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Sold My Bronco...Back To a Wrangler.

Hpc3

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For sure! I have never been a Ford fan and this one was my first, and will be my last for a good while. I'll check out the Raptor when it comes out, but Ford just doesn't do it for me with anything they have. I LOVED my 392 and cannot wait to have one back.

On the CarPlay, thanks for the tip. In both Jeeps, I had CarPlay and Bluetooth active and practically never had an issue. I am on the phone a LOT, and while I like CarPlay, sometimes I just need to hold the phone up to my ear and talk on it. In my previous Wranglers, I could just rip the phone off the cord and it just switched from CarPlay to Bluetooth almost instantly. It was great. Then if I wanted CarPlay back, I would just plug the phone back in. I've had the issue you are describing in my 392, but it was so rare that it's almost not even worth mentioning. In the Bronco, if I was connected to wireless CarPlay, if I went on my phone to switch to a Private Call, the entire head unit would freeze, the Bluetooth would die, the wireless network would fail, and the call would ultimately fail. I would have to turn off the Wifi and Bluetooth off on my phone, and call the person back. Total shitshow.
I've tried to like the HD trucks as an alternate to the Rams (horse trailer towing) but just can't get in sync with anything Ford. They have the 10sp and all but the minute you tow heavy they stay in 4th gear the whole time... just like the Ram/Cummins. They just don't make sense to me at all.

I don't have wireless CarPlay in anything here today but hopefully Apple will address this. Keeping the phone off the head unit's BT pairing should help though.
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XPLOR3

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I haven’t seen any bronco closely but I think the only great idea they had was the 4 piece hard top for easy 1 person removal!
I would like that on the Jeep. Maybe aftermarket can start selling those
 

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I have a 2021 JLUR 2.0T and pretty sure I can disconnect my sway bar in 4hi. I know I can turn the rear locker on. That’s stock. I have a tazer hooked up right now so I can’t test the sway bar disconnect until I unmarry it and pull it out. If I remember I’ll dbl check Saturday while I’m doing some installs on the Jeep.
 

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One thing on the CarPlay comments - don't pair your phone with the head unit if you're using CarPlay, wired or wireless. Apple has intermittent issues if the head units see both interfaces active on the same phone. This is not just a Jeep or Ford thing, happens in all my cars/trucks as well. Only use the CarPlay feature/functions.
I have the 7 inch uconnect touchscreen with apple CarPlay and have no issues. Bluetooth connects fine automatically wirelessly, and CarPlay picks right up as soon as I plug it in. Maybe I’m one of the lucky ones I guess! 🤔
 

Philly_

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Similar experience here except Ford never gave me a build date for my July 2020 reservation. Calling my dealer Monday to cancel (not doing anything until my Jeep is in my hands) and I expect him to be very surprised. Told him in 2016 if the Bronco became a reality and had removable doors and roof that it would be the only thing that could ever get me out of my Wrangler.

Fast forward. Somehow I got lost and ended up in a Toyota, still no word on the Bronco, and and took a JL for a test drive. Immediately hooked. Gave me everything I was looking for that the Tacoma was missing. Don't get me wrong, great truck. I also am a huge Ford fan and loved the Broncos that I test drove. There is just something about a Jeep that nobody can seem to replicate.
 

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ChaseW

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Now plastic oil sumps are making an appearance? Ugh.

To date, I've funded two not-inexpensive replacements of radiators in separate vehicles, both Hondas. Hairline cracks in the upper plastic tanks caused by totally foreseeable age-related fatigue due to normal heat cycling. I learned what to look for from a neighbor, who's identical vehicle failed not very long before mine did.

Economical repair wasn't really possible in either case, nor were replacement radiators available sans any plastic construction. I hated knowing that I was only buying time, where I could already see the end date.

Sometimes the chase for ever-increasing (if incremental) improvements in fuel economy has to take second place to concerns regarding the ability of the component(s) to provide a reasonable service life. Said differently: some things won't bear changes to legacy manufacturing methods absent adverse outcomes.
Well said. I averaged 15mpg in the Bronco, hardly better than my 392. The level of complexity in many of these modern powerplants is a little absurd for minimal gain.

To add to your point simply on build quality (of lack thereof), a known problem in the 2.7L V6s in the Broncos (and I would assume the Rangers) are massive coolant leaks that occasionally lead to engine failure. One of the most documented causes of this is one of the main coolant hoses literally rubbing against the serpentine belt pulley. I wish I had a picture, as sure enough, mine was like that brand new. Two zip ties to tie the coolant hose to one of the boost pipes and yay! No coolant leaks haha!
 
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ChaseW

ChaseW

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I have a 2021 JLUR 2.0T and pretty sure I can disconnect my sway bar in 4hi. I know I can turn the rear locker on. That’s stock. I have a tazer hooked up right now so I can’t test the sway bar disconnect until I unmarry it and pull it out. If I remember I’ll dbl check Saturday while I’m doing some installs on the Jeep.
PLEASE let me know if that's the case, that would be awesome! I honestly did not it on my 392, my reference was to my 2018 JLUR.
 
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ChaseW

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I haven’t seen any bronco closely but I think the only great idea they had was the 4 piece hard top for easy 1 person removal!
I would like that on the Jeep. Maybe aftermarket can start selling those
The top of the Bronco is definitely not easier than the Wrangler to remove. I honestly never took off the back section, but I can't imagine it's a one-person job. The front two panels come off almost just like Wrangler, the middle panel is doable by yourself, but it's still pain in the ass. Much easier with two people due to it's size. Not having the middle roof crossbar though was pretty cool, it made the cabin feel very open compared to the Wrangler.
 

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Since Bronco has come up yet again, here’s my main beef:

Wrangler is what it is, it isn’t trying to be anything other than a Jeep, warts an all.

Bronco, on the other hand, is a Ranger trying to be some sort of Jeep, with make-believe styling, a manufactured “heritage” based on selective memory, and a computer-generated “brand” image.

Personally, I am hooked on Jeep’s Quadra-Coil suspension and everything good and bad that comes with it. Nothing else on the market drives like it and that’s what I love about it.
 

BoatTox

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Well the title says it.

I am going back to a Wrangler after spending ~8k miles with a Bronco First Edition 4-door. I was fortunate enough to get a Bronco as early as I did given the ongoing fiasco with how Ford allocated them and the constant supply chain issues. I traded my 392 for it, and to the 392, I had an ‘18 JLUR 2.0, both of which I loved! After spending some months and considerable driving time with the Bronco, I never liked it as much. My goal with this post is to provide some real world observations after having both, for anyone else comparing the two. The First Edition came with pretty much every option you could get, so it gave me a chance to really check out all of the features available. I'm going to omit talking about the power, simply because I do not think its fair to compare this against my 392. Let me start with the things I liked about the Bronco (I know I will overlook some things):
  • It does drive straighter, thanks to the independent front suspension. No denying that. I honestly do not think the Wrangler is bad as many make it out to be, especially my 392, but I would be lying if I said the Bronco did not track better than the Wrangler.
  • To me, the doors are much easier to take on and off. Two easy locate bolts, one wiring quick disconnect, no window frames. The way the doors go on also make it harder to scratch the body when trying to locate hanging the doors back on. The Bronco doors have these conical shaped hinges that for me, make the doors much easier to hang.
  • 1-touch automatic windows, up and down on all 4 windows. Don’t ask me why I like these so much, I just do haha.
  • Rear gate opens much wider than Wrangler and has a hydraulic to hold it open on inclines, which is great.
  • 4 roof panels instead of 3. What makes this cool for me personally is that you can take off the roof panels over all of the passengers, while leaving the rear “box” on. This is great if you have an excitable dog (which we do) and being able to contain the dog but have the roof and doors off if you choose. Again, this is cool for me, but may be of no value to you.
  • The Bronco has dramatically more headroom than the Jeep. Not sure where it comes from exactly, but it’s wayyy more than the Wrangler. The driver seat seems to go down much lower than the Wrangler does. and the shape of the roof panels seem to help.
  • I took it off-roading twice at Uwharrie on the easy and several moderate trails and I was impressed. It did great and I have nothing to complain about.
  • The factory Swaybar Disconnect being available in 4HI up to 20mph is fantastic. I had a Tazer in my JL to allow me to do this, which has a bit of a cumbersome process, so the fact that the Bronco offered this was quite nice and I hope Jeep follows suit.
  • The area for the wireless charging in front of the shift lever offers some great storage, totally absent on the Wrangler.
Things I dislike (Again, I know I will overlook some things):
  • The overall build and materials quality of the interior is borderline laughable. The Wrangler is hands down nicer across the board. The grab handles, use of hard shitty plastics, poorly fitting trim pieces, plastic burrs from lazy cuts around the gauge cluster and infotainment screen, all not even close to the Wrangler.
  • The Bang and Olufsen surround premium audio sucks. And it shouldn't. There is nothing premium about it and trying to equalize the music I like is impossible. The Alpine stereo in the Jeep isn’t that of a high end luxury car by any means, but it equalized significantly better than this B&O.
  • The 12” infotainment screen is unnecessarily large. The quality of it is nice, it's just overkill to me.
  • The Wireless Charging and Wireless CarPlay is pure trash. The wireless charging only heats up my phone and the wireless CarPlay drops out constantly and confuses itself with the Bluetooth and I hate it. God forbid I want to take a private call or switch hold my iPhone up to my ear, it is nightmare. The wireless charging problem is not unique to the Bronco, as I have the same challenges with wireless charging in other cars, but it still sucks. I think both features are overrated in cars in general, as the whole point of CarPlay is to not use your iPhone while driving. So why does it need to be wireless? The wireless CarPlay drops out constantly and interferes with Bluetooth. I could go on and on.
  • There is not a charging port, USB, or any sort of power outlet inside the center console. In my Jeep, I would tuck my phone out of the way in there or keep a spare battery charging or something, but not so in the Bronco. It does have a USB power outlet on top of the dash where you can mount a GoPro, iPad, GPS, etc, but honestly I do not think I would ever use that.
  • The quality of the hardtop, as many publications have commented on, is a joke and needs significantly better quality control. There are exposed burrs, uneven cuts, the creak like crazy, and do not pack well at all into their bags due to their shape.
  • The glass in the frameless doors isn’t particularly secure and they rattle like crazy with the windows up. They also get caught frequently on the roof panels because the do not roll down quickly enough to clear the roof panels when you open the doors.
  • The 10-Speed Transmission is too many gears. It constantly tried to figure out what gear to be in, was incredibly clunky, and nowhere near as smooth as the 8-speed in either Jeep I had.
  • It does not ride as good as my 392, I don't care what anyone says about the independent front suspension.
All in all, I was glad to give the Bronco an honest go, despite all the things I did not like about it. I think the Bronco does a good job in addressing, or attempting to address, some shortcomings with the Wrangler, but is has a long way to go and hopefully it will drive some cool innovations and updates to the Wrangler. We'll see what the Bronco Raptor is like when it arrives later this year, but for me, I the Wrangler still comes out on top by a long shot for me. My 392 Xtreme Recon will be here in a few weeks and I can't wait to be back in a Jeep.
Thank you for this write up. I planned to cover the transmission in my build thread. I went shopping for a bronco first and did multiple side by side comparisons in the same day to keep the conditions the same.
  • I test drove a Badlands Sasquatch and my main complaint was the 10 speed “learning” transmission. On the highway it was fine, but between 32-45 mps on city roads it was constantly searching and either revving up or driving too slow. The people driving the Yoytota Camry next to me probably thought I was screwing with them.
  • The fit and finish were big turnoffs as well. It felt like a $42,000-$45,000 dollar vehicle that they were asking $62,000 for, if I remember the price right. Since I wasn’t looking for a new jeep, I didn’t know about the XR and I was sold on almost every part of the Rubi over the bronco, especially with no option for the hard top.
  • Don’t get me wrong I like the Bronco and I’m glad there is some competition, but as I have always found out when buying my next vehicle. It’s a personal choice and no amount of car reviews can tell me what I like. I was sure enough that I was considering preordering one before I could test drive. I’m glad I didn’t, and I’m really glad I turned into my local Jeep dealer before my Bronco test drive.
  • I think Ford will continue to improve the Bronco and I’m sure we will see a plethora on the road soon.
 

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Sometimes the chase for ever-increasing (if incremental) improvements in fuel economy has to take second place to concerns regarding the ability of the component(s) to provide a reasonable service life. Said differently: some things won't bear changes to legacy manufacturing methods absent adverse outcomes.
I love the environment, I like environmentally friendly adaptions to cars, and challenging car companies to come up with better ways to engineer it instead of saying "yea we could do that but it'd cost more lol"

Yet for this, I agree so much!

I don't understand how making a vehicle practically disposable after 5-10 years is worth saving 1-3mpg. If the EPA really wants to save the environment they'd crack down on parts that are made so poorly that they often fall apart within the warranty period.

Like, small things like the handles to fold down the back seats breaking off really easy? There should be an EPA website to report shit like that. Stuff like the manufacturer not selling parts and only wanting to sell entire assemblies - like the rear axle locker sensor on rubicons. That kinda shit. So much extra stuff ending up in the garbage for no good reason. That stuff is a way bigger deal than saving 1mpg.

Back to the OP's post

Thanks for the review! That was a great look at how the grass really is on the other side of the fence, and I really appreciate it. It sounds exactly like I thought. There are some definite improvements - and I hope that we start seeing those in future Jeeps! I do wish they'd mount the driver's seat a little lower! Hehe.

The interior is a tough one. The seats look really nice and comfy, but I agree the rest just LOOKS cheap. Before you even touch it. There's something about it that I find a giant turn off.

The weird thing is lately whenever I see pictures of a Bronco, they kinda look more.. modern! It's a nice look and I think they did great with that. Though I still prefer the Jeep shape/size.
 

wchevron

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Like others said, nice to get a review from someone who actually owned one. Will be interesting to see where the Bronco is in 2-3 years. I had numerous Ford Explorers. Would get a new one about every 3 years. There were always little improvements over each model year. I'd get my new one and notice the 4-5 things I didn't like from my previous models had been changed/fixed. Would assume the same will happen with the Bronco. I cut Ford a little slack, it's the first model year of the Bronco, you know there are going to be issues.
Just like the aluminum steering box on the first JL's.
I'm glad the Bronco is out there, it's pushing Jeep to step up their game.
 

Monster1926

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I love the environment, I like environmentally friendly adaptions to cars, and challenging car companies to come up with better ways to engineer it instead of saying "yea we could do that but it'd cost more lol"

Yet for this, I agree so much!

I don't understand how making a vehicle practically disposable after 5-10 years is worth saving 1-3mpg. If the EPA really wants to save the environment they'd crack down on parts that are made so poorly that they often fall apart within the warranty period.

Like, small things like the handles to fold down the back seats breaking off really easy? There should be an EPA website to report shit like that. Stuff like the manufacturer not selling parts and only wanting to sell entire assemblies - like the rear axle locker sensor on rubicons. That kinda shit. So much extra stuff ending up in the garbage for no good reason. That stuff is a way bigger deal than saving 1mpg.

Back to the OP's post

Thanks for the review! That was a great look at how the grass really is on the other side of the fence, and I really appreciate it. It sounds exactly like I thought. There are some definite improvements - and I hope that we start seeing those in future Jeeps! I do wish they'd mount the driver's seat a little lower! Hehe.

The interior is a tough one. The seats look really nice and comfy, but I agree the rest just LOOKS cheap. Before you even touch it. There's something about it that I find a giant turn off.

The weird thing is lately whenever I see pictures of a Bronco, they kinda look more.. modern! It's a nice look and I think they did great with that. Though I still prefer the Jeep shape/size.
The seats are extremely comfortable compared to the wrangler. Typically when I hit the road the first 2 hours I’m moving around trying to get comfortable, not in the bronco. I’ve said it from day one the people who chose the colors/materials for the interior should be fired.
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