I feel like an apple freak. It's bronco release day. Ha ha.
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AggieOE
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Don't get me wrong, it's nothing like a minivan or Suburban but it's enough to be usable on occasions. Since the 2nd row slides, leg room for the 3rd row is not an issue. However, headroom wise, it's really only doable if you're under 5' 6".
We rarely ever use it but we also don't have kids yet. It takes up about as much room as the optional 4Runner sliding cargo tray.
Member III
That's exactly it, they danced the perfect line and this is everything the FJC wanted to be and more.
They'll miss the super hard-core off road Jeep people who need that SFA but they'll also lose the family wagon crowd on the 4Runner side. However, that leaves probably 90% on either side of the equation to pick from who can get a much more capable SUV than a 4Runner with 35's and lockers and a 7MT with a crawl ratio that beats even a Rubicon while being a lot more civilized than the Jeep because it's IFS and rack and pinion.
IMO the only real problem I have with it is the pre-release payload rating... it's around JL territory which is about a third less than a 4Runner and atypical of Ford who leads the mid-size pickup segment by no small margin. Also that I can't get the 7MT with the 2.7L but I think the 2.3L with that boost package they offer for the Ranger will be more than fine.
Either way, I'm buying one after my Gladiator is paid off and others have worked out the kinks... just becomes a question of which becomes the daily and which becomes the rig at that point.
Enthusiast III
IFS, if done right is just as good as solid front axle anyways. I have owned both I don't get the big deal anyways.
Enthusiast III
Neither does the US military. Humvees are IFS all around and I’d say they are very worthy off-road! Really comes down to the design of the rig and this Bronco looks pretty good to me.
IFS may limit how high a person can lift the Bronco, but with stock 35” tires available, large lift is probably not necessary for most applications outside of novelty.
Member III
humvees are terrible offroad, unless it's open desert lol.
SFA is nice, but realistically 90% of people buying will be better off with IFS. You don't really get into the needs of a SFA until you start modifying things a lot anyways for more advanced trails
SFA is nice, but realistically 90% of people buying will be better off with IFS. You don't really get into the needs of a SFA until you start modifying things a lot anyways for more advanced trails
Fair! Though, terrible is a strong word, but I do agree that they are limited in some contexts off-road, but IFS is not one of those limitations. I’ve got only a little experience with them (a friend has one exclusively as a bush/hunting rig in Canadian shield-type bush - Dense trees, muskeg, etc.) but I am under the impression that the main limitation for the Humvee is the size of the rig. Your point is well taken that they do better in some terrains than others - the point I was making is that IFS, if designed properly, is good for most off-road applications and usually far better on road. The off-road capability gap is incredibly small for the vast majority of people and trails.
Plenty of other examples of IFS doing pretty good off road too - Graham Cahill of 4WDAction (Now 4WD 24/7) takes his Isuzu DMax - which for a long time was pretty stock — with IFS on the exact same trails and trips as the rest of his crew, many of whom use solid axles. Graham might have to winch a bit more often, but that’s part of the fun and he’s never missed drinking an Iron Jack around the campfire with his friends at the end of the day, so his IFS seems to keep up just fine And I bet is much nicer than some of the others on the slab bits between tracks.
SFA is nice though — to be clear, I’m not saying it’s not better off road, I’m just saying (as I think you are) that the gap between IFS and SFA off-road is much more narrow than most make it out to be, to the point where it doesn’t realistically make a difference for 90%+ of users. My Jeep (SFA obviously) could go anywhere I pointed it, but so can my IFS truck - just a little more carefully in the sticky bits, and a LOT more comfortably everywhere else! So, I’m convinced that IFS is not the dealbreaker many feel it can be and I think it will make this Bronco a very livable Daily Driver, with a minimal decrease in off-road performance for most users.
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Influencer II
Payload could be higher but I'd bet your trading off some softness off-road. They did a great job with the payload rating on the raptor and the Super Duty Tremor, I'm sure it's something they'll work on increasing a bit depending on market demand and future improvements. To get this many ups with so little down side (which is controversial at best) out of the gate is the biggest win not just for potential buyers but the whole community. It gives other marketing departments to see what their sales numbers can do when they effectively research what their customers truly want.
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Had a Jeep... well 29 to be exact but who’s counting... had several Toys as well... I had an 85 Bronco II just after high school, and another 89 B2 a few years later... now on my 1st FSB, and I love it.... I will never go back to Jeep... after my experience with a ‘16 wrangler nope not doing anything newer than 03 under the Mopar Brand... so with that, Toyota would be cool, but it would have to be a first gen 4Runner... then by the time I upgrade the axles, modify the frame, I’m sitting at 30,000 where I could have gotten the Bronco I really love and turn it into a real hot-Rod masterpiece... The first Bronco to roll off the Assembly Line in 1966 had a 302 and T-90 transmission.... every model forward minus the BK2 had a 302 or 5.0 option, and all motor combos had the auto as an option, not as standard equipment. So I still think putting the Coyote engine in with a manual transmission into the New Bronco would be better served than wasteing the engine/tranny combo on some other wreck. (BTW, I already have this combo on standby if when I pull my heads I find something wrong in my FSB.).
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At least it's based on an existing platform that's been around a while.
I'll believe it when I see it and I really don't even want to see the price tag on that given what a Rubicon is, I'm guessing it's going to be north of 60 grand. IMO Jeep just panic dropped that instead of thinking out what may be a better idea to announce. Last I heard the JL won't even pass crash safety standards with a V8.
This is a huge deal to me and something Jeep should have been doing for a long, long time. I don't want all the whizbang gizmos of the Rubicon I just want some of it's off road goodies. Namely the lockers, heck I don't even care if I get the RockTrac transfer case. If I was looking to get into a new off roader today the Bronco would be ahead of the Jeep for this reason. And that's coming from a Jeep guy.
It's based on the existing Ranger platform so, do they even have room for a V8? And Yes 4x4 is standard not optional, even on the Bronco Sport.
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Looks like someone down under is already way ahead of us up here in the US swapping in LS Motors and Coyote 5.0L into the Rangers... here is the LS swapped Ranger. Ford Ranger with a Supercharged LSA V8 – Engine Swap Depot
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Strong disagree here... at least in the context of mass-produced vehicles off road which is clearly a key focus of a Jeep or the Bronco. I guess the best way to put it is that where an IFS excels off road, a SFA can still go along by slowing down but many places the SFA will go, an IFS cannot follow without significant work. The question just becomes is that extra ability off road worth all the downsides because I'm not even going to try to defend an SFA for anything that isn't off roading.
Member III
Lack of competition has led to Jeep gatekeeping desirable features behind higher trims. I can imagine a Wrangler Sport with D44s and two lockers would kill 30% or more of Rubicon sales overnight.
Enthusiast III
the only place where a SFA is better at this point is if you are building a rock buggy. For 90% of users, having a SFA is just a by product of wanting a jeep. Again, IFS, better on road where people do the majority of driving, even overlanders, better on faster off road sections where the majority off road driving is done more so for overlanders and Poses less handling issues. i.e. death wobble etc. The raptor will hand a wrangler or other SFA its A$$ on anything other than a rock garden. I expect the bronco to do the same. Both stock of course.
Enthusiast III
Exactly. Lifts over 2" (on the jeep anyways) are just blowing money out the softtop. 2" of lift you can squeeze 35" tires on. Again, unless one is builing a rig for just bouncing around rocks in a 3 mile radius all day, any tire over 35" is useless. It's all silly after that point for 90 percent of people.
Enthusiast III
no need for a v8 when the ecoboost 6 takes them out anyways. just add a programmer and buh by. vee8 shmee8.
