- First Name
- David
- Joined
- Apr 27, 2021
- Threads
- 35
- Messages
- 718
- Reaction score
- 874
- Location
- Portland, OR
- Vehicle(s)
- 2004 BMW e46
- Your Bronco Model
- Badlands
- Thread starter
- #1
So I got to test drive a 4 door Bronco last week in Portland, OR. No photos or video (sorry). It was a Wildtrak 2.7 engine with the Sasquatch package (auto trans obviously) and the soft top. It had the 12" center console display and the full digital dash (so I think it had the High package)
Will try to keep this relatively short, just my overall impressions. I did not take offroad, just drove on surface streets and highway. I have not ordered mine yet, but did place my $100 down the first day available. Reason for not ordering was I wanted the manual and Sasquatch package which was not available for 2021, so was waiting for 2022 anyway.
Motor: The 2.7 has plenty of grunt. When I floored it, it went. The sound was fine. Not an old Mustang V-8, but I liked it. Pedal response was good IMO. I can only hope the 2.3 with manual feels somewhat close. No way I will order an automatic, I will live with the 4cyl. I just need to have 3 pedals on the floor. I hope Ford changes their mind and makes the manual available with the 6cyl in 2022. with the minor differences in gas mileage I would rather have the 6 if it is available.
Road noise: The tires do make a lot of noise, but they tracked well on Portand I-5 highway, which was impressive with the roadwear we get from folks with studded tires in the winter. The softtop was VERY noisy IMO. I planned on getting the hardtop anyway because of Portland weather and there is no way the rear side plastic windows will hold up over time (again IMHO).
Braking: I read all the articles on the Bronco forum as soon as the embargo was lifted. Lots of complains about nose dive during breaking. I broke hard twice, not enough to engage the ABS but still pretty hard. The nose dive wasn't bad at all.
Cornering: I didn't really push it, just because I didn't have a safe opportunity to do so. It is a BIG vehicle and I could feel some body roll, but again, no where near the limit. It felt fine/acceptable to me and I probably wouldn't corner aggressively anyway with this thing. I have a different mindset when driving 2 ton vehicles than I do a small sports car, so hard cornering/braking isn't a top priority.
Soft top: Kinda covered this in the road noise section. Not really impressed with it, especially the rear side windows. I expect those to crack and break within 7 years or less. Def going with the hard top, and probably will pay for the extra sound deadener.
Side windows: I read about the complaints with the frameless windows and how it could "hang" when opening the door quickly. I didn't experience it and I tried a bunch of times to make it hang up on the rubber seal. The main thing I don't like about this is it is just one more electronic thing to break over time, but with frameless doors, I guess there is no other option.
Dashboard/Infotainment: I really am not a fan of all-digital dashboards (again too easy to break/fail/expensive to replace). The layout was nice though (much better than the what was in the Corvette when they put in an all digital dash, or the Honda S2000). I am ordering a Black Diamond and I think it has part digital part analog dash. The center screen in the Wildtrak was nice but not for me. I was planning on getting the lowest level infotainment possible IF I can avoid getting the Co-Pilot system. I hate ADAS systems. They are intrusive and I don't trust their reliability. Side note: I am senior citizen and have only had 2 cars in my adult life that I paid for with my own $$$. I keep cars a long time and take care of them. I don't like fancy electronics in my cars, and the more I can minimize it the better. I am not a luddite, I love my iPhone, high-end PCs and big flat panel TVs. I just don't need them in my car. This is going to be a car for hunting and fishing and its gonna get dirty and dinged up and I am OK with that. I am willing to make some sacrifices to hopefully achieve better long-term reliability, especially on the technology side.
Rear-seating: I sat in a Black Diamond at a separate Ford day for the Bronco and I believe there was definitely more rear seat leg room. The Black Diamond had the marine grade vinyl seats. The Wildtrak had much fancier leather seats. I think the leather seats are "thicker" by at least an inch because when I set up the driver seat to be comfortable to me and then got in the back seat, my knees hit the back of the seat. I am 6'1". I was disappointed on the lack of rear seat room, more so in the Wildtrak vs. the Black Diamond. I would be interested to hear from others if my guess is correct that the Wildtrak leather seats do result in a loss of some rear seat legroom.
So all in all, I was pretty impressed with the Bronco, even though it was a trim that I was not going to get. Supposedly a 2 door manual is going to show up in the next few weeks and I will go back and test drive that one. For city driving, the Bronco was much better than the last Jeep Rubicon I drove. It felt good driving it, and the (city) driving dynamics were fine. Brake dive wasn't as bad as I had read about. Not sure if'/when I will be able to test drive a Bronco off-road before I buy, but my guess is it will do all I need and more. If a Ford F-150 can get me where I need to be, the Bronco will as well regardless of the configuration.
If one thing changed in my mind, it is that I may not go for the Sasquatch package after all and stay with the steel wheels of the Black Diamond. I didn't care for the look of the Sasquatch wheels and didn't like the overly large fender flares. I just need a very competent off road vehicle, it doesn't have to be the absolute best. I know I give up some off roading things by deleting the Sasquatch package but I think it will be OK and save me $4K or so.
So old plan was Black Diamond 4 door, 7-speed (and 4cyl), Sasquatch, hard top, and no Co-Pilot if possible
New plan is Black Diamond 4 door, 7-speed (with the biggest engine I can get), hard top, and no Co-Pilot if possible.
Will try to keep this relatively short, just my overall impressions. I did not take offroad, just drove on surface streets and highway. I have not ordered mine yet, but did place my $100 down the first day available. Reason for not ordering was I wanted the manual and Sasquatch package which was not available for 2021, so was waiting for 2022 anyway.
Motor: The 2.7 has plenty of grunt. When I floored it, it went. The sound was fine. Not an old Mustang V-8, but I liked it. Pedal response was good IMO. I can only hope the 2.3 with manual feels somewhat close. No way I will order an automatic, I will live with the 4cyl. I just need to have 3 pedals on the floor. I hope Ford changes their mind and makes the manual available with the 6cyl in 2022. with the minor differences in gas mileage I would rather have the 6 if it is available.
Road noise: The tires do make a lot of noise, but they tracked well on Portand I-5 highway, which was impressive with the roadwear we get from folks with studded tires in the winter. The softtop was VERY noisy IMO. I planned on getting the hardtop anyway because of Portland weather and there is no way the rear side plastic windows will hold up over time (again IMHO).
Braking: I read all the articles on the Bronco forum as soon as the embargo was lifted. Lots of complains about nose dive during breaking. I broke hard twice, not enough to engage the ABS but still pretty hard. The nose dive wasn't bad at all.
Cornering: I didn't really push it, just because I didn't have a safe opportunity to do so. It is a BIG vehicle and I could feel some body roll, but again, no where near the limit. It felt fine/acceptable to me and I probably wouldn't corner aggressively anyway with this thing. I have a different mindset when driving 2 ton vehicles than I do a small sports car, so hard cornering/braking isn't a top priority.
Soft top: Kinda covered this in the road noise section. Not really impressed with it, especially the rear side windows. I expect those to crack and break within 7 years or less. Def going with the hard top, and probably will pay for the extra sound deadener.
Side windows: I read about the complaints with the frameless windows and how it could "hang" when opening the door quickly. I didn't experience it and I tried a bunch of times to make it hang up on the rubber seal. The main thing I don't like about this is it is just one more electronic thing to break over time, but with frameless doors, I guess there is no other option.
Dashboard/Infotainment: I really am not a fan of all-digital dashboards (again too easy to break/fail/expensive to replace). The layout was nice though (much better than the what was in the Corvette when they put in an all digital dash, or the Honda S2000). I am ordering a Black Diamond and I think it has part digital part analog dash. The center screen in the Wildtrak was nice but not for me. I was planning on getting the lowest level infotainment possible IF I can avoid getting the Co-Pilot system. I hate ADAS systems. They are intrusive and I don't trust their reliability. Side note: I am senior citizen and have only had 2 cars in my adult life that I paid for with my own $$$. I keep cars a long time and take care of them. I don't like fancy electronics in my cars, and the more I can minimize it the better. I am not a luddite, I love my iPhone, high-end PCs and big flat panel TVs. I just don't need them in my car. This is going to be a car for hunting and fishing and its gonna get dirty and dinged up and I am OK with that. I am willing to make some sacrifices to hopefully achieve better long-term reliability, especially on the technology side.
Rear-seating: I sat in a Black Diamond at a separate Ford day for the Bronco and I believe there was definitely more rear seat leg room. The Black Diamond had the marine grade vinyl seats. The Wildtrak had much fancier leather seats. I think the leather seats are "thicker" by at least an inch because when I set up the driver seat to be comfortable to me and then got in the back seat, my knees hit the back of the seat. I am 6'1". I was disappointed on the lack of rear seat room, more so in the Wildtrak vs. the Black Diamond. I would be interested to hear from others if my guess is correct that the Wildtrak leather seats do result in a loss of some rear seat legroom.
So all in all, I was pretty impressed with the Bronco, even though it was a trim that I was not going to get. Supposedly a 2 door manual is going to show up in the next few weeks and I will go back and test drive that one. For city driving, the Bronco was much better than the last Jeep Rubicon I drove. It felt good driving it, and the (city) driving dynamics were fine. Brake dive wasn't as bad as I had read about. Not sure if'/when I will be able to test drive a Bronco off-road before I buy, but my guess is it will do all I need and more. If a Ford F-150 can get me where I need to be, the Bronco will as well regardless of the configuration.
If one thing changed in my mind, it is that I may not go for the Sasquatch package after all and stay with the steel wheels of the Black Diamond. I didn't care for the look of the Sasquatch wheels and didn't like the overly large fender flares. I just need a very competent off road vehicle, it doesn't have to be the absolute best. I know I give up some off roading things by deleting the Sasquatch package but I think it will be OK and save me $4K or so.
So old plan was Black Diamond 4 door, 7-speed (and 4cyl), Sasquatch, hard top, and no Co-Pilot if possible
New plan is Black Diamond 4 door, 7-speed (with the biggest engine I can get), hard top, and no Co-Pilot if possible.
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