Motor Trend says Bronco has "poor build quality". Fact or Bias?

[D-TownBorn]

My main complaints are the ergonomic issues, not quality.

Other than the 2 recalls, Ford had to reset the rear passenger window (it hung up on the MIC top frame when opening the door), and there were some scratches under the clearcoat on the tailgate.

There are also "design" issues, but I don't consider those to be quality issues. For example, my SiriusXM reception drops way too much,but that seems to be a design issue vs a "quality" issue (If some people had 100% reception all the time, and I didn't, that would be a quality issue. I feel this was a bad design to start with). And the interior materials leave much to be desired, but that was a design choice by Ford, it scratches/scuffs way too easy, but again, it isn't like some people have an interior that resists scuffing more than others.

The ergonomics are what baffle me. What vehicle with a manual transmission does not have a mechanical parking brake? The location of the headlight switch gets bonked by kneecaps far too easily. Why overload the turn signal stalk with front and rear wipers instead of having a right-side stalk for wipers? Why not have a lay-flat cargo area? This list can go on and on.

But despite all of this, I think the Bronco is a GREAT vehicle. There is a lot that Ford did right. The looks are awesome. The infotainment system is quite good. The stick shift and clutch feel great. Overall it is an excellent vehicle and I love mine. I think the build quality is very good. Not Lexus or Mercedes quality, but stiff very good quality.

Long-term quality, we will have to see. But I am hopeful...

I can see some of these points but for me here is where the Bronco is better than the JLU I traded and the 4xE we still have.

The tailgate is taller in the bronco and makes it way more useable that the Jeep. And add in the soft top flipping up instead of having to fight the rear window open in the Jeep it’s a huge win.

The seats in the Jeep absolutely suck. And there is more room inside the Bronco. My right knee does not miss the Jeep.

The Jeep wanders all over the road. Bronco is way better.

I have a few more but these are the main ones. I will agree Ford needs to step up the build quality. I have a few minor things wrong that will be fixed under warranty.

Sponsored

 

[Compta38]

I was In love with the bronco. Then I sat in one.
I thought it was a pre production version, so I gave it the benifit of the doubt.
Then with my reservation taking over a year and still no schedule or actual order, I sat in a few newer built ones.. I sat in and drove nearly all trim levels (except for base)
The build quality and material quality is appalling. Really disappointed.
The material textures weren’t even always the same. The glue on the soft top was melting. All grab handles were loose (not the bolts).
I sat in a wrangler and it immediately felt like a luxury vehicle In comparison.
Really sorry to say. I was really rooting for bronco.
Maybe after the supply chain issues get sorted out.. but I wouldn’t consider one for a couple years at least. The material choices were extremely cheap. Way too many orders were cut for the price.

My late June build is the tightest Bronco I've been in. All handles perfect, sticking, paint, everything. Besides the use of cheap plastics which is also all over the Wrangler as well I don't see an issue. It is designed as an off-road vehicle and if I wanted fancy shit with diamond stitching with leather and soft touch everywhere I would have bought a Telluride.

I won't even get into the difference between ride quality of a Bronco and a Jeep which will beat your ass all over the cab.

 

[Rspayde]

THe end of the day the majority of the high dollar components are well tested and used elsewhere. That being said I will once again be opting for the extended warranty as I have with my Ranger and Focus. This 100% will be the first one where I keep it for greater than three years though.

 

[Carbon Bronco]

It's intriguing that the Bronco has had so much influence over people that they can fall in love with it, find out they hate it, go on to buy another product that's "better", yet continue to come on here to post about the Bronco. To me it sounds like marrying another woman but continuing to talk about your girlfriend.

 

[mike8675309]

where bad build quality comes from:

• Roofs
• Valves
• Dipsticks
• roof noise

just those off the top of my head.

 

[CheekyOldMan]

Ford didn’t just hire a quality assurance czar because they were doing a great job. Just saying.

 

[BroncocnorB]

I have 10,000 f’ing fun miles on my 2 Dr 11/19/21 build. Ford has fixed any problems I had- two DTC’s and replace some part of the elec stay bar. This thing is solid and the 2.7 is excellent. I think my spec is the fastest Bronco BTW - 2 Dr 2.7, no SAS, BL on 33’s

 

[CJtoJLU]

It's intriguing that the Bronco has had so much influence over people that they can fall in love with it, find out they hate it, go on to buy another product that's "better", yet continue to come on here to post about the Bronco. To me it sounds like marrying another woman but continuing to talk about your girlfriend.

I find it intriguing that so many here can’t handle ANY critique, especially one pertinent to the topic of the thread.

 

[CheekyOldMan]

I find it intriguing that so many here can’t handle ANY critique, especially one pertinent to the topic of the thread.

It’s underpowered, overpriced, built like a tin can on wheels, loud af, and from a company with crap for customer service. I’m fine admitting all of this and simultaneously admitting I love her anyway.

 

[bloominguez]

I was In love with the bronco. Then I sat in one.
I thought it was a pre production version, so I gave it the benifit of the doubt.
Then with my reservation taking over a year and still no schedule or actual order, I sat in a few newer built ones.. I sat in and drove nearly all trim levels (except for base)
The build quality and material quality is appalling. Really disappointed.
The material textures weren’t even always the same. The glue on the soft top was melting. All grab handles were loose (not the bolts).

I love my Bronco, but the interior quality is ... not the best. There are plastics that don't even line up. Kind of embarrassing for Ford.

The ergonomics are what baffle me. What vehicle with a manual transmission does not have a mechanical parking brake?

Most of them nowadays, from the limited sample I've seen. Easier to get "hill start assist" and so forth that way. The BRZ/GR86 is a welcome exception.

Long-term quality, we will have to see. But I am hopeful...

First Ford?

 

[tourproto]

Most of them nowadays, from the limited sample I've seen. Easier to get "hill start assist" and so forth that way. The BRZ/GR86 is a welcome exception.

so I have driven manuals my entire life. I don’t need no stinking “hill start assist” but I get why others may need it, I just don’t understand why someone would pick up a manual transmission car if they weren’t adept with a clutch. It was also probably cheaper for Ford to do an electronic bake vs mechanical

This is my first Ford but not my wife’s or her family’s. Her whole family was a Ford family (dad ran a construction company and all company cars were either F-150s, or Tauruses. )

my wife had 3 Fords. An Escort, a Tempo (what a piece of ) and an Explorer. The explorer probably had 20 recalls over its life. But it is still going strong after 24 years. We sold it to one of her friends after 15 years. So I am impressed that the orig motor made it that long. She would have had an Edge instead of an Outback but the poor quality and fit/finish in 2013 finally turned her off of Fords. She will prob never go back after experiencing Japanese quality.

the turbo and electronics are what worry me in the Bronco. I don’t care what anyone says, turbos don’t last compared to a normally aspirated engine. I have too many datapoints that tells me they fail. And there are so many electronics in the Bronco, I just don’t have a lot of confidence they will make it 20 years. But I am hopeful.

i really love my Badlands.

 

[Letagoavs710]

It's intriguing that the Bronco has had so much influence over people that they can fall in love with it, find out they hate it, go on to buy another product that's "better", yet continue to come on here to post about the Bronco. To me it sounds like marrying another woman but continuing to talk about your girlfriend.

Who cares? I sold my Challenger a year ago and I still go back to that forum and check in and converse with people.

 

[bloominguez]

so I have driven manuals my entire life. I don’t need no stinking “hill start assist” but I get why others may need it, I just don’t understand why someone would pick up a manual transmission car if they weren’t adept with a clutch. It was also probably cheaper for Ford to do an electronic bake vs mechanical

This is my first Ford but not my wife’s or her family’s. Her whole family was a Ford family (dad ran a construction company and all company cars were either F-150s, or Tauruses. )

my wife had 3 Fords. An Escort, a Tempo (what a piece of ) and an Explorer. The explorer probably had 20 recalls over its life. But it is still going strong after 24 years. We sold it to one of her friends after 15 years. So I am impressed that the orig motor made it that long. She would have had an Edge instead of an Outback but the poor quality and fit/finish in 2013 finally turned her off of Fords. She will prob never go back after experiencing Japanese quality.

the turbo and electronics are what worry me in the Bronco. I don’t care what anyone says, turbos don’t last compared to a normally aspirated engine. I have too many datapoints that tells me they fail. And there are so many electronics in the Bronco, I just don’t have a lot of confidence they will make it 20 years. But I am hopeful.

i really love my Badlands.

I don't disagree, just mentioning something that the manufacturers are trying to offer. I don't need hill start assist, which is good because it seems to work very inconsistently (read: badly) in the Bronco anyway. I think you need to be in gear already for it to work. Can't be in neutral, lift foot off brake while putting the car back in gear. Strange, but fine since it's not really needed.

 

[Bronco cat]

so I have driven manuals my entire life. I don’t need no stinking “hill start assist” but I get why others may need it, I just don’t understand why someone would pick up a manual transmission car if they weren’t adept with a clutch. It was also probably cheaper for Ford to do an electronic bake vs mechanical

This is my first Ford but not my wife’s or her family’s. Her whole family was a Ford family (dad ran a construction company and all company cars were either F-150s, or Tauruses. )

my wife had 3 Fords. An Escort, a Tempo (what a piece of ) and an Explorer. The explorer probably had 20 recalls over its life. But it is still going strong after 24 years. We sold it to one of her friends after 15 years. So I am impressed that the orig motor made it that long. She would have had an Edge instead of an Outback but the poor quality and fit/finish in 2013 finally turned her off of Fords. She will prob never go back after experiencing Japanese quality.

the turbo and electronics are what worry me in the Bronco. I don’t care what anyone says, turbos don’t last compared to a normally aspirated engine. I have too many datapoints that tells me they fail. And there are so many electronics in the Bronco, I just don’t have a lot of confidence they will make it 20 years. But I am hopeful.

i really love my Badlands.

Just one thing….. if turbo motors don’t have longevity then why are almost all heavy duty trucks turbos? FYI my last 2.7 clocked 189k trouble free miles the only thing I did was change the oil every 4-5k instead of the computer interval.

Sponsored