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Ford 2021 Ford Bronco

Houndoc

Houndoc

Registered User
Location
Grantsville
johngottfredson said:
Welp, my bronco is built and shipped. Estimated delivery of 3/11.
I went with the base model, added 2.7 engine, 4 door, hard top, auxiliary switches, and Sasquatch package. Should come in just under $45k, which seems like good value. I already picked up some OEM sliders for $150.

I was actually pretty happy with my gladiator rubicon, just not for a daily. Cost to get into a two door wrangler rubicon was just too much, so I went bronco. If it disappoints I figure I can sell it and make enough to offset the extra cost of the Jeep. But I’m feeling good about the bronco at this point, seeing as I’m the least Rocky Mountain Extreme 4x4er here, so the tie rods should have a long and happy life.
Click to expand...
It will be interesting to see some people here getting use out of them. I was wanting to go similar route to what you are doing, but it is my wife's turn to pick her car so I was out voted.
 
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Pike2350

Registered User
Location
Salt Lake City
Fab Fours used to make moderately good looking Jeep bumpers (Always hated their full size truck front bumpers) They have "jumped the shark" and just make horrible Grumper designs now.

I like the bumper as a stand alone piece. The part that ties tot he grille is terrible. The grille could be OKish if it didn't have the angry look, and didn't drop down to meet up with the bumper. Just a beefier grille insert. Not sure how(if at all) practical it is, but the look could be OK without the angry glare shape.
 
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rholbrook

Well-Known Member
Location
Kaysville, Ut
My neighbor just put this ugly stuff on his Jeep. He has been bugging me to take him to Moab. Now he just solidified me telling him NO forever. He thinks it is so cool. His rainbow blade sun glasses and mullet were enough to keep us out of the same location jeeping but now he added that ugly grill. He does have a cool 66 Mustang GT350 clone.
 
johngottfredson

johngottfredson

Threat Level Midnight
Location
Alpine
Here's a little better feedback:

Design - Exterior: Love it. Classic boxy SUV, the way God intended. I still miss my 1990 box Montero I drove in high school, poor man's G Wagon doppelgänger. The proportions of this bronco feel very tuned into to the utilitarian squared off vehicles of days of yore. Very classic feel, I think it will age well. The size is perfect, feels big enough, yet small enough. Coming from my Tundra, I feel like I'm driving a Mini Cooper when I'm parking in Costco on Saturday, but was still able to tow a decent load to the dump, fold down the seats and haul all my crap quality surplus to DI, or haul the kids to practice (It was a busy first week :cool:). I thought the wider fender flares and 'beauty rings' of the Sasquatch wheels would bug me a lot more than they do, its growing on me. Love the hard top.

Design - Interior: Also love it. Feels way roomier than my gladiator. Very spartan layout, conveys a rugged simplicity that I really go for. Big screen, almost 8" touch screen on the base model. I definitely feel that there is a ton of value on the base model, hits the perfect balance for me of updated tech (auto high beams, LED lights, touch screen, wireless CarPlay, USB-C) and simplicity (single zone climate control, manual cloth seats.) Kids feel comfortable in the back seat, they say it feels roomier than the gladiator as well. The driver seat goes farther back than any car I have owned, I don't even have it all the way back when driving, which is a new experience. More room for my right leg to rest against the middle transmission hump than the jeep. Cloth seats are extremely comfortable, although I do wish the seat was longer, it hits the back of my thigh. The Tundra was unbelievably comfortable in that regard, but this is a smaller package and they have to cut somewhere for space I suppose. Base model lacks footwell lighting, plus no middle overhead crossbar means its super dark at night. Which I'm cool with, I feel like batman, but that might be a future mod to add some little LED strips at some point. Speakers are not anywhere near as good as the tundra, which couldn't hold a candle to the Alpine speakers in the gladiator. But I'm not an audiophile, and they work just dandy for my audiobooks and nineties grunge playlist. Heater gets real hot real fast, and with the cloth seats not being that cold, and my ability to remote start the bronco from the app in the mornings, I haven't missed heated seats. Complaint: back seats don't angle back for some reason, and are more vertical than they could be. Back door opens easily, although the gas strut tries to stop it at fixed points, but just ends up being annoying. Rear camera is more grainy than I would have expected.

Performance: 2.7 has all the power I want, I'm very satisfied with it. 4.7 gears and 330 hp spins the 35's with zero problems, I would imagine 37's would be no sweat. 17.5 mpg feels like a hybrid compared to the tundra (12.5 with my 35's...) so I'm doing my part for the environment. Lockers kick in immediately, way faster than the rubicon. Trail turn assist is a fun party trick that I'm excited to use somewhere other than the snowy parking lot of Tibble fork. Tiny bit of turbo lag when I step on it hard, more than in my 3.5 eco boost expedition for some reason. Suspension is awesome, I freaked my wife out by gunning over a speed bump which it absorbed like it was nothing, wife is officially impressed.
Biggest complaint is the 10 speed automatic. Has a cheap, tinny feeling when shifting from Park to Drive, and always feels like its switching between all 10 gears, constantly. The driving experience is unaffected, always seem to have rpm's in a good range, but I can HEAR the gear changes and its just annoying. The 8 speed of the gladiator was light years better. Tracks straight down the road without constant correcting, much better driving experience than the jeep, perfect for a daily driver. Ford was smart to go IFS.

Overall, I am beyond pleased that I ordered this thing back when I did and waited it out. It's surpassing my expectations. 10/10 would recommend.
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Quick comparison to my 2020 Gladiator Rubicon: More power. 3.4 pentastar was adequate with 33's, but not thrilling. I hesitated to upsize the tires without a regear, because while there was enough power in stock form, there wasn't extra. Driving experience is way better in the bronco. I would get some real driving fatigue in the jeep just because of the constant corrections to track straight down the road, plus it was slightly more cramped inside. Bronco has more shoulder room, way more leg room front to back because the seats go back so far, and more legroom side to side. My right leg always rested against some misplaced contour on the jeep and it would bug after a while. The windshield is also farther from your face, so it feels less claustrophobic. And again, the 8 speed transmission was my all-time favorite.

I think the bronco interior design is better than the jeep, with the exception of the dash gauges. Super weird digital layout in the bronco, jeep was great. Less visual clutter in the bronco. Overhead aux switches are super cool. Placement of window roll down switches in the center console right next to my resting hand is a win, as is the auto stop/start switch right by the gear shifter for easy turn off. Grab handles are not so great in the bronco (I added some paracord handles).

Jeep interior quality is WAY better. All the materials were super nice, everything felt tight and dialed in. The leather seats were great, better than the Ford offering which made going cloth a no brainer. Infotainment system of the jeep was also superior and more intuitive for me. Sound system in the gladiator, as referenced earlier, was phenomenal. I tried out the B&O upgraded system available in the upper bronco trims and was not impressed, again confirming the base model decision.

Lastly, the jeep steel bumper upgrade was awesome because I could drop a winch right in, no problem. I ordered the steel "winch-ready" bumper with the bronco, but you need to come up with another $700 for an aftermarket winch plate that looks terrible to stick one on the front. I'm hoping the aftermarket comes up with better solutions that allows me to use the winch ready bumper on my 2.7 (Rough Country has a hidden winch option, but it's only available for the 2.3 engine and requires frame cutting.) It's pretty clear that Ford didn't plan ahead for winches - their factory option blocks the front camera, no hidden winch option between the frame rails.

Lastly, lastly. I did really enjoy my jeep. I would buy another one, was very impressed. But not as a daily driver, so the bronco is just better for me, AND more affordable.
 
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