[Efthreeoh]

I got to drive my dealer's mannequin this morning. A 4-door, soft top Cyber Orange Badlands, 2.3L automatic. High package + Leather. 33" tires. I had it for about 1 hour 15 minutes.

Man am I glad I'm getting a hard top. The soft top is a very well designed and manufactured roof, but the side rear windows are a PIA to deal with. The bottom side has to slide in, Rubiks Cube like, then snap-in plastic tabs in the front and a long plastic tab in the back. The clamshell design of the rear window is neat, but you pretty much have to release both latches at the same time, then pull out the kickstand. Fine if you are not holding a package that is the reason why you are opening the clamshell in the first place. The rear window takes two people because it is so long and wraps around. Two dealership guys were putting the rear window in when I got there and I said to myself, "bring on the honeycomb".

The truck drives great. Good steering feel I thought. Not sports sedan like, but for a EPS rack in a 4x4, it was very nice. Throttle input is good, brake feel is a bit soft in the first inch or so of pedal travel, but then the brakes bite very well and can be modulated easily. The seats are extremely comfortable IMO. Steering wheel positioning is quite adjustable and a good position can be easily found. The gauges are downright stupid. Why it has a real speedometer dial indicator and a digital indicator is beyond me. For a vehicle that comes with a manual transmission, it needs a real tachometer. I looked for a different tach display but didn't find one. The 2.3L turbo is adequately powered and will match well with a manual transmission I'd bet.

The automatic trans sucks, but that's coming from a diehard manual trans guy, so I think all automatic transmissions suck, regardless of programming and number of gears. I guess Ford threw in the manual mode so you can hold a gear, but to shift with it as a manumatic, nah. Letting it shift on it's own in Normal GOAT mode, it was okay, but like all automatics, the engine is off cam and a down shift is needed. Off road, I'd bet the trans is spot on.

I didn't want to take it off road and dirty it up. I did drive up my driveway fast, which is gravel through the woods, then over a bridge. It handled that as well as my H3T does. I then drove it around my front yard, which is basically the same as a fire road, and the suspension soaks up bumps great. Ford nailed the steering and suspension. I really didn't play with the GOAT modes.

The Tech in the truck is annoying and pointless, as I think every modern car UI is. The in-car Owner's Manual was a bunch of videos from what I could tell. Neat and modern, but painfully long to wait if you want a simple answer to a question. I didn't look at the paper copy (I think there was one in the glovebox). It's good you can turn off the Nannies (hopefully they stay off). I did connect my Sony Walkman via Bluetooth and played some music through the B&O Sound system. It sounds decent enough, but costs a whole lot to get, and I'm betting the aftermarket will improve the base system with a sub, amps, and better speakers. The B&O system was enjoyably loud enough, but fidelity was on the good side, not great.

The mirrors are about two inches too short (side to side) in IMO. I can use them in traffic, so it shouldn't be an issue.

So far I like the bronco enough to still be interested in driving what I ordered, which is a 2-door, manual, Black Diamond with just the advanced transfer case.

[heavyD^2]

What's a Sony Walkman? I was worried the 4-cylinder engine would be a dog in this vehicle but sounds like it may be passable.

[BMWBear]

Originally Posted by heavyD^2

What's a Sony Walkman? I was worried the 4-cylinder engine would be a dog in this vehicle but sounds like it may be passable.

Say again?

[jesm]

Saw one today. 4 door with the light blue color, soft top down….looked very nice. Jeep will be having tough competition from the Bronco…

[Cyn-BMW]

The OJ edition will be available next year.

[Red Bread]

Originally Posted by Cyn-BMW

The OJ edition will be available next year.

White with a red trunk liner and a 35mph governor?

[Efthreeoh]

Originally Posted by Cyn-BMW

The OJ edition will be available next year.

I don't get it...

[Cyn-BMW]

Originally Posted by Efthreeoh

I don't get it...

Living under a rock?

[Cyn-BMW]

Originally Posted by Red Bread

White with a red trunk liner and a 35mph governor?

Of course!

[Efthreeoh]

Originally Posted by Cyn-BMW

Living under a rock?

LOL. Dude. The New Bronco OJ Edition joke... seriously lame and seriously (internet) old.

[Cyn-BMW]

Originally Posted by Efthreeoh

LOL. Dude. The New Bronco OJ Edition joke... seriously lame and seriously (internet) old.

It must so happens, it’s not a joke.

[BMWBear]

Originally Posted by Efthreeoh

LOL. Dude. The New Bronco OJ Edition joke... seriously lame and seriously (internet) old.

If you don’t think there won’t be vanity plates or some type of reference to OJ on hundreds if not thousands of Bronco’s you’re in denial.

[Cyn-BMW]

Originally Posted by BYEIL

If you don’t think there won’t be vanity plates or some type of reference to OJ on hundreds if not thousands of Bronco’s you’re in denial.

There’s infinite possibilities. We could have a thread just for OJ license plates.
OJINBAC
OJRUNER
OJHAULR
IMGILTY
NKSLSHR

[imOFP]

Day one reservation, confirmed order with dealer Jan 19th. Still no production date set for me, I have all the constraints limited items ordered though.

Badlands, 4dr, Area 51, Sasquatch, Lux, Hard Top, 2.7/Auto, Tow pkg. I will probably ask my dealer to 99 my res this week so I can get a black hard top instead of the carbon MIC top. I don't like the MIC top quality I have seen in pics over on the b5g forum.

[Socal_R8]

my buddy text me the other day that he got the new Bronco, I was thinking oh he got the little sport version then he sent me some pics...I was like what?!!! told him to bring it by ASAP as I have yet to see one in the wild ...

he showed up yesterday in it...parked it next to my Rubi to compare them

not a fan of his mall crawler wheels he got put on, but very impressed with the rest...love it

[BMWBear]

Originally Posted by SoCal_NSX

my buddy text me the other day that he got the new Bronco, I was thinking oh he got the little sport version then he sent me some pics...I was like what?!!! told him to bring it by ASAP as I have yet to see one in the wild ...

he showed up yesterday in it...parked it next to my Rubi to compare them

not a fan of his mall crawler wheels he got put on, but very impressed with the rest...love it

Yeah those wheels are terrible. He needs to go to a 17” wheel pronto.

[Mintsopoulos]

I spotted a blue one this morning on my way in to the office but couldnt snap a picture. Hopefully tomorrow morning ill be more alert haha.

[Cyn-BMW]

I have heard from three different people that have placed an order, months ago, gave a deposit, only to have their new Bronco sold out from under them, to the highest bidder. I myself would not buy this over priced POS! I’ve had two Toyota FJs. One with 105,000 miles, current one has 120,000 miles, with zero problems. And the engines on them are wonderful, as is their off-road performance.

[heavyD^2]

Is that Bronco above missing rocker panels?

[BMWBear]

Originally Posted by Cyn-BMW

I have heard from three different people that have placed an order, months ago, gave a deposit, only to have their new Bronco sold out from under them, to the highest bidder. I myself would not buy this over priced POS! I’ve had two Toyota FJs. One with 105,000 miles, current one has 120,000 miles, with zero problems. And the engines on them are wonderful, as is their off-road performance.

Lol ..when is the last time they updated the FJ? Just like Toyota to use engines and tech developed during the dinosaur era. No reason for them not to be reliable and boring.

[flybigjet]

Originally Posted by Cyn-BMW

I have heard from three different people that have placed an order, months ago, gave a deposit, only to have their new Bronco sold out from under them, to the highest bidder. I myself would not buy this over priced POS! I’ve had two Toyota FJs. One with 105,000 miles, current one has 120,000 miles, with zero problems. And the engines on them are wonderful, as is their off-road performance.

That's not right, but not entirely unexpected.

[Cyn-BMW]

Originally Posted by BYEIL

Lol ..when is the last time they updated the FJ? Just like Toyota to use engines and tech developed during the dinosaur era. No reason for them not to be reliable and boring.

They have updated them very little. In fact they don’t even make them anymore. Which, I think is great. They are rare and getting more so. They out perform any other stock four wheel drive on road or off road. When I take it to the dealer, they offer to buy it back for more than I paid for it. And, being only 8 years old, it’s hardly dinosaur technology. It can accelerate up fireroads so steep that you can’t even walk up on foot. It cruises on the freeway at 80 while it’s only turning 2000 RPM. I’d be willing to bet it’s engine outperforms either of the Bronco engines. And, it does it without a turbo. We all know how long those last and how expensive they are to replace. Tell me, when’s the last time you spent some time in an FJ?