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Sold My Bronco...Back To a Wrangler.

jthoms1

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Thanks for the feedback. I could never own a Ford anything (old Mopar salty dog) but its an interesting SUV. I LOVE my 392... its damn near as good as my Trailhawk for daily use as well.

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.
just verifying what you're saying. you are saying don’t Bluetooth pair your phone to the head unit while you are connected to the head unit with the apple charging cable?
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Hpc3

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just verifying what you're saying. you are saying don’t Bluetooth pair your phone to the head unit while you are connected to the head unit with the apple charging cable?
Yep - don't pair your phone with the HU if you're plugging it in for CarPlay. If you're just charging I don't think it matters... only when you're paired and using the CarPlay specific interface that the two create conflicts.
 

JLUW75

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That is a contradiction all automakers have to deal with:
  1. On the one hand, you have the masses who buy your vehicle by the tens of thousands to pickup groceries and drive jr to soccer practice. These customers can't tell an all-season from an all-terrain, but they pay for the fixed costs, bring in the sales, the quarterly profits and the yearly bonuses.
  2. On the other you have the small group of enthusiasts who take your vehicle to the trails, put it through its paces, and is willing to spend tens of thousands of dollars in lifts, bumpers, winches, wheels and tires. More importantly, they spend time talking to others, posting on forums, and uploading photos and videos online. These customers are vocal in their advocacy of the product and help spread the brand gospel.
A successful brand needs both; it cannot live without one or the other.

If Jeep decides to ignore the enthusiasts, brand image will gradually weaken until sales start to spiral downward. If Jeep ignores the mall crawlers, sales will struggle to maintain their share of market.

Not one type of customer is better than another; they are all needed and each plays a role. Most of us exist somewhere in the middle, to one side or the other.
Exactly right! making a 4 door wrangler was a brilliant move that saved the Wrangler name plate from getting killed by the bean counters. If those pavement and mall queens didn't exist, the wrangler would have gone the way of the AMC decades ago!
 

Bradley

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Wow! Congrats on the 392! Happy you found the right vehicle for you. I'm in the opposite camp. I was a Jeep owner and ended up in the Bronco for various reasons. My current company is all Ford so I was locked into Ford no matter what. I will say... I don't have any of the issues you reported. I'm starting to think that some of the first builds have the most issues unfortunately. Ford tried to pump these out during the height of the pandemic/shortages and QC went down the toilet. I average anywhere from 17-18 MPG in my Badlands Sasquatch and despite my MIC top edges from being perfect, it doesnt make any noise. I allegedly have an MIC 2.0 version but I still think Ford/Webasto have their work cut out for them in getting out a proper hardtop product. The pully system is now in Fords service bulletins and is allegedly addressed.
 

Rodeoflyer

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Another thing about the JL over previous Wranglers is it has a better body strength and rigidity, even the line going from the front fender all the way to the back was put there on purpose to increase body strength, rigidity, and overall integrity of the body, combined with the framed doors (when on) and the improved sport bar with the center section in my opinion is better than the bronco.

Point is (not wishing any one any I'll will) I am dreading seeing what's going to happen to a bronco in a even moderate speed roll over.

All this said it's simple not a Wrangler, period.
Steel bumpers just fyi.

A car rammed into me from the rear at a traffic light. I got out and his front end was damaged, radiator steaming. Looked at my bumper and under the Jeep, not a single scratch.. I was floored lol. No issue to this day and his radiator was crushed. I felt a little bump that was it.

Bump a pole at a gas station etc.. good to go!

Fact of the matter is I would rather a little dump truck than some fancy SUV with IFS and a unibody.
 

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MRW

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I ordered a Bronco right when the reservations opened up. Soon thereafter Jeep announced the 392 so I ordered one of them too. The 392 showed up and I have enjoyed it for the last 8 months. I also bought the Bronco when it came in a few months later and figured I would keep whichever I liked better. I had a loaded up Wildtrack, Sasquatch, 2.7T, loaded up. I think it looked awesome but I enjoy the 392 much more. I also have a 2021 Ford F350 Platinum Diesel and from the interior and electronic standpoints they could not be more different. The F350 fit and finish and material is very nice but the Bronco was trash. I love the audio system and ease of operation in the F350 and hated the Bronco. The Bronco is and feels much larger than the 392 and I really did not like it that much so I sold it. I think overall my experience was about the same as the OP's. Once range and charging gets to the point where it makes me comfortable I am all for electrics but since the days are numbered for V8's I enjoy it while I can.
 

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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.
Thanks for an insightful review. Could you please buy a Land Rover Defender and post another review? :CWL:
 

ReimundKrohn

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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
Only if they can design them so they don’t rattle and leak, like the Ford roofs.
 

Jtphoto

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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.
And I will back you up on that statement no matter how many times you say it. Bang on the money.
 

qnet

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Thanks for the honest and straight forward review. I had an early reservation but decided to cancel it. It's interesting to hear from someone who actually had on, and decided to go back to jeep
 

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smokeythecat

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I don't know when Jeep stopped hosting Camp Jeep but when I attended in 2003 near Charlottesville, VA there were 5,000 Jeeps and nearly 11,000 people for 4 plus days of exhibits, Jeep engineers, presentations, trails of all levels, paintball, scuba (no kidding), and great food, too. Only Jeep vehicles were allowed. The Jamborees only scratch the surface of what Camp Jeep was about. If we're building the brand, then bring back Camp Jeep and let's use our Jeeps!!!
It's a shame they don't have some kind of gathering like this for people who don't like large crowds.
 

#HuckleberryJeep

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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.
Great write-up man. Thanks for sharing your insight. You've confirmed much of what I suspected.
 

Wanted33

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I'm one that has a reservation in for a Bronco. At first it was figured a '22 build, but Ford screwed the small dealers (I ordered from a small dealer) by changing the '22 allocation formula to favor the mega dealers. Now if I'm lucky I may get a '24 build date. The entire experience has been a cluster f^%k. My plans are now to enjoy my JL until Ford deems me worthy, and then decide whether to keep it or not. Right now I'm saying screw it, keep the Jeep. Only time will tell what I decide. As it looks now the Jeep will be near "trading time" when I do get a build date. I do know one thing for sure though. If I do get the Bronco, I'm sure I'll miss my Jeep.

@ChaseW Chase, thanks for the honest review. In my mind I knew there would be things that I wouldn't like about the Bronco over, and above some of the things I don't like already, i.e. the rear cargo area isn't flat like the Jeep. Plus, as it looks right now Ford doesn't know how to get a decent top built. The hard top looks like chit, even the new one has it's problem. And now the soft top doesn't seem to be able to keep the weather out in high winds. There have been two reported occassions when snow was able to get inside of the vehicle when the winds were high.

Also, there's one thing that rattles around in my big ol' dumb head quite often. If Jeep can build me a vehicle in 8-12 weeks why in the hell can't Ford. We get nothing but excuses from Ford, while Jeep just keeps on building customer orders.
 

Wanted33

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I have a '21 Silverado w/10 speed and its amazing, much better than my old Silverado with the 6 speed. Never hunts for gears, skips gears based on load, and when towing there is always the perfect gear to maintain speed going up and down grades. I've heard people that have driven both GM and Fords with 10 speeds blame Fords programming. GM had an 8 speed and by all accounts its awful.

I don't have any experience with the ZF 8 speed in a Wrangler as I went with the 6 speed manual and I love it.
And they are correct. Ford has improved the programming a little comparing my wife's '18 Mustang to my '20 Ranger. But, they still have a long way to go to equal GM's programming. Ford for some reason things programming their 10 spd to lug the engine is a good thing. That's what aggravates me most about the one in my Ranger. I have to lock out the top gears when driving around town to stop that crap. On the highway it does much better. The Jeep 8 spd is leaps, and bounds better than Fords 10 spd.
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