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Just got home from Bronco event...

qnet

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TFL just uploaded a 3-way real-world off-road comparo between Ford Bronco Sasquatch, Jeep Wrangler Rubicon 4Xe and Land Rover Defender.

The Defender didn't even make it half way up due to the low profile tires.

In the end they give the nod to the Bronco over the Rubicon primarily due to the Sasquatch's 35-inch tires. You can see, however, that the Rubicon articulates better and overall appears more at ease on the trail.

There you have it: Rubicon has been de-throned! For the time being, at least.

Here is the vid.
Ha ha, I was wondering when one of you guys would post that. I thought it was a fair comparison. They're loving it over at 6G.

That 4XE held it's own and I'm impressed. I agree it seemed to handle everything well and the tires are the one advantage the Bronco had. Rubicon's are no joke, no matter the power plant.

On a side not, I just got a big envelope from ford, with a small poster of the design concept for the Bronco. it was basically thanking me for my patience, even though I haven't ordered, and just have a pushed back reservation.

I thought it was a nice gesture, but I may be too far into the jeep world. I 'm getting my 35' tires installed Friday, and am excited about it.
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aldo98229

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Ha ha, I was wondering when one of you guys would post that. I thought it was a fair comparison. They're loving it over at 6G.

That 4XE held it's own and I'm impressed. I agree it seemed to handle everything well and the tires are the one advantage the Bronco had. Rubicon's are no joke, no matter the power plant.

On a side not, I just got a big envelope from ford, with a small poster of the design concept for the Bronco. it was basically thanking me for my patience, even though I haven't ordered, and just have a pushed back reservation.

I thought it was a nice gesture, but I may be too far into the jeep world. I 'm getting my 35' tires installed Friday, and am excited about it.
Agree, it was a fair comparison.

Yeah, 35-inch tires make a big difference. I noticed first-hand when I went from 33 to 35 inch tires on my Sahara: all of a sudden big obstacles on the trail didn't seem that big any more.

Every time I see a video of a Bronco crawling over rocks it is bouncing and jerking; the Rubicon on the other hand makes it look easy and smooth.

This video blows a big hole on new Defender, though. Roman had been building up what a great off-road vehicle the new Defender is. My understanding is the brakes won't permit you to fit anything smaller than 19-inch wheels on that Defender, which leaves very little room to mount proper off-road rubber. At the end of the day you just can't take a road-biased car, load it with electronics, take it on a tough trail and expect a miracle.
 
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west tex

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TFL just uploaded a 3-way real-world off-road comparo between Ford Bronco Sasquatch, Jeep Wrangler Rubicon 4Xe and Land Rover Defender.

The Defender didn't even make it half way up due to the low profile tires.

In the end they give the nod to the Bronco over the Rubicon primarily due to the Sasquatch's 35-inch tires. You can see, however, that the Rubicon articulates better and overall appears more at ease on the trail.

There you have it: Rubicon has been de-throned! For the time being, at least.

Here is the vid.

Typical TFL video; informative, entertaining, well done. Good job, Roman, Nathan, Tommy and crew.

The 35" tires on the Bronco gave it quite a bit of capability and it did really well on that trail. Can't say that it actually outperformed the Rubi, though. Both cruised right through some tough obstacles. For me, I'm glad to see that we now have two very good off roaders on the market. Competition will tend to make both better.
 

aldo98229

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Yeah. I can see next TFL doing the same trail with both vehicles on 35s.

They will be wise to leave the Defender parked at the office, though... 😫
 

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There you have it: Rubicon has been de-throned! For the time being, at least.
I am not seeing what you are. IMO the Rubicon did better. The Bronco was 3 wheeling a lot, even with 35s.

The way they described the lockers was odd too. They are both using the same locker that will require some wheel turning to fully engage. Perhaps the Jeep is more exact in telling you when it's actually locked vs the Bronco which tells you it's going to be as indicated as being locked.
 

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aldo98229

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I am not seeing what you are. IMO the Rubicon did better. The Bronco was 3 wheeling a lot, even with 35s.

The way they described the lockers was odd too. They are both using the same locker that will require some wheel turning to fully engage. Perhaps the Jeep is more exact in telling you when it's actually locked vs the Bronco which tells you it's going to be as indicated as being locked.
Personally I agree: the Rubicon looked more at ease on the trail than the Bronco. But at the end of the video, Bronco got two thumbs up (from Roman and Tommy), Rubicon got one (from Nathan. Kase was in the Jeep but he didn’t vote).

My guess is the result was close enough for them to decide to give this one to Bronco. Doing so keeps viewers’ interest up. I’m sure they will be putting 35s on the Wrangler and doing it again. And I’ll be watching!

Whether I agree with their verdict or not, I found the video highly entertaining. The trail looks much like those I go on, and over time we have learned to know each of the characters. Tommy’s bleeped cussing alone was worth it!

Theres no way I can go back to Car and Driver or Motor Trend... 😫
 

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Personally I agree: the Rubicon looked more at ease on the trail than the Bronco. But at the end of the video, Bronco got two thumbs up (from Roman and Tommy), Rubicon got one (from Nathan. Kase was in the Jeep but he didn’t vote).

My guess is the result was close enough for them to decide to give this one to Bronco. Doing so keeps viewers’ interest up. I’m sure they will be putting 35s on the Wrangler and doing it again. And I’ll be watching!

Whether I agree with their verdict or not, I found the video highly entertaining. The trail looks much like those I go on, and over time we have learned to know each of the characters. Tommy’s bleeped cussing alone was worth it!

Theres no way I can go back to Car and Driver or Motor Trend... 😫
I think so too. They need to keep the Bronco fans coming back for more while also not looking like Jeep fan bois themselves.
 

lowmpg

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Personally I agree: the Rubicon looked more at ease on the trail than the Bronco. But at the end of the video, Bronco got two thumbs up (from Roman and Tommy), Rubicon got one (from Nathan. Kase was in the Jeep but he didn’t vote).

My guess is the result was close enough for them to decide to give this one to Bronco. Doing so keeps viewers’ interest up. I’m sure they will be putting 35s on the Wrangler and doing it again. And I’ll be watching!

Whether I agree with their verdict or not, I found the video highly entertaining. The trail looks much like those I go on, and over time we have learned to know each of the characters. Tommy’s bleeped cussing alone was worth it!

Theres no way I can go back to Car and Driver or Motor Trend... 😫
Agreed, I thought it was very fair. Pound for pound with factory equipment, the 35's mean the Bronco can take on the harder parts of the trail in a way the Rubicon on 33's can't. Simple as that.
 

qnet

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I watched a lot of Bronco testing footage last year, and TFL's video didn't really surprise me. The Bronco performed just like that in those videos, sometimes teetering on three wheels; but making it.

A lot of the posters on 6G, including myself; admitted that they wouldn't be using their Broncos for crawling any rocks, and that the Wrangler was more suited for that.
 

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Yea, it was pretty much what I expected. We've been seeing these things for awhile now, even if it was Ford employees and cultivated courses. Ford committed themselves to making it an actual offroader, and they did. The IFS will mean a lifted wheel here and there, but it's likely gonna do anything a similar jeep can do, and it's definitely gonna do what most people throw at it.

It's gonna be solid competition after so many years of no competition. Can't be mad about that as a consumer.
 

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sanman357

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I think it will appeal more to Overlanding crowd with it being slightly larger than the Wrangler. I would definitely consider the Bronco over the 4-Runner, due to the removable top. That brake dig feature is a nice addition.
 

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I watched a lot of Bronco testing footage last year, and TFL's video didn't really surprise me. The Bronco performed just like that in those videos, sometimes teetering on three wheels; but making it.

A lot of the posters on 6G, including myself; admitted that they wouldn't be using their Broncos for crawling any rocks, and that the Wrangler was more suited for that.
Many times I've read this same thing. That someone won't be climbing rocks, so the bronco will be fine. A deep rut in a dirt path will require the same level of articulation as a rock.

Here's a prime example, taken from the original reveal video last year. And within seconds of this clip, the camera person cleverly used a rock on the side of the path to obscure yet another wheel lift and it wasn't climbing a rock. It was a simple rut in a dirt path.

Jeep Wrangler JL Just got home from Bronco event... 20201023_102215


Those posters on 6g are simply making excuses and kidding themselves by saying that they "don't care about rocks anyway".
 

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Many times I've read this same thing. That someone won't be climbing rocks, so the bronco will be fine. A deep rut in a dirt path will require the same level of articulation as a rock.

Here's a prime example, taken from the original reveal video last year. And within seconds of this clip, the camera person cleverly used a rock on the side of the path to obscure yet another wheel lift and it wasn't climbing a rock. It was a simple rut in a dirt path.
If you have lockers I don't get what the big deal is about one wheel being off the ground; as far as making it up the trail it simply doesn't matter and seems to be a big deal simply because it's an advantage to having solid axles rather than IFS.
 

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If you have lockers I don't get what the big deal is about one wheel being off the ground; as far as making it up the trail it simply doesn't matter and seems to be a big deal simply because it's an advantage to having solid axles rather than IFS.
Yes, lockers are there to shrug off wheel lift, but having all 4 tires on the ground equals more stability. And maintaining full contact to a higher threshold of whoops equals enhanced capability. It raises the safety margin.

It's the ill attempt to compartmentalize a designed in weakness that I was pointing out.

There's a good reason why every bronco trim gets f&r lockers. Because they will be needed a whole lot sooner and more often than a similarly setup wrangler.
 

qnet

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Many times I've read this same thing. That someone won't be climbing rocks, so the bronco will be fine. A deep rut in a dirt path will require the same level of articulation as a rock.

Here's a prime example, taken from the original reveal video last year. And within seconds of this clip, the camera person cleverly used a rock on the side of the path to obscure yet another wheel lift and it wasn't climbing a rock. It was a simple rut in a dirt path.

Jeep Wrangler JL Just got home from Bronco event... 20201023_102215


Those posters on 6g are simply making excuses and kidding themselves by saying that they "don't care about rocks anyway".
I remember that video.

I can only speak for myself, but I know I wouldn't have done much rock crawling, if any, in the Bronco. I'm not sure I'll do it in my Jeep, but it's nice to know I could, or if I got stuck in a situation like above the chance is, my other wheel would make contact with the ground.
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