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MrMischief

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I have traveld several hundreds of miles in Death Valleys back county and seen cars with blown out shocks, tires and busted suspension. To each his own.
Doesn't edmunds go there and blow out shocks on every kind of pickup they can? That's not a question of capability, pretty much anything without remote reservoirs will have issues on washboard roads (and even remote reservoirs can be overheated given a long enough road at high enough speeds). It's more an issue of shock management, typically controlled by your vehicle speed, it's not some measure of off-road trail capability.
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sourdough

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It's shocking how easily shocks can overheat and fail on washboard roads. Even vehicles with "off road" packages are not always up to long drives on washboard roads.
One of my rear Rubicon shocks leaked after the first month. I installed a Mopar lift and have run thousands of miles and the Fox shocks in the kit are still holding. No issues with tires,wheels or other suspension components. Well, I did have a rear LCA nut work its way lose and the bolt fall out. My bad, luckily I had a backup bolt and nut close enough to size. I was able to limp out of D.V. 60+ miles to Napa in Bishop, Ca..
 

sourdough

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Doesn't edmunds go there and blow out shocks on every kind of pickup they can? That's not a question of capability, pretty much anything without remote reservoirs will have issues on washboard roads (and even remote reservoirs can be overheated given a long enough road at high enough speeds). It's more an issue of shock management, typically controlled by your vehicle speed, it's not some measure of off-road trail capability.
I am fine with your opinion and only responsed because you quoted me. I will not argue my point but to say, I totally disagree.
 

BuyHold

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In a Jeep forum it is no surprise that the majority of members are going to be biased to Jeep, skeptical of the Bronco. I am in similar boat. That said, being open minded about it as much as possible.

IMHO Ford has put together a true contender to Jeep, especially in the mainstream consumer class that really cares most about on-road ride quality with "off-road image". For on-road and high speed off-road driving there seems little doubt to me that Bronco's IFS will typically perform better than SFA (seems to prove out in reality for Bronco based on consistent commentary from reviewers).

I have yet to see anything from Bronco that leads me to believe that a comparably equipped Jeep won't crush the Bronco on ruts, rocks, and other generally slower wheeling. TFL's Bronco had the lift and 35in tire option whereas the Rubicon had the OEM 33s and no lift. I think that many of Ford's tech options (under-load sway disconnect, front-only locker option, GOAT mode) are designed to try to overcome Bronco's IFS system deficiencies. They don't seem to help enough because Jeep and the SFA still outperforms in this category from everything I have seen.
 

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wrc777

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I don’t think lockers were even necessary in the Jeep for this trail. I could be flawed in my thinking, but BLD may have been enough.
It is hard to tell how steep it is but from the video I think the Jeep might have made it in 2wd if you could disconnect the swaybar in 2wd...The Bronco had to go fully locked on 35s to get up the flexed out section although I imagine it could have made it with just the rear locked.
 

BuyHold

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I don’t think lockers were even necessary in the Jeep for this trail. I could be flawed in my thinking, but BLD may have been enough.
When Bronco's IFS is spinning wheels in the air, lockers become a really nice feature really fast. Simply keeping the tires on the ground reduces the need for lockers.

The Defender NEEDS all that tech because it can't keep any wheels on the ground. In fact, it seems to me the off-road mode it uses that lifts... yeah it raises ground clearance but it also stiffens up suspension and likely decreases chances all 4 corners touch ground.
 

Mikester86

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When Bronco's IFS is spinning wheels in the air, lockers become a really nice feature really fast. Simply keeping the tires on the ground reduces the need for lockers.

The Defender NEEDS all that tech because it can't keep any wheels on the ground. In fact, it seems to me the off-road mode it uses that lifts... yeah it raises ground clearance but it also stiffens up suspension and likely decreases chances all 4 corners touch ground.
Correct, that is why I think the Jeep could have made it without the lockers.
 

PyrPatriot

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Good one! Except virtually all "off-roading" is done on what would legally be described as "roads." 🤦‍♂️
Let me tell you about some of the "roads" here in KY. My profile pic, yep that's a "road". 14mi of such conditions taking you 4 hours to get through.
 
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Zandcwhite

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I think it's like our gas gauges. 200 mile range (or in this case, 8) based on previous results. So prior to looking at the gauge, was the 4xe in all electric mode off road or was that highway or country roads expecting 8 miles?

When my gas gauge says 200 mile range and the previous driving was on the highway, I'd expect close to that on the highway. If I'm now in city with stop and go traffic and quick accelerations, I'm not going to get 200, but maybe 150. My guess is the same with the 4xe. 8 turned into 3 because conditions changed.

Just a guess and someone with a 4xe could verify.
The 8 miles dropping to 3 makes sense, but in their previous video fully charged road range was 27 miles. Why was it only 8 at the start of the trail? I can’t imagine it was fully charged. That sounds like the started at ~30% charged, and only got 3 miles. I’d expect the fully charged off road range to be closer to 10 miles.
 

viper88

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I may have missed it but with IFS the Bronco’s turning radius should be bigger than the JLU? I was dreading going from our 2 door to the 4 door but have been pleasantly surprised at how maneuverable the 4 door is for parking, u turns etc.
The Bronco has the feature (Trail Turn Assist) where it locks the inside rear wheel so the rest of the vehicle pivots on the locked wheel. The turning radius is greatly reduced as a result. On slippery surfaces like dirt and sand anyway.

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