Looks Like Ford Bronco is Serious About Taking on the Wrangler

[Carlton]

Looks like these two had a baby:

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[Compression-Ignition]

I think the top tier trim of the Bronco will come with 35's. Looks like the fender flares are bolted on in an interesting way.

 

[Drveovru]

1979, that was the last year a bronco had a solid axle. It’s been 40 years. I don’t see what all the uproar is over the lack of a solid axle

 

[ztobro]

1979, that was the last year a bronco had a solid axle. It’s been 40 years. I don’t see what all the uproar is over the lack of a solid axle

People are also still throwing a fit over there not being some sort of V8 option available for it. I'm not surprised about people getting salty over the IFS. Ford has never 100% denied a SFA in some degree though, some people are still hoping.

 

[TXRubicon]

Somehow some Wrangler owners are convinced that you can't go anywhere besides pavement if you don't have a solid front axle and completely ignore the fact that 4Runners and the sort are all EXTREMELY capable in more ways than they want to give them credit for. Blind loyalty. But better keep that quiet as you don't want to upset the ignorant.

1979, that was the last year a bronco had a solid axle. It’s been 40 years. I don’t see what all the uproar is over the lack of a solid axle

 

[Rogues Gambit]

Keep in mind, this is a prototype still, nothing is 100% final

 

[TXRubicon]

Most of what you see is in its final (extremely camouflaged) form. There aren't going to be massive changes between now and the reveal. Most of what will happen between now and the on-sale date are small revisions to individual parts and software, but no sweeping changes to design or engineering.

Keep in mind, this is a prototype still, nothing is 100% final

 

[Toycrusher]

Somehow some Wrangler owners are convinced that you can't go anywhere besides pavement if you don't have a solid front axle and completely ignore the fact that 4Runners and the sort are all EXTREMELY capable in more ways than they want to give them credit for. Blind loyalty. But better keep that quiet as you don't want to upset the ignorant.

With locked axles front and rear, you don't even need a suspension and you would still be EXTREMELY capable off-road. Solid axles front and rear however, properly set up, help balance the vehicle, less likely to tip over, and far less likely to lift a wheel. It's confidence inspiring and allows for slower and more controlled movement. Look at a side-by-side trying to crawl, they may have 20" of travel at each corner, but crawling they usually have to rely on relatively light weight and extra momentum to get up and over stuff, or they rely on the cage when tipping over in situations you might have been able to traverse with straight axles.

 

[TXRubicon]

I don't think anyone is arguing the merits of a solid axle, but I do take exception to the assumption of some that 1) Everyone who buys these vehicles take them off-road or really even cares about anything other than image (wrangler owners included) and that 2) Everyone does the same kind of off-roading.

Truth is, most of the buyers and owners of these vehicles will never take them onto anything besides dirt roads or unpaved parking lots. That's the case with most Wrangler owners, and any other off-roader. That's the case with really any purpose-built mass-produced vehicle. Enthusiasts who do these things make up such a small part of the market that it's far more important to build a vehicle that is good both pretty good out of the box on-road and off-road than something that can climb rocks really well but sucks for daily driving.

With locked axles front and rear, you don't even need a suspension and you would still be EXTREMELY capable off-road. Solid axles front and rear however, properly set up, help balance the vehicle, less likely to tip over, and far less likely to lift a wheel. It's confidence inspiring and allows for slower and more controlled movement. Look at a side-by-side trying to crawl, they may have 20" of travel at each corner, but crawling they usually have to rely on relatively light weight and extra momentum to get up and over stuff, or they rely on the cage when tipping over in situations you might have been able to traverse with straight axles.

 

[DanW]

Check out this video by Andrew St. Pierre White. He tours a 4x4 museum in UAE and I think toward the end goes deeply into the issue of solid front axles and why they are preferred among the most serious overlanders.

 

[cbrenthus]

That's going to be a bit more complicated to lift more than 1.5 or 2 inches. Still, I'll wait and see. If they intend to compete with the Wrangler, they probably have some things up their sleeves that will enable making it more capable off-road. I'm not 100% sure they are really competing with Wrangler except with the road oriented crowd.

People are lifting IFS just as much as Wranglers - I just did a quick search and Silverado lift kits are just as cheap as Wrangler kits, granted you'll need to adjust camber but I don't think it will be that complicated. Also, while it seems like there are a lot of off road Wranglers, I'd love to know the exact percentage of owners that ever take them off road, and then the percentage of those that take them rock crawling or anything where a SFA is an advantage. I have a feeling those numbers are very low, and Ford won't be missing out on much.

I also wouldn't be surprised if Ford releases a SFA version to compete with the Rubicon, and then in turn FCA puts an IFS and push button 4WD in the Saharas. Just my crazy prediction.

As mentioned, we won't now anything for sure until it is full released, but all I know is *if* they offer a V8, Rubicon type edition with colors other than grayscale and red, I'll seriously consider one. However, it would be difficult to leave the plethora of aftermarket support

 

[Sean K.]

Well who currently is there rival?

In the US market...no one, really...if we're talking capability. Jeep really hasn't had much competition in that realm since the first release of the Rubicon package in 2003.

 

[Indio]

An unmentioned benefit of live axle over IFS: you can easily unbolt the entire front axle assembly, and rebuild it in your basement over the winter! My Land Rover front axle currently scattered on our basement floor (I have a very understanding wife).

 

[Sean K.]

With locked axles front and rear, you don't even need a suspension and you would still be EXTREMELY capable off-road. Solid axles front and rear however, properly set up, help balance the vehicle, less likely to tip over, and far less likely to lift a wheel. It's confidence inspiring and allows for slower and more controlled movement. Look at a side-by-side trying to crawl, they may have 20" of travel at each corner, but crawling they usually have to rely on relatively light weight and extra momentum to get up and over stuff, or they rely on the cage when tipping over in situations you might have been able to traverse with straight axles.

.....And when was the last time we saw a manufacturer option a front locking diff in an IFS rig?

 

[Sean K.]

People are lifting IFS just as much as Wranglers - I just did a quick search and Silverado lift kits are just as cheap as Wrangler kits, granted you'll need to adjust camber but I don't think it will be that complicated. Also, while it seems like there are a lot of off road Wranglers, I'd love to know the exact percentage of owners that ever take them off road, and then the percentage of those that take them rock crawling or anything where a SFA is an advantage. I have a feeling those numbers are very low, and Ford won't be missing out on much.

I also wouldn't be surprised if Ford releases a SFA version to compete with the Rubicon, and then in turn FCA puts an IFS and push button 4WD in the Saharas. Just my crazy prediction.

As mentioned, we won't now anything for sure until it is full released, but all I know is *if* they offer a V8, Rubicon type edition with colors other than grayscale and red, I'll seriously consider one. However, it would be difficult to leave the plethora of aftermarket support

The "lift kits" though are not even in the same ballpark.

Ford won't be releasing a 'SFA' version....they don't do different frames for the same model. It's not cost effective.

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