More Initial Impressions with slightly different perspective

[Old Guy]

As more information becomes available and people’s personal experiences are shared, I’m considering the Gen3 Raptor more and more.

I don’t think I could deal with such a cheap feel, rattling parts, and overall underwhelming fit and finish.

After I see and experience it in person, if the interior feels too cheap, I may end up getting the new Raptor and hold out until (if?) the Bronco feels a bit higher quality.

This is extremely disappointing

Real question, as I have never even sat in a Raptor. The interior is pretty upscale? I just assumed it was F150 like?

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[ScrunchFace]

Real question, as I have never even sat in a Raptor. The interior is pretty upscale? I just assumed it was F150 like?

I can't provide any real evidence or experience here, but based on pictures and reviews - the Raptor seems to be of better quality and fit and finish. Not to mention more space, ventilated seats and actual? leather etc

If anyone has first hand experience with both, please chime in. I think this is a real consideration for many of us.

 

[Daktari]

I'd wait with getting extremely disappointed until I see it myself, some random guy's opinion on the internet is hardly worth getting all wound up about. People have different expectations and opinions about everything, see for yourself.
Personally I love the looks of the dash, I'd prefer anything but black for the interior, but I'll deal with that. Most people that sat in them so far were excited and I don't expect $60k fancy car interiors on a utility vehicle I can hose out. As long as stuff fits together nicely and is rugged to take outdoor abuse and sit in the sun with no roof I'm happy. Others might expect wood panels and leather trim at that price, but they're looking at the wrong car, the money goes to the off road tech in these things, not some fancy facade. Just my 2ct.
Go and see it in person if you can, then decide.

 

[NCOBX]

Both the Defender and the squatched Badland's have a ground clearance of 11.5 inches in the four door. Defender has a higher departure angle of 40 degrees compared to the Bronco's 37 degrees. Bronco best the Defender in approach angle of 43.2 degrees vs 38. Defender bests the Bronco in wading depth with 35 inches vs 33.5 inches and breakover angle of 28 degrees vs 26.3. Bronco does have bigger tires and of course the solid rear axle. So, your point about angles isn't really valid but your points regarding tires and axles are. I'd also give a nod to the Bronco's trail turn assists.

Of course, on both vehicles, that assumes that everything is working as it should. I'd be more inclined to trust the Bronco in the most extreme conditions but let's not get carried away. The Defender has its place too and these things have not been tested head to head as far as I know.

RR uses the approach and departure with the suspension lifted to max, as stock the Bronco absolutely destroys the unibody RR. See attached pictures.

Also notice the bumpers, I can easily increase the approach and departure on the Bronco with taller tires, OR a different bumpers, Or a lift. The RR would require the front fender to be chopped severely, and then the exo-skeleton is likely in the way.

You can build a Bronco just like a Jeep for relatively cheap, 37”s-40”s are easily possible. Good luck on the crossover, at the end of the day it’s still a hyped up minivan.

 

[Old Guy]

I can't provide any real evidence or experience here, but based on pictures and reviews - the Raptor seems to be of better quality and fit and finish. Not to mention more space, ventilated seats and actual? leather etc

If anyone has first hand experience with both, please chime in. I think this is a real consideration for many of us.

No idea, looked at the pictures, looked like any other Ford interior to me. Likely I suffer from low expectations and no desire for that nice an interior. My wife loves her Lexus, and its pretty darn nice inside, but I don't care for it, and prefer my Jeeps plastic stuff. Maybe I just suffer from lack of confidence and rugged interiors make me feel more manly!

 

[FishKzor]

Apologize if it came up in any previous page: Anyone know if the corn kernel in the cup holder comes standard? Or is it part of the High Package, which unfortunately isn't available on my Black Diamond?

 

[Old Guy]

Apologize if it came up in any previous page: Anyone know if the corn kernel in the cup holder comes standard? Or is it part of the High Package, which unfortunately isn't available on my Black Diamond?

High package. It is the Drive in ready, built in popcorn popper package.

 

[BenB007]

RR uses the approach and departure with the suspension lifted to max, as stock the Bronco absolutely destroys the unibody RR.

Good luck on the crossover, at the end of the day it’s still a hyped up minivan.

The numbers came from Squatched Badlands with 35's vs 2021 Defender which has stock air suspension. I didn't make them up. So, actually the Defender is stock and the Badland's is non-stock with a lift from the Sasquatch package and 35 inch tires (neither which is stock) and that's what the number are.

 

[RedHotFuzz]

Once you spec out parts and labor, Badlands has a very real business case for being so expensive over base.

True, but...if you're ordering it specced like that from the factory, should labor costs really be a factor? On paper from a pure cost/value perspective, not really. They're not stripping components from an already-assembled Bronco and installing the upgraded components. They're simply building with the upgraded components to begin with. There is no additional labor cost on their end.

If you're comparing the upgrade factory price to what you'd pay to do the same thing aftermarket (parts + labor), you're getting a good deal, but if you consider you're simply paying to have your Bronco built with better parts to begin with, it's not such a great value.

Bottom line I suppose it's a sorta-win/win for both the customer and Ford. You're getting upgrades that would cost you more in the aftermarket (because: labor costs), Ford is boosting its profit margin by charging you a premium for upgraded parts pre-assembly; upgraded parts they are getting at bulk-order prices, at no increased labor cost to them.

 

[Headsong]

Hey Amy! I don't know what will be there! I'm hoping for a Big Bend Velocity Blue 4DR, which is what I ordered through Granger!! I'm scheduled at the Villa Park event on April 24th!! Sal

Only two weeks we see them live!

 

[RedHotFuzz]

Good luck on the crossover, at the end of the day it’s still a hyped up minivan.

My friend has the new Defender 110 (his "lifelong dream vehicle"), for which he paid a premium and had to have shipped from the other end of the country. Nice ride to be sure. But I think the term "Mall Crawler" that you hear often on this forum most certainly applies to the Defender. Not because it isn't offroad-capable (it certainly is), but because you're right about the bodywork not being offroad-friendly (Dealer: "Oh, you hit a rock and need a new front fascia? How many months would you like to finance that?") and because these will almost certainly be nearly-exclusive city cruisers for big-moneyed folks looking to impress their peers. Just like pretty much every current Land Rover on the market.

For me, the Defender is too expensive, the closest dealership is 45 minutes away, Land Rovers are notoriously unreliable, and the roof doesn't come off. Not a legitimate competitor.

 

[Rick Astley]

True, but...if you're ordering it specced like that from the factory, should labor costs really be a factor? On paper from a pure cost/value perspective, not really. They're not stripping components from an already-assembled Bronco and installing the upgraded components. They're simply building with the upgraded components to begin with. There is no additional labor cost on their end.

If you're comparing the upgrade factory price to what you'd pay to do the same thing aftermarket (parts + labor), you're getting a good deal, but if you consider you're simply paying to have your Bronco built with better parts to begin with, it's not such a great value.

Bottom line I suppose it's a sorta-win/win for both the customer and Ford. You're getting upgrades that would cost you more in the aftermarket (because: labor costs), Ford is boosting its profit margin by charging you a premium for upgraded parts pre-assembly; upgraded parts they are getting at bulk-order prices, at no increased labor cost to them.

The factors are simple: what I as an individual will end up paying for the vehicle specced out the way I want it, via factory or aftermarket components and costs to put the vehicle in operation.

Buy the car new: Cost = price I pay for the car

Buy a car and upgrade it to my specifications: Price of car + parts + labor


Unless there's some system where I can negotiate labor rates to build my single unit off the assembly line, the argument is for the labor costs I can control. They have an economies of scale in manufacturing that dwarfs the real-world application of taking any aspect of their labor costs into consideration. Only MY labor costs.

 

[NCOBX]

The numbers came from Squatched Badlands with 35's vs 2021 Defender which has stock air suspension. I didn't make them up. So, actually the Defender is stock and the Badland's is non-stock with a lift from the Sasquatch package and 35 inch tires (neither which is stock) and that's what the number are.

I didn’t say you did make them up, I’m just pointing out how ludicrous RRs numbers are and why they do not reflect real world capability.

Also by definition of “stock” anything that leaves factory is stock. I think you mean base. But with that said I will take the base Bronco over Defender every day if the week.

 

[BennyBronco69]

Can't wait to see them Tuesday.

If the interior materials end up feeling cheap it's going to be hard for me not to walk away. If they're not durable imagine the rattling/noises you'll have after a few off road adventures.

 

[AZshot]

Options will kill you. Expensive markup is the sales tactic of choice for decades. Options will break. I usually buy pretty plain vehicles, and drive them for a minimum of 200,000 miles or 10 years. You can just about double the price of a vehicle if you go with all the top packages. Do you get double the enjoyment for $50,000 that another gets for $32,000? Up to you.

I was looking at trading my 20 year old F-150 for a new Toyota Tacoma quad cab. Trying to get one with just the barest of options during covid, about $31,000 was a cheap as a dealer would "deal". None would budge off MSRP. I would suffer with 2WD.

Then I discovered the Bronco. Saw the $28,000 price. Got interested fast, 4WD for less than the Toyota. Now I've had a 4runner, 90s model. High quality interior, but very plane and utilitarian even then. Today, Toyotas are about the same.

So I'm getting a very exiting (worth a few grand), 4WD (couple more) with a lot of standard options, in a color I want. And I had to get a couple options, locking differential, modular hard top. That's it! $39,000. It's still a truck, it's still a tad too expensive, but I will keep it a long time.

If I wanted a $50K comfort vehicle I would not be buying a Bronco. If I wanted fancy leather interior, pebbled plastics, premium sound, and electronics cameras rivaling the Mars Perseverance.

One of the other - Grand Touring, 4WD offroad truck. Can't have both. But you can pay too much and try to get there. Like what we said about the old dual purpose motorcycles of the 70s. They could do neither dirt or street very well.

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