Ford Bronco Megathread

ssun30

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Isn't the Rubicon Trail considered the Gold-Standard for proving the ruggedness of an off-road chassis? After all, that is why Jeep uses that name on the most hard-core version of the Wrangler.
Gold standard in America, not rest of the world. In many places it's the J70. But the Wrangler JK is still very highly valued here, considered on par with J200. The JL still needs some time to prove the 2.0T engine is as reliable as the 3.6.
 

Joaquin Ruhi

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I know I sound like "that" internet troll, but for as much as I like this Bronco and as old as the 4Runner is, there's no way you will find me close to owning any Ford product anytime soon. All of the quality problems with the Explorer and Aviator plus personal stories from friends and family with EcoBoost nightmares, transmissions going out at 50k, compressors dying at 60k, AC units completely crapping out at 70k the list goes on... not for me. I do wish Ford the very best though.
My only experience with Ford products is the Raptor which has a notorious reputation for engine overheating at high altitudes like Tibet. The EcoBoost is actually a bit better. The 6.2 V8 just won't go more than 200km without needing to stop to cool down.

You can tell Ford only design their trucks for the NA landscape which is never higher than 4200m (with roads). On the other hand, a RAV4 can do overlanding to Everest Base Camp without any problems. Even the ES a sedan never intended for overlanding was tested in the harshest environment possible.
My feelings about Ford are deeply conflicted. On the one hand, I desperately want them to succeed, since Ford puts the bread on the table for my daughter's family (my son-in-law is a software electrical engineer that works for them, and his team does the over-the-air update capabilities of SYNC 4-enabled Fords [upcoming Mach-E, F-150 and Bronco at this point]). But the Ford horror stories @Gecko and @ssun30 list above certainly ring true with me. My last Detroit 3 car was a 1992 Ford Taurus wagon. By the time its 4-year lease was over, myriad transmission, electrical and A/C issues stranded me halfway to Disney World and in the middle of Times Square in New York City. That's when I swore off Detroit 3 cars for good. (My previous Detroit 3 car was a 1980 Chevrolet Citation that was every bit the horror story that @mmcartalk described in a separate Garage thread).
 

mmcartalk

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That's when I swore off Detroit 3 cars for good.

AT one point, in the mid-1980s, after several GM/Chrysler lemons, I felt the same way (and it was true at the time). But today's American-designed Ford and GM products are generally a lot better than they were 35-40 years ago. FCA has more of a mixed bag.....they still produce some true lemons.
 
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Gecko

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It is hard to deny the brilliance of Ford with this new Bronco... it seems possible that they are now working on a pickup variant as well.


Bronco Sport
Two door Bronco
Four door Bronco
High Performance Bronco - rumored to called Warthog?
Bronco pickup

When Ford announced the retirement of their passenger cars, I thought, "Hmmm... ok." But the plan is shaping up very nicely, and is delivering the right products at the right time.
 

Gecko

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Every little piece of the launch and momentum around the Bronco has been so well curated by Ford:

 

ssun30

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I never liked the proportions of 4 door Bronco/Wrangler. They look 'stretched' because their base design is 2 door. They have bad breakover angles because of that stretched wheelbase.

The Land Cruisers and G-wagen are designed to look right in 4 door but comically stubby in 2 door. To me the best looking offroader would be a slightly stretched FJ Cruiser (+50mm) with proper 4 door.
 

Gecko

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Glad this thread got bumped... the Bronco has been rolling around in the back of my head lately.

For all of the fanfare and the rebirth of an icon into a market that couldn't be more receptive, is anyone else feeling like the launch of the Bronco is starting to feel... botched?

2017: Ford confirms the return of the Bronco
March 2019: Shown to dealers
November 2019: Introduction promised in 2020
July 2020: Officially launched after being delayed from March 2020

... it is now August 2021, more than 12 months later, and Broncos are really just starting to roll out, but those who have them are reporting quality problems. The soft top models are being recalled and stalled because Ford rushed the production. Hard top models are having plenty of issues as well with replacements now being built. Dealers are jacking up prices and original build specs are turning out to be significantly more expensive than what initial orders showed. Owners are reporting 12-14MPG... on the 4cyl models. Limited communication from Ford about order status, build time and wait times.

In some ways, I feel bad for Ford because the pandemic is a big part of it and the product is so popular, but it does seem there are some quality issues that need to be addressed. I assumed that would happen, but with every Ford release, there is always the promise of Ford's "newfound better quality."

And for me, as much as I like the power delivery of the larger EcoBoost motors... I have yet to hear of one that delivers on the advertised MPG.
 

carguy420

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Glad this thread got bumped... the Bronco has been rolling around in the back of my head lately.

For all of the fanfare and the rebirth of an icon into a market that couldn't be more receptive, is anyone else feeling like the launch of the Bronco is starting to feel... botched?

2017: Ford confirms the return of the Bronco
March 2019: Shown to dealers
November 2019: Introduction promised in 2020
July 2020: Officially launched after being delayed from March 2020

... it is now August 2021, more than 12 months later, and Broncos are really just starting to roll out, but those who have them are reporting quality problems. The soft top models are being recalled and stalled because Ford rushed the production. Hard top models are having plenty of issues as well with replacements now being built. Dealers are jacking up prices and original build specs are turning out to be significantly more expensive than what initial orders showed. Owners are reporting 12-14MPG... on the 4cyl models. Limited communication from Ford about order status, build time and wait times.

In some ways, I feel bad for Ford because the pandemic is a big part of it and the product is so popular, but it does seem there are some quality issues that need to be addressed. I assumed that would happen, but with every Ford release, there is always the promise of Ford's "newfound better quality."

And for me, as much as I like the power delivery of the larger EcoBoost motors... I have yet to hear of one that delivers on the advertised MPG.
Botched it big time lol, the Bronco's launch is like the exact opposite of the Land Cruiser 300's launch, Toyota had already manufactured a decent amount of LC300s ready to be shipped off to the dealers and customers before it even debut, and then we have Ford here, who screwed around for multiple years, with potential customers waiting until their hair turned white only to hear news about production and build quality issues, Ford has always been a short-sighted and immoral car manufacturer, so I guess this "over-promising but under-delivering" shouldn't be too surprising.

12-14mpg on 4-cylinder models? And people keep talking sh!t about Tundras and Land Cruisers getting bad fuel economy lol. There are very good reasons why Ford's Ecoboost engines have been given nicknames like Ecoturd and Ecoboom, I mean even Ford technicians would avoid the Ecoboost engines and stick with Ford's naturally aspirated engines when there's the option to pick between the two.
 
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Ian Schmidt

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If it off-roads well (and while I haven't paid a lot of attention to that, it seems to), some customers will forgive a lot. Nobody tells self-deprecating reliability jokes like hardcore Jeep owners.

At the same time though, it's another high-profile Ford launch that's turned into a quality debacle.
 

Demetrius

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Botched it big time lol, the Bronco's launch is like the exact opposite of the Land Cruiser 300's launch, Toyota had already manufactured a decent amount of LC300s ready to be shipped off to the dealers and customers before it even debut, and then we have Ford here, who screwed around for multiple years, with potential customers waiting until their hair turned white only to hear news about production and build quality issues, Ford has always been a short-sighted and immoral car manufacturer, so I guess this "over-promising but under-delivering" shouldn't be too surprising.

12-14mpg on 4-cylinder models? And people keep talking sh!t about Tundras and Land Cruisers getting bad fuel economy lol. There are very good reasons why Ford's Ecoboost engines have been given nicknames like Ecoturd and Ecoboom, I mean even Ford technicians would avoid the Ecoboost engines and stick with Ford's naturally aspirated engines when there's the option to pick between the two.
I was driving my GS-F this past Saturday in some moderate traffic, so I wasn't going much faster than the 60 mph speed limit. 32 mpg for the 40 min trip. Although different purposed vehicles, I'm not sure a GS 200t would fair much better, given my commute and normal driving style.

There are some instances where downsizing works well--- compact cars, small to midsized CUV's, even sports cars. Lighter weight, more power in most cases.

But there are quite a few examples where something like the Bronco, that has a small displacement turbo to make that engine work harder and it just doesn't add up to the supposed MPG benefits.
 

IS-SV

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I was driving my GS-F this past Saturday in some moderate traffic, so I wasn't going much faster than the 60 mph speed limit. 32 mpg for the 40 min trip. Although different purposed vehicles, I'm not sure a GS 200t would fair much better, given my commute and normal driving style.

There are some instances where downsizing works well--- compact cars, small to midsized CUV's, even sports cars. Lighter weight, more power in most cases.

But there are quite a few examples where something like the Bronco, that has a small displacement turbo to make that engine work harder and it just doesn't add up to the supposed MPG benefits.
Good point about the "supposed MPG benefits" of the small turbo engine in bigger vehicles.
But automakers today building gas engine vehicles are focused on achieving certain EPA mpg numbers, they don't care if "it just doesn't add up" in reality. On the EPA mpg cycle, the turbo 4 will still achieve higher numbers, despite a lackluster drive. i personally have lost interest (yawn) in the typical turbo 4 compliance engines/vehicles, too much of a rental car experience for me.

On topic, I haven't seen a new Bronco on the street yet, but I'm sure to see one soon.
 

ssun30

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The 2.3 Ecoboost is downsized from 4.0L with 42.5% downsizing factor. If the Bronco had a similar 1GR as 4Runner it would have even worse fuel economy than this.

One possibility is the so called 'right sizing' problem in which over-downsizing causes the engine to operate out of its optimal BSFC window (i.e. its partial load point for optimal BSFC is too low and the car use up the torque reserve too early). You can also see this in the 4.6L vs. 5.7L Tundra/LC200 where the smaller engine does not give any better fuel economy. If the Bronco is a sleek medium weight sedan the sizing might be just right but it's not a very aerodynamic heavy truck with high friction offroad tires. In this case an engine with lower downsizing factor (e.g. 2.5-2.7T with similar peak power/torque) would be better.
 

mikeavelli

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I was at Overland Expo with Lexus and Ford had a large Bronco section. Quite a few used by vendors and there was an odd road course too. Just a well done vehicle.
 

ssun30

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I am considering a Bronco but unfortunately the area I live in lack easy access to off-road actions so an off-road SUV doesn't really make sense. I'm looking for a 2.7t model but the Ford packaging names really confuses me. Also local dealers are not enthusiastic about selling one (maybe poor availability) and would push me to get a pickup truck.

The interior is very poor for how much they ask for. But that's the same problem for the Wrangler and 4Runner too.