My KOH Ride & Impressions - from a Jeep, Ranger Rover and Bronco owner

[Bronco Pilot]

This is super helpful. I have a FE reservation and debating between keeping that or going over to the Defender. The only thing pushing me away from the Defender is the overall cost of maintenance and the fact that Land Rover has so many issues. I think I'm going to keep my Bronco res for now.

I would imagine yourself 5 years from now in a Defender vs 5 years from now with a Bronco. Which one do you think you'd be happier with? The Defender came out with a 'meh' The Bronco is one of the most exciting new vehicles in the last 20 years.

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[Bronco Pilot]

Same here, I don't mind that dash, "plain" is fine with me. Don't need the "flash". Cyber Orange will be "flash" enough.

I have kids, and honestly plastic is fine. I mean it's not amazing, but I can deal. I do agree that they should include the offset BRONCO highlighted lettering in the dash and the GOAT mode switch highlights. Small touches like that look great and help set it apart. I also wish FORD would offer an upscale interior. Even if it is a 10k add on, for those that want it...hell let them have it. I think FORD would be pleasantly surprised at the profits to get those baseball leather stitched premium seats.

 

[RedHotFuzz]

2-door versions of vehicles almost always look better than the 4-door versions. But you’re giving up a lot of convenience, not to mention cargo capacity in the Bronco, to get that look. 4-door all the way for me.

 

[Gpscharron]

I stopped by KOH yesterday to get a look at the new Bronco while I can still change my BaseSquatch order. Little did I know that they where giving 30 minute rides in them. Let me give you a little about me so you can put my opinions into prospective. I'm 54 years old and owned my first Jeep at age 18. In the late 1980's our family business ran a few buggies and trucks in SCORE and Baja. I own a 1967 bronco and daily a 2016 fullsized Range Rover. The Range Rover currently rides on 32" all terrain tires and is actually very good off road for anything short of rock crawling... It would do better than expected on the rocks but I don't want to have to pay to fix body damage on that! With that background here is my take and because these are preproduction units I won't pick at the fit of any parts.


Appearance

• The 2 door proportions are perfect and it is really stunning in person. The 4 door proportion seem a little off to me. I'm sure that will piss off a bunch of you.
• The 35" tires really make it look the part even if the 33" tires still function just fine. More on the 33" tire in the performance section.
• The MGV looks and feels very nice. No it isn't going to make think it is the leather in the Range Rover but it's better then expected. I'm not sure the partial leather is worth the extra money. My concern is that black vinyl, sun and heat don't make for good traveling companions. Take the top off with the sun out and you will look like you wet your shorts when you exit the vehicle.
• The dash is one big expanse of hard plastic. For the life of me I don't understand why they couldn't do something better then that. In fact this is really my only complaint with the entire truck.

Performance

• I got a ride in a soft top 4 door badlands with the stock badlands suspension, 33" tires, 4 cylinder, manual transmission.
• The 4 cylinder provides plenty of power. You really don't need more grunt out of it. It accelerated plenty hard and pulled very steep soft sand hills in the crawl gear while still in high range. I would understand wanting more power if you were towing but the truck only has a 3,500 pound tow rating so really what are you going to use the extra power for anyway.
• Much like my Rover it has different "modes" but really if you know what you are doing the modes aren't all that important. As our proffessional driver said, "they are there to help the novice off-roader".
• The disconnectable sway bar is for real. It is very impressive and is making me wonder if I don't want to switch from my BaseSquatch to Bandlands. Of course that is a lot of money for that one feature. Perhaps there will be simple manual disconnect in the aftermarket.
• The suspension is amazing! Ford has really done their homework on this. We were going 50 mph through the bumps and it only hit the stops a few times and when it did hit it wasn't hard. When I talked to the driver about that afterwards he confirmed that the shocks have some secondary valving as they approach the limit of travel. The truck was extremely stable at high speed while still being soft enough to flex over rocks when going slow. You could hear the stability control at work independently brake wheels to help stabilize the truck. Ford definitely spent some time sorting this truck out.
• The tailgate rattled endlessly and reminded me of my jeep in the 80's. I think it is too big of an ask to hang a large heavy wheel on the tailgate and not expect it to shake off road. I suspect many people will move to a steel rear bumper with a bumper mounted spare tire carrier.
• The 33" tires on the 4 door look a little small but they get the job done just fine off road.
• The hill decent control was impressive. We went down a 26 degree hill with the computer managing all the braking.

It entire truck far exceeded my expectations at every level. My only complaint is that ugly hard plastic dash. I'm more excited then ever to take delivery of my BaseSquatch.

Thank you very much for the detailed recap. If I am reading this correctly, you used the hill decent control on the manual? I was not sure it that came with the manual. If so, that is great!!

 

[BossMann]

To each their own. I think the 2-door looks off.

 

[Gamecock]

To each their own. I think the 2-door looks off.

Yeah, I agree, but I need to see them in person. To me the 2 door looks to much like a Bronco II...the 4 door looks better proportioned when riding on 35s in pics and video, but that’s without ever seeing them in person.

 

[Mama_Dropt_Me]

No. Its the 2 extra doors that make it hideous.

Still looks and functions better than a minivan, so there’s that.

 

[Xploit]

Yeah, I agree, but I need to see them in person. To me the 2 door looks to much like a Bronco II...the 4 door looks better proportioned when riding on 35s in pics and video, but that’s without ever seeing them in person.

I don't think the 4 door looks bad, I just think the 2 door looks much better. The 4 door kinda reminds me of the new defender 110, which isn't a bad thing.

 

[Rogues Gambit]

Read all 3 pages, where's the feedback on the Manual?

 

[jonwithanelcamino]

Read all 3 pages, where's the feedback on the Manual?

lol
Feedback is get the auto jk

I’ve Read all three ride along threads and sounds like the manual gets a thumbs up. Not sure what else to say

 

[Dads_bronze_bronco]

The original dash was pretty spartan: I can see what they we’re going for, and they should be Wimbledon White like the unobtainium launch concept.

https://bcbroncos.com/shop/interior...ffset-glove-box-hole-5-for-early-ford-bronco/

 

[boxwood]

My only complaint is that ugly hard plastic dash

Do you think the dash on the Black FE will solve that problem? or at least make it more bearable?

 

[cbarg14]

Thanks for this!

I agree from the photos that the 2dr is beautiful. Stylistically and proportionally, it just works better than the 4 door. The 4 door is a bit off to me... it's almost too long and looks a bit strange and Hummer-y with the roof off. Still will be an amazing car, but stylistically, not for me.

I'm 22 and single and don't plan on having kids for a MINUTE. 2 door all the way

With or without kids, good luck sleeping in a 2 door. But yeah, at 22 I'd have done the same! Enjoy your sweet ride!

 

[Bronco88]

I find the 2 door sits a tad too high, when I look at the Bronco R it's wheelbase seems closer to the 4 door not the 2 door. However, I can't get the 2 door anyways lol girlfriend wont let me and I have a malamute husky. We were also looking at bringing friends camping with us so the 4 door is a must.

 

[huck2080]

how did you feel about leg room / space

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