadening. I downloaded a Db app on my phone to measure noise levels and according to my phone the Bronco was only 6 Db louder than my F150 at 50mph. Take that for what it's worth but it's not overly noisy.

This thing is torqy! My wife is used to driving a corolla and it was hard for her to feather the gas when taking off. As a passenger It felt kinda jerky at first. She has since got used to the torq and is fine but there was a small adjustment period for her. I myself enjoy the torque and speed. Makes for a fun ride! It corners and handles nicely. Some body roll but not bad. I haven't experienced any “canoeing” or darting thus far and this thing eats Michigan potholes for breakfast.

The little off road driving I did, I used mud and ruts mode. In this mode I noticed it held the gear for longer and revved up to a higher RPM. I was able to shift with the plus and minus buttons on the automatic shifter in this mode to find different gears. The badlands doesn't have a sport mode and according to a forum member the work around is to put it in Baja mode and then shift into 2H instead of 4H. That did work but it does remove traction control and states its for off road use only. Going down a seasonal logging road at good speed it just eats up the holes, bumps, puddles etc… It's incredibly smooth and controlled. It's pretty amazing really.

One of the issues I had was with the G.O.A.T. mode selector dial. It seemed it was bound up on something like a piece of plastic maybe from the moulding process? I had to turn it pretty hard to get it to free up. It's working normally now, but it took me a minute to figure it out as the dial wasn’t working as it should at first.

I tested out the stay bar disconnect and the trail turn assist on an old logging road. All the features worked great but every once in a while during the trail turn assist I would hear a loud pinging noise. Almost like a spring or something being sprung. It didn't sound normal. I went looking through the manual and apparently it’s considered normal and Ford says it's part of the antilock brakes? I don’t know enough to know what all is going on when that feature is activated but it can be startling if you're not expecting it. It was wet sand where I tested this feature out and it states in the manual it's meant for slick conditions. Maybe that's why I was getting the noise? Maybe it wasn't “slick” enough?

Airflow is good in the back seat. I had this question come up a few times. I have the MIC hardtop with sound deadening but I did feel like the cooling was more than adequate. My wife drove with the salesman in front and myself in the back to fill up with gas. While in the back seat I actually thought the hardtop was letting in a draft so I started feeling around the seams for an air leak. It was actually coming from the front cab vents. The AC was on which was quiet enough I didn't notice it was on. So there is good airflow in the entire cab. Will it keep warm enough in the -20’s we sometimes get in northern Michigan? I’ll let you know!

As far as 0-60 mph, drive mode characteristics, or other drivability questions, I am going to wait until the break in period is over. (1000 miles). I’m almost certain the Bronco is detuned from the factory until the break in period is complete to protect the drivetrain. My mustang was that way and I could feel it once the break in period was complete.


FIT AND FINISH: The overall quality of materials is pretty darn good. The MIC hardtop is easy to take off. The back portion does take 2 people to do but it's actually surprising light. I was able to take off the second row myself but it's not recommended. The top fits together nicely and it's easy to re-install. I had the Bronco out in a steady rain and didn't notice anything that would resemble water leakage. I will say that when washing the Bronco there are a ton of nooks and crannies for water to hide, especially in the MIC top. No leaking but it's a PITA to get the vehicle dry after a wash. Water drips out from the top down the side of the vehicle for a long while. A blower might help but I was trying to use a drying towel and it seemed like a losing battle.

I think the seats are really comfortable and the feel of the MGV seats is nice. I opted for the floor liners and while they are good with good coverage they are more flimsy than say weathertech or husky. I got them for the bronco logos and they snap into place in the front and the rear liner is one piece so that's nice. The rear seats fold down easily. The quality of the hard top case that was supplied is actually really high quality. I dont have the door storage case but I imagine it's the same quality and wouldn’t hesitate to buy them. I do like the looks of the interior and I’m loving the big screen of the high package. It's very responsive compared to my syc3 in my F150. Pretty close to smartphone responsiveness. Audio is ok. A tin can kind of sound but they do offer soundbars as an accessory addon. I do not have the upgraded speakers the lux package has but the sound system is probably the thing I dislike the most but overall it's not a big deal for me. The first time I tried closing the hood it was difficult to do. The spring in the latching mechanism wouldn’t allow the hood to fully seat. I ended up dropping the hood from 3 or 4 feet to get it to latch. I couldn’t even push it shut. I thought maybe it was the bumpers and made adjustments to those but that didn’t do it. I ended up opening and closing the hood several times to work the spring a bit and that seemed to work.
It comes with a prop rod not struts. Not a big deal for me but it might be for some others.

OVERALL: I really love this thing. It's good looking, it's very capable on road and a beast off road. It catches eyes everywhere! People are talking to you at stop lights, approaching you as you are parking asking to look at it. The jeep guys and gals are pretending they don't care as you pass them, but you can tell they are looking out of the corner of their eye trying to catch a look. I know Ford could have done a better job rolling these out but I suspect that the unforeseen issues threw a wrench in their plans and the only option was to delay and delay and delay. I'm a Ford sympathizer and optimist. No one wanted the scenario that we’re in, especially Ford. For crying out loud their factory flooded. They took over the MIC production. I truly believe they are doing everything they can to fulfill customer orders and the hiccups in the rollout will eventually be forgotten and the Bronco will be a hit for years to come. Those willing to wait will be rewarded with an excellent vehicle and if you can't wait and want to buy a jeep or tacoma instead that's fine too. I'll be happy to pull you out on the trail!

I’ll be posting photos and short videos on instagram.

I will try to answer questions the best I can and will post updates on Bronco 6G as they come, good or bad.

If you see me out and about just wave or say hi! I plan to have this thing out on the trails throughout the state of Michigan this summer. Silver lake sandunes, drummond island, etc… Do Bronco owners have a “Bronco wave”? Maybe just number 1 ?

 

[Sergeant Gearhead]

Great review! One question: Is it at all possible to display a tachometer on the display? Just curious.

-SG

 

[604Bronco]

Great post! Thank you for sharing your initial thoughts!

Looking forward to more posts from you as you get to drive it more often. I’d love to learn a bit more about the MIC roof, and how water drains on it. You mentioned it held water pretty good, but one of my biggest concerns is a leaking roof. If you ever get any pictures of the panels off, or some panels to show how it all inter-locks and maybe even how water drains around it, that’d be pretty cool.

Also, can you do me a favour? Can you actually test out the 12V plug in the cargo area? Is it on only when the vehicle is turned on? I suspect it is, but hope it’s not!

Thanks!! Enjoy the awesome ride

 

[hellahella]

Thanks for the follow up!

I'm really convinced now that the order/conversation time is critical.

 

[Wickspick]

I am happy for you, and I am sure most of us would agree that despite the challenges we’ve encountered, it will be worthwhile to be patient. Well done on your review, thanks! Wish you well on the trail!

 

[BroncoRevital]

Great write up and congrats.
Can you tell us more about the engine break in?
Seems a few threads back someone did a 0 to 60 and got a bad time and I’m wondering if this is the reason.

 

[Nickp]

They talked to us a bit about the noise with trail turn assist, it does sound exactly like the ABS system engaging because that’s basically what it does! The commented everyone is a little freaked out about it at first but it’s fine.

 

[frankk]

Encouraging. Keep the stories coming for those of us in the wait cycle!

 

[ColoradoGuy]

Awesome, thanks for sharing. I have a very similar build except I went with 33's and optional wheels and Lux.

Nice to hear that it has a punchy and responsive feel. I just went camping a few days with another family and my buddy let me drive his TRD Pro Taco. I needed to pull onto a road into traffic and he told me to go between some traffic and punch it. Honestly, it made me nervous because it was a but sluggish.

 

[Lilj4425]

You sir are a God among Men.

 

[Cased]

Thanks for the write up , sounds like you are already having fun with it.

One question, how's your initial opinion of those tires .......think you'll run em or replace ?

 

[Carolina Jim]

If there was a race to get a reservation in I had to be close to the top in the country.

Congrats on taking delivery...I'm 4-5 weeks behind you.

While the sour taste of rez night has since been replaced by commodity angst, I still remember it as if it was last night. I'm no expert on the World Wide Web, but I've anecdotally noticed a large number of Early MI reservations. I wonder if y'all benefitted from a much shorter trip down the pipe; I know in NYSE stock trading, tenths of a second are a big deal.

Race Red is indeed hothothot. enjoy that lovely ride to the MAX.

 

[BroncoBear]

Great write up and congrats.
Can you tell us more about the engine break in?
Seems a few threads back someone did a 0 to 60 and got a bad time and I’m wondering if this is the reason.

This is my question as well, if there is an electronic restraint for engine break in that could explain the slower than expected 0-60 from that other post. Good catch!

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