- First Name
- Bryan
- Joined
- Dec 13, 2021
- Threads
- 13
- Messages
- 1,759
- Reaction score
- 2,100
- Location
- Hartford, AL
- Vehicle(s)
- '15 F150 Lariat, '04 F150 Lariat, '73 F100 Ranger
- Your Bronco Model
- Outer Banks
- Thread starter
- #1
Logged two trips and close to 2,000 miles in the last month. Wanted to provide some brief feedback.
‘22 OuterBanks with SAS shocks, 2.3 Auto, Soft top. 33” Nitto All terrain, Westin XTS front bumper.
Trip 1 - Lower Alabama close to the Florida line to Gatlingburg, TN, to Cherokee, NC to Highlands, NC back to lower Alabama. Kept speeds at 70-73 on interstate and truck rode smooth and noise wasn’t an issue other than a little bit of annoying top flap here and there. The wife and I carried on normal conversation. Seats were great, no fatigue or issue from seats at all. Encountered a lot of rain and colder temps on this trip. No issue with wipers, lights or traction. Heat worked good and heated seats even better. Traveled a lot of different terrain and twisting mountain roads and the Bronco had great steering balance and composure. Was a pleasure to drive. We were gone a week so we had plenty of luggage, ice chest, etc. with rear seats folded down we had plenty of cargo space. Cruise works well but missed not having adaptive cruise. Blind spot monitoring is great in traffic, especially when moving quickly so you can keeps eyes on the road. Lane assist is nice, just need to stop the stupid put hands on the steering wheel when they are on the wheel.
Downside, these trucks are not very aero and stock Bridgestone tires roll the best. Anything done to worsen aerodynamics or tire selection will impact fuel mileage. Averaged about 18.3 round trip.
Trip 2 - Lower Alabama to Orlando, FL and back. Truck again worked flawlessly. We pushed speeds 75-85 on this trip and result was fuel mileage was terrible. I blame the headwinds that appeared to be everywhere we went and also the dirty air from the aftermarket bumper and exposed tires. Any speed over 70 and mpg will suffer immensely. Average fuel economy for mostly interstate travel was between 14-16mpg at those speeds with my setup. Also, I toyed with different goat modes trying to determine if one got better than another at those speeds and somewhat surprising that SPORT mode seems to get best mpg at those speeds. Only thing I can surmise, the lower overall gear and more revs is using a little less boost to do the work. If you’re heavy on boost you will definitely be drinking some fuel. On regular two lanes roads and slower speeds it does appear ECO is a bit better for mpg. I did have 4 adults and lots of luggage for this trip as well, so weight may have played into it as well.
The Bronco worked flawlessly and no issues for those 2,000 miles. Actually, I have 8800 miles now that have been trouble free. My truck had a bad AC recirc door motor from the factory and the dealer replaced it and since, it’s been great!
Spotted several other Bronco’s on the road. In fact one spotted me. After a quick rest area stop in the Florida panhandle, as I walked back to my Bronco, another Carbonized Grey Big Bend was parked right behind me. Had a good conversation with the owner about our rigs and trips. He had already driven all the way to Alaska and was now in Florida…needless to say he has 22K on his ‘22 and he said all had been good
. Anyway hope this info is helpful to those planning new adventures.
‘22 OuterBanks with SAS shocks, 2.3 Auto, Soft top. 33” Nitto All terrain, Westin XTS front bumper.
Trip 1 - Lower Alabama close to the Florida line to Gatlingburg, TN, to Cherokee, NC to Highlands, NC back to lower Alabama. Kept speeds at 70-73 on interstate and truck rode smooth and noise wasn’t an issue other than a little bit of annoying top flap here and there. The wife and I carried on normal conversation. Seats were great, no fatigue or issue from seats at all. Encountered a lot of rain and colder temps on this trip. No issue with wipers, lights or traction. Heat worked good and heated seats even better. Traveled a lot of different terrain and twisting mountain roads and the Bronco had great steering balance and composure. Was a pleasure to drive. We were gone a week so we had plenty of luggage, ice chest, etc. with rear seats folded down we had plenty of cargo space. Cruise works well but missed not having adaptive cruise. Blind spot monitoring is great in traffic, especially when moving quickly so you can keeps eyes on the road. Lane assist is nice, just need to stop the stupid put hands on the steering wheel when they are on the wheel.
Downside, these trucks are not very aero and stock Bridgestone tires roll the best. Anything done to worsen aerodynamics or tire selection will impact fuel mileage. Averaged about 18.3 round trip.
Trip 2 - Lower Alabama to Orlando, FL and back. Truck again worked flawlessly. We pushed speeds 75-85 on this trip and result was fuel mileage was terrible. I blame the headwinds that appeared to be everywhere we went and also the dirty air from the aftermarket bumper and exposed tires. Any speed over 70 and mpg will suffer immensely. Average fuel economy for mostly interstate travel was between 14-16mpg at those speeds with my setup. Also, I toyed with different goat modes trying to determine if one got better than another at those speeds and somewhat surprising that SPORT mode seems to get best mpg at those speeds. Only thing I can surmise, the lower overall gear and more revs is using a little less boost to do the work. If you’re heavy on boost you will definitely be drinking some fuel. On regular two lanes roads and slower speeds it does appear ECO is a bit better for mpg. I did have 4 adults and lots of luggage for this trip as well, so weight may have played into it as well.
The Bronco worked flawlessly and no issues for those 2,000 miles. Actually, I have 8800 miles now that have been trouble free. My truck had a bad AC recirc door motor from the factory and the dealer replaced it and since, it’s been great!
Spotted several other Bronco’s on the road. In fact one spotted me. After a quick rest area stop in the Florida panhandle, as I walked back to my Bronco, another Carbonized Grey Big Bend was parked right behind me. Had a good conversation with the owner about our rigs and trips. He had already driven all the way to Alaska and was now in Florida…needless to say he has 22K on his ‘22 and he said all had been good
. Anyway hope this info is helpful to those planning new adventures.Sponsored
