Revisiting the "High Level Instrument Panel" Mystery [Update: There Is No Such Thing]

[ZackDanger]

::UPDATE::

From Page 8 of this very thread:

From BN and confirmed by Ford:

"Turns out, the high level instrument panel option that was talked about in some early marketing material for the new Ford Bronco wasn’t actually an option at all. We’ve confirmed with Ford that the IPs on all 2021 Broncos are the same across all series. The option does not include the BYOD rack or a different instrumentation panel. Essentially, the “high level instrument panel” doesn’t exist and is being removed from the order guide. This is why we haven’t included a picture of it in this post.

Mystery solved."

https://thebronconation.com/forums/threads/new-high-level-instrument-panel-information.4446/

@ZackDanger @jaruss01 et al.

::ORIGINAL POST::

This discussion started in another thread by @Lilj4425, @jaruss01 and @Beach_Bum , but I thought it was valuable to pull it out and get more eyes and data on it.

Now that we are getting our hands on Broncos, we may be able to suss out exactly what the High Level Instrument Panel means once and for all. It seems that it is tied to what materials are used on the dash and doors, with the HLIP being soft-touch, and the other trims being hard plastic.

In the the latest B&P, it is only mentioned two times. Both under "Interior/Comfort" and only in OB and BL standard equipment descriptions. It does not appear tied to package (lux) or seating material (leather). (WT and FE both include all standard equipment found on OB and BL, respectively, so while not listed separately, it's suggested the HLIP is included on those trims as well.)

I think if more people could weight in and confirm/dis-confirm if and what dash and door panel materials are unique to the OB and BL trims, we might be able to know exactly what it is and which trim pieces differ.

So far it appears it's dash and the upper door panel area above the armrest.

Here is the discussion from the other thread for context, data, and credit:

OP

Did the OBX with leather have hard plastic for the colored panels on the upper door (where the door handle is located)? The big bend I saw had this but not sure if it was different for OBX w leather

This is a lux Badlands below but I believe the same applies for the OBX lux. The black area right next to the door handle where the locks are is plastic. The light grey area next to that and on the arm rest is not. It has more of a softer touch. The Area 51 panel is metal.

That’s good to know. I sat in a BD and the upper door padding was actually hard plastic believe it or not. I think we are starting to find out that the packaging actually has some tiering of material quality. For now it seems limited to these upper door pads.

So you think it’s lux that drives this? I kind of thought that leather option would be the driver but maybe not. I sat in a BL lux and based on my photos the upper section looks to be MGV. I just didn’t notice. I was too focused on the BD mid package that had hard plastic here.

do you recall if it was padded/soft touch as well? Or if it was just hard plastic wrapped in MGV or pleather (OBX)

In photos below in order
1. BD mid. My photo. Heavy graining is really hard plastic
2. OBX lux navy pier. Not my photo but looks like pleather/vinyl
3. OBX lux roast. Same as above
4. BL lux. My photo but don’t recall touching it. Photo shows it’s MGV

I’m not sure if it’s the lux or leather option that decides it as the BL and OBX I checked out had both of these options. My guess would be lux but that’s just a guess. Maybe somebody else can confirm. The OBX and BL dash to the left and right of the hero switches were definitely soft touch and not plastic. Not sure what material it is though. Felt same as the light grey areas on the door panels. The other part of the dash closest to the windshield where the USB port is and possible accessory bar is plastic.

Sounds like some have tried to convey in the difference of the HLIP and that on the lower trims. It might not carry value to some, but having a soft touch on the upper trims gives a richer feel.

[...]
I was not trying to endorse a link tied to package/seat material as was mentioned above. Only that there was indeed a confirmation of the soft-touch difference in the OBX and BL vs. the lower trims. An aside, the WT and FE should also have the HLIP but I haven't looked at the order guide.

I think originally the HLIP listing under the technology made some try to draw the conclusion that it had to mean some technology/gauge difference. But there were a few of us that had always maintained that it was only a "touch/feel" difference. Seeing it listed under "interior/comfort" only lends credence to the difference between the upper/lower trims IP.

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[jaruss01]

Two videos discussing some attributes



Badlands lux. At 13:10 mark he says the upper door panel “padding” is hard plastic. But I do think it is MGV wrapped. Is it somewhat soft touch? Not sure. But he said it was hard. In could say with my own eyes this panel on the BD mid was no doubt hard plastic that knocked hollow and was not wrapped in MGV.



also here - OBX lux. 9:20 He says soft touch materials on the doors but wasn’t clear if that included the upper padding part. He then goes on to say hard dash

so I think the dash surround is hard plastic throughout all trims. And arm rest is padded throughout all trims. However HLIP includes material wrapped upper door pads (MGV or vinyl/leather). Is it slightly soft touch? Jury is still out

 

[Beach_Bum]

This discussion started in another thread by @Lilj4425, @jaruss01 and @Beach_Bum , but I thought it was valuable to pull it out and get more eyes and data on it.

Now that we are getting our hands on Broncos, we may be able to suss out exactly what the High Level Instrument Panel means once and for all. It seems that it is tied to what materials are used on the dash and doors, with the HLIP being soft-touch, and the other trims being hard plastic.

In the the latest B&P, it is only mentioned two times. Both under "Interior/Comfort" and only in OB and BL standard equipment descriptions. It does not appear tied to package or seating material. (WT and FE both include all standard equipment found on OB and BL, respectively, so while not listed separately, it's suggested the HLIP is included on those trims as well.)

I think if more people could weight in and confirm/dis-confirm if and what dash and door panel materials are unique to the OB and BL trims, we might be able to know exactly what it is and which trim pieces differ.

So far it appears it's dash and the upper door panel area above the armrest.

Here is the discussion from the other thread for context, data, and credit:

Damn dude, you always say it more eloquently than what I can convey. (WT/FE including the standard equipment on OBX and BL hence not listed but implied).

Just wanted to thank you for what you bring to the B6G community even though you'll be riding in a More Door.

 

[ZackDanger]

Damn dude, you always say it more eloquently than what I can convey. (WT/FE including the standard equipment on OBX and BL hence not listed but implied).

Just wanted to thank you for what you bring to the B6G community even though you'll be riding in a More Door.

Me on B6G:

Me in real life:

 

[Bronco4]

Thanks. Good info. Hope more people who actually have sat in a Bronco can comment.

 

[BroncMO]

I took this picture of a door on the badlands in St. Louis. Both soft (and different patterns).

The dash had a soft/rubberized feel but was still some sort of plastic that flexed if you pushed it.

 

[Newbie]

Revisiting the "High Level Instrument Panel" Mystery

what a relief is not this one!

 

[Headsong]

I can confirm that both the BL and FE at Chicago west had lux and MGV upper door panels just below the window, tho both had leather seats. The Ford folks pointed out that it s the only place to feel it.

 

[jaruss01]

Here’s a BD for comparison.

@BroncMO It sounds like the upper door panels are definitely better. But was the upper dash any different than what is shown in this video? It sounds like the answer is yes, like it’s simply the same plastic but wrapped in some rubbery material but still hard and flexes to the touch. But an improvement nonetheless

 

[Lilj4425]

So the upper dash is actually plastic but has a soft rubbery material attached to it on the upper trims give it a different feel? I guess that makes sense.

 

[ZackDanger]

Is there similar stratification of dash and trim on other Ford models?

F150?

 

[_finack]

I sat in a Big Bend and an OBX with lux and I didn't notice anything soft except the center console armrest and steering wheel. I did touch the dash in both.

I've gone on record many times on this forum with my disappointment with the Bronco interior's apparent/visual quality and that includes the OBX with lux. If there is a difference with the IP in lux, I could not figure out what it was at least on these pre-prod models.

 

[John Bronco_ I am here]

I had assumed it was the instrument cluster itself, meaning the cluster was composed of a larger video screen instead of analog style gauges.

Is there similar stratification of dash and trim on other Ford models?

F150?

Nope.

..... we may be able to suss out exactly....

Go Browncoats.

 

[ZackDanger]

I had assumed it was the instrument cluster itself, meaning the cluster was composed of a larger video screen instead of analog style gauges.

A lot of people assumed this, but there was never any evidence of it. We’ve only only ever saw 1 instrument cluster design..

...additionally the term “Instrument Panel” is used by car designers to refer to what we would typically call the “dashboard.”

The whole point of this thread is that an upgrade of the latter is appearing to be more and more likely.

 

[Thed]

Is there similar stratification of dash and trim on other Ford models?

F150?

The most obvious is going to be on the Super Duty B&P. Look at an XL (which I can absolutely confirm is hard plastic) versus a Lariat, which is a faux leather. Even the XLT is going to look soft-touch by comparison.

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