Bronco vs Jeep Wrangler mega thread

[DanW]

What would REALLY be fun is to have Jeep's development team drive two Rubicons, a 2 door and 4 door, and Ford's, with 2 Broncos, a 2 door and 4 door, both with the Sasquach package, and run the trail together, taking the hardest obstacles they could take. Film the whole thing. That would be entertainment, right there!

Oh, and add one Rubi with 35s, just to even things up on the tire front. Even without a lift.

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[DanW]

I saw a bunch of still pics. It looks like they must have done a good job with skid plates on those Broncos. I did notice one of the Jeeps had a winch, too, showing they were ready!

I'm just funnin' the Bronco crowd, btw. I have no doubts those things are going to be great. I am a bit surprised at no airing down, though, especially with the one with 35's.

I do know that the JKUR did the same stuff on 32's, so there's that, too.

I've never done the Rubicon Trail, though. So keep that in mind with my commentary.

 

[twisty]

Ironic, considering the rear axle is still 'solid'.

I think they are targeting a market that doesn't really care about solid front axles....but it's odd that they'd spend the time trying to build street cred with social media postings with that sort of sentiment....but that's a shot across the bow at the Wrangler.

Thing is, this isn't the first time by a long shot where a manufacturer took their stock vehicles through the 'Con. Isuzu did it with the Amigo in the mid-late 90's. One with no armor and one with some bolt on sliders. They completed and actually looked less beat up than the Broncos....on smaller, 31" tires. Though the trail (with the exception of Little Sluice being blasted...damn it!) has gotten harder over that time frame.

The point is: plenty of IFS rigs (the FJC did it as well) have had the factory bring out their vehicles and completed the Rubicon.

I did the rubicon in my 97 TJ, 2 inch lift and 32 inch michleins back in 1998. While at the springs jeep had their 50 top salesmen ride in on stock TJ's. they all looked good but many had their rocker panels bent.
The rubicon isnt that hard if you dont want it to be but it is relentless.

 

[twisty]

I realize now it's those hideous fender flares that really keep me from liking the Bronco. They scream cheap aftermarket. I bet it would look 10x better with them removed. I guess legally they needed to cover the tires, but this was a ground up design, why the heck not give it Raptor style extended bodywork instead of kiddie-pool-wall plastic fenders?

I dont know what it is that I dont like about its looks, but I just dont like them, The high dollar one being the exception. The wife wont even talk to me about it anymore. lol

 

[twisty]

Changed into what? The big bronco?? Not even close to the same vehicle. It's name only. Bronco II was closer to it and that failed too.

 

[twisty]

Laughed my ass off on the golden crack. Pure IFS in action. lol It made the new defender look good!

 

[twisty]

Many (most?) drivers don’t need solid axles.

Then why the video's TRYING to give it cred? People that dont know much about such things eventually figure it out.

I will say for IFS it's not horrible. many who figure out it sucks comparitively speaking will be happy with the motor and the interior looks pretty cool.

 

[twisty]

"Incredibly weak"? Didn't look any "weaker" than any other IFS production 4wd, body on frame based vehicle I've seen. How so, exactly?

Is it magical? No. Doesn't seem to be. Does it have comparable travel numbers to a stock Jeep Rubicon? Not sure, but I know the JLUR doesn't have a lot of wheel travel either. The factory numbers don't seem to be easy to come by (probably in large part b/c of how they are different in terms of how the measurements are taken in IFS vs. SFA). I did a brief search and couldn't find anything and even found a thread here where someone asked, but no one ever answered.

Comparing it to SFA, for IFS, yeah not bad but was as expected. All I know is my stock jlur wheel travel was WAAY more than what I saw on that video. Pretty incredible.

 

[twisty]

Personally, I'd wait to see the actual travel numbers before making that assessment. The stock JLUR's travel isn't anything to write home about IMO. YMMV.

Or ramp index. the 4 door comes in at 600 compared to the 690 of the rubicon. BUT, the bronco was on 35's vs the 33's on the ruby.

With the 35s on the bronco you also lose wheel travel, not so on the ruby.

Still 600 isnt all that bad for IFS. But with a couple of hundred dollars and 35/37s the bronco taps out (wheels up lol) against the JL.

 

[twisty]

B/c....Marketing?

yup, cause people do care about off road prowess, whether they use it or not. So the argument many make about not needing sfa while true doesnt matter. The brand is selling capability against jeep and falls short in tech.

 

[jeepingib]

Watching these videos the hero of the day are the lockers and skids. It's no more capable than a factory Wrangler, but it's not nearly as bad as I had originally expected it to be. But I do have some misgivings about the IFS still. It will be more expensive to modify, and that makes it a lot less desirable to me. For instance if you bought a new Outer Banks Bronco that didn't have the factory Sasquatch package. How much money do you have to throw at it to be able to get lockers and fit 35s? We won't know for a while, but I expect it to be a lot more expensive than someone who bought a Sahara Wrangler and then wanted to modify it for the same equipment. I expect it will be a while before we even see an aftermarket locker for the front axle.

 

[ODDs]

The JLUR is being driven by their mechanic. So yes, a support vehicle, as well as the only one with a winch. Spent some time talking to him on the Rubicon. Told me they were running 24psi in the JLUR and two of the Broncos so as to make it a fair head to head comparison. He said 24psi was chosen because that is the lowest recommended tire pressure stated in the Jeep Owner's Manual. My manual says 15psi in the sand driving section, never could find a reference to 24psi.

As they rolled in to Buck Island Lake to camp, the mechanic started to pull up next to the Broncos to park. One of the other guys waved him off and made a hand gesture mimicking someone taking a picture. Was pretty humorous really. You can see him parked in the background here.

Was a good call on their part, kept the Jeep out of this other shot I took which is now all over the place. Same scene, different angle.

Oh Ford, and the lengths they will go to for their 1-2-3 photo ops.

 

[Richtor]

Or ramp index. the 4 door comes in at 600 compared to the 690 of the rubicon. BUT, the bronco was on 35's vs the 33's on the ruby.

With the 35s on the bronco you also lose wheel travel, not so on the ruby.

Still 600 isnt all that bad for IFS. But with a couple of hundred dollars and 35/37s the bronco taps out (wheels up lol) against the JL.

What’s the 2dr?
Bronco 2dr Badlands is 700 RTI.

 

[Jeeperob]

I find it very odd that everyone is commenting on the "selective editing" and everyone here is "selectively" picking apart the short-falls of the Bronco. Which I again state COMPLETED the Rubicon Trail. I'm sure you all know that the "special" "Trail Rated" badge on the side of your Jeep means that it too was "capable" of completing the Rubicon Trail. So apples to apples, they have accomplished the same thing. Both kept up, both finished the race.

If we look at the title of this thread:

"Will This Be The Wrangler’s True Competitor? 2021 Ford Bronco First Leaked Look"

The answer is a clear YES!

Whether everyone here agrees with that answer doesn't really matter, because the fact is the Bronco is turning out to be probably a very fierce competitor. Where it lacks (every so slightly in the rock-crawling segment) you can bet your last earned dollar that it will be far better than the Jeep, relatively speaking, on flat land or desert runs like Baja.

So instead of asking is the Jeep Wrangler superior in crawling, does it do it more elegantly, perhaps, just like Sean K said, "I'm not sure, lets wait and see" ...for me I wanna see the same dude do the same trail in a stock Rubicon and a stock Bronco.

People can like or hate certain design aspects of the Bronco, like the fender flares, but that's good for you, some people like them. No matter how you spin it, this Bronco is a massive node and a great design accomplishment to the original Bronco. I personally love it just as I love the Rubicon. Both have their own unique looks. When you see a Bronco, it's a Bronco, just as the Wrangler is never mistaken for a Dodge Caravan. Fender flares can be body color just as they are on a Jeep. To me, the Bronco fender flares and design are a bit better than the Jeep as for one the fenders look as though they'd keep the stones and dirt from chipping the paint and the hinges are inside the door panel (numerous threads on here about stones hitting the door hinges on Jeeps). Plus even though some don't like the Bronco flares, some people also hate the Wrangler flares lol....so it's a moot point.

Anyway, point is the Bronco IS a competitor, and you can bet a lot of potential buyers of this "type" of vehicle won't give two shits about if it can cross God's Crack or if it the wheels lift a bit. Because the point is it completed the trail. And that's all that matters.

Someone like Sean K. obviously knows quite a bit about off-roading and actually building these vehicles (I don't). But to me, his points are logical and well thought out.

Overall, 365 days a year, which vehicle will make most people the happiest? When the word "competitor" comes into play we gotta look at all aspects and all uses.

I also believe the ramp index that FORD GAVE US for the Bronco is 625, but I'm not gonna scour the internet for that because Jeep doesn't even bother to give you that number on a stock Rubicon ...so for Jeep it's owners or shops reporting that.

 

[Jeeperob]

Oh Ford, and the lengths they will go to for their 1-2-3 photo ops.

Seriously? lol, Ford? Try any car company wanting to make money.

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