Bronco to Wrangler

[shekmark]

Yes and No. Wrangler sales would inch up after going IFS, but then they would start a long, steady decline.

We have been studying consumer demand for automobiles over the last 12 years, and have identified the various elements that make up “demand.” But that’d require a separate discussion.

My feeling is that 95% of Wrangler buyers have zero idea what IFS is or a solid axel. They buy because it is cool and then wonder why it wanders on the road. Maybe they don't even realize it is wandering. At the offroad park intermediate trails the Toyotas and old Lexus and Fords Rangers did fine. We all had a good time. next level up, a lot less of them. I like the looks of the 2 Dr Bronco.

Sponsored

 

[aldo98229]

My feeling is that 95% of Wrangler buyers have zero idea what IFS is or a solid axel. They buy because it is cool and then wonder why it wanders on the road. Maybe they don't even realize it is wandering. At the offroad park intermediate trails the Toyotas and old Lexus and Fords Rangers did fine. We all had a good time. next level up, a lot less of them. I like the looks of the 2 Dr Bronco.

Assuming your customers don’t know any better is rarely a formula for success.

 

[TheRaven]

Assuming your customers don’t know any better is rarely a formula for success.

Who said anything about assuming?

 

[Headbarcode]

@Strommen95

 

[shekmark]

Assuming your customers don’t know any better is rarely a formula for success.

Very true, but I truly believe that most consumers have no idea. Ask some random people you are around , what engine they have or what size wheel or tire. Suspension , no way. Most folks have no idea of any of these things. They just love the way they look! Forum people are such a tiny percentage of owners. We cannot be used in comparison. Just my opinion aldo. I have been wrong before LOL.

 

[Gladius Nova]

Very true, but I truly believe that most consumers have no idea. Ask some random people you are around , what engine they have or what size wheel or tire. Suspension , no way. Most folks have no idea of any of these things. They just love the way they look! Forum people are such a tiny percentage of owners. We cannot be used in comparison. Just my opinion aldo. I have been wrong before LOL.

You're correct.

 

[IdahoJOAT]

Yep. Coming from a Toyota 4runner TRD Pro, I had it for around 2 years while my friends bought Jeeps. We have been wheeling local FSR's, ATV trails and tight obstacles and some challenging terrains here. Our goal initially was to see what we could do with our stock vehicles. Here is where it gets fun, first couple months on moderate/light trails as we were getting accustomed to spotting, picking lines, learning about our vehicles my 4runner was fine. Once we did a trip every weekend for months and months and built our confidence, we decided to do Eagle Mountain , It's not advanced but it's technical.

That's when I realized why my IFS is going to have a tough time and the solid front axle of my friends Jeeps are going to perform. I couldn't take the same lines, didn't have the ground clearance, I was scraping left and right. I had trail damage to my rear bumper after that trip, basically it wasn't fun. My friends in stock Rubicon's made it, I was being winched out of places, scraping everywhere. It was a 80% rock crawling trail and I struggled big time. At one point I thought maybe it's my driving skill and we switched with another rig that offered me a chance to drive his Jeep. He struggled as well. Long story short , that 6km trail took over 2.5 hours for me one way.

Anyways, as we continued to start to go on more challenging trails I realized I needed to mod my stock TRD 4runner. Started looking into lifts, bumpers, rims, tires, body mount chops, rear tire carriers, etc. Next thing I know I'm $15,000 in to mods to basically do what a stock Rubicon can. That's when I decided to make the switch after 2 and a bit years with my 4runner. Traded it in for a '21 Rubicon in February. For me, my family and the trips we want to do, the on road ride is fine, more than tolerable, I'm fine with the driving. The off road is where it shines and what it was built for. We went back to Eagle Mountain that weekend and I tackled it, had an absolute blast. Of course in the future I will modify my Jeep but for now, 90% of the trails here can be done with my Jeep stock. We have soooo much more to explore. Anyways, sorry for the long write up

Posts and accounts like yours can't be overlooked by those wanting a rig with IFS.

There's stats and numbers, then there's real world accounts and testimony.

Your experience is worth so much more than a brochure or YouTuber that was paid to review a product.

 

[Murphydog]

My biggest fear for the Wrangler is that Jeep somehow "mainstreams" it - meaning sharing platforms, saving costs, etc....this like would pop profits short term (regrettably a very common way of doing business) but destroy the wrangler brand long term.

Jeep leadership would get big $$ in the short term, but eventually the Wrangler brand would lose what makes it special...ala the latest version of the Blazer from Chevrolet....

 

[TheRaven]

Very true, but I truly believe that most consumers have no idea. Ask some random people you are around , what engine they have or what size wheel or tire. Suspension , no way. Most folks have no idea of any of these things. They just love the way they look! Forum people are such a tiny percentage of owners. We cannot be used in comparison. Just my opinion aldo. I have been wrong before LOL.

No you are right on. Precisely why I said it wasn't an assumption. Dealers and automakers aren't assuming anything. They know the deal.

 

[aldo98229]

My biggest fear for the Wrangler is that Jeep somehow "mainstreams" it - meaning sharing platforms, saving costs, etc....this like would pop profits short term (regrettably a very common way of doing business) but destroy the wrangler brand long term.

Jeep leadership would get big $$ in the short term, but eventually the Wrangler brand would lose what makes it special...ala the latest version of the Blazer from Chevrolet....

Completely agree. And going IFS would be the first step in that direction.

 

[Asuriyan]

My biggest fear for the Wrangler is that Jeep somehow "mainstreams" it - meaning sharing platforms, saving costs, etc....this like would pop profits short term (regrettably a very common way of doing business) but destroy the wrangler brand long term.

Jeep leadership would get big $$ in the short term, but eventually the Wrangler brand would lose what makes it special...ala the latest version of the Blazer from Chevrolet....

The JK looked like a move in this direction to a lot of people. They didn't water it down where it really counted, but the crappy mid-2000s Chrysler parts bin interior, minivan motor and increasingly popular 4-door option all smacked of dilution. There was legitimate concern before the release of the JL that Jeep would cut the solid axle, or the folding windshield, or the manual transmission option, or the two-door, or all of the above. But none of that happened - in fact, the JL was given all the attention to detail that the JK was lacking.

I have some confidence that Jeep understands what they have with the Wrangler, and knows that its reputation (and stellar sales) are only because it's a unique product without excessive compromises.

 

[bgenesis12]

Well, I never thought I’d be here but am nonetheless. I was born and raised a Chevy boy (my dad’s doing), and over the process of time morphed into a rather hard core Ford man. Still am to a large extent, though that happens to be a somewhat groundless claim at the moment as I no longer own a blue oval. My mom has had wranglers since 2000 and refused to drive anything else. I hated them when I was growing up, mainly due to a sinful contrarianism, but have always really liked her JL. Being a Ford man, I was quite excited about the Bronco release. I made a reservation, but ended up dropping it and we got Explorer instead (lame). Six months go by and I stumbled upon a Bronco that a very small dealer in South Central Iowa was selling at MSRP. I sort of talked my wife into getting rid of her Explorer and did so a bit too hastily.

Anyhow, she dumped the Bronco on me, which I was quite happy about, and I got rid of my F-150. We got her a 2022 Pacifica Hybrid and my gears started to turn. This is one cool van… yes a cool minivan. I started looking at the 4xe online and really fell in love with it. I pushed that aside and started customizing the Bronco but still knowing in the back of my mind I could sell it and make a few bucks.

It took one ride with the doors off and the soft top to realize that my pregnant wife was not too much of a fan. She really didn’t like the soft top, neither did I, and the Bronco half doors seem rather half baked. Not nearly as easy of a process as a Jeep. And don’t get me started on the soft top design… So I dropped off the Bronco for a profit locally, albeit quite a bit less than if I hadn’t started making it my own. When I realized I could get a Rubicon 4xe for what I could get for the Bronco made it a no brainer. Anyhow, happy to be here and excited for the 4xe I have on order.

Here’s a pic of the Bronco for reference. Ford really did knock it out of the park on this. It’s not perfect by any means, but they will sell a boat load of them. It’s a good vehicle, just not the best one for me.

Was there anything else that drove your decision? DId you like the ride quality? The space? the powertrain?

I have a JLUD willys and i love it. However, sometimes i wonder how much more comfortable the jeep would be with a little more width or even a 10 way hell even a 4 way adjustable seat. Apart from that. I love everything else there is. The great thing about powered seats is that you get to fine dial your comfort.

I gotta admit i've tried to convince my wife on a van a few times. Luckily, she rather have the jeep. They're practical. Especially the new ones. They almost look like SUVS.

 

[Mason1646]

Was there anything else that drove your decision? DId you like the ride quality? The space? the powertrain?

I have a JLUD willys and i love it. However, sometimes i wonder how much more comfortable the jeep would be with a little more width or even a 10 way hell even a 4 way adjustable seat. Apart from that. I love everything else there is. The great thing about powered seats is that you get to fine dial your comfort.

I gotta admit i've tried to convince my wife on a van a few times. Luckily, she rather have the jeep. They're practical. Especially the new ones. They almost look like SUVS.

There were a few things that really drove the decision. The soft top on the bronco is a joke and my non-car-person wife hated how loud it was. I don't think its necessarily more noisy than the Jeep soft top, but its a far worse design and not something I was really willing to put up with. (I wouldn't get a Jeep with a soft top right now either).

The lack of power and refinement in the drivetrain was also a factor. The 2.3 in the bronco (which was also in our explorer) is fine, but its rattly and noticeable. If I have a four cylinder I don't really want to notice it. I am a v8 man at heart, but that is slowly dying out of necessity. It is either the 4xe or Diesel for me as decent milage, a refined drivetrain, and good power are necessary for me to want to keep a car for any amount of time. I have had 4 cars in the past year - which is partially due to the market being such that I can make money on new cars but also due to my lack of real connection with any of them. I could care less about other niceties in life, but I really love vehicles.

I also think the 'big differences' between the Bronco and Wrangler are overblown. Yes, the Bronco tracks straighter - particularly when compared to my mom's stocked geared sport on 37's. But it really isn't that noticeable if you compare a new stock Wrangler to Bronco apples to apples.

Another thing, which shows I am getting soft even in my relatively young age (I'm 27) is I had a F-150 Limited before the Bronco. It had every creature comfort possible. The Bronco was a Big Bend - more or less none of that. You don't realize what you will miss until you don't have it. I really missed heated seats and a somewhat insulated cabin in the true negative Iowa winter.

I could also get much more wrangler than bronco. I have worked with Granger Motors before, and they are second to none. I could get a 4xe Rubicon for what I got for my Bronco Big Bend. To me that is a no brainer. More power, more refinement, more creature comfort, and more capable. Not to mention that I would like to fly a bit more under the radar. Wranglers are awesome, but I'd like to blend into the crowd a bit more and at least currently that is more possible in a Wrangler than a Bronco.

This is a lot of rambling. I could have got another F-150, I had a 2021 and it was a nice truck. It probably would have been the more reasonable choice. But I didn't look back at it in the parking lot. I had a Mustang GT and Camaro SS, both of which had my heart and were a joy to drive. I wanted that again. I wanted to enjoy driving to work. But I also wanted to have something that I could drive my soon-to-be-born child in.

p.s. anyone contemplating a Pacifica should go drive one. It's incredible. It would suck the life out of me if it were my only vehicle, but the people hauling abilities and mpg are wild. Not to mention it arguably has more non-trailer utility than any half ton truck.

 

[Mason1646]

This is my mom’s jeep. It’s a pavement princess, but it’s a manual and has roll up windows so it’s a blast to drive.

For all of y'all that liked this, my mom is ordering a new Rubicon as well. So we are going to be twins although mine will be a hy-bird and hers will be the good ole tried and true gear rower. Let's see who's will end up cooler.

 

[aldo98229]

Your mom sounds too cool

Sponsored