Size / height of Bronco Wildtrak 4-door compared to Jeep Grand Cherokee

[Johnny Mo]

While I'm a firm believer in to each his/her own, the look of most stock calipers (because of the cutaways) aren't really enhanced much by painting - especially if you go with a color reserved for high performance brakes like red, yellow or acid green (that just shouldn't be done). That said - I still paint my calipers, but likely will stick with the black, navy (to somewhat go with my AMB) or silver. And I use G2 Caliper paint.

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[NCOBX]

But the Advanced 4 wheel drive models have 4 auto, which should behave similarly to other clutch based transfer case 'AWD' vehicles.

Auto 4wd is reactive, All wheel drive is proactive.
Essentially an auto 4wd is 2wd until it detects slip at which time is locks in traditional 4x4 for a time before unlocking.

All wheel drive is always sending power to all 4 wheels, the best way to tell the difference is in snow. If you floor a AWD vehicle it (assuming tires are good) just pulls away instantly. In an Auto 4WD the rear will immediately spin before retarding the engine and locking in the front axle.

Essentially you’ve already slipped before you have power to the front in auto 4wd.

On the other half of the equation the auto 4wd uses clutches to engage so heavy use engaging and disengaging the front axle will cause wear on the transfer case.

A traditional AWD truck will not be disengaging or engaging with clutches.

 

[Altitude]

I’m just pointing out the obvious, a unibody vehicle is not an off-road vehicle. What difference does it make how the Bronco, an off-road SUV, compares to a tall car based vehicle.

The WK2 is a very capable off road vehicle, for what it is. And no, it is not a 'crossover' platform as its chassis is not shared with any cars.

 

[NCOBX]

The WK2 is a very capable off road vehicle, for what it is. And no, it is not a 'crossover' platform as its chassis is not shared with any cars.

It’s not an SUV as it does not have a ladder frame.

It’s an old Mercedes unibody platform - I suppose minivan would be more apt, and no it’s a pretty limited platform as are all traditional IRS unibodies. Good for what it is? Perhaps, but that’s a very weak praise.

The old Cherokee/GC with solid axles is favored as a cheap offroader but it’s the perfect example of why unibodies should not go off road. Huge aftermarket of exoskeletons available to piecemeal a frame together to prevent the body from ripping in half or contorting, doors that no longer shut and align due to off-road use. Sheet metal does not hold up to flexing and twisting; without the articulation and flexibility of those solid axles from the original your left with a softroader.
You can go on YouTube and find a Crown Vic with a locker and a winch traversing Moab, I’ll respect it for what it is, but I’m not going to praise it for what it’s not.

I don’t believe this forum would have 1/4 as many people interested if the Bronco was a WK2 competitor. I’m glad Ford is building a true, versatile SUV.

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