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

[HideoutBronco]

I gave up on my squatched Big Bend Bronco build back in June. And in June I ordered a no frills Land Rover Defender for believe it or not about the same price (no markup) as my reserved Bronco. I took delivery of the Defender in the beginning of October. And this past weekend the wife and I took it for some extensive off-roading on the trails in Big Bend. The Defender was a beast with no problems. I'm sure the Bronco would have been great too.

Coincidentally, when we were in a remote area of the park close to the Rio Grande, we saw a Big Bend Bronco about identical to my build, so I used the opportunity to park next to it and take a picture.

Additionally, today I spoke with my Ford dealer and mY fOrD dEaLeR sAiD 8o% oF bRoNcOs ReSeRvEd JuLy 2o2o HaVeN't BeEn DeLiVeRed (this was hard to type). Who knows if there's any truth to this, but the dealer's comment still elicited an "Owen Wilson wow." Thanks for coming to my Ted Talk.

More patient? I had my bronco in less than an year from announcement to delivery. I had $3000 down on a Defender for 4 years (and almost a 7 year wait from the announcement of the new model) as they continued to push it. 4 years later they announced what they did? No thanks, cancelled and ordered a Bronco. No offense, the Defender is a LR6, not a Defender. Ford delivered way better and way faster.

That all said, will likely order a 22 Defender 110 for my wife, but again...it is really an LR6.

 

[Eddie_bower]

It's not about patience. The Defender is not viable competition for the Bronco. Apples to oranges.

For 99.9% of bronco buyers, the defender will be more than enough offroad and much better on

 

[Merc4x4]

I don't want to run poison spider, so I guess it's good I didn't get my Badlands. Loving the Defender for day to day driving, though.

Point is, Defender doesn't compare to Bronco off road, which is what has been argued on this thread by others. I think everyone should buy what they want, but saying the Defender is as capable as a Bronco off road is not true. It's like saying the Bronco is as luxurious inside as the Defender. Potential buyers should be informed, not misinformed.
The new Defender is more comparable to my previous 2008 Porsche Cayenne Turbo; full independent air suspension, low range gear box, center diff lock, and active sway bar. Plenty capable for green trails.
But green trails get boring, so I moved to a solid axle G550. That was plenty capable for blue trails, but it was becoming unreliable. Looking for a new off road truck that compares with the solid axle G off road, and in the US you're stuck with Wrangler and Bronco.

Loving my Badlands Sasquatch 2.7TT for day to day driving. Much closer on-road to the 957TT than the G550 and can still run with the modified Wranglers off-road. Convertible is louder inside, but since it's my first I'm still enjoying the few days of top-down driving I got in.

 

[SoCalDawg]

Point is, Defender doesn't compare to Bronco off road, which is what has been argued on this thread by others. I think everyone should buy what they want, but saying the Defender is as capable as a Bronco off road is not true. It's like saying the Bronco is as luxurious inside as the Defender. Potential buyers should be informed, not misinformed.
The new Defender is more comparable to my previous 2008 Porsche Cayenne Turbo; full independent air suspension, low range gear box, center diff lock, and active sway bar. Plenty capable for green trails.
But green trails get boring, so I moved to a solid axle G550. That was plenty capable for blue trails, but it was becoming unreliable. Looking for a new off road truck that compares with the solid axle G off road, and in the US you're stuck with Wrangler and Bronco.

Loving my Badlands Sasquatch 2.7TT for day to day driving. Much closer on-road to the 957TT than the G550 and can still run with the modified Wranglers off-road. Convertible is louder inside, but since it's my first I'm still enjoying the few days of top-down driving I got in.

Nice stable. How do you feel about the Sasquatch on long intestate drives/road trips?

 

[Roll Sound]

Nice stable. How do you feel about the Sasquatch on long intestate drives/road trips?

Drives amazingly! I got it over 95mph on my way to thanksgiving in SF. Corners well, brakes like a big bruck! Haha!

 

[Jjt24]

I sold my raptor and wait on a bronco for open air experience in the summer and go anywhere in the winter. In my opinion if you're comparing a bronco to anything other than a wrangler it makes no sense. If you're buying a big suv where the roof doesn't come off then find another fixed roof suv to compare it to. That's just my opinion though, carry on.

 

[Merc4x4]

Nice stable. How do you feel about the Sasquatch on long intestate drives/road trips?

Like said above, Amazing!
I've put almost 5000 miles on it in 2 months. I just drove 11 hours straight yesterday and will be making the same trip again in a few weeks. Dec will be 3rd trip from NY to NC and back since I picked it up end of Sept.
90-100 mph no issue. Limited to a bit over 100.
Comfortable, stable, sporty.
ACC and Lane Keep are great.

Tire traction under braking could be improved to match handling and acceleration.

 

[Lxatoledo]

The price difference isn't quite that large. My Defender was $15k over my Badland build (lux, 2.7, mic, tow, 4 door). It also came with a LOT more features. The stereo is better, heated and cooled seats, drive assistance features, air suspension, better tech... nobody here wants to see the list, but the only thing I'd change is getting more aggressive tires, and maybe 18 inch wheels.

This is the first non-Ford I've ever had, and Ford could learn a lot from the Defender, which is probably why they were spotted driving one around Dearborn recently.

I'll also say my 110 with the advanced off-road and air suspension sits higher than a non-squatch Bronco.

Used to be owned by Ford...... Tata Motors from India. Eeeeeh, a bit concerning. "Apart from product portfolio issues, Tata Motors Ltd (TML) suffered from issues relating to quality and service responsiveness, all having an adverse impact on the brand,"

 

[DryYourTears]

Used to be owned by Ford...... Tata Motors from India. Eeeeeh, a bit concerning. "Apart from product portfolio issues, Tata Motors Ltd (TML) suffered from issues relating to quality and service responsiveness, all having an adverse impact on the brand,"

There have been some more recent article about them focusing more on quality control. So far I haven't had any issues with my Defender, but it's only been 3 and a half months. I see some issues here and there on a Land Rover forum, but I'm not sure if it's accurate or sort of like the 2.7L engine problems here, because you generally only hear about the bad stuff online.

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