Orange County, CA Bronco Event - CG Badlands and AB Outer Banks

[heynow14]

Hey all - So I made it to the event at Theodore Robbins Ford in Costa Mesa, CA.

Brief observations:

• Overall, I'm still in love with what the new Bronco is all about. These things are thoughtfully designed and seem to be fully sorted - without yet being driveable...
• Cactus Gray is cool in person. Will it be cool in 2-3 years? Not sure...I'm now on the fence with this color. It is feeling flavor of the month-ish to me now...
• Badlands with black steelies is downright rad. Make them matte black and you instantly become awesome at life.
• I love the short throw of the manual - even if just sitting in a parking lot. I was manual or nothing before this visit but I now want TWO manuals in my Bronco (that was a joke)
• Badlands in my pics had 31" tires. 35" of SAS will be nuts. I may even feel like a man then...
• Antimatter blue is very cool. My kids called it black - so there's that.
• The doors did feel light and sorta cheap-o when closed with softtop - pretty tinny and hollow sounding - I felt as if I could dent them from closing too hard. This is likely due to making them light enough the take on/off - but just something to be mindful of
• A couple of the grab handles and interior door grabs were sloppy and felt weak and wobbly. Some deflected quite a lot which was not confidence inspiring. Hopefully just pre-pro...
• I'm 6'3" and I fit with zero issues
• Legroom for kids behind me was fine - a full-grown adult 'Murican? YMMV
• In the end, I want a Bronco more now than I did - and that's saying something. Manual Wildtrak where are you???

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[LTB Motorsports]

This is not a badlands. I believe that is a black Diamond badge I see there. Badlands has aluminum wheels and 33s minimum.

 

[heynow14]

You're correct...my bad

 

[Lilj4425]

It’s a beautiful Ford Flex.

 

[5280Bronco]

It’s a beautiful Ford Flex.

Can't wait till i get mine.

Thanks OP for the post!

 

[530Squatch]

@heynow14 here's a random one for ya- how did the interior door handles feel? In pictures they look like my wife's Honda Pilot and I feel like any day I'm going to accidentally rip them off of the door... light and flimsy.
And while on that topic, anything you can recall about the feel of the other plastic components? Were any sturdier/ nicer than others? Any wimpy surfaces?

 

[618TRVLWILD]

I always love the BD.... I haven’t seen a BD build I don’t like!

 

[jaruss01]

Do you have photos of the AB OBX? Don’t think we’ve seen one yet

 

[heynow14]

The interior door grab handle - not the door lever - was really weak and deflected quite a lot. It was cheap plastic in a matte chrome finish if I recall correctly. It wasn't a good experience so I hope that gets addressed in MP. I did feel like I could forcibly remove it - without a lot of force.

Regarding overall interior surfaces and materials: in general they were sufficient albeit not high-end. If I was to compare to another interior that I have XP with - namely Subaru Outback and Crosstrek - Bronco falls short. Everything in Subarus is soft-touch and heavier weight, more pliable. Some of the Bronco surfaces were, sadly, a callback to the cheap domestic interiors we all loathe from 15-20 years ago. Some materials were nice - like the switches and dials and buttons - most of those are nice with soft-touch and some heft. I want input devices: buttons and dials and switches to feel like 'tools' with weight and mass and most on Bronco do - so that is good news.

I know everything costs something but there are definitely some surfaces that were 'value-engineered' but I do think the high-traffic ones that you touch regularly are a step up.

 

[ccameron511]

Do you have photos of the AB OBX? Don’t think we’ve seen one yet

I’m assuming that one was actually Shadow Black, as that has been the one that’s been paired with this Cactus Black Diamond in Southern California thus far (and will be making its way North up the coast). If that’s the case, tack on another to the Antimatter vs. Black running joke on these forums.

 

[ssbronco]

The interior door grab handle - not the door lever - was really weak and deflected quite a lot. It was cheap plastic in a matte chrome finish if I recall correctly. It wasn't a good experience so I hope that gets addressed in MP. I did feel like I could forcibly remove it - without a lot of force.

Regarding overall interior surfaces and materials: in general they were sufficient albeit not high-end. If I was to compare to another interior that I have XP with - namely Subaru Outback and Crosstrek - Bronco falls short. Everything in Subarus is soft-touch and heavier weight, more pliable. Some of the Bronco surfaces were, sadly, a callback to the cheap domestic interiors we all loathe from 15-20 years ago. Some materials were nice - like the switches and dials and buttons - most of those are nice with soft-touch and some heft. I want input devices: buttons and dials and switches to feel like 'tools' with weight and mass and most on Bronco do - so that is good news.

I know everything costs something but there are definitely some surfaces that were 'value-engineered' but I do think the high-traffic ones that you touch regularly are a step up.

I didn't have the same experience with the grab handle in the Bronco I was in a week ago in OH, so maybe it was just the one at the event you attended. I'm giving Ford a small "pass" on some things because these are all pre-production vehicles (glass is half-full?). I have a Subaru, and I agree the interior plastic materials feel more "upscale". That said, the dashboard materials in the Subaru are heavier plastics than those used in the Bronco. Some of the plastics used in the Bronco are very strong, but light weight. That may make them feel less luxurious, but they may perform well. When I was looking at the Bronco I felt Ford was trying to save weight in a lot of areas. I know they are using a newly developed high strength steel for the frame and I believe some other components. There are also some AL body panels. I think it's a balancing act for Ford trying to make a very strong and capable off-road vehicle, provide some luxury touches, and end up with a barely usable GVWR in the vehicle class.

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