Mar 30, 2021
Wanted to make sure ya’all saw these. Will post more after my afternoon test drive. David and the BN team are rock solid, hard working dudes. Spent time with them and saw sone of these gems with the Ford Marketing team.
Sorry for the delay - we went straight from Moab to the Bay Area in one haul. Playing catch-up.
Last Wednesday I had the massive privilege of not only taking the test drive at the Dixie Off Road Event, but got to do so in the 4 door First Edition with none other than the myth Brad Lovell. What an experience.
Initially there were going to be two of us for the drive, but we were travelling with another two who wanted to check things out as well. It was a different experience with a full house.
I would post videos, but because of the switching of people to shotgun and being jammed in the back for a portion my videos do not do the drive justice. Also, upon seeing the attached production video using the same driver, truck and track it really wasn’t necessary.
The ride started on time with Brad pulling up with a hearty welcome and introduction. He complemented the ’21 Bronco patch my wife stitched on before we left. We learned that we were in a prototype (#41 I believe) After a 5-minute cruise down the highway we entered the test track. We all noted how quiet the Broncos are at low and higher speeds. The ride was very smooth and the vehicle layout was as presented online. The massive 12” screen steals the show with many options and clear high-resolution imaging.
The MIC top with sound deadening rattled badly. It reminded me of the sound a fiberglass boat makes going fast over choppy water. This must be addressed for the final models as mentioned in the video link.
Within seconds of entering the test track area Brad had the rig peeling through a fire road like path at higher relative speeds. It was smooth, comfortable and exhilarating even though we were maxed out with 5 men inside the engine seemed to have plenty of power. During a set of “sand stairs” I was sitting behind the passenger seat and had my head aggressively banged against the roll bar to my right. I have had some head slaps before in life and this was fairly painful. Brad said he had not heard that one yet. We were squeezed, but with any speed and ups and downs the rear seat is too high for an average height male. The rear seats were “flat” and not too comfortable. I had been told the rear seats recline like the ones in my old MKX. They don’t. Would have been a really nice add to star gaze at night. The front seats were very nice, thick and held you during shaky moments.
The instrument cluster was odd. It has a “regular” speedometer and then the option to have a digital speedometer next to it with tach to the far right. It was suggested that the tach would be a better fulltime gauge. G.O.A.T. mode switching was smooth, on the fly and made quick decisions to help given situations. The engine temp gauge was different; 6-7 LED horizontal bars below the speedometer. Turn assist was amazing. Sway Bar Disconnect live is really impactful. High speed braking on sand was unbelievable with that much momentum and weight.
One last observation is the door “hangers”. With the doors off these exposed “pegs” look like a potential obstacle for the in and out rock crawler. I added a pic from one of the aftermarket tricked out trucks with their doors off. I’d guess a rubber cap would be very beneficial.
Towards the end of the drive one of the guys asked about the Warthog and Brad slyly replied, “I don’t know what you are talking about.” Just after that a pack of Jeeps rolled into the park. One was a 392 and it let us hear the power of a V8 purposely.
Overall impressed. It’s a very capable off the rack truck with a lot of promise that will not only tilt the market but anchor a new generation of vehicles and riders. Nice job Ford and Brad!
Brad Lovell with 4 Door FE:
@Bullett did another video with the badlands that is good too!
Sorry for the delay - we went straight from Moab to the Bay Area in one haul. Playing catch-up.
Last Wednesday I had the massive privilege of not only taking the test drive at the Dixie Off Road Event, but got to do so in the 4 door First Edition with none other than the myth Brad Lovell. What an experience.
Initially there were going to be two of us for the drive, but we were travelling with another two who wanted to check things out as well. It was a different experience with a full house.
I would post videos, but because of the switching of people to shotgun and being jammed in the back for a portion my videos do not do the drive justice. Also, upon seeing the attached production video using the same driver, truck and track it really wasn’t necessary.
The ride started on time with Brad pulling up with a hearty welcome and introduction. He complemented the ’21 Bronco patch my wife stitched on before we left. We learned that we were in a prototype (#41 I believe) After a 5-minute cruise down the highway we entered the test track. We all noted how quiet the Broncos are at low and higher speeds. The ride was very smooth and the vehicle layout was as presented online. The massive 12” screen steals the show with many options and clear high-resolution imaging.
The MIC top with sound deadening rattled badly. It reminded me of the sound a fiberglass boat makes going fast over choppy water. This must be addressed for the final models as mentioned in the video link.
Within seconds of entering the test track area Brad had the rig peeling through a fire road like path at higher relative speeds. It was smooth, comfortable and exhilarating even though we were maxed out with 5 men inside the engine seemed to have plenty of power. During a set of “sand stairs” I was sitting behind the passenger seat and had my head aggressively banged against the roll bar to my right. I have had some head slaps before in life and this was fairly painful. Brad said he had not heard that one yet. We were squeezed, but with any speed and ups and downs the rear seat is too high for an average height male. The rear seats were “flat” and not too comfortable. I had been told the rear seats recline like the ones in my old MKX. They don’t. Would have been a really nice add to star gaze at night. The front seats were very nice, thick and held you during shaky moments.
The instrument cluster was odd. It has a “regular” speedometer and then the option to have a digital speedometer next to it with tach to the far right. It was suggested that the tach would be a better fulltime gauge. G.O.A.T. mode switching was smooth, on the fly and made quick decisions to help given situations. The engine temp gauge was different; 6-7 LED horizontal bars below the speedometer. Turn assist was amazing. Sway Bar Disconnect live is really impactful. High speed braking on sand was unbelievable with that much momentum and weight.
One last observation is the door “hangers”. With the doors off these exposed “pegs” look like a potential obstacle for the in and out rock crawler. I added a pic from one of the aftermarket tricked out trucks with their doors off. I’d guess a rubber cap would be very beneficial.
Towards the end of the drive one of the guys asked about the Warthog and Brad slyly replied, “I don’t know what you are talking about.” Just after that a pack of Jeeps rolled into the park. One was a 392 and it let us hear the power of a V8 purposely.
Overall impressed. It’s a very capable off the rack truck with a lot of promise that will not only tilt the market but anchor a new generation of vehicles and riders. Nice job Ford and Brad!
Brad Lovell with 4 Door FE:
@Bullett did another video with the badlands that is good too!
Attachments
2021 FE Cactus Grey
David, Buckin'