Aug 10, 2021
Big Bend - Cactus Grey - 4D - MIC - 2.7 - Mid Lux Pack - Sig Light Pack - Run Board - NO squatch
We did get out of a 2019 Tahoe to purchase the Bronco so we tried to get as many of the creature comforts from the Tahoe on the Bronco and we got pretty close.
Disclaimer: We are not off roaders or rock crawlers (and our early broncos are trailer queens) so I cant speak to any of the off road capability, sorry.
Also our kids are grown so cant speak to car seats and all that fun stuff, those days have been in the rear view mirror for quite some time now.
This is not a B&G post, just some thoughts we had from a real life experience road trip, and yes some of it is nit picking.
Picked up our Cactus Grey Big Bend 4D MIC top Mid-Luxury package 2.7 eco boost on 7/17, loaded up on 7/24 and went on a 9 day road trip of the south east coast. Wanted to get a good first impression right out of the gate plus play with all the new buttons.
Entire trip was right at 2000 miles. Killed me to put that many miles on it from the start but it was more than worth it.
Started in Lexington NC and drove interstate to Savannah Ga on Day 1 then worked our way up the Ga, SC, NC cost to Holden Beach before returning to Lexington.
The only major highway we were on was from Lexington to Savannah on day 1-- which gave us a great opportunity of road noise at 70+ mph.
Here is what we came away this from our trip.
Why we went with Big Bend - All of our early Broncos are blacked out and we wanted this one to match the look as well. We were going with OBX but didnt want the body color door handle, mirrors, etc. We did not go with squatch because it is not going off-road. Furthest off road it will go will be a dirt country road.
Cargo Space - More than enough room in the cargo area with the 2nd row seats up for 2 adults on a 9 day road trip. 2 suit cases, food, drinks, cooler, hanging clothes, etc
Leg Room in back Seat - More than enough. I am 6-2 and a friend of mine is 6-0. I had plenty of room behind the driver seat when he drove it.
Road Noise - Absolute no complaint here. Could have a conversation at a normal voice. I think the radio volume was set on 3 or 4 to drown out the minimal road noise we had.
V8 - I was one of the early cry babies about not having the V8 - We have 302's or 5.0's in all of our early broncos. I am a changed man. the 2.7 ecoBoost is more than enough for us to get moving down the road when we mash on it.
Gas Mileage - 3.73 Rear end: We left it in Normal GOAT mode the entire trip and averaged right at 23 mpg over the 9 days. Trip included a good mix of high way, stop and go, and city driving. Will be interested to see now that we are home what the around town every day MPG averages.
Dash - Digital display is great and ability to customize part of it (MPG, tire pressure, etc) is also good. There is a speedometer on the left that I think is useless. The digital read out is front and center. Maybe a throw back to the round speedometer in the early bronco but I would have made the digital display larger and got rid of the needle speedometer. (might be DOT thing and FORD didnt have a choice)
Auto Off Feature - It does have the auto start/stop feature (shuts off at traffic lights) (worst automobile invention ever-not just bronco) which is a complete pain in the tail. The button on the dash is fine but it resets every time you start it. I will just have to get used to pushing the start button and then the Auto S/S button when I get in it. I did see one post where if the ac is in low temp OR full fan it will not shut off.
MIC top - We did get caught in a pretty heavy down pour while driving and 1 night it monsooned while it was parked. We did not notice any leaks at all. Stevie Wonder can see the honeycomb bleed through on the interior of the top but I have not seen any delamination that has been talked about.
Removing MIC Top - My wife was easily able to remove the 2 front panels by herself. I dont think each panel weighs more than 15 lbs. We did take the entire top off when we got home and it took about 15 minutes but part of that was due to not knowing what we were doing and scared to death of dropping the clam shell down the side of the bronco.
Floor Mats - We did go with carpet so we did add the Ford Bronco rubber floor mats in the front and rear floors and the cargo area. The mat in the cargo area covers up the hooks in the cargo floor. The bags for the 2 front roof panels has clasps so they can lock into the hooks in the cargo area but with the cargo mat you cant do that. Would be nice if the cargo mat was cut out for the hooks (mine will be shortly).
Cloth Seats - I was disappointed about not being able to get Leather in the Big Bend but that has quickly passed. The cloth is very comfortable and appears to be pretty durable, time will tell. We have had the top off the Bronco for a week and it is 90+ outside so not having leather that blisters the back of my legs is a plus. We are happy with the cloth and would order it agian.
Head Rest - The best I can tell is that the head rest does not adjust front to back, only up and down. I found it to be annoying as it just barely touched the back of my head while driving. My wife doesnt have any issues with it and I will either turn it around when I drive or just get used to it.
Running Boards - Since you cant have mud flaps with running boards the water kicked up from the tires just sits on the running boards. Having a little drain hole on the front of the running board would be nice. (May drill one into mine after some more investigation)
Rear AC vents - Everyone has already piled on about the rear ac vents but we have had 4 adults in the Bronco on 90+ degree day and the 2 people in the back didnt have any complaints of getting hot, one actually asked to turn the air down.
Gremlins - There is alot of talk of gremlins. It is the first years so they should be expected. How ever we have right at 2200 miles on ours and we have not encountered any gremlins..... yet.
Things that made me ask what was FORD thinking -
1. No rear cup holders unless you go to Marine grade or leather seats. We have a 60/40 split rear seat why cant cloth get the fold down arm rest with cup holders?
2. Lane Alert - We do have the lane alert feature that tells me i have crossed the line but doesnt re-center me. If the Bronco knows I crossed the line why wouldnt you just take one extra step and put lane centering in all trim levels?
3. Metal tag in front of shifter - Tag looks like an early bronco grill and has the plant location it. Why not have our production number on the metal plate. That would be cool.
Side Note: Bronco Nation please replicate this metal tag and stamp it with our production number and our BN member number. $29.95 all day long.
Ordering / Features - I spent considerable time studying all the trim levels and options. I thought less is more would have been a better approach. A trim level for us non-off roaders and a trim level for the off roaders to start with and let us pick the materials, colors, options from there rather than trying to fit into a specific trim level and them making decisions on what we could live with out by moving trim levels. Our trade off was the leather seats for the non-body color door handles. Adding the Mid Lux package, Sig light package, and running boards got us just about all the creature comforts we wanted. Just my 2 cents.
Delivery Note / Schedule:
We went into production on 7/1 and it was delivered to the dealer in Florence SC on 7/15, picked it up on 7/17.
Ford sight said it was still in production and dealership didnt know it was coming. I got an email on 7/20 saying it had arrived at dealer (3 days AFTER I already had it in my garage)
Simply put--- We flat LOVE it!!!!! well worth the wait and worth every single dime. If I could afford another one I would order it tomorrow the exact same way except in Area 51 with a soft top (not that I have been thinking about it) and patiently wait for it.
Still gathering all of our photos from the trip with the Bronco and all our Bronco Nation Gear. Will post some more later.
Hope this helps those that are waiting on delivery.
Apologies for the long post.
We did get out of a 2019 Tahoe to purchase the Bronco so we tried to get as many of the creature comforts from the Tahoe on the Bronco and we got pretty close.
Disclaimer: We are not off roaders or rock crawlers (and our early broncos are trailer queens) so I cant speak to any of the off road capability, sorry.
Also our kids are grown so cant speak to car seats and all that fun stuff, those days have been in the rear view mirror for quite some time now.
This is not a B&G post, just some thoughts we had from a real life experience road trip, and yes some of it is nit picking.
Picked up our Cactus Grey Big Bend 4D MIC top Mid-Luxury package 2.7 eco boost on 7/17, loaded up on 7/24 and went on a 9 day road trip of the south east coast. Wanted to get a good first impression right out of the gate plus play with all the new buttons.
Entire trip was right at 2000 miles. Killed me to put that many miles on it from the start but it was more than worth it.
Started in Lexington NC and drove interstate to Savannah Ga on Day 1 then worked our way up the Ga, SC, NC cost to Holden Beach before returning to Lexington.
The only major highway we were on was from Lexington to Savannah on day 1-- which gave us a great opportunity of road noise at 70+ mph.
Here is what we came away this from our trip.
Why we went with Big Bend - All of our early Broncos are blacked out and we wanted this one to match the look as well. We were going with OBX but didnt want the body color door handle, mirrors, etc. We did not go with squatch because it is not going off-road. Furthest off road it will go will be a dirt country road.
Cargo Space - More than enough room in the cargo area with the 2nd row seats up for 2 adults on a 9 day road trip. 2 suit cases, food, drinks, cooler, hanging clothes, etc
Leg Room in back Seat - More than enough. I am 6-2 and a friend of mine is 6-0. I had plenty of room behind the driver seat when he drove it.
Road Noise - Absolute no complaint here. Could have a conversation at a normal voice. I think the radio volume was set on 3 or 4 to drown out the minimal road noise we had.
V8 - I was one of the early cry babies about not having the V8 - We have 302's or 5.0's in all of our early broncos. I am a changed man. the 2.7 ecoBoost is more than enough for us to get moving down the road when we mash on it.
Gas Mileage - 3.73 Rear end: We left it in Normal GOAT mode the entire trip and averaged right at 23 mpg over the 9 days. Trip included a good mix of high way, stop and go, and city driving. Will be interested to see now that we are home what the around town every day MPG averages.
Dash - Digital display is great and ability to customize part of it (MPG, tire pressure, etc) is also good. There is a speedometer on the left that I think is useless. The digital read out is front and center. Maybe a throw back to the round speedometer in the early bronco but I would have made the digital display larger and got rid of the needle speedometer. (might be DOT thing and FORD didnt have a choice)
Auto Off Feature - It does have the auto start/stop feature (shuts off at traffic lights) (worst automobile invention ever-not just bronco) which is a complete pain in the tail. The button on the dash is fine but it resets every time you start it. I will just have to get used to pushing the start button and then the Auto S/S button when I get in it. I did see one post where if the ac is in low temp OR full fan it will not shut off.
MIC top - We did get caught in a pretty heavy down pour while driving and 1 night it monsooned while it was parked. We did not notice any leaks at all. Stevie Wonder can see the honeycomb bleed through on the interior of the top but I have not seen any delamination that has been talked about.
Removing MIC Top - My wife was easily able to remove the 2 front panels by herself. I dont think each panel weighs more than 15 lbs. We did take the entire top off when we got home and it took about 15 minutes but part of that was due to not knowing what we were doing and scared to death of dropping the clam shell down the side of the bronco.
Floor Mats - We did go with carpet so we did add the Ford Bronco rubber floor mats in the front and rear floors and the cargo area. The mat in the cargo area covers up the hooks in the cargo floor. The bags for the 2 front roof panels has clasps so they can lock into the hooks in the cargo area but with the cargo mat you cant do that. Would be nice if the cargo mat was cut out for the hooks (mine will be shortly).
Cloth Seats - I was disappointed about not being able to get Leather in the Big Bend but that has quickly passed. The cloth is very comfortable and appears to be pretty durable, time will tell. We have had the top off the Bronco for a week and it is 90+ outside so not having leather that blisters the back of my legs is a plus. We are happy with the cloth and would order it agian.
Head Rest - The best I can tell is that the head rest does not adjust front to back, only up and down. I found it to be annoying as it just barely touched the back of my head while driving. My wife doesnt have any issues with it and I will either turn it around when I drive or just get used to it.
Running Boards - Since you cant have mud flaps with running boards the water kicked up from the tires just sits on the running boards. Having a little drain hole on the front of the running board would be nice. (May drill one into mine after some more investigation)
Rear AC vents - Everyone has already piled on about the rear ac vents but we have had 4 adults in the Bronco on 90+ degree day and the 2 people in the back didnt have any complaints of getting hot, one actually asked to turn the air down.
Gremlins - There is alot of talk of gremlins. It is the first years so they should be expected. How ever we have right at 2200 miles on ours and we have not encountered any gremlins..... yet.
Things that made me ask what was FORD thinking -
1. No rear cup holders unless you go to Marine grade or leather seats. We have a 60/40 split rear seat why cant cloth get the fold down arm rest with cup holders?
2. Lane Alert - We do have the lane alert feature that tells me i have crossed the line but doesnt re-center me. If the Bronco knows I crossed the line why wouldnt you just take one extra step and put lane centering in all trim levels?
3. Metal tag in front of shifter - Tag looks like an early bronco grill and has the plant location it. Why not have our production number on the metal plate. That would be cool.
Side Note: Bronco Nation please replicate this metal tag and stamp it with our production number and our BN member number. $29.95 all day long.
Ordering / Features - I spent considerable time studying all the trim levels and options. I thought less is more would have been a better approach. A trim level for us non-off roaders and a trim level for the off roaders to start with and let us pick the materials, colors, options from there rather than trying to fit into a specific trim level and them making decisions on what we could live with out by moving trim levels. Our trade off was the leather seats for the non-body color door handles. Adding the Mid Lux package, Sig light package, and running boards got us just about all the creature comforts we wanted. Just my 2 cents.
Delivery Note / Schedule:
We went into production on 7/1 and it was delivered to the dealer in Florence SC on 7/15, picked it up on 7/17.
Ford sight said it was still in production and dealership didnt know it was coming. I got an email on 7/20 saying it had arrived at dealer (3 days AFTER I already had it in my garage)
Simply put--- We flat LOVE it!!!!! well worth the wait and worth every single dime. If I could afford another one I would order it tomorrow the exact same way except in Area 51 with a soft top (not that I have been thinking about it) and patiently wait for it.
Still gathering all of our photos from the trip with the Bronco and all our Bronco Nation Gear. Will post some more later.
Hope this helps those that are waiting on delivery.
Apologies for the long post.
Attachments
Bronco_Girl, Jakob1972
Last edited by a moderator:
Aug 10, 2021