New Ford Bronco

[yobuck]

I just watched a few You Tube videos previewing the new Bronco lineup including all the various models and options.
Having owned a few Jeeps until very recently, ive always been partial to them. But after seeing these videos id say Jeep should be worried about how they will affect their sales.

[Balljoint]

Been watching the build of a real 70ish Bronco on Off the Ranch on u-tube

[yobuck]

Been watching the build of a real 70ish Bronco on Off the Ranch on u-tube

Yes i enjoy watching those also.
I owned some of those now classic vehicles when they were new.
The only thing better about them is the nostalgia factor.
But that soon leaves after driving the new ones.

[JeepsAndGuns]

Ford has not built a real bronco since 1977. Real broncos were made between 66 and 77.
The 78-79 fullsize "bronco" was not bad, probably because they were based off the best looking ford truck ever made (78-79), with the 77 and older being 2nd in line. Anything made by ford after 79 sucks in my opinion.

The new one looks like a copy of that crappy toyota fj.

Not worried about jeep sales, as for me, they have not built anything good since 1995. The 97-06 tj's are ok, but anything after that I do not care for at all.

Fyi, the one of off the ranch is a 80's model, not 70's.

[J.Baker]

I've been following the news on the new Bronco pretty closely for about a year or so as I was always a huge fan of the 66-77 Bronco's. For the most part I think Ford did a great job on the overall design of this new one, but I'm still not to thrilled about the engine choices and the trims and available options are a bit odd to say the least. For example...

- Ford really touted the 7-speed manual with crawler gear (6.588:1) and it's offering almost 95:1 low range reduction with the advanced t-case and 4.70:1 axle gear ratio. Problem is the only way you can get a manual transmission with the advanced t-case is to order the Badlands trim level with a 4-banger.

- Two t-cases are offered, the standard that has three manually selectable drive modes (2H, 4H and 4L) and the advanced which has four selectable drive modes (2H, 4H, 4L and Auto). The standard has a low range of 2.72:1 while the advanced has a low ratio of 3.06:1.

- A lot of folks are hung up on the fact the new Bronco has independent front suspension (IFS), but considering how it's configured I don't see it as a problem and IFS offers a much better on-road manners than a solid axle (no death wobble!) Let's face it, for 95% of the people who buy one the furthest off-road they will get will be driving down a gravel driveway.

- One thing to note is that there are two different front axles offered in the new Bronco depending on trim level. The standard front axle is the Dana M190 AvanTEK which is the equivalent of the Dana 35 in terms of size and strength. The beefier front axle that comes standard on the higher trim levels or with the Sasquatch package is the Dana M210 AvanTEK which is the equivalent of a Dana 44.

- Rear axle is a Dana M220 AvanTEK on all trims that's the equivalent of a Dana 44.

- Several days after launch Ford says you can't order the Sasquatch package with a manual transmission. This after a manual transmission yellow 2dr. was featured in all of the launch videos is depicted with what appeared to be the Sasquatch package. Mind you the Sasquatch package is the off-road package for the Bronco (long travel suspension, Bilstien shocks, front & rear electronic lockers, advanced t-case with lower low range ratio, etc) and is what REALLY sets the Bronco apart from the Wrangler's Rubicon package as you can get Sasquatch on all trim levels. (Note: Ford has stated they're open to the possibility of offering the manual with Sasquatch if there's enough interest and several petitions have been setup and people have been flooding Ford's N. America Communication Manager's [Mark Levine] social media pages begging for it.)

- Ford also came out after the launch and noted you can't get the manual transmission with the 2.7L V6 engine option. Most speculate this is due to the fact that the Getrag transmission is rated to 406ft-lbs of torque and the 2.7L is estimated to put out 400ft-lbs. After Fords class action lawsuit troubles with the Mustang's manual transmission this was probably a smart choice on their part. Then again, this is an all new transmission designed specifically for the Bronco - so why not design it to handle to torque of both engines that will be used in the platform?

- Base model comes with carpet and cloth seats, and to get marine grade vinyl seats and rubber floormats with drain holes (aka washout interior) you have to step up to the Black Diamond or Badlands trim. No indication yet if there will be an carpet delete or vinyl seat options to get the washout interior on a base model.

- Rear seats don't fold down quite flat, with the front edge being about 4" above the level of the package tray when folded. This to me is just poor/lazy/uncoordinated design on Ford's part. Heck, even the rear seat in the 1982 Chevy Chevette my mom had back in the early 80's had back seats that actually folded flat and that was about as cheap a car as you could get back then.

- Size of the new Bronco in the videos is a little deceiving as it looks very small. Comparing the new 2-door dimensions with the previous 5 generations of Bronco's, you can see it's pretty close to the 78-79 Gen 2 Bronco.

What I think Ford did get right though are the styling, easily removable top and doors, and the Sasquatch package being available on all trim levels (so long as you want an auto trans). The doors don't have upper window frames like the Jeep's making them a little lighter and much easier for one person to handle. Like the Wrangler, the Bronco will feature a 3 or 4 piece hardtop depending on # of doors, with the front section above the driver and passenger seats being two pieces (though I do believe their is a 1-pc option for the front section as well).

As noted earlier the biggest thing I think Ford did right was 1) coming up with the Sasquatch package, and 2) choosing to offer it on all trim levels - including the base model. This package basically gets you everything that you'd get with the Rubicon trim level on a Wrangler which is Jeep's top trim level and pretty pricey. So with the Bronco you can get all that off-road capability even in a base model (so long as it's an automatic at this point).

A great many ponied up the $100 to reserve their Bronco on launch night planning to get a base model with V6, manual transmission and the Sasquatch package, but as I've noted Ford has since squashed the Sasquatch package option with the manual transmission. Needless to say this has made a LOT of people mad. You can basically blame it on the bean counters as I'm sure they looked at Wrangler sales numbers with a manual transmissions when deciding not to offer that combination. However, the Wrangler manual doesn't have the 7th crawler gear the Bronco manual does which makes it very appealing to those wanting to do more serious off-roading (rock crawling) with the Bronco.

Most are speculating the Sasquatch package will run around $5-6k, while the upgrade to the 2.7L v6 will probably run around $800-1000 and the 10spd auto coming in at about $1200-1500. Figuring a base price of $30,000 on the base 2dr model, that jacks the price up to around $38.5k. Think about that for a moment though - $38.5k for a Bronco that has all the off-road goodies you need (F/R E-lockers, low gearing, long-travel suspension, 35" tires) for a serious off-road rig. That's a good $8,000 less than a similarly equipped 2dr Wrangler Rubicon rolling on 33" tires.

Some trim level/package details for those interested:

Biggest question I have at this point, and can't get an answer to, is whether or not a 55" long Pelican hard gun case will fit in the back of a 2-door with the rear seat folded down.

[J.Baker]

Can't have a new Bronco thread without a video or two...