The one I drove has a soft top that looked just like that and the back part was slapping up and down above 60 mph.This looks cheap for a 50k dollar car
There was zero chance of a 392 a year ago. Things change. The last raptor had an extended cab option.
This morning I test drove a WT at the dealer that I have a reservation at. Had an order but 99ed it to get a MY22. After this ~12 mile test drive, mostly freeway and city streets, I’m questioning whether I want to continue with a Bronco purchase. This coming from someone that owned Broncos from 1989 through 2017. There is nothing particularly wrong with the new Bronco. But driving it caused me to understand more clearly that Ford’s target was a better execution of a Jeep Wrangler. With the Bronco, they succeeded brilliantly at that. Maybe I’ll end up with a Bronco in 22 or 23, I’m just not as enthusiastic as I had been. Here are some test drive observations.
One thing I wanted to do was make sure a WT would fit in my garage. I had done all kinds of measurements using data from this site and for sure, the WT fit. That was not a surprise, but great to validate my research. My wife‘s car is missing, but it would easily fit too. No clearance problems either. Easily another 5.5-6 inches of overhead clearance.
When I first sat in the driver’s seat I was amazed at how much looking out the windshield reminded me of an EB. The raised edges of the hood are very reminiscent of an EB. Very thoughtful design feature from Ford.
One bad thing is the window fit. As everyone knows, without a frame the window must come down just a little to open and close the door. So long as you open the door slowly, all is well. But if you open the door quickly, the window hangs up a little on the molding and sort of vibrates back and forth. I seem to recall others here mention that. I’m not sure this hurts anything, it’s just not something I had thought much about.
Of course, this was a soft top. I was surprised at how noisy the Bronco is. I have seen posts claiming that the soft top was fairly quiet. I suppose this is subjective, but I thought the noise was excessive. Maybe the more aggressive tires were at fault. I have had two soft tops (see my avatar for one and an old P911-C4 for another) so I am used to a soft top. I honestly think my 74 EB with a BC Broncos safari top was slightly quieter. I mentioned this to the dealer sales manager and he said he was surprised because his soft top OB was really quiet. He claimed that the OB had sound deadening within the body. I had never heard that. Obviously I think a MIC top, particularly with the headliner, would quiet things down a little. I had planned on a color matching modular top which would also probably be quieter. By the way, the sales manager confirmed to me that the color matching top would be MY23, even though as recently as March it was listed at a MY22 option. Crap…
As has been opined by others on this site, the dash was a somewhat underwhelming. The plastic just seemed cheap. By the way, this was a Mid trim level, yet I don’t think Lux (which is what I ordered) would be any different. My personal car is a 2017 4Runner Limited and my work vehicle that gets most miles is a 2015 Tundra SR5. I would say the Tundra’s interior is pretty pedestrian, but the quality of the plastic and overall quality is noticeably better than the Bronco. The 4Runner interior is way superior. This is when I reminded myself that Ford wasn‘t trying to create something fancy, but just something overall better than a Wrangler. Again, I think they have done that in spades.
The engine was adequate. I have to admit that I drive with a bit of a heavy foot, but the Bronco seemed a bit slow off the line. From about 20 mph up, it performed very good. The transmission was smooth. I couldn’t feel the shifts. I was hoping the engine performance would be noticeably better than the 4Runner. I think it was better, but not by as much as I had hoped. Actually, I have to admit that I forgot to try the sport mode. That may have improved the engine performance a bit and I’m kicking myself for forgetting that.
I really did like the handling of the Bronco. It’s turning radius is superb. The SAS on the WT really smooths out rough pavements. I drove over a pavement that had been trenched and patched for a water line and it was smooth sailing over that bumpy pavement. I think this was the most favorable thing about the Bronco. The brakes were great, although there was an audible squeak at times.
In summary, I think the Bronco is a great execution of an off road vehicle for the masses. For sure it will take a big bite out of Wrangler sales. But for me I would give up a bit of the fancy off road stuff for a quieter, better fit and finish interior vehicle more like the 4Runner or some of the high end trucks on the market. My off roading needs are mostly rough forest service roads and snowy roads in AZ higher elevations. I guess I’m re-evaluating what I really need. This vehicle is my present to myself as I head into retirement. I still may end up with a Bronco. But I’m beginning to think I might need to give a nice F-150 or F-250 a look and build myself another EB to satisfy my almost life long Bronco addiction.
My 850i was a battery draining nightmare Hope tech has gotten better
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Ok, I respect opinions, but frankly, you didn’t test drive the Bronco in anything near it’s off road ability. Go to Off Roadeo. Use the tech, use the capability. It’s every bit as good as a daily driver as the 4 Runner and kicks the sh*t out of the TRD Pro off road, hands down. Only the newest Jeeps (not sure on availability)with 35s can equal the Bronco off road and they still can’t compete with daily livability. Maybe the dash is softer in the Jeep or Toyota, you will need it in the Jeep when it pegs your head to the dash from the ride or the 4 Runner when you can’t run the trail without $15k in aftermarket parts and add ons. When you mentioned soft roading on fire roads, I got your comparison, but head to head, you need to do more testing, off road or on.
Agreed. I owned an RS and the tuning was obnoxious. I hated it. Other than the terrible ride quality that was something that really bothered me. And I recently drove the WT, probably the same one in this post, since im in AZ and autonation has the same color demo, and I can attest that it felt very sluggish. And i used sport mode. I also drove a manual 2.3 and besides the turbo lag it felt good. Real good.
Go to Off Roadeo. Drive it off road. Use the tech and the full capabilities. Then report back. There is a reason BMW has their driving experience. There is a reason Ford built Off Roadeo. It keeps the loyal and coverts the doubters. (I have done both, BMW still leading the way, but damn, Ford has built something special that can’t be experienced in a dealer test drive).
That's going to create a lot of rage on this page.
Jk is an older model, by at least 5 years. We are comparing it to the JL. Most will concede that it is way nicer than Jeep’s previous gen.
And only the badlands Bronco or Sasquatch can compete with a Jeep. Most buyers can’t afford the options that make it better than a jeep.
Out of curiosity, how many of the off-roadeo Bronco’s were stock Black Diamond trim level or below, with no Sasquatch?
