More Initial Impressions with slightly different perspective

[KANE COUNTY ILLINOIS]

Only two weeks we see them live!

I know, right!!

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[Wolfeman]

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.

My 2019 Raptor looks like any other F150 inside. Other than the stitched embroidery that says Raptor on the seat, I'd imagine it's of the same quality as every single other F150 on the road.

 

[Deleted member 9326]

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.

Maybe this one?
https://www.caranddriver.com/land-rover/defender-80

 

[rmc523]

I'm with you there. I didn't get the impression that anything felt cheap yesterday, in that it wasn't durable. In fairness I was a little pumped about the overall impression when I was sitting in them and didn't dig in as much as I could have to the materials. Saw nothing cheap though inside. Not fancy though.

100% with this....


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After reading the comments, I'll give some of my feedback after seeing/being in the interior in person today. I could've sat there all day going around the vehicle with a fine tooth comb, but obviously couldn't do that, and I was definitely excited to be there seeing it in person, but here are some thoughts......

Within the comments, there seemed to be a back and forth on what's "cheap" and what's "not", and what's quality and what's not.

I think it's important to make a distinction between "high quality plastic" from "low-quality tupperwear garbage plastic", as well as something soft-touch (which can give the illusion of "nicer") vs. a textured hard plastic. Something can be a high quality plastic, but be hard textured. On the flip side, it can be low quality and soft touch. And of course there's the middle grounds of high quality/soft touch or low quality hard textured.

The interior is certainly not a Rolls Royce, but it's not a Playskool car either. It didn't feature soft-touch plastics all over that many cars have nowadays. The dash top had what I'll call a rubberized coating - it wasn't "squishy" soft touch, and was solid, but there was a slight rubberized quality to it that kept it from being completely rock hard. Beyond that, the only "squishy" soft-touch areas I noticed were the main "touch points" - your center console cover, steering wheel, door arm rest, and the colored pad on the top of the doors near the handle. Everything else was textured hard plastic.

So if "squishy" soft touch is what you're looking for, you'll likely be disappointed. BUT with that said, though it was pre-production, and despite being hard/textured, the plastics seemed of a high quality to me. As stated above, there can be good quality with hard textured. Fit and finish also seemed good to me, which is another aspect of quality that people seem to be concerned with.

As others have said, the materials chosen were done so for durability and ease-of-cleaning.

I sat in an OBX with Lux today, which is representative of what my Wildtrak will be like aside from the color. I did find myself thinking it'd be nice to have some "fancier" materials (see below) for the pricepoint, but I wasn't concerned about the quality of materials, nor do I see myself changing anything order wise.

I totally understand Bronco's intended purpose and whatnot, and why the materials were chosen. But for the pricepoint at the upper end, I think it would be nice for them to have an interior upgrade OPTION for those that may want it. Something like this would more appropriately be called the LUX package (with current lux better being Tech Package). Mustang had a package like this called "premium plus" which added a nicer dash material (as well as some console areas and door inserts) with colored stitching and an aluminum dash panel. If they did that, then customers that want the "fancier" materials could upgrade to them, while the ones that don't need it could skip that. I won't at all be surprised if/when we see that down the road.

So the summary is - materials and fit-and-finish seemed of good quality and well put together, even if they aren't "fancy" soft touch all over.

I don't know if I've helped much lol. At the end of the day, if you can make it to one of these events, go check it out for yourself. And/or keep in touch with your dealer for if/when they'll get a demo unit in.

 

[ScrunchFace]

100% with this....


----


After reading the comments, I'll give some of my feedback after seeing/being in the interior in person today. I could've sat there all day going around the vehicle with a fine tooth comb, but obviously couldn't do that, and I was definitely excited to be there seeing it in person, but here are some thoughts......

Within the comments, there seemed to be a back and forth on what's "cheap" and what's "not", and what's quality and what's not.

I think it's important to make a distinction between "high quality plastic" from "low-quality tupperwear garbage plastic", as well as something soft-touch (which can give the illusion of "nicer") vs. a textured hard plastic. Something can be a high quality plastic, but be hard textured. On the flip side, it can be low quality and soft touch. And of course there's the middle grounds of high quality/soft touch or low quality hard textured.

The interior is certainly not a Rolls Royce, but it's not a Playskool car either. It didn't feature soft-touch plastics all over that many cars have nowadays. The dash top had what I'll call a rubberized coating - it wasn't "squishy" soft touch, and was solid, but there was a slight rubberized quality to it that kept it from being completely rock hard. Beyond that, the only "squishy" soft-touch areas I noticed were the main "touch points" - your center console cover, steering wheel, door arm rest, and the colored pad on the top of the doors near the handle. Everything else was textured hard plastic.

So if "squishy" soft touch is what you're looking for, you'll likely be disappointed. BUT with that said, though it was pre-production, and despite being hard/textured, the plastics seemed of a high quality to me. As stated above, there can be good quality with hard textured. Fit and finish also seemed good to me, which is another aspect of quality that people seem to be concerned with.

As others have said, the materials chosen were done so for durability and ease-of-cleaning.

I sat in an OBX with Lux today, which is representative of what my Wildtrak will be like aside from the color. I did find myself thinking it'd be nice to have some "fancier" materials (see below) for the pricepoint, but I wasn't concerned about the quality of materials, nor do I see myself changing anything order wise.

I totally understand Bronco's intended purpose and whatnot, and why the materials were chosen. But for the pricepoint at the upper end, I think it would be nice for them to have an interior upgrade OPTION for those that may want it. Something like this would more appropriately be called the LUX package (with current lux better being Tech Package). Mustang had a package like this called "premium plus" which added a nicer dash material (as well as some console areas and door inserts) with colored stitching and an aluminum dash panel. If they did that, then customers that want the "fancier" materials could upgrade to them, while the ones that don't need it could skip that. I won't at all be surprised if/when we see that down the road.

So the summary is - materials and fit-and-finish seemed of good quality and well put together, even if they aren't "fancy" soft touch all over.

I don't know if I've helped much lol. At the end of the day, if you can make it to one of these events, go check it out for yourself. And/or keep in touch with your dealer for if/when they'll get a demo unit in.

Thanks for your input on the interior, it is much appreciated.

I'm looking forward to seeing the vehicle in person and will report back my impressions as well

 

[RedHotFuzz]

Maybe this one?
https://www.caranddriver.com/land-rover/defender-80

That solves only 1 of the 4 issues I have with the Defender.

 

[indio22]

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.

"... and the roof doesn't come off." For me that's the ball game. Defender is no longer an option after losing the key removable top feature.

 

[indio22]

Its in a parking lot at 18W200 Butterfield Rd Villa Park 60181! It's titled "Chicago West." I googled the address and it shows a random building and it says its Oak Brook versus Villa Park. I think they were scheduled for several days around April 23rd. I have my reservation on April 24th. I know there's a thread on the forum, around March 19th, where everyone is talking about the events! I believe there's one indoors in Tinley Park.

I'm scheduled to view same day and location. I'll be the homeless looking guy, due to no haircut since WFH COVID started, hiding under a green Colorado State University ball cap.

 

[The Driving Viking]

• I’m not wild about how big it feels (like it might not go some places a Jeep would go)
• Interior materials did not impress me generally (I think our Jeep’s interior is nicer)
• Specifically, MGV felt much cheaper to me than I expected
• “Leather” wrapped steering wheel feels super cheap, like not even good pleather.
• Just does not feel like a $50k vehicle (and the two there were probably that or more) This is exactly why I went with Base + Sasquatch. I'm buying a utilitarian Off-roading vehicle I don't need any fancy interior creature comforts. And in this type of vehicle how nice did you think the upgraded interior would really be? My Build Base + Sasquatch 2.7 Ecoboost, Automatic transmission 2 door is Basically a Wildtrack with 2 less Goat modes, no signature head lights and a slightly less upscale interior for 8 to $10k less. Yes please.

 

[Wolfeman]

My biggest concern right now is MGV vs leather. I hate that you give up rear cupholders with the MGV, as I do have two boys (10 and 14) that ride in the back. Most people seem to agree that the MGV feels great but OP here sure doesn't share that same sentiment.

I just feel that with this type of vehicle, the MGV with the TPU washout floor is the way to go.

 

[indio22]

Folks buying the hammer to hit nails, will likely be very happy with the Bronco. Folks buying the hammer because it looks cool, and they like the idea/image of hitting nails, but won't actually hit nails? Time will tell how well that works out.

 

[Gamecock]

"... and the roof doesn't come off." For me that's the ball game. Defender is no longer an option after losing the key removable top feature.

If that open air piece isn't a must have option, I wouldn't be shopping Bronco. It's an open air vehicle with one direct competitor, and you have to put it into that perspective when looking at it. I think it's a better value at every trim level, but particularly in the high trim levels (Badlands v. Rubicon) than its competitor.

 

[KANE COUNTY ILLINOIS]

I'm scheduled to view same day and location. I'll be the homeless looking guy, due to no haircut since WFH COVID started, hiding under a green Colorado State University ball cap.

Kool! I will be wearing an Aurora University Alumni shirt or ball cap. I'm scheduled at noon!

 

[Deleted member 9326]

Folks buying the hammer because it looks cool, and they like the idea/image of hitting nails, but won't actually hit nails? Time will tell how well that works out.

Isn't that like 90% of car buyers?

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