Saw Bronco in person today..Kinda disappointed

[F OR D]

Lot's of hype. Long wait. Personal expectations. I love hearing different opinions.

I'm going CG but think it's bland but love it for some reason. Also non-SAS but I'm not crawling or need/care about the jacked look.

I do agree they are a little small inside and not as flashy/tech. I think they really traded some luxury for utility and capabilities. Agree storage is limited. I expected this but also thinking about a 90s 2d Bronco this this is a lot smaller IMO, closer to the II.

My wants were really a utility style vehicle; I've owned the luxury and want more rugged. One thing I thought is a lot of the High-Lux need better packaging like a normal vehicle so you can add it. Like a climate package, convenience, etc. Missing homelink, and a few options is an embarrassment. They really push you into strange brackets and options.

In the end its a new generation, first run, during a pandemic. Tons of room for improvement but not going to please everyone. Also, they did nail the cost overall. Average new car cost is 40, truck 50. So the price to play or go big is really pretty good.

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[Compta38]

You could always cancel and buy an Expedition. I was in a Rubicon the week before I sat in a Bronco and the Bronco feels much better all the way around.

 

[Darforce]

I mean.... you should be thrilled with what you are driving If you are a car/truck enthusiast. If it’s not your thing, then move on. The Hummer is not any thing I’d buy, but man it sure is nice.... inside and out. I bought an electric moto last month and it’s a thrilling ride and has me thinking an electric car/suv would be great to have. So the Hummer might be worth a wait.

 

[broadicustomworks]

Don't let the small tire/wheel combo vs. the amazing teaser with the big 37's throw you off.
It is a shame you couldn't see a SAS version in person, because it makes it look like a totally different vehicle.
If All I ever knew were the non-sas versions, I wouldn't have pined and waited and ordered one.
It truly is on another scale.
As far as interior, that's been beat to death on several threads and I'm not about to jump on the "what did you expect for the utility aspect" train on you....
But at the end of the day it is kept kind of spartan and all or a reason.
Don't get me wrong, it would be nice to see a version offered that had the soft touch and cushy seats and all that for people who wanted that and had zero intent on getting it dirty...
But I personally like the ease of cleanup and ability to ride without fear of damaging the upholstery with a random shower or bit of dirt.
It's one of those trade-off kinda deals where you really can't have both, and if Ford had put all that nice stuff in there, people would be on forums and FB complaining about the materials not holding up when it rained and all kinds of odd rants.
It did seem smaller inside in person than what the outside hints at, but I expected it myself from riding in/driving Jeeps before.

It is easy to get discouraged by all kinds of things these days. The best therapy for this rut for me was to go look at some of the competition in person as well and look at the price tags, weigh my options and compare. Look at the standard base Wrangler vs. what you saw. And I wish you had the chance, again, to see a WT or a BL (or something with the SAS pack) and compare it to a Rubi.
At the end of the day it made me feel better again about the wait, etc.
And also knowing that if this does spiral out of where it makes more sense to buy something else... there are some good options out there at that price point...just not as good at all the things a Bronco brings to the table.
I'll continue to wait, dream, save $, and plan out adventures in the meantime.

And yeah that hummer EV looks pretty mean, big as a house, but I'd be scared to scratch it or get mud in it. Plus it is quite a bit more $...you could get yourself a BL and a base, then lift the base and put 40's on that sucker for what the Hummer costs...
Best of luck!

 

[BroncoJay]

Well that would be an easy decision for me ... if your not impressed don’t buy it. Don’t let the I really want this override the feeling of not being impressed. It’s a lot of money to spend to be meh about it..
Lot of cool ass vehicles out there, well maybe after the microchip crisis is over but point being don’t sacrifice, be wowed don’t be just well ok...

 

[rugbysecondrow]

I went to my dealer for their by reservation only Bronco viewing. They had a cactus gray BD 4dr non squatch and black 4 dr OB non squatch. Unfortunately, I was not as impressed as I was hoping. Granted I have a 2dr badlands with squatch and Lux in carb grey and these were not the best representation of that. Here are my thoughts after viewing:

The MGV interior is very comfortable and the seats are well padded. The MGV is better that the leather seats.

The interior seems much smaller and the vehicle itself seems much smaller than I expected. Interior reminds me of the size of the H3 hummer.

The fit and finish of the interior and dash are not impressive although I will say the 12 inch screen really pops and boosts the dash aesthetics considerably.

The black and cactus gray did not excite me. I think the vehicle would look much nicer in the expected 2022 green.

The base tires and wheels ont the OBX and the BD were unimpressive.

Rear cargo even with 4dr is very small.

I know I am about to get blasted here and I am not sure what to do now as I have been waiting so long for the Bronco. I think what I really want is what they showed at the initial reveal, like that cyber orange 2dr with the saddle brown leather interior and 37 inch BFGs. Thatvis what got me excited in the first place and what I saw today was kinda a let down. Hey I know it is prob more than capable vehicle its just if Im spending 60k I want to be impressed with more than capability...give me what you teased us with at the reveal. Im that customer that cares about fit and finish too. I care about aesthetics..and yes of course I want it to perform too.

Oh and it is depressing bc the Bronco is basically what I have been looking forward to for nearly a year now and today I feel confused. Maybe I should lower my expectations bc I am not interested in paying another 20K or more on a Land Rover or Jeep 392. I think if that new hummer was out I might be willing to spend more on that but not wanting to go through the waiting game with it.

Well so far Im still in...but it has me thinking...

It is important for people to read your review. What you state is all true, but predictable and known (Except I think the tires and wheels look proper on the 2dr). I hope more people know this so they can make an informed decision regarding their Bronco. For me, what you describe as dislikes, I LIKE those aspects, so it works for me.

Also, as a 2 DR buyer, it has been weird seeing almost none out in the wild or at these events. The 4 DR does nothing for me either, just meh.

 

[Dads_bronze_bronco]

@ttboy They had no Sasquatch, Badlands or even a Black Diamond at my event too. Stripped Big Bend and Lux Outer Banks. It was like going to the Jeep dealership to drive a Rubicon and all they had was a Sahara and a Sport - big let down.

My suggestion to you is go drive the competition: Wrangler Rubicon and any Wrangler two door, 4Runner TRD Pro, and Defender 90. Then decide how you feel.

My impression of the Defender is the interior is more utilitarian than you’d expect. There is definitely more shoulder room, and rear seat room, but less cargo space. I could spec one to a reasonable level just over the Badlands I ordered. But thinking about that air suspension miles from anywhere...

The conclusion I came to is the Bronco is between the Wrangler Two door and Defender 90 in size and in the span of off road hardware versus technology.

I personally think Ford did themselves a disservice only sending 4 doors around, and oddly pairing Sasquatches and Badlands in some locations and just mall crawlers in others.

That TFL episode, where they criticized the Bronco rollout and said people would lose enthusiasm with the wait - that is pretty prescient.

 

[Raptor911]

Too bad they did not have the SAS as it looks way better.

OP … we all work hard for our paycheck and you will need to work a lot harder for the wrangler with the v8. Or maybe you should just wait for the Warthog?

 

[scottyb907]

Not sure you are comparing apple to apples.... you ordered a 60k vehicle but it sounds like you only seen a pre production basic BD and OB. The rig that got you excited is what you ordered, with the 35s and LUX package. The size has never changed much and space has been somewhat of a concern to me also, thus why I went to a 4dr.
in other treads I have read the preproduction models interior vary from what you actually will get.
I’m pretty confident I will be ok with my BD....

 

[scottyb907]

I’m glad not to see any of their show Broncos with Squach, that tells me those parts are being used on production models.... maybe lol

 

[rugbysecondrow]

@ttboy They had no Sasquatch, Badlands or even a Black Diamond at my event too. Stripped Big Bend and Lux Outer Banks. It was like going to the Jeep dealership to drive a Rubicon and all they had was a Sahara and a Sport - big let down.

My suggestion to you is go drive the competition: Wrangler Rubicon and any Wrangler two door, 4Runner TRD Pro, and Defender 90. Then decide how you feel.

My impression of the Defender is the interior is more utilitarian than you’d expect. There is definitely more shoulder room, and rear seat room, but less cargo space. I could spec one to a reasonable level just over the Badlands I ordered. But thinking about that air suspension miles from anywhere...

The conclusion I came to is the Bronco is between the Wrangler Two door and Defender 90 in size and in the span of off road hardware versus technology.

I personally think Ford did themselves a disservice only sending 4 doors around, and oddly pairing Sasquatches and Badlands in some locations and just mall crawlers in others.

That TFL episode, where they criticized the Bronco rollout and said people would lose enthusiasm with the wait - that is pretty prescient.

These are the two I saw, 4dr BB and OBX...they were alright. It was cool to see them and get an approximate feel how my 2dr will feel, but they were not my jam.

 

[ex_nyer]

I went to my dealer for their by reservation only Bronco viewing. They had a cactus gray BD 4dr non squatch and black 4 dr OB non squatch. Unfortunately, I was not as impressed as I was hoping. Granted I have a 2dr badlands with squatch and Lux in carb grey and these were not the best representation of that. Here are my thoughts after viewing:

The MGV interior is very comfortable and the seats are well padded. The MGV is better that the leather seats.

The interior seems much smaller and the vehicle itself seems much smaller than I expected. Interior reminds me of the size of the H3 hummer.

The fit and finish of the interior and dash are not impressive although I will say the 12 inch screen really pops and boosts the dash aesthetics considerably.

The black and cactus gray did not excite me. I think the vehicle would look much nicer in the expected 2022 green.

The base tires and wheels ont the OBX and the BD were unimpressive.

Rear cargo even with 4dr is very small.

I know I am about to get blasted here and I am not sure what to do now as I have been waiting so long for the Bronco. I think what I really want is what they showed at the initial reveal, like that cyber orange 2dr with the saddle brown leather interior and 37 inch BFGs. Thatvis what got me excited in the first place and what I saw today was kinda a let down. Hey I know it is prob more than capable vehicle its just if Im spending 60k I want to be impressed with more than capability...give me what you teased us with at the reveal. Im that customer that cares about fit and finish too. I care about aesthetics..and yes of course I want it to perform too.

Oh and it is depressing bc the Bronco is basically what I have been looking forward to for nearly a year now and today I feel confused. Maybe I should lower my expectations bc I am not interested in paying another 20K or more on a Land Rover or Jeep 392. I think if that new hummer was out I might be willing to spend more on that but not wanting to go through the waiting game with it.

Well so far Im still in...but it has me thinking...

 

[ex_nyer]

I think the delay in the delivery gives us too much of an opportunity to question our choices. If we made our reservation, converted it to an order and had received some reasonable delivery date we'd be excited. Instead, most of us have not even see the Bronco so we're left wondering if this is worth the wait, is it everything I was excited about a year ago, is it worth waiting another 6 months + for it?

I got shut out day 1 because the system crashed, I'm delayed because of a MIC top that is required on the 2D, I am being passed over for 'priority orders' and my dealer demanded a $2k deposit to convert my reservation. So far the only one being held to any deadlines is me.

I'm with you I fell for this:

Getting a version of this and waiting over a year for it....

I'm still excited to get my BRONCO but the process has has been disappointing.

 

[gentlemanbronco]

With the wealth of info on trims and it being confirmed numerous times the beautiful brown saddle leather wasn't going to be available, I don't understand the gripes.

 

[Stampede.Offroad]

...
the vehicle itself seems much smaller than I expected. Interior reminds me of the size of the H3 hummer.
...

I'm confused about how both of those things are true for you at the same time. Were you expecting Bronco to be a short Excursion?

The H3 is basically just a Suburban with no consideration for aerodynamics.

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