Bronco vs. Wrangler - Door and Roof Removal Comparison by Car and Driver

[Arterius2]

Why would you want to take the doors off and then lug them around town in the back? So they can't get stolen easier?

No, I'd bring them up into my condo through the elevator. And since they are in bags, I can probably do 1 in each hand, considering they are 5-10lbs lighter than Jeep's and half the size.

But if I'm just going out to play in the dirt for a day, I'd keep the doors on for the highway miles, take the doors off when I hit the trails. Put them in bags and toss them to the back. When I'm done, I can just bolt them right back on and drive home comfortably on the highway with the doors IN.

Even if I can handle the constant blast of wind and ear-drum popping noise for hours, my wife can't.

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[PyrPatriot]

Apparently you can store all the doors and roof panels in the back of the Bronco, which is a huge plus for me. Mirror attached to the body is a no-brainer.

And it seems like removing doors and panels are easier on the Bronco as well.

As someone who lives in a condo. I don't want to deal with hoists and lifts, and I don't want to deal with door hangers. This is a huge turn-off and the only reason restricting me from taking off my hardtop and doors on my JL.

Just the doors

 

[Spank]

Why would you want to take the doors off and then lug them around town in the back? So they can't get stolen easier?

Yeah, this wouldn't exactly be a selling point for me. I have no desire to lug my doors around, no matter how light they are or easy to remove.

 

[BullMoose1776]

Nothing wrong with the new Bronco. I really like it. I'm not selling my jeep to get one or anything like that, I like my Jeep more.

I'm very pleased with ford upping the game, and beating Jeep here, and there. It will only make newer model jeeps better, which is good for everyone.

I really do wish the Mopar half-doors were more reasonably priced, more widely available and were included on the 2019s!

Some with a 392. Maybe one day I can afford a used 392. 80k for a vehicle is crazy money to me.

 

[0II392II0]

Can't wait until some useful comparisons between the two come up like tacking a decent trail.

 

[BullMoose1776]

Yeah, this wouldn't exactly be a selling point for me. I have no desire to lug my doors around, no matter how light they are or easy to remove.

I think the idea is to be able to go off road doorless, then drive home with doors.

To me it's just a differentiator to Jeep, and a little bit of a gimmick? It's cool I guess. Shorter doors are cooler to me than rear storage doors.

 

[_olllllllo_]

Why would you want to take the doors off and then lug them around town in the back? So they can't get stolen easier?

That is what I was thinking ... and basically eliminating all storage ability.

 

[AMKRubicon610]

I just do not like the look of the Bronco’s front. I looks too much FJ cruiser like. Am the only one who thinks that way?

speaking as a prior bronco reservation holder, i couldnt help but unsee the bronco looking like a barbie doll toy that ken would be driving around after someone mentioned it on the bronco forum.

Looking forward to my JL lol

 

[Kurt0]

if you really look at the specs of the bronco.. FORD went thru each jeep spec and beat it by just a little bit or a lot. The only thing they are lower on is the articulation. Only the badlands has disconnect, and it's 10% less STOCK articulation than a rubicon. In that you get IFS which will make for better high speed trail running and on road performance. An IFS system is slightly harder to lift so after market list will be more expensive. But clearly from the raptore they know something about building offroad IFS system that can take abuse, the raptor can do 90 miles an hour over open dessert. The bronco v6 smokes the JLU power platforms with 310 horsepower and 400lbs of torque. It has more interior room, and much more modern and cool technology onboard. Like they have the 360 camera system, and they have a mode, where it does a split screen and shows you both your front tires, so you can weave between rocks.. On paper its a bad ass vehicle.. i actually think the JL styling and interior quality are a little nicer.. but the big thing will be how well the bronco hold up weekend after weekend of trailing. Jeep has had decades of refinement, as good as ford engineers are, and with some solid raptor experience. This is a totall new platform that will be put in a high stress environment regularly. I just placed an order on a NEW JL, but not gonna lie i found the bronco pretty tempting once i really looked at it. If it wasn't for the dealer discounts i can get on the JL, and the long lead time for a bronco, i might have gone for it. And i think a lot of people will. I also think with the IFS and better tech, it will actually be stealing from the FJ and 4 runner crowd even more than the JP crowd, because it has the on road manners those vehicles offered, but is much close to the wrangler in offroad capability. Anyways glad i went wrangler again, and can't wait to get my new rig and do my build out. Also happy there is some true competition in the space, because ultimately it's good for the consumer (US).

this is just one reason why i hate ford. Their constant quest for the “biggest” “highest” “best in class” marketing campaign is why 1500 series trucks are fucking gigantic. If ford keeps at it, you’ll need a CDL or Limo license just to drive a fucking pick up truck here in a few years.

 

[Nickp01]

this is just one reason why i hate ford. Their constant quest for the “biggest” “highest” “best in class” marketing campaign is why 1500 series trucks are fucking gigantic. If ford keeps at it, you’ll need a CDL or Limo license just to drive a fucking pick up truck here in a few years.

I hate hate HATE when people say this. Such a dumb myth, full size trucks have been basically the same size for decades now. 79” wide, length depends on the bed/can size of course, and height has gone up just like it has for EVERY type of vehicle.

If anything, trucks have actually grown less. A 2-door JL is WAY bigger than a TJ. A 2020 F-150 crew cab short bed is basically identical to one from 30 years ago in width and length.

 

[Pepe My Little Mule]

Poss

I think the idea is to be able to go off road doorless, then drive home with doors.

To me it's just a differentiator to Jeep, and a little bit of a gimmick? It's cool I guess. Shorter doors are cooler to me than rear storage doors.

Possibly. But where do you put your cooler? Recovery gear? Tools? You know all the stuff "they" tell you that you "must" take with you off road.

I agree with you in that is seems to be more of a gimmick / bragging right.

 

[Spank]

I think the idea is to be able to go off road doorless, then drive home with doors.

To me it's just a differentiator to Jeep, and a little bit of a gimmick? It's cool I guess. Shorter doors are cooler to me than rear storage doors.

Oh, it's totally a marketing gimmick to one-up Jeep, but it simply isn't practical. I can't wait for the YouTube video of someone tossing their doors in the back, hitting a trail, and one of them flying out and hitting the driver or a spotter or something.

 

[Pepe My Little Mule]

Apparently you can store all the doors and roof panels in the back of the Bronco, which is a huge plus for me. Mirror attached to the body is a no-brainer.

And it seems like removing doors and panels are easier on the Bronco as well.

As someone who lives in a condo. I don't want to deal with hoists and lifts, and I don't want to deal with door hangers. This is a huge turn-off and the only reason restricting me from taking off my hardtop and doors on my JL.

I see your argument, but for me mirrors should be removable as they tend to get in the way of trees and limbs, at least for me in the Northeast.

 

[Arterius2]

I see your argument, but for me mirrors should be removable as they tend to get in the way of trees and limbs, at least for me in the Northeast.

The mirrors look like they can fold in fairly well, shouldn't be a huge issues for most people, unless you do trails hardcore enough to warrant their removal, I'm sure they can be removed.

Again, together with the easier removal of doors, this is probably Ford's attempt to cater to a larger audience. Which from a marketing stand point, isn't a bad thing.

The hardcore Jeepers will continue to wheel their Jeeps hardcore, but I think the Bronco will take a large bite out of the 'weekend warrior' pie, and sign up a lot of people who were previously 'on the fence' due to their lifestyle obstacles.

 

[Al G]

I wish they'd said something about actually taking the roof off after unbolting it. Or did I miss something?

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