New Member from NC

[NCOBX]

Not entirely sure where new members should be posting but I am a prospective buyer of the up and coming Bronco

I have to say I had very little expectations for the Bronco, Ford hasn’t exactly been on my radar for interesting vehicles in quite some time. I always knew there was to be two separate vehicles carrying the same name but I fully expected to be highly disappointed by two unibody mommy mobiles in the way the Grand Cherokee is.

I was extremely surprised when the Bronco leaks showed an absolutely astounding looking vehicle, that, to my surprise is actually a real honest BOF, solid rear axle off-roader. Did I mention it’s a real looker? This from the same company that sells the Escape? Unpossible.

About me, I’m a car enthusiast, upper twenties engineer, that likes off-road SUVs and fast cars. I have an H2 on 37s, no lift, 4.56 gearing; I also have an SS sedan bought new 6.2L, M6, Holden conversion. I love taking my truck through trails and around the northern outer banks drive on beaches.

I am in love with the new Bronco, that body style is extremely refreshing in a market packed with hideous crossovers. I’ve never been into the Jeep for two reasons - no V8.- they are leaving a huge market open by not offering this and secondly - that Wrangler tax, they charge a great toll to buy the brand name. Frankly I can’t believe the amount they charge for the Wrangler.

Leaked details of the Bronco have me excited, I mean you can never get upset about an honest ladder frame SUV. The Solid rear axle is a requirement for me to purchase an SUV, check. Manual transmission is icing on the cake. 4 door and 2 door options, convertible, BUMPERS THAT DONT HAVE AIRDAMS!!!!. Solid front axle would be nice but I’ve trudged along without one up to now.

The problem: the engine options that have been leaked sound horrendous, it’s the fly in the ointment. I have always driven V8s, not for power but for the smooth operation, simplicity, smooth linear power, and fantastic aftermarket. The 2.7L eco boost in particular I’m familiar with, it is a dog of an engine in an F150 and I have true hatred for that pile, aside from the lack of power, and the V8 fuel economy the engine had a turbo failure and the oil pan was a maintenance item that was replaced twice and by the time work took it back that POS was in line to get a third. I will never touch that engine again.

Lacking a V8, Ford will never get me into a higher trim package, I either buy exactly everything I want, or I buy base.
This all leaves the 4 cylinder, as I said I’m highly disappointed in the engine options, I highly dislike turbo engines and I highly dislike small engines. **I don’t care if the options were a turbo 4 with 400HP or a V8 with 300HP at a $5,000 premium - I’m choosing the 8 cylinder.** So unless we see a naturally aspirated 4 or 6 cylinder I’m just going to live with the 4 and hope the issues I had with the 6 don’t carry over.
This all adds a secondary issue, I can’t get past the psychological barrier of spending $30k+ on a 4 cylinder anything. Frankly it’s hard for me to imagine spending $20k to be stuck with a 4 cylinder, yet this truck looks that good.
I don’t think this keeps me out of the market as I see dealers selling 4x4 Rangers in the mid 20k range so I imagine after some times passes a 2 dr 7 speed 4x4 should be able to be had a sliver under $30k to keep me sane.


Or maybe Ford will grow a pair and offer an 8 cylinder and I will go for a loaded $50-60k truck. Either way I plan on being a customer.



So with all that said my wish list for my bottom end truck is as follows

-Orange/Blue, soft top if cheaper, white top if hard top

-7 speed manual, not just because I love manuals but the F150 I had possessed an awful stop start system that could not be permanently disabled **that truck was designed by a group of anti- enthusiasts, whoever implemented that system had never driven a road going vehicle in their life** Point being the 7 speed should help me avoid the start-stop

-Cruise Control

-A/C

-4x4

-2 door of course

-4.88 gears

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[SpursFan]

2.7 a dog? I guess you had a lemon or expectations beyond any manufactures of full size trucks..

great first post.

 

[The Pope]

Not entirely sure where new members should be posting but I am a prospective buyer of the up and coming Bronco

https://www.bronco6g.com/forum/threads/roll-call.994/

 

[NCOBX]

https://www.bronco6g.com/forum/threads/roll-call.994/

I originally posted to that forum and my post was moved here. Granted I didn’t post in that thread.

 

[NCOBX]

2.7 a dog? I guess you had a lemon or expectations beyond any manufactures of full size trucks..

great first post.

Im not sure, I’ve road in the 3.5 that felt a lot better but the 2.7L I drove was, as I said, an absolute dog that couldn’t get out of its own way. I’ve also driven the current 3.6L Penta, and 5.7 Hemi and the current 5.3L and neither of them had the hesitation and ramp up issues that I dealt with on the 2.7L.

 

[SpursFan]

Im not sure, I’ve road in the 3.5 that felt a lot better but the 2.7L I drove was, as I said, an absolute dog that couldn’t get out of its own way. I’ve also driven the current 3.6L Penta, and 5.7 Hemi and the current 5.3L and neither of them had the hesitation and ramp up issues that I dealt with on the 2.7L.

the 3.5 has more power and is faster but the 2.7 is no dog. It will smoke a 3.6 Penta in a Jeep by a mile. You should probably go back and drive another or set proper expectations that a truck isn't a sports car.

 

[NCOBX]

the 3.5 has more power and is faster but the 2.7 is no dog. It will smoke a 3.6 Penta in a Jeep by a mile. You should probably go back and drive another or set proper expectations that a truck isn't a sports car.

Your coming off a little hot, this isn’t an engine forum, I’m stating that my experience with the engine is less than exceptional. I’m allowed to have my opinion on it and after dealing with an engine that over 55,000 miles of personal use left a sour taste in my mouth - I have no interest going back to another.
I have driven a lot of trucks, powerful diesels, big displacement gas HD trucks all the way down to small displacement 4 cylinders. I didn’t expect a sports car like engine but I did expect the truck to behave like a truck, and the engine was a let down. From power delivery, to fuel economy, to one of the most important aspects of a truck engine - reliability.

 

[securitysix]

So unless we see a naturally aspirated 4 or 6 cylinder

I'm not sure Ford even makes a naturally aspirated 4 banger anymore.

They do make a naturally aspirated 3.3l V-6 (base engine in the F150), but I'll be surprised if it makes it into the Bronco.

As tuned in the F150, it puts out 290 HP, which I think would be fine for a mid-sized SUV. It only puts out 265 pound feet of torque, though. I'm no expert, but my understanding is that when off roading, more torque, and especially low-end torque, is better.

It's also stuck with a 6-speed auto in the F-150. I don't know if those HP and torque numbers would change much if it were paired with the 10R80 transmission or with the rumored Getrag 7-speed manual.

All that said, if the 3.3L were made available in the Bronco, I'd have to look at it. I prefer the simplicity and lowered maintenance overall maintenance and break/fix costs of a naturally aspirated engine. The lack of a turbo-free engine option won't stop me from getting a Bronco, though. My wallet might, but presence of turbos won't.

 

[NCOBX]

I'm not sure Ford even makes a naturally aspirated 4 banger anymore.

They do make a naturally aspirated 3.3l V-6 (base engine in the F150), but I'll be surprised if it makes it into the Bronco.

As tuned in the F150, it puts out 290 HP, which I think would be fine for a mid-sized SUV. It only puts out 265 pound feet of torque, though. I'm no expert, but my understanding is that when off roading, more torque, and especially low-end torque, is better.

It's also stuck with a 6-speed auto in the F-150. I don't know if those HP and torque numbers would change much if it were paired with the 10R80 transmission or with the rumored Getrag 7-speed manual.

All that said, if the 3.3L were made available in the Bronco, I'd have to look at it. I prefer the simplicity and lowered maintenance overall maintenance and break/fix costs of a naturally aspirated engine. The lack of a turbo-free engine option won't stop me from getting a Bronco, though. My wallet might, but presence of turbos won't.

I agree with what your saying, the 3.3L you mention isn’t going to win any awards against FCAs 3.6L, or the tried and true 4.0L at Toyota but having one less major component to fail and generally being a simpler design is a huge positive in an off-road vehicle.

Less a V8 I would choose the N/A 6 as my second choice. I would also be more comfortable putting more money down and buying more features on a N/A V6 as opposed to the 4.

With that said, I’m still willing to give the 2.3L a chance despite is going against every instinct I have when purchasing a new vehicle- given the pricing strategy is reasonable. As I mentioned there is a huge mental block to spending a lot of money to be stuck in a 4 cylinder anything.

 

[Jook13]

As a Suzuki samurai guy, I'm very familiar with small displacement engines (1.3 liter with under 60hp stock). For offroad, you can easily overcome this with proper gearing. I actually dropped a turbo into my Sammi and I can now go the speed limit almost everywhere.
I look at the power numbers of the 2.3 and 2.7 and it has me pretty excited.... Even the little 4 banger is more powerful than the v8s put in trucks in the 90s. Of course, if the coyote is an option it's a no brainer, I want that. Mostly though, I just want a stick...

 

[OX1]

awful stop start system that could not be permanently disabled *

https://www.autostopeliminator.com/collections/ford/products/2019-ford-ranger-autostop-eliminator

 

[OX1]

For offroad, you can easily overcome this with proper gearing.

On dry sticky offroading, but not always (and sometimes never)
on muddy, leaf/moss covered, non sand paper made rocks and/or logs/dirt-sand hills,
etc....

 

[NCOBX]

https://www.autostopeliminator.com/collections/ford/products/2019-ford-ranger-autostop-eliminator

Would that hurt warranty? I hate to imagine buying a new vehicle that shuts down at stop lights like the worst of the 70s and 80s from Detroit and the British.
Im hopeful that by sticking with the manual option I won’t have to worry about the start stop system since it’s typically left off of those vehicles.

 

[Jalisurr]

Would that hurt warranty? I hate to imagine buying a new vehicle that shuts down at stop lights like the worst of the 70s and 80s from Detroit and the British.
Im hopeful that by sticking with the manual option I won’t have to worry about the start stop system since it’s typically left off of those vehicles.

Even the manual versions will have start/stop, but from the sounds of it it will only shut the engine off when you are in neutral with the clutch out, so it's much less intrusive.

As for the eliminator, a dealer would probably never even know it was there. Seems like it's essentially a latching relay of some form between the button and the harness plug so that it remembers the state from when the vehicle was last running instead of defaulting to on.

 

[Adk_st]

Honestly your driving experience sounds more like the 3.3l than the 2.7l. I don't think I've ever heard anybody say the 2.7 is a dog. I, too, would love a V8. I just can't see it happening (from the factory).

I'm really surprised by the amount of people afraid of turbos on this site. Maybe I'm the lucky one... but out of 4 turbo charged vehicles I've never experienced a turbo failure. I don't do any extreme preventative maintenance procedures. ALWAYS full synthetic. Change it every time I change my tires(fall, spring). Whatever brand oil is on sale. No issues. I don't baby my vehicles either. For those that have experienced issues how many miles did you have on the vehicle? What type of conditions are you driving in? Genuinely curious. I'm RARELY in stop and go traffic. Perhaps it's a cooling issue?

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