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?
Only a couple of Badlands are non SQ. It’s interesting, most of the attendees are interested in Badlands after driving a bit of everything here, due to the ride quality and overall improvement in off road performance with the stay bar disconnect. The trails are probably doable in a stock BD, but the underbelly would suffer a bit on the rocks. I would also imagine they want the bigger axles for durability spend 99% of their lives in low range with inexperienced drivers.
It’s understandable that the purists will see this as ultimate off roading machine. Maybe that’s true. But what they’re not taking into account is that 70% or more of purchasers will not be challenging their $50k Broncos at the King of Hammers or ever utilize the full function of the vehicle. And there’s nothing wrong with that. Some people just want a unique truck that that drives better than a Jeep that we can take to the beach, drive around town, or on forest roads, take off the top and doors and enjoy some nice spring, summer, and fall days. I may do an off-rodeo, sounds like fun, but I‘m not Sasquatching and I don’t necessarily need to do that to understand that it’s a very capable off-roader. Just like I don’t need to drive a 700+ hp Cherokee ”Hellcat” on a race track to know that it’ll boogie - nor does anyone ‘need’ that kind of hp to drive somewhere (unless you’re always late b/c you have a wife like mine that doesn’t know that clocks exist
). To each their own.
I plan on going to one of the rodeos at some point, unfortunately they are all a little far off the beaten path. I’d make a family trip out of it, but I was told my youngest can’t go for the ride along, so I’ve been trying to carve out a period of time where it’s just me that goes. Sadly, more difficult than you might imagine.
You’re right, I didn’t test the Bronco in terms of its off road capability. I tested it more so in how 95+% of my use will be. So the only thing I’ll disagree with you on is its merit as a daily driver. For that use, it is not as good as my 4Runner Limited, to ME it just isn’t. And perhaps that’s not a fair comparison because what I drove was soft top, cloth seats, low end (but adequate) radio. My 4Runner is optioned out quite a bit higher end. Once I get the WT version I ordered, probably in late 2022 or early 2023, I may change that opinion. Here’s the thing. I built a 74EB that by the time I was done it was a super off road machine, 35” tires, 3.5” SL, 1” BL, Smeding 427 cid windsor 390 hp at the rear wheels, built C4, Detroit locker in the back, and on and on…. Without breathing hard, it would have sailed thru anything that I have seen via the videos of the Texas Off-Roadeo. Thing is, I hardly ever drove it for that or anything else. I discovered all the fun I had was in the building and not in the driving it was set up to do. Test driving that WT reminded me of that same situation, i.e., getting a vehicle that was optimized to do something I likely wouldn’t spend much time doing. You are right, I am going to try again at the Vegas Off-Roadeo because that just gives me more windshield time than I had last weekend. But I think you are getting a little too caught up in Bronco vs Jeep vs 4Runner, etc. in terms of wheeling capabilities. That’s not the point. All of them will handle very well most off road I’ll be doing here in AZ. Problem is, like you, I’m a huge Bronco fan and I’m trying to come to terms with the fact that a 6G Bronco might not be the optimum use case for me. As I mentioned in another post, I’m giving thought to building a 2G Bronco for another fun project and to satisfy my Bronco fandom.
Which dealer did you use?
Camelback Ford
I went out to San Tan. MSRP, but the taxes are about 2% less.
You forgot to mention all the overlanding stuff strapped to the top and sides of all those “offroad lifestyle segment” vehicles. I really like that phrase…ha.
