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Yesterday afternoon marked exactly one week since taking delivery of Betty, a 4 door Bronco Big Bend (2.L, 10 sp auto, MIC roof, Mid Package, Signature Lights, and floor liners). With 7 days and almost 400 miles on her, I thought it would be good to report back on how things are going.
First of all, this thing is every bit as smooth and drivable on-road as my Flex or my wife's Explorer. It tracks straight and smooth with none of the wallowing or skittering you see with other off-road vehicles. The suspension and "big" tires (non-squatch here) swallow up fairly significant imperfections in the road, even at speed. It's engaging and quite responsive, with good feedback both from underneath in the straits and in the wheel during turns. The turning radius seems a lot tighter than the wide, flat hood would lead on from the driver's seat.
When you put your foot in it, the 2.3L will go. This does NOT feel like some wheezy punishment of a base engine. I doubt any of you selecting the 2.7L will be disappointed, but the 2.3 is beyond adequate. I'm averaging 21 mpg in mostly around town and back country road driving.
There's something about the height and shape of the windshield frame that minimizes buffeting even with the front 3 roof panels off. The back seat is treated to a nice face-full of breeze but the pressure is pleasantly consistent. It's still smooth enough that a certain just-turned-9-year-old enjoyed about a 20 minute nap while cruising the back roads of Licking County, Ohio:
The interior materials are TOUGH and hardy. I've had far too many "oh shit!" moments already where a baseball bat, cooler, or piece of drum hardware made less-than-ideal contact with parts of the cabin, and any little mark that might remain just wipes right off.
The roof panel design, weight, and operation has really impressed me. We're talking less than 60 seconds to get the front 2 panels off and stowed, and not much longer to get the mid panel off. My nephew - a very small 10 year old - wanted to learn how to work the roof last night. He figured it out in a couple minutes as I watched and had no problem maneuvering the front panels. Open air experience was definitely a big priority for the engineers and they absolutely nailed it.
I've gotten her off road a bit more at a buddy's horse farm. Took it on a trail through the woods, and while it wasn't incredibly difficult terrain, the Bronco just swallowed it right up like it was on a flat stretch of road. I need to get her to one of the trail parks around here to really stretch her legs and see what she can do.
I don't expect this to change for a while, but this thing is an attention getter. I've had 2 Bronco Sports track me down (one on the freeway and one on the main drag thru town) honking and waving like they saw a celebrity. Lots of questions and comments from strangers in parking lots with many happy at the chance to hop in and check her out. Also, the signature lighting just looks absolutely slick after dark. It presents like a concept car, not a production model.
One week in and I have no regrets in my build - this is exactly the Bronco that fits me. IF you're thinking about sacrificing some of your preferred options to try and get one sooner, I'd recommend against it. You've waited this long to get just what you want, and I can promise these rigs have the goods to deliver once they arrive.
I'm obviously a bit biased, but the Cactus / Carbonized combo has a lovely purposeful two-tone effect. The Carbonized accents aren't quite black but are a beautifully deep gray. With the Carbonized wheels, grille, and badging on Big Bend it all just goes so well together.
No dislikes. A few things that have taken getting used to:
- The Auto Start/Stop seems to get smoother and less noticeable as you go. I hated it on day 1 but haven't turned it off since day 2.
-When you open the driver's door the active grille shutters get into position for driving, creating a high pitched mechanical sound from the front end. It still surprises me every time. (it isn't loud, but decades of ear damage from live music and approx. 35% hearing loss has left my ears quite sensitive to higher frequencies).
- Opening the swing gate takes some getting used to. Pull the handle towards you and the operation is fairly light for the first 1/3 of travel, but then the strut kicks in. Your first instinct is to keep pulling but the resistance is heavy. In actuality, once you feel the resistance you just let go and let the strut push it open for about the next 1/3 of travel. It has taken me almost this whole first week to stop fighting the damn strut.
In full transparency, my last 2 daily drivers were a 2013 Flex preceded by a 2008 Fusion. Lighting tech has made HUGE strides in the time between then and now! The Bronco has a nice *broad* wash of light and the auto high beams work much better than I would have expected. The pattern is much better than that of our Explorer which throws a bit narrow and boxy.
Yep, you can push it a tiny bit more to hit the "rest" in travel at 90 degrees, or push through that travel to the 2nd stop which is a good ways past 90. Having the strut is a big help, it's just getting used to stopping and letting the strut take over.
The sound system is adequate and absolutely no better. The cones all appear to be fairly undersized (likely made to fit in the dash top and C-ring pods) but the sound with the EQ flatlined is very hollow and tinny. Bump up your low and mid and take down your high and it sounds like a fine car stereo system. There is plenty of power to keep the music audible even with the roof off and windows down at speed.
It's been pretty hot here - over 100 with nearly 100% humidity. It does take the back seat a few moments more to cool off than the front, but my kids have actually complained about getting cold while I have the front climate set to my comfort. When running AC with the roof off, I agree that the air movement pulls the cold air up and away from the back seat.
The lack of rear vents hasn't been an issue for us, though I'm sure the kids miss having their own climate controls like they had in my Flex and have in our Explorer. The complaints here seem to be loud enough that I can't imagine Ford not addressing it.
Nothing major at this point. I'd like to add the sill plates as there is a good bit of horizontal painted surface at the entrances that I could see getting scratched up. Other than that, some visual upgrades to the grille lettering and trailsights and inserts for the "BRONCO" on the passenger side dash will probably come along.
At this point I'm more inclined to put some money into upgrading the speakers. I don't need a sub or anything crazy, just a better full-range sound reproduction.
I'd expect it to be very, very similar. I'm curious myself to get into a 2dr at some point to see if it feels that much more nimble.
I noticed whistling around the mirrors and roof line once so far, and that was going 80mph down the interstate in moderate to high winds. Otherwise I haven't experienced it.
4" in both the dashtop and rear pods, 6.5" in the front kick panels.
To be fair they're 4" around...
Edit: In all seriousness, a 4/6 4/6 front and 4/4 rear could be just fine with a properly reinforced cone and reasonable EQ work. I'm curious if the Bronco cones are a more weather-resistant material instead of pulp, which would contribute to the tinny sound.
I'd love to hear some woven, reinforced glass cone units in there. That would make a world of difference.
Call quality is superb, though I haven't attempted anything with the roof off (not sure why we would tbh).
In short, heaven. Not an overwhelming new car smell (my ex-wife just got a Kia Carnival that's been an absolute shitshow of an ownership experience, but the interior had a STRONG model glue smell)
My son - who turned 9 yesterday - thinks it's the absolute coolest. He's asked to go pick up most of his friends to take them on joy rides, and we've been able to make it happen for 4 or 5 of them already. I will say that without the tube steps they'd all be struggling to get in a bit.Great stuff, thank you Ross!
Any review/feedback your son has from a kid perspective? I have two boys (11 and 14) and they would love to hear something like that.
Perhaps? I'll poke around today and try to get you a better answer.
Yes! You get the higher-end tails as well.
Nice! The seats are very comfortable and look great. The gray trim fabric feels THICK and substantial, which is nice. The black inset panels feel like the "Jersey" / Sport cloth that debuted on the 08 Escape range, and those wore really well.
I love the look of the heather gray and black, especially with the black dash with gray accents. Nothing looks out of place and the design is very cohesive.
I *am*, however, searching for decent letter insets for the BRONCO on the passenger dash. That needs a little plussing.
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