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Moab Ride Along in Bronco First Edition - My Thoughts

KrazeeEyezKilla

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Had the privilege of doing my ride along with Brad Lovell this morning in a Rapid Red FE. Given his 4+ year history with the Bronco team during development it was really special to hear his thoughts about the vehicle during our ride. No videos or photos with this one, just the facts! :)
  1. Interior - I have a Lightning Blue FE on order with the black interior. But after seeing the Navy Pier in person...I'd be totally fine with it and kind of like it and might change my order so that I can get the car sooner. It is much more subtle and darker in person. The gray is not as light as it appears in most photos and the navy is fairly muted (more of a gray blue), so there really isn't a lot of contrast between the two colors - for the better. In a lot of the photos that have been posted by Bronco Nation and others the roof is off, so with direct sunlight perhaps there is more contrast? Our FE had the roof on but even with the doors open and the sun shining, the coloring was muted and darker than one would think. Hopefully that coloring makes it over to production.
  2. Exterior color - I'm not going to get it but I must say the Rapid Red was pretty nice! They had a few Area 51 Broncos out and it's still a chameleon color - one minute I love it, the next I'm not sure. No Cactus Gray, which I really wanted to see in person. One of the reps said that CG did in fact change its color formulation since the launch last year, which I hadn't heard before or maybe just missed. The ABR car on display was Velocity Blue so if I squinted enough I could imagine a deeper version of that for the Lightning Blue I'm getting...I think. (The painted gas cans really didn't help other than to show which colors will be dust magnets.)
  3. Highway ride - much smoother and quieter than I thought it would be. The MIC roof was making noise. But conversation was easy and nothing about the ride felt like it would be exhausting (ie, not a Wrangler.) I drove my Grand Cherokee down for the trip and the tire noise on that felt louder to my ears than in the Bronco.
  4. Off road - this is where the vehicle shines. As Brad explained, it was designed to make it easy for the every day driver to use (me) while still providing control for the professionals and enthusiasts. And Brad knows how to drive this thing and pushed it HARD. He showed off every mode, every driving feature. Going 40-60 on the flat trail was super smooth. Climbs over rocks easily, swims through sand. A comfortable off-road drive but with amazing capability. (Helps to have someone like Brad driving, obviously!) But a 10 out of 10 off-road.
  5. The trail turn assist has to be the coolest feature - literally spinning in circles without moving your positioning. So much fun.
  6. Roof noise and rattling - Brad felt pretty confident that the noise was due to the vehicle being pre-production and that those issues would be hammered out. Reading through the lines...I think all the supplier issues with roofs and whatnot are part of the problem. Hopefully that gets worked out in time. If not I can see a lot of roofs getting exchanged over the next year.
  7. Technology - the big touchscreen was very responsive. All the camera angles available are awesome, the front camera really helps when going up hills and over terrain where it's hard to see. The hood of the roof does impede visibility a bit, but YMMV based on your height (I'm 5'10".)
  8. Odds & ends - window controls on the center consoles will take some getting used to, but with the removable doors I understand the reasoning. Seats felt comfortable, leg room was solid. Didn't turn on the sound system. In my excitement I forgot to check out the trunk storage, size, utility...oh well. I didn't really pay attention to the cup holders. ;)
  9. "Everyday driving" - as this vehicle will be 98% on road for me a big question was how I thought it would handle that use case - daily driving, getting in/out of a Sasquatched vehicle with the family, etc. At 5' 10' I didn't have much trouble getting in and out, nor did my 12 year old son. With ski boots on in the winter...I could see the passengers having to be a little careful, you can't just step in. Not sure if my wife will enjoy driving it all the time - I can see the sight line over the hood possibly being an issue. But overall it felt very "easy" - comfortable, smooth ride, not too truck-like.
  10. After the ride my son said we are definitely getting the Bronco, so there's that. :)
I know it's easy to get caught up in the moment on a ride like this, so I'll let this digest a bit. But I'm definitely impressed with the Bronco! As an off-roader it's truly amazing. As a daily driver it seems like it would be pretty fun also. Hope this helps!
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Seacat

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Great info, thanks.
 

adamruiz2001

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Great info, I am loving that more and more are getting to see and touch the Bronco. It's great info, since everyone has a different perspective, and all have been positive. I get my first look tomorrow, can't wait, crazy excited!!!
 

Cappy

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Had the privilege of doing my ride along with Brad Lovell this morning in a Rapid Red FE. Given his 4+ year history with the Bronco team during development it was really special to hear his thoughts about the vehicle during our ride. No videos or photos with this one, just the facts! :)
  1. Interior - I have a Lightning Blue FE on order with the black interior. But after seeing the Navy Pier in person...I'd be totally fine with it and kind of like it and might change my order so that I can get the car sooner. It is much more subtle and darker in person. The gray is not as light as it appears in most photos and the navy is fairly muted (more of a gray blue), so there really isn't a lot of contrast between the two colors - for the better. In a lot of the photos that have been posted by Bronco Nation and others the roof is off, so with direct sunlight perhaps there is more contrast? Our FE had the roof on but even with the doors open and the sun shining, the coloring was muted and darker than one would think. Hopefully that coloring makes it over to production.
  2. Exterior color - I'm not going to get it but I must say the Rapid Red was pretty nice! They had a few Area 51 Broncos out and it's still a chameleon color - one minute I love it, the next I'm not sure. No Cactus Gray, which I really wanted to see in person. One of the reps said that CG did in fact change its color formulation since the launch last year, which I hadn't heard before or maybe just missed. The ABR car on display was Velocity Blue so if I squinted enough I could imagine a deeper version of that for the Lightning Blue I'm getting...I think. (The painted gas cans really didn't help other than to show which colors will be dust magnets.)
  3. Highway ride - much smoother and quieter than I thought it would be. The MIC roof was making noise. But conversation was easy and nothing about the ride felt like it would be exhausting (ie, not a Wrangler.) I drove my Grand Cherokee down for the trip and the tire noise on that felt louder to my ears than in the Bronco.
  4. Off road - this is where the vehicle shines. As Brad explained, it was designed to make it easy for the every day driver to use (me) while still providing control for the professionals and enthusiasts. And Brad knows how to drive this thing and pushed it HARD. He showed off every mode, every driving feature. Going 40-60 on the flat trail was super smooth. Climbs over rocks easily, swims through sand. A comfortable off-road drive but with amazing capability. (Helps to have someone like Brad driving, obviously!) But a 10 out of 10 off-road.
  5. The trail turn assist has to be the coolest feature - literally spinning in circles without moving your positioning. So much fun.
  6. Roof noise and rattling - Brad felt pretty confident that the noise was due to the vehicle being pre-production and that those issues would be hammered out. Reading through the lines...I think all the supplier issues with roofs and whatnot are part of the problem. Hopefully that gets worked out in time. If not I can see a lot of roofs getting exchanged over the next year.
  7. Technology - the big touchscreen was very responsive. All the camera angles available are awesome, the front camera really helps when going up hills and over terrain where it's hard to see. The hood of the roof does impede visibility a bit, but YMMV based on your height (I'm 5'10".)
  8. Odds & ends - window controls on the center consoles will take some getting used to, but with the removable doors I understand the reasoning. Seats felt comfortable, leg room was solid. Didn't turn on the sound system. In my excitement I forgot to check out the trunk storage, size, utility...oh well. I didn't really pay attention to the cup holders. ;)
  9. "Everyday driving" - as this vehicle will be 98% on road for me a big question was how I thought it would handle that use case - daily driving, getting in/out of a Sasquatched vehicle with the family, etc. At 5' 10' I didn't have much trouble getting in and out, nor did my 12 year old son. With ski boots on in the winter...I could see the passengers having to be a little careful, you can't just step in. Not sure if my wife will enjoy driving it all the time - I can see the sight line over the hood possibly being an issue. But overall it felt very "easy" - comfortable, smooth ride, not too truck-like.
  10. After the ride my son said we are definitely getting the Bronco, so there's that. :)
I know it's easy to get caught up in the moment on a ride like this, so I'll let this digest a bit. But I'm definitely impressed with the Bronco! As an off-roader it's truly amazing. As a daily driver it seems like it would be pretty fun also. Hope this helps!
Great write up, thanks for sharing. :)
 

TheSSBoz

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Nice write up.... I went out in the A51 2 Door FE with Shelby Hall yesterday. I said give it hell and she really got after it which was such a bonus as I'm glad we were not doing a leisure cruise....

It was a great ride and I agree with everything you listed above.

As far as your comment about not turning on the BO sound system....I did crank the radio a bit on the highway and its ok...needed some more bass but I didn't mess with that stuff other than crank the volume....

It definitely felt built to take a beating in factory form.
 

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  1. Odds & ends - window controls on the center consoles will take some getting used to, but with the removable doors I understand the reasoning. Seats felt comfortable, leg room was solid.
This still makes no sense to me. The doors coming off isn't a reason to put the window switches on the console. You don't need the switches when the doors are off! Putting them on the console is just clutter.

Yet they put the lock switches on the doors. That way when the doors are off, you no longer have a button to lock your tailgate.

So you take the doors off, and now have a useless switch for windows you don't have, but lose the switch for the tailgate that you DO still have.

Jeep does the same thing and I've never been able to figure it out.

Maybe just maybe you want to remove only the front doors and still roll the rear windows down? Not sure why to would ever do that though.
 

ZackDanger

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This still makes no sense to me. The doors coming off isn't a reason to put the window switches on the console. You don't need the switches when the doors are off! Putting them on the console is just clutter.

Yet they put the lock switches on the doors. That way when the doors are off, you no longer have a button to lock your tailgate.

So you take the doors off, and now have a useless switch for windows you don't have, but lose the switch for the tailgate that you DO still have.

Jeep does the same thing and I've never been able to figure it out.

Maybe just maybe you want to remove only the front doors and still roll the rear windows down? Not sure why to would ever do that though.
4-door, driving around with the front doors off... you still have control of the rear windows. (nice when you want open air but then start getting buffeting or whatever.

Plenty of time you'd want to take just the front doors off. Why go through the trouble of taking the back doors off if there's no one back there? Maybe you have kids back there and want to keep the doors on.

Regarding the lock switch, you still have the fob.
 

TheWoo

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Maybe just maybe you want to remove only the front doors and still roll the rear windows down? Not sure why to would ever do that though.
Totally agree with the locks - might as well have it all in the center console.

However, to your quote above about only taking the front doors off, happens all the time with kids, animals, even occasionally cargo. Not my favorite way to roll around town, but times when it's very practical in the rear, party up front. ;)
 

Daktari

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I guess anybody could open your rear if the lock switch was somewhere in the car, not on the now missing doors.
 

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......but times when it's very practical in the rear, party up front. ;)
The reverse mullet! Apparently its hip these days for ladies and such.
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Nice! How did you find the cabin space compared to your grand cherokee? More snug? I presume maybe a slightly narrower, but more upright/taller feel?
 

kimmnen

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Totally agree with the locks - might as well have it all in the center console.

However, to your quote above about only taking the front doors off, happens all the time with kids, animals, even occasionally cargo. Not my favorite way to roll around town, but times when it's very practical in the rear, party up front. ;)
There usually isn't a worry about locking doors if it auto locks as you drive. Locks on door may be to avoid possible emergency escape/safety issue. For day to day I would expect to get used to having window and mirror switches in the same place. Doors off you still have mirror adjustment available and would eventually be "trained" to go to the console location. I have window switches on the console and no problem until I am in another vehicle and can't find the console switches. So, I am pre- trained and ready for Bronco.
 
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KrazeeEyezKilla

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This still makes no sense to me. The doors coming off isn't a reason to put the window switches on the console. You don't need the switches when the doors are off! Putting them on the console is just clutter.
...
Maybe just maybe you want to remove only the front doors and still roll the rear windows down? Not sure why to would ever do that though.
According to Brad some of the suspected reasoning was the scenario where you have front doors off only, so you still have control of the rear. Also mentioned more wiring to have to deal with for the connection pin if the controls were on the door, more things to break. I don't know the real story. I just know that my brain will need to unwind years of habit.

WOW.

From green to grey? From grey to green?
He thought it got more "cementy." He also said he hadn't seen it in person so... 🤷‍♂️

Nice! How did you find the cabin space compared to your grand cherokee? More snug? I presume maybe a slightly narrower, but more upright/taller feel?
I thought the front felt a little roomier than my GC. More upright for sure. Possibly a little tougher to see over the hood, but not driving it myself it's hard to say for sure. I didn't really adjust the front seats or pay as much attention to the rear seats as I should have. I really wish I went in prepared with a list of things I wanted to look closely at, but just got caught up in the moment.
 

ChrisD

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This is the Navy Pier in the 2 door I rode in. I thought it looked pretty okay when matched with the rest of the interior...

I agree with every one of your points. BTW, there was no buffeting with the front panels off, it was just fine, we didn't get dusted out, and although there was some wind noise, it was really pleasant. It (the seating) was also comfortable and I didn't feel like it was going to tire me out like my Wrangler used to.

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