TFL Tommy talks... Do I Regret Buying My Brand New Jeep Wrangler After Living With The New Ford Bronco For a Week?

[JLTruman]

I could immediately see that the noise issue with the Bronco hardtop is due to the lack of support that the soundbar offers in the Jeep.

Also, that hardtop looked just awful. Hard to believe the same company makes the top for the Jeep and the Bronco. Just goes to show how important those engineering specs are. I can imagine someone at Webasto saying "Are you sure you want it built to these specs?" Another thing to consider is that many of the Jeep hardtop features my be patented and Ford had to change some things to avoid paying royalties, but that's just speculation.

The biggest gripe he made about the Jeep in the video was the seat. All Wrangler seats are essentially the same, regardless of trim level. They may be trimmed or upholstered slightly different, but they are all the same basic structure. That is something that Jeep can easily address in a mid cycle refresh.

I know he said Bestop makes the soft tops for both but, is the hard top manufacturers the same for the hard tops?

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[HungryHound]

I think they had to return the 4xe Rubicon by now, but I would like to see a more apples to apples compare between the two 4-door vehicles with their respective upgraded packages. Rubicon vs Sasquatch, Alpine audio vs B&O, soft top compare on both, the OBLIGATORY tug of war and even the slowest drag race crawl in 4-lo, 1st gear.....

 

[SH556JL]

how long until the aftermarket sells fixes for hardtop broncos?

I was somewhat shocked when Tommy said the wrangler has the best stereo/sound between the two, and then he continued to say more brands... I put some 8 inch subs in my JL and I like the sound but some might disagree with Jeeps audio.

I agreen base stereo was okay with the top up, but completely lacks when open. First vehicle (2 door soft top Rubicon) I owned that I done a full stereo upgrade in, well worth it and may have over done it. Sound bad ass, top up or down.

But I can see how the speaker placement on the new Bronco can be less then ideal. Have to hear one to make judgment call on that, I always loved the vehicles sound quality on the ones I been in branded B&O (more then Alpine).

 

[HungryHound]

I could immediately see that the noise issue with the Bronco hardtop is due to the lack of support that the soundbar offers in the Jeep.

Also, that hardtop looked just awful. Hard to believe the same company makes the top for the Jeep and the Bronco. Just goes to show how important those engineering specs are. I can imagine someone at Webasto saying "Are you sure you want it built to these specs?" Another thing to consider is that many of the Jeep hardtop features my be patented and Ford had to change some things to avoid paying royalties, but that's just speculation.

The biggest gripe he made about the Jeep in the video was the seat. All Wrangler seats are essentially the same, regardless of trim level. They may be trimmed or upholstered slightly different, but they are all the same basic structure. That is something that Jeep can easily address in a mid cycle refresh.

Webasto might be the latest victim of Ford engineering specs.....remember Firestone?

 

[JLTruman]

I think they had to return the 4xe Rubicon by now, but I would like to see a more apples to apples compare between the two 4-door vehicles with their respective upgraded packages. Rubicon vs Sasquatch, Alpine audio vs B&O, soft top compare on both, the OBLIGATORY tug of war and even the slowest drag race crawl in 4-lo, 1st gear.....

I totally forgot about slowest drag race! they need to bring it back for these vehicles!

 

[HungryHound]

I agreen base stereo was okay with the top up, but completely lacks when open. First vehicle (2 door soft top Rubicon) I owned that I done a full stereo upgrade in, well worth it and may have over done it. Sound bad ass, top up or down.

But I can see how the speaker placement on the new Bronco can be less then ideal. Have to hear one to make judgment call on that, I always loved the vehicles sound quality on the ones I been in branded B&O (more then Alpine).

Top down, doors off the Alpine is plenty loud at highway speeds. More subs are always a good thing, tho.

 

[HungryHound]

The aftermarket industry could not fix Wrangler’s leaky roofs for the first 77 years.

Bronco’s removable top is even more extreme: it is much larger, and contains many more separate pieces.

My hunch is that wide open roof is going to remain Bronco’s Achilles heel, even after Ford addresses the current manufacturing issues.

The hard top on my TJ gas never leaked, but it's one piece. I do have JK friends that constantly complain about leaky roofs around the freedom panels.

 

[Pingbling23]

how long until the aftermarket sells fixes for hardtop broncos?

I was somewhat shocked when Tommy said the wrangler has the best stereo/sound between the two, and then he continued to say more brands... I put some 8 inch subs in my JL and I like the sound but some might disagree with Jeeps audio.

im pretty sure tommy was just saying the sound is better in the wrangler vs the bronco but he likes the simplicity and ease of use of the head unit in the wrangler vs all brands.

 

[SH556JL]

Top down, doors off the Alpine is plenty loud at highway speeds. More subs are always a good thing, tho.

I didn’t opt for the factory audio upgrade because I didn’t like the fact they put the sub in the in floor storage. My 8” powered sub and amp is under the passenger seat.

 

[HungryHound]

I didn’t opt for the factory audio upgrade because I didn’t like the fact they put the sub in the in floor storage. My 8” powered sub and amp is under the passenger seat.

On the JL, it's in front of the rear passenger side wheel well. I think the JKs had them in the floor?

 

[daveprice7]

The biggest gripe he made about the Jeep in the video was the seat. All Wrangler seats are essentially the same, regardless of trim level. They may be trimmed or upholstered slightly different, but they are all the same basic structure. That is something that Jeep can easily address in a mid cycle refresh.

It's funny about the seat complaints.. I'm 5'11", so, probably on the higher end of average. I've been suffering with back pain recently (I over did some landscaping work moving large rocks around). It's been uncomfortable for me to sit in various chairs and couches I have in my house. Last Saturday I spent 14 hours driving to Idaho and back and I was perfectly comfortable the entire trip in my Jeep. Ergonomics are probably impossible to get perfect for everyone, the Jeep seats have nailed it for me.

 

[SH556JL]

On the JL, it's in front of the rear passenger side wheel well. I think the JKs had them in the floor?

The unlimited has the factory Alpine on the passenger side rear as you described. The two door doesn’t have the room, so the factory place is positioned in the floor storage compartment. Being space is limited in the two door, I wanted to retain that storage option.

 

[aldo98229]

The JL has the benefit of time to sort out some of its issues but to pretend like the bronco having hard top issues it’s first year is unique to the bronco is pretty selective memory. I seem to recall plenty of discussion about JK hard tops leaking in the rain and the same for some JL (albeit, not as many).

I wouldn’t buy a 1st year bronco for the same reason I didn’t buy a 2018 JL.

Indeed, JK tops were notorious for leaks. Yet Ford goes out and builds an even larger fiberglass top, with more removable panels, more seams and more gaps.

I think it is less about Jeepers having selective memory, and more about the arrogance with which Ford embarked on its Bronco experiment, as if it had nothing to learn from JK’s top leaks.

 

[HungryHound]

It's funny about the seat complaints.. I'm 5'11", so, probably on the higher end of average. I've been suffering with back pain recently (I over did some landscaping work moving large rocks around). It's been uncomfortable for me to sit in various chairs and couches I have in my house. Last Saturday I spent 14 hours driving to Idaho and back and I was perfectly comfortable the entire trip in my Jeep. Ergonomics are probably impossible to get perfect for everyone, the Jeep seats have nailed it for me.

No complaints either. I really like the seat height adjustment too. Really handy off-road when trying to see obstacles over the hood.

 

[aldo98229]

Yeah, I don’t have any of the seat comfort issues Tommy complaints about all the time.

I did, however, experience exactly what he describes, my lower thigh becoming sore, in my 2019 Tacoma. I could never find a comfortable position in that truck, no matter what I tried.

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