Bronco as daily Driver

WildsheepGS4
Jun 06, 2023

Rank II

Jun 06, 2023

I know this has been talked about on this forum, car reviews, and YouTube posts but I felt like I had to give my opinion after owning a fully loaded 2023 Wildtrak for 1 month and 1265 miles.

First off I think we all know that the bronco in most builds is a very off road focused built SUV. And it is a very good/great off road Focused built SUV, but what I am very impressed with is the on pavement daily driving mannerisms of this off road weapon. I had some reservations about how the bronco would be on a daily driving usage considering it has 35 inch tires, the doors come off, the roof comes off, and it is built for extreme off road use. When I first received my bronco there where 4 roof latches that where not tightened and the wind noise was unbearable and I actually thought I would have to turn it back in, but since I figured that out the high pitched whistling noise has gone away with no leaks, and we have had alot of heavy rain this spring. There is still a slight wind noise at highway speeds, but that is to be expected in a door and roof removable vehicle like the bronco. My bet is that Ford will figure something out for future broncos. Almost guaranteed.

Now onto my real amazement with the bronco. First I hate Jeeps. I have never been a jeep person. I have owned broncos back in the 80's and 90's, and loved them. For the most part I am a pickup truck traditional SUV guy. I currently own a F 150 37 package raptor that I really love and I have always said If I could only own 1 Vehicle it would be the F 150 Raptor because it can literally do everything. And the ride is better than 90 percent of the Luxury SUV'S that are available. Since I have owned the Wildtrak Bronco I have literally driven the raptor 3 times, only to give the bronco a break and compare the differences. 250 miles on the raptor vs. 1260 on the bronco. I don't need to say anything else although I will.

In my opinion the Wildtrak Bronco on pavement rides better than most Luxury Suv's and to get some of these $ 100,000.00 plus SUV'S to ride as good as the Bronco you will have to change the wheels and tires. I'm blown away by how well the bronco rides and how easy it is to drive as a daily driver. And the seats and the seating position is incredible ! I could take this on a 10 hour road trip plus no problem. It may actually be more comfortable as far as the seating than the F 150 raptor. Hard to believe.

In closing this is a great daily driver and I have to give the Ford engineers credit on their suspensions whether it be the F 150's, the SUV'S, or the mustangs. Although I will be curious to see how cold the cab gets in the winter when it is below 30 degrees.

So far I am incredibly impressed and I understand why the bronco was/is the vehicle with the most demand since it was launched. And I went into this somewhat skeptical.
Sven, Bluestreak57
Last edited by a moderator: Jun 06, 2023

🐘🐘 RTR 🐘🐘

Jun 06, 2023

#1
I have to agree that the Bronco is amazing!! I have never owned a Jeep but wanted one for so long and I am so happy I waited for my Bronco.

As for your comment on how warm the cab gets in the winter, I live in Michigan, not sure where you are but I have to turn down the heat and the heated seats in my Bronco because it gets so warm. I have owned many vehicles that have heated seats, steering wheel and what not and the Bronco by far has been the warmest! This is comparing a Pontiac G6, GMC Acadia and Yukon XL! I don’t think you need to worry about being cold. I never turned down the heat in any of the vehicles I mentioned above! Hi setting for heat and highest setting for seats!

I remember as a kid my aunt had a jeep soft top and she wore two winter coats during the winter. That is not needed in the Bronco.

I use the auto function and it does great! Set the temp and go!
Sven, Bluestreak57

Reality Show Host

Jun 06, 2023

#2
I know I'm not supposed to love things, but the Bronco is definitely one of the few things I love. It's fun to drive, handles well, offers great visibility, and has tons of off-road potential. I hope to enjoy it for years to come. I took it on a four-hour drive the weekend before last and was amazed by how comfortable it was over the long haul. So, your praise of your Bronco is well-received and I share your enthusiasm. I've got a friend with a Wildtrak and he loves his Bronco as well.

My only complaint is that I don't drive it as often as I like. I walk to work, so I only get seat time on weekends or when I have to perform local chores on weekdays. So I guess you could say that I'm always looking for excuses to drive it!
Chris here. I drive a 2-door Velocity Blue 2023 Ford Bronco Badlands with Sasquatch, Lux, a 2.7L V6, and an automatic transmission. It’s fun.

"Stupidity is a more dangerous enemy of the good than malice." - Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Sven, Marmot

Rank II

Jun 06, 2023

#3
I know I'm not supposed to love things, but the Bronco is definitely one of the few things I love. It's fun to drive, handles well, offers great visibility, and has tons of off-road potential. I hope to enjoy it for years to come. I took it on a four-hour drive the weekend before last and was amazed by how comfortable it was over the long haul. So, your praise of your Bronco is well-received and I share your enthusiasm. I've got a friend with a Wildtrak and he loves his Bronco as well.

My only complaint is that I don't drive it as often as I like. I walk to work, so I only get seat time on weekends or when I have to perform local chores on weekdays. So I guess you could say that I'm always looking for excuses to drive it!

I agree with you in the sense that it is very fun to drive and it does handle well considering what it is built for.
Sven, Darrel

🐎Miss my Bronco Buddy🐎

Jun 07, 2023

#4
Love my Bronco! Thursday will be 17 months. 20,000 miles. My daily. It is amazing for trips too! We are in Albuquerque. We drove it to Moab and did Poison Spider and then Top of the World the next day. When we left Moab, we headed for Indiana - 2 days with almost 12 hours of driving for 2 days. And then a few days later another 2 day drive back to Albuquerque, both days were 10+ hours.
These Broncos are great! Off-road is where they shine! But, point A to point B is also good.
There are a lot of Canadians on Bronco Ladies Club FB group and they were happy with how warm they are. If you do not have a heated steering wheel, here's a tip. Change the setting so that it blows out the vents in the dash. Aim the two at the steering wheel. You hands will be warm.
Hi y'all, Lauri here and I am the proud owner of a MY21 Badlands, SAS, 2.7 auto, 4 door, soft top, Cactus Gray, no reservation, ordered 9/11/21, Took delivery 1/8/22!
Marmot, Laura

Official unofficial BN Photographer

Jun 12, 2023

#5
Agreed. Tomorrow will be 8 months of ownership for me, and I've got 13,300 miles on it so far. It's my daily driver and weekend warrior. My daily commute is about 42 miles round trip, on congested Sacramento highways. Weekend activities can vary - today, we went to Kohl's, Nordstrom Rack, Costco and Trader Joes LOL.. .but I have done PLENTY of off-roading adventures with the Bronco so far. I've got the onboard ARB Twin compressor to assist with airing back up after the trails, I've done snow wheeling, desert (Moon Rocks in NV, Johnson Valley and Trona Pinnacles), forest trails, rocks, off road parks, mellow trails, mud, rain, high speed dirt track, etc - and I've enjoyed it all. My Bronco's suspension is all stock (Badlands Sasquatch) - I love the stock Sas tires - on road manners are great, they're awesome in deep snow and mud, as well as the little bit of rock crawling I've done. We did a road trip yesterday from Sacramento to Bodega Bay to be by the ocean for the day.. the 4 door is great for my wife and I and our dogs. The soft top is fantastic for how easy it is to pull the front part back in 30 seconds at a stop light, or take all the windows out and put it all the way back in less than 7 minutes. It looks amazing, rides fantastic, and is a blast to drive. Bonus: the Bronco community (for the most part) is amazing.
Reservation: 7/20/20 | MY '21 order: 2/1/21 | MY '22 order: 10/22/21 | Blend 8/5, built 8/8, 'built' status 8/27, in my driveway 10/12/22
Auto Photographer in Sacramento CA:
www.instagram.com/photographybymarkbrooks
615_Bronco, Badlands or Bust

Rank VI

Jun 12, 2023

#6
I know this has been talked about on this forum, car reviews, and YouTube posts but I felt like I had to give my opinion after owning a fully loaded 2023 Wildtrak for 1 month and 1265 miles.

First off I think we all know that the bronco in most builds is a very off road focused built SUV. And it is a very good/great off road Focused built SUV, but what I am very impressed with is the on pavement daily driving mannerisms of this off road weapon. I had some reservations about how the bronco would be on a daily driving usage considering it has 35 inch tires, the doors come off, the roof comes off, and it is built for extreme off road use. When I first received my bronco there where 4 roof latches that where not tightened and the wind noise was unbearable and I actually thought I would have to turn it back in, but since I figured that out the high pitched whistling noise has gone away with no leaks, and we have had alot of heavy rain this spring. There is still a slight wind noise at highway speeds, but that is to be expected in a door and roof removable vehicle like the bronco. My bet is that Ford will figure something out for future broncos. Almost guaranteed.

Now onto my real amazement with the bronco. First I hate Jeeps. I have never been a jeep person. I have owned broncos back in the 80's and 90's, and loved them. For the most part I am a pickup truck traditional SUV guy. I currently own a F 150 37 package raptor that I really love and I have always said If I could only own 1 Vehicle it would be the F 150 Raptor because it can literally do everything. And the ride is better than 90 percent of the Luxury SUV'S that are available. Since I have owned the Wildtrak Bronco I have literally driven the raptor 3 times, only to give the bronco a break and compare the differences. 250 miles on the raptor vs. 1260 on the bronco. I don't need to say anything else although I will.

In my opinion the Wildtrak Bronco on pavement rides better than most Luxury Suv's and to get some of these $ 100,000.00 plus SUV'S to ride as good as the Bronco you will have to change the wheels and tires. I'm blown away by how well the bronco rides and how easy it is to drive as a daily driver. And the seats and the seating position is incredible ! I could take this on a 10 hour road trip plus no problem. It may actually be more comfortable as far as the seating than the F 150 raptor. Hard to believe.

In closing this is a great daily driver and I have to give the Ford engineers credit on their suspensions whether it be the F 150's, the SUV'S, or the mustangs. Although I will be curious to see how cold the cab gets in the winter when it is below 30 degrees.

So far I am incredibly impressed and I understand why the bronco was/is the vehicle with the most demand since it was launched. And I went into this somewhat skeptical.
Mine is a daily driver as well. I live in MN and gave no problems staying warm in the winter. You hear a little more pops and creaks in the top but that is expected in the cold. Biggest issue I have in the winter is build up on the fender flares. If you don’t wipe it off it will prevent you from opening the rear doors.
21 Wildtrak, Rapid Red, MIC, Tow, Lux, side steps, Built 12/21 delivered 3/22
Sven, Darrel

Don't Follow Me ,I'm about to do something Stupid

Jun 12, 2023

#7
I love my 2dr Badlands but it's no GX550.
2Dr Badlands - MIC - Area51 - 2.7 Auto - MGV - Headliner - High Pkg
Reserved 7/20/20 Delivered 5/6/23
"Ford said, hey we're gonna fulfill all reservations and pre-orders before we build stock units."
extra toasty, Darrel

Rank IV

Jun 13, 2023

#8
Even a stripper Black Diamond with a manual is a great daily. I splurged though and got the Advanced transfercase.

Lock it Baby, lock it!
No salt tram towers were harmed in the making of this post...
615_Bronco, Darrel

Rank IV

Jun 13, 2023

#9
Mine is a daily driver as well. I live in MN and gave no problems staying warm in the winter. You hear a little more pops and creaks in the top but that is expected in the cold. Biggest issue I have in the winter is build up on the fender flares. If you don’t wipe it off it will prevent you from opening the rear doors.
Circa 1999, my wife and I took a winter trip to New England in our stripper soft top 1995 YJ Wranger. One stop overnight was at Bah Ha'bah (Bar Harbor, Maine, for those of you on the West Coast)

It was about 15 below zero the next morning; I was worried the plastic windows would crack. The YJ has no insulation and just thin outdoor carpet on the floor. Its a metal can with wheels and a drivetrain. It does have a frickin' excellent heater though. It warmed up in little time and we were comfortably on our way. Warm and cozy.

The Bronco is a piece of cake.
No salt tram towers were harmed in the making of this post...
Darrel

🐎Miss my Bronco Buddy🐎

Jun 13, 2023

#10
I love my 2dr Badlands but it's no GX550.
Mine's not either - thank you Jesus!
Hi y'all, Lauri here and I am the proud owner of a MY21 Badlands, SAS, 2.7 auto, 4 door, soft top, Cactus Gray, no reservation, ordered 9/11/21, Took delivery 1/8/22!
615_Bronco, Sven

Rank V

Jun 16, 2023

#11
Circa 1999, my wife and I took a winter trip to New England in our stripper soft top 1995 YJ Wranger. One stop overnight was at Bah Ha'bah (Bar Harbor, Maine, for those of you on the West Coast)

It was about 15 below zero the next morning; I was worried the plastic windows would crack. The YJ has no insulation and just thin outdoor carpet on the floor. Its a metal can with wheels and a drivetrain. It does have a frickin' excellent heater though. It warmed up in little time and we were comfortably on our way. Warm and cozy.

The Bronco is a piece of cake.

I agree about the heater. I had a 04 TJ, a bit newer, but the heater was great.
Eninty

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