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I was finally able to attend the Bronco Off Rodeo and take my wife along. I was so impressed by the experience I wanted to share it with the community. Like many of you I have been frustrated by the production delays, but after 2 days of driving the Bronco I can tell you I would wait another year for this vehicle if I had too.
Due to a flight delay we arrived several hours late to the first day in Austin. ( For the record I would stay at Horseshoe Bay instead of downtown Austin if I could do it over again). Due to our tardiness we had to ride with the instructor the first day instead of getting our own Bronco. As my wife approached the first obstacle of notable difficulty I fully expected to be switching seats with her so I could pilot the Bronco through the obstacle. However, with the instructors guidance my wife ( who has notably never driven off road before in anything ) was confidently driving over and through obstacles which I would have walked first in my F150. As I watched this take place from the rear seat I was not only amazed by how capable the stock Bronco was ( we were in a squatched Badlands ) ,but how the vehicle imparted such a huge sense of confidence into my wife. Within a short time she was managing the sway bar, goat modes, lockers etc like she had been offroading her entire life. In her first hour of offroading I watched her climb ledges I couldnât do in my F150 and descend a 35 degree hill. In fact if I had any complaint it was that the Bronco imparted so much confidence into her that she had no idea how difficult these obstacles are for the vast majority of stock vehicles.
We arrived on time for day 2 and the instructor let us drive without him in our own Bronco. We picked another squatched badlands as we felt this would approximate our FE on order. I finally got to drive and it wasnât long before I had the window down listening to music as the Bronco effortlessly went over everything. My wife loves the technology and interior which I felt was a little âgimmickyâ but even I was soon using the spotter cameras to negotiate obstacles. As someone that is frequently out on the trails alone I canât tell you how nice it was to not get out and walk an obstacle first.
We closed out the second day with the high speed course and the fun haver. We each took a lap behind the wheel on the high speed course and I let the tail get loose a few times and it felt completely predictable and under control. My wife then drove her lap and I held on for dear life as she went over one of the whoops fast enough to get air. I braced for impact and I couldnât believe how softly the Bronco set us down. My wife was driving like Ivan âIron ManâStewart and the Bronco took great care of us.
Finally, we rode in the seats while our instructor did a hot lap on the âFun Haverâ. Ford is genius by letting the two off road racers develop this experience. I literally have no words to convey how amazing it was. It is something everyone should experience for themselves. The suspension setup on this vehicle is unreal. Iâve never driven an ultra 4 car, but one lap on the fun haver made us feel like we were buying a race car.
My wife was so impressed by the new Bronco we are selling her Audi Q7 because in her words and Iâm quoting here âthis makes the Audi look like a piece of sh!tâ. It looks like we are going to order a 2nd Bronco.
When I heard my wife say that I realized the new Bronco is more than the sum of its parts. It appeals to the soccer mom as well as the dad that wants a daily driver he can wheel.
I have to give a huge shoutout to FORDâs engineering department. They really have created something special here.
I would definitely encourage everyone to take advantage of the Off Rodeo experience. It exceeded all of our expectations and convinced us the Bronco was 110% worth waiting for. It is a very special vehicle.
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