New Ford Bronco aimed at the Jeep Gladiator

[mmc45414]

A lot of the backlog is likely to disappear as dealers are requiring deposits now that Ford is penalizing them for customer orders that don't go to the ordering customer once they exceed a certain percentage.

The expectation was set that when (now turns out to be "if") I actually ordered, I would be expected to put down a $500 deposit.
I would be doing this at the dealership my buddy owned and still has contact with, and I could trust to do a straight deal. There is a dealership 4mi from my house and I bought from them before, but they are selling inventory they scammed for +$20k. Not saying I would never ever buy anything from them, but it would have to be something special, like a used unit that wouldn't be available anywhere else, and was something I really wanted.

When I told my wife this order bank closure news, she replied that she had seen a nice Explorer ST the other day. More money, not exactly what I want, but not like it would be a sharp stick in the eye.

And while I am totally happy with my truck (really happy with it after towing 1600mi recently), it has occurred to me that I have a car and a truck and many days do not ever leave the house, and perhaps I would be better off with a truck that would fit in the garage. Shit, wait... you can't buy a truck either...

[BehindBlueI's]

The expectation was set that when (now turns out to be "if") I actually ordered, I would be expected to put down a $500 deposit.
I would be doing this at the dealership my buddy owned and still has contact with, and I could trust to do a straight deal. There is a dealership 4mi from my house and I bought from them before, but they are selling inventory they scammed for +$20k. Not saying I would never ever buy anything from them, but it would have to be something special, like a used unit that wouldn't be available anywhere else, and was something I really wanted.

When I told my wife this order bank closure news, she replied that she had seen a nice Explorer ST the other day. More money, not exactly what I want, but not like it would be a sharp stick in the eye.

And while I am totally happy with my truck (really happy with it after towing 1600mi recently), it has occurred to me that I have a car and a truck and many days do not ever leave the house, and perhaps I would be better off with a truck that would fit in the garage. Shit, wait... you can't buy a truck either...

You'll get a non-Raptor non-Platinum non-King Ranch F-150 or any non-TRX Ram 1500 fairly quickly. Like 2-5 months, depending. I expect you'd be exceptionally lucky to get a Bronco in that time frame without an existing order.

[mmc45414]

You'll get a non-Raptor non-Platinum non-King Ranch F-150 or any non-TRX Ram 1500 fairly quickly. Like 2-5 months, depending.

It took six months to get the 2014 we have now. The 8ft SuperCab was probably a bastard child that neither factory wanted to build, then since it finally got built in Kansas it went to Cleveland on the rail, then sat in a transfer yard for another 4-6 weeks. But the truck is the last consideration:

1) Wife decides she actually wants the Explorer ST (this includes picking a color...)
2) Acquire Explorer ST (probably order, I think they are still getting built to orders)
3) Decide I actually want to sell my car I really like but am not using much (this clears the space to actually make room in the garage for a potential truck)

And I went out this morning remeasured, and the current truck actually should just fit (by like an inch, might be able to modify the wall to allow another few inches). I really do not want to switch trucks anyway, the long bed is actually handy in our scenario, right now there are two spare trailer tires, a little floor jack, a toolbox, and a bin full of stuff like tiedowns/jumper cables/tow strap and still as much space as a short bed truck. It is just a PITA in a parking lot, and if we have an Explorer it will be the local trip chariot.

And I enjoy the car when I use it, but the work from home paradigm is shifting my thinking. Combined with the notion that we might have a peppy version of the Explorer sitting next to it means I might let it go. But part of having the small car in the garage is there is room for both motorcycles in front of it. Maybe the truck sits out in the summer, and I already plan to move the motorcycles to the boat storage in the winter.

Oh well, cart before the horse...

[rob_s]

Jesus.

https://www.autoblog.com/2022/08/10/...ation-holders/

[Doc_Glock]

Holy Moly. High recommendation:

[GJM]

Holy Moly. High recommendation:

The Bronco Raptor is a beast!

[EMC]

So have the aftermarket offroad enthusiasts solved the weak steering rack/tie rod issue yet? I understand that to be the biggest weak point in Ford's IFS design on these that inhibits them from being serious crawlers.

[BehindBlueI's]

So have the aftermarket offroad enthusiasts solved the weak steering rack/tie rod issue yet? I understand that to be the biggest weak point in Ford's IFS design on these that inhibits them from being serious crawlers.

The Wildtrak has beefed up tie rods from the factory. I would figure the Raptor is likely to as well, but don't know.

[EMC]

The Wildtrak has beefed up tie rods from the factory. I would figure the Raptor is likely to as well, but don't know.

Yeah from that video it sounds like they took a lot of suspension components directly from the F150 version of the raptor so perhaps not apples to apples with the other bronco versions.

[MistWolf]

After running a 2012 Rubicon off-road alongside other rigs for the last six months, I’ve come to the following conclusions-

-If Ford was aiming the Bronco at the Wrangler, they hit Toyota squarely amidships. I read an article the other day that Toyota is planning to make their 4x4 more “Bronco-like”. If Ford wants to take on the Wrangler/Gladiator directly, they need to put use a solid front axle and a manual shift t-case. I’d like to see that. Competition would be good for both marques.

-Computer controlled electronic selectors for lockers, 4wd modes and parking brakes for trail rigs come straight out of the “Good Idea Fairy” catalog. That includes rigs intended only for mild to moderate trails. A friend has his electronic parking brake fail to release when he used it to park his Range Rover for the usual “flexing on a rock” photo. He finally had to look up the procedure on YouTube (lucky we had service) and do the honey bee version of the hokey pokey to get it to release.

If the 4wd system in the Bronco should glitch in any way, it automatically defaults to 2wd. That’s fine, if you’re out on a mild trail on a sunny day, but not so fine if you’re on the same trail after a sudden storm rolls in and your wife slipped in the mud while rounding up the kids and banged her head and the trail is now muddy and the rocks slick with water. A manual shifter on the t-case is far and away more positive and thus, more trustworthy.

-Performance of IFS and independent front and rear suspensions over pavement and smooth trails (including whoops and washboards) is so good, solid axles can’t hope to keep up, even with the best upgrades. Ford engineers have done an amazing job getting the Bronco suspension to work as well off-road as it does. But an independent suspension cannot keep up with solid axles when the terrain gets really challenging. Also, solid axles are more robust.

-Solid axles are more stable in broken terrain because what happens to one tire affects the opposite tire. This helps the chassis to stay more level when the rig gets crossed up. When an independent suspension compresses, it pulls that corner of the rig with it and can lift the opposite corner into the air. For example, if the right front tire compresses as the rig drops into a “hot tub”, the left rear will lift. Because the IFS doesn’t stabilize the chassis as well in this situation, it’s easier for the rig to tip.

-I don’t spend much time at the mall, at some country club or or upscale restaurant, so I have little experience with what rich urbanites are doing with their 4x4s. Among the folks I spend time with on the trail, things like computer controlled electronic selectors are things that when they fail, could leave folks stranded. Yes, my Rubicon has electric lockers and some don’t trust them. But, they’re not computer controlled and easier to fix.

I like the Bronco. In spite of its flaws, it’s got a lot going for it. I hope Ford continues to improve the Bronco and compete against Jeep. Jeep brought back the 392 Extreme Recon for 2023 (Jeep dropped the Extreme Recon package for the big V8 halfway through 2022) after Ford announced the Bronco Raptor.

If I’m going to spend $50k or more for an off-road capable rig, it’s going off-road. If it has an electronic selector that will default to 2wd if it has some sort of failure, that undermines my confidence in taking it off-road. That means I’ll get something I can trust. A Wrangler or a Gladiator may not have the good road manners of the Bronco, but their off-road capability more than makes up for it.