Y'all Are More Patient Than Me (Defender v. Bronco Comparison)

[stampede1]

Read through all the comments.. some thoughts coming from someone interested in the new Bronco but in no rush. My objective $0.02 on these two rides...

I am a lifetime Toyota/Lexus guy. Multiple 4Runners and multiple GX in addition to Tacoma. All 4WD. I won't buy a truck/SUV without it. I have also owned F-150 and an early 90s Eddie Bauer Bronco.

In early 2022 I will be buying something.. with a good sized budget. My first choice was a Land Cruiser.. and that may still be it but my kids want me to get something 'more fun'. Ouch... but I get it. I have been looking at the Defender and the Bronco. I love the look of both.

Luckily, my budget would be able to get me basically any Bronco they make and a pretty high trim on the Defender. I already have a dealer I will work with on if I try to go the Raptor Bronco route.

Objectively, choosing between Defender and Bronco is a tough call. Many here say the Bronco has the better off-road chops.. and it may.. but not by much. Spend a little $ on the Defender and get the 18' brake rotor/wheel kit with some beefy AT tires.. and the Defender can go way more places than the vast majority of Defender (or Bronco) owners will take their rides. I know several people who have the Defender and I 'check in' with them every once and awhile to see how they are liking it and how reliable it has been. From what I have seen, they have had no major issues in over a year of ownership. I know.. lease a LR..

Between the Bronco and the Defender the interior of the Defender is a win and it isn't close. Much better materials, layout, options, etc. than the Bronco.. now this is coming from a Toyota person who doesn't care about most of this anyway.. but being objective.

On the outside, the Bronco and Defender are pretty even IMO.. objectively again. I don't have a horse in the LR or Ford race. The Bronco looks a bit more 'classic' American while the Defender looks more 'polished' Brit. I think they both look great. I recently parked a 2021 4Runner TRD ORP next to a Defender SE in a parking garage and was SHOCKED how the Defender made my T4R look like a little.. I did sell that T4R when they offered me so much I couldn't say no.. got into a GX that I will drive until I pick what I will eventually go with. Stock the Defender does look mall/Starbucks ready.. and that does irk me... but with just a few mods it looks mean and ready.

After spending a lot of time here and on LR forums doing research I feel like my year 1 - 3 experience with both the Bronco and Defender would be similar from a reliability standpoint. I would expect Ford to do better.. but I don't think it will. There are people with LR Defenders.. RR Sports that drive the ISSSH out of them (on/off road) and the just keep going. My neighbors drive their Defender all over SoCal with no issues after a year. They love it.

if someone made me choose today...today, I think I would go Defender. My reasoning may not be the same as MANY here.. but being a lifetime Toyota/Lexus person I think I would experience less rattles, noises, squeaks from the Defender. I am not trying to trigger anyone.. that is an honest and objective opinion from doing way too much research on them. I think if I could 'chill' my quality 'ear' a bit I would go Bronco if I could just 'know' that it is the more 'rough' of the two. The ONE thing that could make me go Bronco is driving one for a while and finding that the squeaks and rattles aren't that bad.. I would LOVE to have the more 'rough' off-roader to take my boys off-roading in. I grew up around off-roading and racing and still love it. We have some great trails here in SoCal that I could introduce my boys to. The whole desert off-roading is new to me as I grew up in GA.. more dirt/mud. Luckily, I do not have to decide today.. I can sit back and see what happens with these engine issues and see what the Bronco Raptor looks like. My neighbors that have the Defender also have a Raptor and he LOVES that thing.

You did not mention the fact that the bronco tops and doors are removable while the LR are not. It is a big difference to me in terms of comparison, especially here in SoCal. May not be important to others but is is significant to many of us who went with the bronco.

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[BroncoFish]

Read through all the comments.. some thoughts coming from someone interested in the new Bronco but in no rush. My objective $0.02 on these two rides...

I am a lifetime Toyota/Lexus guy. Multiple 4Runners and multiple GX in addition to Tacoma. All 4WD. I won't buy a truck/SUV without it. I have also owned F-150 and an early 90s Eddie Bauer Bronco.

In early 2022 I will be buying something.. with a good sized budget. My first choice was a Land Cruiser.. and that may still be it but my kids want me to get something 'more fun'. Ouch... but I get it. I have been looking at the Defender and the Bronco. I love the look of both.

Luckily, my budget would be able to get me basically any Bronco they make and a pretty high trim on the Defender. I already have a dealer I will work with on if I try to go the Raptor Bronco route.

Objectively, choosing between Defender and Bronco is a tough call. Many here say the Bronco has the better off-road chops.. and it may.. but not by much. Spend a little $ on the Defender and get the 18' brake rotor/wheel kit with some beefy AT tires.. and the Defender can go way more places than the vast majority of Defender (or Bronco) owners will take their rides. I know several people who have the Defender and I 'check in' with them every once and awhile to see how they are liking it and how reliable it has been. From what I have seen, they have had no major issues in over a year of ownership. I know.. lease a LR..

Between the Bronco and the Defender the interior of the Defender is a win and it isn't close. Much better materials, layout, options, etc. than the Bronco.. now this is coming from a Toyota person who doesn't care about most of this anyway.. but being objective.

On the outside, the Bronco and Defender are pretty even IMO.. objectively again. I don't have a horse in the LR or Ford race. The Bronco looks a bit more 'classic' American while the Defender looks more 'polished' Brit. I think they both look great. I recently parked a 2021 4Runner TRD ORP next to a Defender SE in a parking garage and was SHOCKED how the Defender made my T4R look like a little.. I did sell that T4R when they offered me so much I couldn't say no.. got into a GX that I will drive until I pick what I will eventually go with. Stock the Defender does look mall/Starbucks ready.. and that does irk me... but with just a few mods it looks mean and ready.

After spending a lot of time here and on LR forums doing research I feel like my year 1 - 3 experience with both the Bronco and Defender would be similar from a reliability standpoint. I would expect Ford to do better.. but I don't think it will. There are people with LR Defenders.. RR Sports that drive the ISSSH out of them (on/off road) and the just keep going. My neighbors drive their Defender all over SoCal with no issues after a year. They love it.

if someone made me choose today...today, I think I would go Defender. My reasoning may not be the same as MANY here.. but being a lifetime Toyota/Lexus person I think I would experience less rattles, noises, squeaks from the Defender. I am not trying to trigger anyone.. that is an honest and objective opinion from doing way too much research on them. I think if I could 'chill' my quality 'ear' a bit I would go Bronco if I could just 'know' that it is the more 'rough' of the two. The ONE thing that could make me go Bronco is driving one for a while and finding that the squeaks and rattles aren't that bad.. I would LOVE to have the more 'rough' off-roader to take my boys off-roading in. I grew up around off-roading and racing and still love it. We have some great trails here in SoCal that I could introduce my boys to. The whole desert off-roading is new to me as I grew up in GA.. more dirt/mud. Luckily, I do not have to decide today.. I can sit back and see what happens with these engine issues and see what the Bronco Raptor looks like. My neighbors that have the Defender also have a Raptor and he LOVES that thing.

Probably the best objective comparison between a Defender and a Bronco that I've seen on any of my car forums.....bravo

 

[AZshot]

There are tons of boxy vehicles out there with rear AC vents today. But it's funny, in the 30 years of raising my family, that was never a prime factor for me buying, because very few had them then. Price was/is a prime factor. I got my Big Bend coming this week, $38,000. Of course, I don't want a really boxy vehicle, or I'd get a Kia Soul or something. And I sure don't want an unreliable UK vehicle.
I wanted an American cost and service anywhere, a manual transmission, and very capable 4WD. Not a boulevard cruiser.

 

[BennyBronco69]

had a 22 reservation for Defender that was switched to a 23. Pulled the rip cord last week due to no info from LRJ. Also take a look at where they make the Defender - Slovakia. Soon they will also be locked down as the rest of Europe. Even once you Defender is built it needs to go on a ship across the ocean and get to one of our great ports that are a mess. So depending on your spec probably looking at 6m to 1 year to get your Defender. No thanks sticking with US and Ford.

I am curious to see what happens with mine. I called my salesperson to confirm by assumption that my D90 MY22 would move to a MY23 since my last day to make changes has not even arrived (11/29). They said otherwise and explained I am still a MY22.

I am waiting for the "oops" correspondence from them lol

I put the order in on 9/29 and they gave me a build date of Jan 2023 and delivery of March 2023. We shall see about all that.

 

[SoCalDawg]

Probably the best objective comparison between a Defender and a Bronco that I've seen on any of my car forums.....bravo

Definitely fair point. I don’t think I’d take doors off more than a couple times a year so not in my personal equation. But good point.

 

[Vantcrst]

If I can't get the Bronco BL by Spring I'm considering the Defender 90. Maybe coil springs vs. adjustable suspension. I'm not going off-road in either. This V8 looks nice though...

I hope this doesn’t come off the wrong way but if you are not planning on using the Bronco off road why are you buying it? It has been clear from the begging that there are a lot of folks interested in the bronco that don’t have any intent of going off road. That is fine and I really do feel as though folks can do whatever they want with their money. I am just curious to hear why you or anyone else would put up with the Broncos limitations (road nose, ride, milage etc) if you were never going to benefit from it’s off road capabilities? Is it really as simple as people buying a car that is somewhat impractical for their use just because they like the look?

 

[Ripcurl]

The best rear air vent solution is taking the roof off or folding it back......which apparently the bronco can do

 

[BroncoFish]

I hope this doesn’t come off the wrong way but if you are not planning on using the Bronco off road why are you buying it? It has been clear from the begging that there are a lot of folks interested in the bronco that don’t have any intent of going off road. That is fine and I really do feel as though folks can do whatever they want with their money. I am just curious to hear why you or anyone else would put up with the Broncos limitations (road nose, ride, milage etc) if you were never going to benefit from it’s off road capabilities? Is it really as simple as people buying a car that is somewhat impractical for their use just because they like the look?

You're hitting a very interesting point that goes into many consumer industries. Vast majority of consumers will never use their vehicles to its full purpose. The Bronco and the Defender for 99% of customers are over capable in terms of how the customer plans on using it. And a big reason is because these new rigs are expensive. If a trail needs all the off-roading features of a Sasquatch package Bronco, chances are, you're going to beat the crap out of that relatively expensive Bronco and as a result many people avoid this. For the consumer it's more of a matter of "does the truck have this feature, rather than will I use it?"

 

[Vantcrst]

You're hitting a very interesting point that goes into many consumer industries. Vast majority of consumers will never use their vehicles to its full purpose. The Bronco and the Defender for 99% of customers are over capable in terms of how the customer plans on using it. And a big reason is because these new rigs are expensive. If a trail needs all the off-roading features of a Sasquatch package Bronco, chances are, you're going to beat the crap out of that relatively expensive Bronco and as a result many people avoid this. For the consumer it's more of a matter of "does the truck have this feature, rather than will I use it?"

 

[Vantcrst]

That is my point exactly. I am wondering why consumers are willing to buy these expensive vehicles when they have no intention of using the very features that make them expensive? It has to be the look (love the Bronco’s retro styling). But I would never buy a car just for it’s looks and I certainly wouldn’t put up with waiting 1.5 years for this dumb thing if it didn’t check ALL the boxes for me. Either way I hope you enjoy your new truck.

 

[DryYourTears]

had a 22 reservation for Defender that was switched to a 23. Pulled the rip cord last week due to no info from LRJ. Also take a look at where they make the Defender - Slovakia. Soon they will also be locked down as the rest of Europe. Even once you Defender is built it needs to go on a ship across the ocean and get to one of our great ports that are a mess. So depending on your spec probably looking at 6m to 1 year to get your Defender. No thanks sticking with US and Ford.

The ports they use for the Defender deliveries are not the same ones having huge backlog issues. All of the cars are on RO-RO ships, so no cranes required. Mine took about a week from Southhampton, UK to Baltimore. Add a week or so for west coast. Order-wise, if you get a dealer allocation, 3 months is pretty accurate (my case), but no allocation and the waits have been... longer.

I hope this doesn’t come off the wrong way but if you are not planning on using the Bronco off road why are you buying it? It has been clear from the begging that there are a lot of folks interested in the bronco that don’t have any intent of going off road. That is fine and I really do feel as though folks can do whatever they want with their money. I am just curious to hear why you or anyone else would put up with the Broncos limitations (road nose, ride, milage etc) if you were never going to benefit from it’s off road capabilities? Is it really as simple as people buying a car that is somewhat impractical for their use just because they like the look?

This is just my standpoint - I ordered a Badlands. Had no intentions of rock crawling it, but I did want to be able to drive mild off-road trails, and that was the only interior (I selected black leather) that I could tolerate. Had I been able to get a similar interior in a "lower" trim (and still get "lux"), I'd have gone lower. I'd have saved money and gotten more acceptable gas mileage. Oh, and maybe make the wheels/tires optional on all - I liked the Badlands tires. In any case, at the price point I was at, the Defender I purchased was not a ton more money, and it came with a much nicer interior and more tech features that I wish the Bronco had. I'll still take the Defender off-road, but overall it's a better fit for me day-to-day.

 

[Vantcrst]

The ports they use for the Defender deliveries are not the same ones having huge backlog issues. All of the cars are on RO-RO ships, so no cranes required. Mine took about a week from Southhampton, UK to Baltimore. Add a week or so for west coast. Order-wise, if you get a dealer allocation, 3 months is pretty accurate (my case), but no allocation and the waits have been... longer.



This is just my standpoint - I ordered a Badlands. Had no intentions of rock crawling it, but I did want to be able to drive mild off-road trails, and that was the only interior (I selected black leather) that I could tolerate. Had I been able to get a similar interior in a "lower" trim (and still get "lux"), I'd have gone lower. I'd have saved money and gotten more acceptable gas mileage. Oh, and maybe make the wheels/tires optional on all - I liked the Badlands tires. In any case, at the price point I was at, the Defender I purchased was not a ton more money, and it came with a much nicer interior and more tech features that I wish the Bronco had. I'll still take the Defender off-road, but overall it's a better fit for me day-to-day.

 

[Vantcrst]

The ports they use for the Defender deliveries are not the same ones having huge backlog issues. All of the cars are on RO-RO ships, so no cranes required. Mine took about a week from Southhampton, UK to Baltimore. Add a week or so for west coast. Order-wise, if you get a dealer allocation, 3 months is pretty accurate (my case), but no allocation and the waits have been... longer.



This is just my standpoint - I ordered a Badlands. Had no intentions of rock crawling it, but I did want to be able to drive mild off-road trails, and that was the only interior (I selected black leather) that I could tolerate. Had I been able to get a similar interior in a "lower" trim (and still get "lux"), I'd have gone lower. I'd have saved money and gotten more acceptable gas mileage. Oh, and maybe make the wheels/tires optional on all - I liked the Badlands tires. In any case, at the price point I was at, the Defender I purchased was not a ton more money, and it came with a much nicer interior and more tech features that I wish the Bronco had. I'll still take the Defender off-road, but overall it's a better fit for me day-to-day.

Sounds like you made the right choice. Enjoy

 

[SoCalDawg]

The ports they use for the Defender deliveries are not the same ones having huge backlog issues. All of the cars are on RO-RO ships, so no cranes required. Mine took about a week from Southhampton, UK to Baltimore. Add a week or so for west coast. Order-wise, if you get a dealer allocation, 3 months is pretty accurate (my case), but no allocation and the waits have been... longer.



This is just my standpoint - I ordered a Badlands. Had no intentions of rock crawling it, but I did want to be able to drive mild off-road trails, and that was the only interior (I selected black leather) that I could tolerate. Had I been able to get a similar interior in a "lower" trim (and still get "lux"), I'd have gone lower. I'd have saved money and gotten more acceptable gas mileage. Oh, and maybe make the wheels/tires optional on all - I liked the Badlands tires. In any case, at the price point I was at, the Defender I purchased was not a ton more money, and it came with a much nicer interior and more tech features that I wish the Bronco had. I'll still take the Defender off-road, but overall it's a better fit for me day-to-day.

Not sure if they still do but pretty sure some of the ‘old’ Defenders came in to my hometown port in Brunswick, GA.

 

[mcdoogs]

My BD Bronco has been shipped (rail), and I just got word that my Defender 110 S has been built and is waiting for a ship now. So I should have the Bronco in 1-2 weeks and the Defender by New Years, I’ll try to remember to whip up some pictures and reviews/comparisons after owning them both for a bit.

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