Ford Bronco Megathread

[Joaquin Ruhi]

And just a correction to the title, I have long said for 3 years now, this U725 vehicle was going to be a 2021 model and was never a 2020 model year vehicle.

Title corrected.

 

[Rydo]

2-door looks good, the others look a bit bland.

Ford, who only a few. years ago touted how they would be a global car-brand with worldwide models, isn't bringing the Bronco to anywhere but NA. Makes sense, it's not like SUV sales in Europe are at an all time high...🙄

 

[Gecko]

Overall, I'm impressed and happy that Ford seems to have such a successful vehicle on their hands. I read somewhere that pre-orders would take up like 6-8 months of deliveries... not sure where that stands now? I belong to a 4Runner forum and a number of those folks have a very obviously wandering eye for this Bronco, and it's hard to blame them with the age of Toyota's BOF lineup.

Some of the higher trim Bronco models with matte black accents, blacked out roofs and blacked out wheels look really sharp to me. One thing I struggle with is the interior, which doesn't look too different from the 2004 FJ Cruiser, and that vehicle was dogged for having a boring/basic/plastic interior for its entire lifetime. For what these Broncos cost - some in the realm of $50-65k - that interior is a bit hard to swallow, but I saw some options regarding a luxury package, so maybe that will help?

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.

We can logically assume Bronco Raptor comes sometime soon, and Jeep just showed a Wrangler 392 concept with a ~485hp HEMI engine. Hello, TRD PRO... where are you?

 

[Ian Schmidt]

Ford, who only a few. years ago touted how they would be a global car-brand with worldwide models, isn't bringing the Bronco to anywhere but NA. Makes sense, it's not like SUV sales in Europe are at an all time high...🙄

Does Europe have the kind of off-roading Wrangler-driving subculture the US does? Aside from the Bronco Sport this is a pretty specialized vehicle.

One thing I struggle with is the interior, which doesn't look too different from the 2004 FJ Cruiser, and that vehicle was dogged for having a boring/basic/plastic interior for its entire lifetime. For what these Broncos cost - some in the realm of $50-65k - that interior is a bit hard to swallow, but I saw some options regarding a luxury package, so maybe that will help?

There's a dizzying array of options combinations and interiors (and exterior colors) on this thing. The higher-end ones I saw looked pretty good, but you can also get an all-plastic interior that's designed to be hosed out like the Wrangler. I will say on the YouTube launch livestream (which is anec-data, I know) a lot of people were saying this is what the Land Rover Defender should have been.

This article runs down a lot of the details that you otherwise have to hunt around for, including the available 6+1 speed Getrag manual:

2021 Ford Bronco – All the Juicy Details

It’s been teased for years. Then it was formally announced back in 2017. And now, the Bronco, Ford’s hard-core, open-air Wrangler competitor is finally

hooniverse.com

 

[mmcartalk]

Good launch thus far. Dont know if the other launch reviews are the same but, the presenter for the Edmunds thing really was pushing "Removable". is this a buzz word that Ford PR is pushing out, or is it just him?

I think it was to point out that the "removables" are there to compete with all of the different ways that the Wrangler can be configured.

 

[Motor]

 

[Joaquin Ruhi]

Ford, who only a few. years ago touted how they would be a global car-brand with worldwide models, isn't bringing the Bronco to anywhere but NA.

Does Europe have the kind of off-roading Wrangler-driving subculture the US does? Aside from the Bronco Sport this is a pretty specialized vehicle.

Through my work with the Spanish-language Que Auto Compro I was privy to an advance backgrounder briefing and Q&A session for the new Broncos. Whether or not the Broncos were considered "world vehicles" to be amply exported was, in fact, my first intended question during the latter. Another journalist beat me to it, but Ford's answer was bland, noncommittal evasion. They said they had no details to offer "at this time" but did say that they saw Bronco as a product "predominantly for North America" and that the smaller Bronco Sport had more export potential.

 

[Ian Schmidt]

They said they had no details to offer "at this time" but did say that they saw Bronco as a product "predominantly for North America" and that the smaller Bronco Sport had more export potential.

That's kind of what I suspected. The Bronco Sport has relatively little to do mechanically with the 2-door and 4-door and seems much more export-friendly. People on Twitter were noting that the Sport is Escape-derived (with a smaller wheelbase) but cheaper than the Escape for AWD and the more powerful engine choices, so it's going to be interesting how that plays out in Ford's lineup.

 

[spwolf]

With it looking like the Bronco will directly challenge the Wrangler, I wish Toyota would do the same with the FJ. I remember that for the last gen, they had plans for versions with lift off tops, four doors, etc - just like the Wrangler - but then the whole project was discontinued. There is a lot of opportunity here.

Bronco looks a lot like FJ. Too bad FJ is not around anymore.

I like the full blown one while Sport kind of looks like a lot of parts sharing with other Ford models inside.

 

[Levi]

That is a nice SUV/4x4 with 35 inch wheels from factory, more such cars should exist. Not for Europe again, now the most boring car culture world wide.

The off-road scene in Europe is a very small niche, alot of which is in Easter countries (Poland, Russia, Turkey,...).

 

[ssun30]

Toyota BOF fans still feel "stabbed in the back" for the discontinuation of the FJ in most markets. To be fair the FJ was based on a very old J120 Prado platform so its capabilities were outdated even compared to a JK. But right now is the perfect time to fully update it.

I'm pretty sure the Bronco will be a very sought-after parallel import here. The offroad people are always looking for 'something that's not a boring Wrangler'. I'm seriously considering one but is Ford reliability that bad?

 

[Gecko]

I'm seriously considering one but is Ford reliability that bad?

Yes. And I'm usually a "Don't listen to unhappy people on the internet" type of person, but I've never known anyone - in real life - with a Ford product that didn't start having significant component/drivetrain failures between 50-70k miles, and much worse approaching 100k miles or more.

For what it's worth, I don't think most Ford buyers care a whole lot about reliability either... their cars sell on flashy tech, monthly payments and appearance. Ford knows that, so they invest their R&D accordingly. When your transmission starts slipping at 52k, they just walk you up to the new car department and get you into "a brand new one 'with no issues' for $100/mo more. Such a great deal, right?!"

If a Toyota product had a slipping transmission at 52k miles, the owner would be furious, open a case with the regional rep, national customer service, and probably immediately try to start the lemon law process.

Toyota just has a very different approach to building cars, and for this reason, Ford owners vs. Toyota owners have completely different expectations about ownership.

One of my best friends has a 2015 Escape that has been in the shop every 3 months for the last two years: Sync has died 3x, electrical failure 4x, the blowoff valve on the turbo went bad, transmission is slipping, the car very often won't start and the dealer can't diagnose it, coolant leaks out so he has to keep extra in his car at all times, the list goes on. It only has 70k miles on it and all of this started around 55k. You know what he told me yesterday? He can't wait to buy a Bronco. 🤦‍♂️

I can tell you very similar stories about friends with F-150s and Explorers as well - these are not isolated incidents.

 

[ssun30]

Right. 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.

Since majority of my adventures are overlanding not rock climbing I guess I'll wait for TNGA-F instead.

 

[mikeavelli]

They nailed pretty much everything here, including the digital marketing launch. Very impressed.

 

[suxeL]

Right. 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.

Since majority of my adventures are overlanding not rock climbing I guess I'll wait for TNGA-F instead.

Was the raptor designed for overlanding and high altitude driving? I thought it was more for baja/prerunner speed?

 

[Carmaker1]

I'm quite very proud of the three Raptors that I own and I've owned at least five of them so far, alongside other Fords, BMW, Infiniti, MB, and JLR. My 6.2 V8s have had next to no problems and the oldest of them has a lot of mileage on it and has been beaten to hell with hardcore off-roading at over 200k.

We all have our anecdotal experiences, but the difference is what one is willing to invest in a product to gain conquest buyers and not rest on laurels. Two decades ago you would not find me in a Ford outside of JLR or PAG. I'm not going to jump down anyone's throat about what I consider unfair criticisms, which maybe don't tell the whole picture.

There's a reason why we sell a lot of trucks and will continue to do so.
Signing off.

 

[Ian Schmidt]

That's not contradictory to what @ssun30 said. I can totally believe that the 6.2's great anywhere in North America and also that it may have trouble climbing Everest. I always thought the Raptor was more of a racing truck than an overlander or off-roader anyway, so I'm surprised that people are doing that with it.

 

[Motor]

 

[ssun30]

That's not contradictory to what @ssun30 said. I can totally believe that the 6.2's great anywhere in North America and also that it may have trouble climbing Everest. I always thought the Raptor was more of a racing truck than an overlander or off-roader anyway, so I'm surprised that people are doing that with it.

The 'Drive to EBC' is the first step for any offroad vehicle to get enough trust from the offroad people here. The general belief is if it cannot conquer terrain easily traversed by hundreds of thousands of J150 and J200 on a daily basis then it's not a trustworthy truck.

The pre-2017 3.5 Ecoboost and 5.0 also had overheating problems though not as bad as the 6.2. But the post-2018 F150 is significantly better and proven to be 'EBC-ready'.

I think I'll wait for more people to do the Everest or Lop Nor drive before determining whether the Bronco is reliable enough.

 

[mmcartalk]

I think I'll wait for more people to do the Everest or Lop Nor drive before determining whether the Bronco is reliable enough.

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.