Need buying help!

[kegzy]

Just started looking at Broncos. Coming from a Tundra. Looking for advice. I'm looking at a couple of models locally. I love stick shift. Sorry....its' what I learned on and I just dig the connection to the vehicle. Trying to get your opinion on 2dr vs 4dr. Kids are mostly grown (have one teen left) and I'm not the one usually driving around all the kids. From time to time it may happen, but it's rare. Can you give me any help in this purchasing decision? There isn't crap around here in manual transmission in 4dr. FYI. I'm on North Shore in MA.

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[lakesinai]

Just started looking at Broncos. Coming from a Tundra. Looking for advice. I'm looking at a couple of models locally. I love stick shift. Sorry....its' what I learned on and I just dig the connection to the vehicle. Trying to get your opinion on 2dr vs 4dr. Kids are mostly grown (have one teen left) and I'm not the one usually driving around all the kids. From time to time it may happen, but it's rare. Can you give me any help in this purchasing decision? There isn't crap around here in manual transmission in 4dr. FYI. I'm on North Shore in MA.

You'll have to hear from 2dr owners on driving experience, I have a 4dr auto. The 2dr has shorter wheelbase, less rear legroom with a throwback 2 person rear seat. Longer front doors should be better for tall people. Many think 2dr is better visually proportioned, fun to drive. There are less aftermarket options, including racks & softtops, but it comes with a hardtop. If you put kids in the back, they better be small. It's tight in my 4dr when I put my 5year grandson in with the booster seat. Teens? HaHa except in front. I have a non-SAS OBX with Badlands take-offs 33" tires. Great for the beach. Rear Locker and auto 4wd also.

Personally, knowing what I know, I'd get a Sasquatch 4dr If I did it again. 2dr, get what you want.

 

[indio22]

You'll have to hear from 2dr owners on driving experience, I have a 4dr auto. The 2dr has shorter wheelbase, less rear legroom with a throwback 2 person rear seat. Longer front doors should be better for tall people. Many think 2dr is better visually proportioned, fun to drive. There are less aftermarket options, including racks & softtops, but it comes with a hardtop. If you put kids in the back, they better be small. It's tight in my 4dr when I put my 5year grandson in with the booster seat. Teens? HaHa except in front. I have a non-SAS OBX with Badlands take-offs 33" tires. Great for the beach. Rear Locker and auto 4wd also.

Personally, knowing what I know, I'd get a Sasquatch 4dr If I did it again. 2dr, get what you want.

Adults fit in back of my 2-door no problem, the leg room is fine, in fact I recall it's near same as the 4-door. You just can't fit 3 people across back there, and getting in/out is more difficult. I feel Ford should have done a better job having the front passenger seat slide further forward or some such other trick approach to better access.

OP, a shorter wheelbase vehicle is always going to feel more nimble and sporty to drive, even for mundane things like parking. But 4-door has it's place if regularly carrying back passengers or you carry a lot of gear. Or if doing a type of off-roading that benefits from longer wheelbase.

 

[kegzy]

thanks for all the replies so far.

 

[JAD67428]

Just started looking at Broncos. Coming from a Tundra. Looking for advice. I'm looking at a couple of models locally. I love stick shift. Sorry....its' what I learned on and I just dig the connection to the vehicle. Trying to get your opinion on 2dr vs 4dr. Kids are mostly grown (have one teen left) and I'm not the one usually driving around all the kids. From time to time it may happen, but it's rare. Can you give me any help in this purchasing decision? There isn't crap around here in manual transmission in 4dr. FYI. I'm on North Shore in MA.

I looked around my area also an couldn’t find any manuals whatsoever, I truly think your gonna have to Order one.

 

[HoosierDaddy]

Adults fit in back of my 2-door no problem, the leg room is fine, in fact I recall it's near same as the 4-door. You just can't fit 3 people across back there, and getting in/out is more difficult. I feel Ford should have done a better job having the front passenger seat slide further forward or some such other trick approach to better access.

^^^^ This right here. Normal sized adults fit, but the access is ... tight.


But I'll say this ... on the day to day, the 4dr worked better for me.
Plus, with the auto, it towed better than the manual.
BUT..
When it came time to trade one in, the 2dr had a soul the 4dr just doesn't ..... BUT .. I also have a 69 Bronco, so I'm really tied into the 2dr for that reason. 2dr is the OG.

So, I kept the 21 2dr manual Base.

There are times I miss that 4dr Badlands, it was impressive, I enjoyed the heck out of it.
But here we are.

 

[the poacher]

Get your manual transmission and a 2 dr, be happy and have fun!

 

[GI_Jo_Nathan]

Definitely get a 2dr manual!

I have no regrets on mine, however you should know that the manual has a couple of TSBs for being noisey or notchy shifting in some. Most including mine are perfectly fine though.

 

[Sparkie]

@kegzy
I also live northwest of Boston. I spent nearly a year searching for a 2 door MT Bronco. Dealers in this part of the country simply do not order that configuration for their sales lot. So, place an order for what you want. I did it and have no regrets.

My experience so far:

• I have no noise or other issues on my MT, and while the lever has a longer "throw" than my sports car, it shifts nice and smooth.
• At 5' 9", I fit quite comfortably in the 2nd row seats. As others noted, Ford should have made it easier to get into the 2nd row with a single action slide of the front seat.
• My singular pet peeve is the poorly located electric parking brake -- an awkward reach to the left lower dash. Fortunately, there is a way to release it "automatically". (Since most AT users rarely set this brake, the location probably doesn't bother them and Ford will not change it.)
• Before ordering my 2 door, I drove 4 door and 2 door automatics at multiple dealerships. The 2 door seemed better at turning -- especially while backing up into tight parking spots.
• I have not yet gone off road, but will do that in the spring time. As for our winters up here, my Bronco has been fantastic and the heated seats are amazing.

Good luck.

 

[userdude]

The 2dr has a much bigger door, but the sorry ass sun visor doesn't cover it completely.

I know, decisions.

 

[Dral97]

I'd probably have a 2dr manual if it wasn't for the fact that I regularly use the back space to haul a decent amount of stuff around.

It's up to you. If you don't have a lot of significant hauling of people or other things, maybe go with the 2 dr manual.

 

[Wolford678]

I have a two door automatic. The drawbacks are a smaller gas tank than the four door, smaller rear cargo capacity, tall people cannot sleep in the rear cargo area, and reduced overall cargo capacity.

 

[kegzy]

Thanks everyone. This is great info. I found a 2dr manual (Black Diamond) and a 2dr Badlands. I like the grey one a bit better than the black one. I don't have heated seats in my tundra as I have cloth. $45k and $52k. With rebates and stuff, it's around $43.5k and $48k. A new one with similar trim is $47-50k. Neither of these have heated seats. Heated seats are nice but it is not a deal breaker for me. I plan to upgrade and add stuff on my own to personalize the build. Thoughts? Thanks to everyone for helping me with this. I really am liking the 2dr now. Drove it twice...true about access to the rear seats....should have made it easier but only kids would be going back there (13yo) on rare occasion.

 

[lakesinai]

Just started looking at Broncos. Coming from a Tundra. Looking for advice. I'm looking at a couple of models locally. I love stick shift. Sorry....its' what I learned on and I just dig the connection to the vehicle. Trying to get your opinion on 2dr vs 4dr. Kids are mostly grown (have one teen left) and I'm not the one usually driving around all the kids. From time to time it may happen, but it's rare. Can you give me any help in this purchasing decision? There isn't crap around here in manual transmission in 4dr. FYI. I'm on North Shore in MA.

Rear Leg Room: the 4dr has .6 inch more legroom than the 2dr. Front leg room identical. But actual, usable leg room depends on how far back you put the front seat. At 6'5", I put my front seat all the way back, yielding 6" of rear leg space. Not much fits there. In my F150, I had at least a foot of rear space with the front seat back. We put one rear passenger behind the front passenger seat, moved up, yielding a few inches more room on passenger side. Shorter drivers will have more roomy rear leg room. Reports will vary!

 

[kegzy]

All of your responses have been tremendously helpful. Now, I just have to decide on 2024 or ordering new.....I kind of don't want to wait 4-6months.....

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