- First Name
- Ryan
- Joined
- Aug 5, 2020
- Threads
- 1
- Messages
- 31
- Reaction score
- 246
- Location
- Prunetucky
- Vehicle(s)
- F150
- Your Bronco Model
- First Edition
- Thread starter
- #1
Edit with full review and thank you mods for cleaning up the thread.
Ok so here's a more in depth review since I have a few moments.
I rode in the Area51 Badlands (4 door) 2.3 MT non Squatch with the top off.
First impressions: The 2 door looks so good in person I thought about changing my order to 2 door. The 4 door doesn't look bad but the 2 door has the iconic look we all want. I have a feeling lifting the 4 door, with a touch of wheel offset will passify most of us. With that being said after riding in one, I would never want to do anything that would diminish the factory ride or tech...I couldn't be more impressed with how it handled and rode.
Interior quality is on par with other Ford models. The weather proof buttons and toggle switches all felt of good quality. The MGV could pass as leather to those less discerning. If Ford didn't call it vinyl and you blindly found yourself sitting in the backseat, nude, sipping a slurpee and eating spicy funyons...you definitely wouldn't stop and think hmmm is this vinyl? It feels much more like a faux leather but not in a cheap way. I personally don't mind the minimalistic dash.
Ride impressions
First of all, if you have watched some of the videos of the ride alongs from KOH, I can tell you the terrain is much more undulating than it looks on TV. For those of you who have actually wheeled before and attempted to take pics or video you know that often times the footage doesn't look as gnar as it was in person. If your one of the rare families with kids who prefer books over phones, rest assured your kiddos will have no problem reading Harry Potter while you hit the whoops at high speed. The Bronco was so controlled and compliant over rough terrain at high speed it left me stunned. I instantly thought to myself, most people would never attempt that because you would never think you could do it safely.
The biggest advantage participating in the ride along was learning just how capable the vehicle is. Moreover at 65mph on rough terrain we weren't even close to maximizing its potential in stock form. It had plenty left. Oh and all that while calmly chatting with buddy in backseat without excessive wind noise with top removed. Speaking of backseat. Buddy is quite a sasquatch himself. Everybit of 6"2/260. He had plenty of legroom sitting behind our driver who was 5'9-5'10 ish.
Switching between drive modes seemed very intuitive. The 2.3 was very capable. I wouldn't think of getting the 2.3 as "settling". I'm sure it will appease 97% of buyers. It never seemed stressed out or overworked, even when climbing the steep deep sand dunes. Yes, I did notice a rattle coming from the rear. I can't testify to the origin of the rattle but seeing how we were topless that leaves only a few other options. During the steep rocky decent our driver activated the hill decent mode. You can literally tell the vehicle what mph to maintain. The top of the decent reminded me a being at the top of a roller coaster before the drop. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't nervous (I'm not a good passenger). Again, watch the videos but they don't do it justice. After engaging hill decent he took his foot off the gas pedal (yes MT) and we went down this steep decent with no drama or slippage. It was pretty surreal. For all you "drivers" out there who think that the electronics take the fun out of it, you certainly have a point. I look at it a bit differently. Of course you don't have to use these features but to those less experienced its like a set of training wheels which helps people learn the hobby without damaging their vehicle or injuring themselves.
After finishing the decent we did a short crawling course. We took another sip of the potion and hit the three wheel motion. With one wheel high on the sky he activated the sway bar disconnect under load. Again, very impressive. No drama, no weird noises...just dropped like butter putting all four wheel back on the desert floor.
Here's where you MT guys might get a little frustrated....our driver then started talking about how the Auto trans Bronco in front of us had to come to a complete stop after exiting the rock crawl section to disengage crawl mode? 4 wheel lo? Not sure, but he made a point to show us how the MT didn't need to stop in order to go back into normal drive mode or 4whee hi? Or Baja? Shit, sorry I just can't remember. I'm not going to pretend to know or remember. So yeah we drove past the Auto Bronco that had been in front of us the whole time while they disengaged something. Returning to Basecamp we again did some high-speed desert Baja shit. Made me giggle like a little kid. Good stuff. Being a Californian, this also when I realized this vehicle will absolutely eliminate potholes from my vocabulary. I can't imagine how the onroad experience wouldn't be anything but a magic carpet ride.
I went to KOH unsure if I was going to go through with my purchase of my FE. I left with a boner.
For reference, so I don't sound too much like a fanboy with wet Bronco panties. I have been a car enthusiast for over 25 years. I've owned over 30 different vehicles (most purchased new) which includes every thing from Range Rover, Silverado, Wrangler TJ, (4) F150's, Mercedes, Honda SUV's ( for wifey) just to name a few. I've have some but mininal racing experience. Have received over 100 hours of professional driving instruction and seat time. I drive for a living (11 hours a day in a car) and wheel on the weekends. My current stable includes new F150, TJ and Harley Roadglide.
I can't wait to see some head to head comparisons by the big guys like TFL. I can't imagine a scenario when anyone would puts the Wrangler ahead of the Bronco unless they are into some shady backdoor sponsorship shit with Jeep.
My .02
Original post (old):
I was fortunate enough to get a ride in one. My review would largely echo the others on this board. Insanely capable from factory.
High speed desert run was draw dropping. Almost on a magical level. Our driver hit 65 mph on relatively rough terrain. I later took my new f150 over the same terrain and couldn't maintain 15mph without losing fillings.
GOAT modes were flawless. Sway bar disconnect was butter.
Something I haven't heard other people mention...I was in the Area51 badlands with top removed. At 65mph (windows up) on our desert run, The cabin was very quiet and conversation was easy.
I'm open for questions but the other reviews really sum up most of my thoughts. I left the experience with zero doubt I'll be happy with my FE.
Ok so here's a more in depth review since I have a few moments.
I rode in the Area51 Badlands (4 door) 2.3 MT non Squatch with the top off.
First impressions: The 2 door looks so good in person I thought about changing my order to 2 door. The 4 door doesn't look bad but the 2 door has the iconic look we all want. I have a feeling lifting the 4 door, with a touch of wheel offset will passify most of us. With that being said after riding in one, I would never want to do anything that would diminish the factory ride or tech...I couldn't be more impressed with how it handled and rode.
Interior quality is on par with other Ford models. The weather proof buttons and toggle switches all felt of good quality. The MGV could pass as leather to those less discerning. If Ford didn't call it vinyl and you blindly found yourself sitting in the backseat, nude, sipping a slurpee and eating spicy funyons...you definitely wouldn't stop and think hmmm is this vinyl? It feels much more like a faux leather but not in a cheap way. I personally don't mind the minimalistic dash.
Ride impressions
First of all, if you have watched some of the videos of the ride alongs from KOH, I can tell you the terrain is much more undulating than it looks on TV. For those of you who have actually wheeled before and attempted to take pics or video you know that often times the footage doesn't look as gnar as it was in person. If your one of the rare families with kids who prefer books over phones, rest assured your kiddos will have no problem reading Harry Potter while you hit the whoops at high speed. The Bronco was so controlled and compliant over rough terrain at high speed it left me stunned. I instantly thought to myself, most people would never attempt that because you would never think you could do it safely.
The biggest advantage participating in the ride along was learning just how capable the vehicle is. Moreover at 65mph on rough terrain we weren't even close to maximizing its potential in stock form. It had plenty left. Oh and all that while calmly chatting with buddy in backseat without excessive wind noise with top removed. Speaking of backseat. Buddy is quite a sasquatch himself. Everybit of 6"2/260. He had plenty of legroom sitting behind our driver who was 5'9-5'10 ish.
Switching between drive modes seemed very intuitive. The 2.3 was very capable. I wouldn't think of getting the 2.3 as "settling". I'm sure it will appease 97% of buyers. It never seemed stressed out or overworked, even when climbing the steep deep sand dunes. Yes, I did notice a rattle coming from the rear. I can't testify to the origin of the rattle but seeing how we were topless that leaves only a few other options. During the steep rocky decent our driver activated the hill decent mode. You can literally tell the vehicle what mph to maintain. The top of the decent reminded me a being at the top of a roller coaster before the drop. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't nervous (I'm not a good passenger). Again, watch the videos but they don't do it justice. After engaging hill decent he took his foot off the gas pedal (yes MT) and we went down this steep decent with no drama or slippage. It was pretty surreal. For all you "drivers" out there who think that the electronics take the fun out of it, you certainly have a point. I look at it a bit differently. Of course you don't have to use these features but to those less experienced its like a set of training wheels which helps people learn the hobby without damaging their vehicle or injuring themselves.
After finishing the decent we did a short crawling course. We took another sip of the potion and hit the three wheel motion. With one wheel high on the sky he activated the sway bar disconnect under load. Again, very impressive. No drama, no weird noises...just dropped like butter putting all four wheel back on the desert floor.
Here's where you MT guys might get a little frustrated....our driver then started talking about how the Auto trans Bronco in front of us had to come to a complete stop after exiting the rock crawl section to disengage crawl mode? 4 wheel lo? Not sure, but he made a point to show us how the MT didn't need to stop in order to go back into normal drive mode or 4whee hi? Or Baja? Shit, sorry I just can't remember. I'm not going to pretend to know or remember. So yeah we drove past the Auto Bronco that had been in front of us the whole time while they disengaged something. Returning to Basecamp we again did some high-speed desert Baja shit. Made me giggle like a little kid. Good stuff. Being a Californian, this also when I realized this vehicle will absolutely eliminate potholes from my vocabulary. I can't imagine how the onroad experience wouldn't be anything but a magic carpet ride.
I went to KOH unsure if I was going to go through with my purchase of my FE. I left with a boner.
For reference, so I don't sound too much like a fanboy with wet Bronco panties. I have been a car enthusiast for over 25 years. I've owned over 30 different vehicles (most purchased new) which includes every thing from Range Rover, Silverado, Wrangler TJ, (4) F150's, Mercedes, Honda SUV's ( for wifey) just to name a few. I've have some but mininal racing experience. Have received over 100 hours of professional driving instruction and seat time. I drive for a living (11 hours a day in a car) and wheel on the weekends. My current stable includes new F150, TJ and Harley Roadglide.
I can't wait to see some head to head comparisons by the big guys like TFL. I can't imagine a scenario when anyone would puts the Wrangler ahead of the Bronco unless they are into some shady backdoor sponsorship shit with Jeep.
My .02
Original post (old):
I was fortunate enough to get a ride in one. My review would largely echo the others on this board. Insanely capable from factory.
High speed desert run was draw dropping. Almost on a magical level. Our driver hit 65 mph on relatively rough terrain. I later took my new f150 over the same terrain and couldn't maintain 15mph without losing fillings.
GOAT modes were flawless. Sway bar disconnect was butter.
Something I haven't heard other people mention...I was in the Area51 badlands with top removed. At 65mph (windows up) on our desert run, The cabin was very quiet and conversation was easy.
I'm open for questions but the other reviews really sum up most of my thoughts. I left the experience with zero doubt I'll be happy with my FE.
I rode in the MT which had plenty of pep. No problem on sandy dune climb. Crawler gear was neat. The whole experience of switching GOAT modes and into crawler gear was seemless. Kudos to Ford.
I've owned manuals in the past. Its hard to quantify the driving experience without actually driving. Admittedly we were with a "professional" driver but based on my observations I don't think anyone who wants a manual will be disappointed. My driver said he was was buying one for himself....he appeared to be having fun which says something considering all he did all day was repeat the same loop catering to all us drunkards.
Sponsored
Last edited:
