Manual Transmission

I just picked mine up two days ago, so I haven't put a huge number of miles under my belt with it yet, but, the clutch is very light, and the gear shift is very... Not sloppy. Notchy I guess people say? Clutch engagement seems to be pretty much in the middle of the pedal press. I need to pay attention though specifically to that. Every car seems to have a different clutch feel.
Putting in to gear at a light you have to give it a good push to get in, and the throw is fairly long. I didnt have any issues shifting at any (reasonable) RPM, though the RPM drops fast, and so your turbo might lag if you're too slow.
definitely has a lot of low end torque. Theres a little of throw you back in the seat, which is nice, but its not a sports car.
Last thing, I havent seen 6th gear much. 4.71 gearing and 35s will make that gear fleeting

Some other things to get used to is the brake hold for take off from start, the parking brake, and that the engine turns off when you stop.

Clutch is very forgiving and smooth. Picks up a little high for my liking, but it’s fine. Definitely some rev hang that takes some practice for smooth, quick shifts without a lot of engine over speed.
Pedal arrangement does allow for heel-toe if you’re into that sorta thing.

Offroad is a dream. 470 gearing and available C gear means you rarely, if ever, need to feather.

Don’t have mine yet but I have driven two manual transmission Broncos—one a 2-door, the other a 4-door. Probably around ~150 miles total.

I generally agree with @Shoresy. Clutch pickup is a little high for my liking, and higher than other Ford vehicles I’ve driven. BUT not as high as Nissan vehicles (which I consider to be too high). I also agree that the pedal setup allows for heel-toe, but it’s definitely not a comfortable heel-toe.

The gear shifter itself took some getting used to honestly. I was expecting it to have long throws like SUVs and pickup trucks in the past, but it doesn’t. It’s more similar to a modern car. But it is also no where close to a sports car. So… somewhere in the middle I guess?? Struggling to explain it to be honest.

Overall it isn’t the best manual transmission I’ve driven lately—that award goes to the Honda Civic Si. But it definitely isn’t bad and I was happy with it. If you are expecting a zippy manual transmission like you’d find in a WRX or Focus RS, etc. this is absolutely not that. But if you are comparing it to the Wrangler or Tacoma manual transmission, it’s definitely on-par with those. (I personally like it a lot more than the Tacoma’s transmission.)

My favorite feature is absolutely the Crawler gear. Not only for off-roading, but also sitting in traffic.

We've had ours almost a year. Will give more MT thoughts soon in an annual review.

In the meantime, unlike most manual transmission vehicles, one thing to train yourself to do on the bronco MT is to Not give it any gas in 1st gear from a stop unless on an incline. Simply let the clutch all the way out, without pressing the gas, and let the bronco roll you into 1st gear. Its easier than it sounds but takes getting use to after always pressing gas to go from a stop in other MT cars. Rolling into 1st on bronco will prolong your clutch life.

I do wish someone would test their "start in gear" feature on MT.

NT AUTOMOTIVE

I do wish someone would test their "start in gear" feature on MT.

Do it! I'm not brave enough.

NT AUTOMOTIVE

We've had ours almost a year. Will give more MT thoughts soon in an annual review.

In the meantime, unlike most manual transmission vehicles, one thing to train yourself to do on the bronco MT is to Not give it any gas in 1st gear from a stop unless on an incline. Simply let the clutch all the way out, without pressing the gas, and let the bronco roll you into 1st gear. Its easier than it sounds but takes getting use to after always pressing gas to go from a stop in other MT cars. Rolling into 1st on bronco will prolong your clutch life.

I do wish someone would test their "start in gear" feature on MT.

I'll test it Sunday when out on the trails!

Hkak45

I'll test it Sunday when out on the trails!

Should also see if you can pop the clutch to start it. There have been a few occasions in the past where I've nearly killed the battery in my vehicle while camping and I was still able to get out by popping the clutch.

The auto start stop is good for one thing; when you stall it trying to take off and did something dumb like start in 2 or left the park brake engaged, it automatically nrings the engine back when you clutch in.

RagnarKon

Should also see if you can pop the clutch to start it. There have been a few occasions in the past where I've nearly killed the battery in my vehicle while camping and I was still able to get out by popping the clutch.

Man I haven't tried clutch starting a car in over a decade lol I am curious if it will work on modern manual vehicles as the last time I did it was in a 1991 300zx

Had mine now for 5 months, 6K miles. First gear still a little notchy, all others are quite smooth. Clutch take up is fine once you're used to it. Finally tried the crawler gear while sitting in accident traffic on the freeway, it's my new favorite feature. Overall, really enjoy the manual. Not as "trucky" (if that's a thing) as I expected for a 4x4.

ABSOLUTELY love mine!

18k miles in 9 months (8/19), drove to Florida and back (1,000 miles, and that includes South Carolina Traffic), went offroading and pulled out a Jeep:
(Skip to 2:32 for driving, 4:56 for rescue)

And don't regret my decision. (That said, I learned the fun way never to used Baja mode for anything more than slow trails)

Clutch reminds me of my old Audi, catches right away, and is easy enough to teach your sister in. That said, I highly recommend this: Boomba weighed shift knob, or this combo: Short Shifter+Knob. I got the knob, waiting for my short shifter, knob is easy enough for a Caveman or Guido to install

and it makes a yuge difference, plus it feels nicer.

FourWheelKyle

The auto start stop is good for one thing; when you stall it trying to take off and did something dumb like start in 2 or left the park brake engaged, it automatically nrings the engine back when you clutch in.

It automatically restarts without A.S.S., as I installed an A.S.S. Plug the day after and never had it on since
(15:22 for the A.S.S. Plug)

Speed Devil

ABSOLUTELY love mine!

18k miles in 9 months (8/19), drove to Florida and back (1,000 miles, and that includes South Carolina Traffic), went offroading and pulled out a Jeep:
(Skip to 2:32 for driving, 4:56 for rescue)

And don't regret my decision. (That said, I learned the fun way never to used Baja mode for anything more than slow trails)

Clutch reminds me of my old Audi, catches right away, and is easy enough to teach your sister in. That said, I highly recommend this: Boomba weighed shift knob, or this combo: Short Shifter+Knob. I got the knob, waiting for my short shifter, knob is easy enough for a Caveman or Guido to install

and it makes a yuge difference, plus it feels nicer.

Thanks for sharing the Boomba stuff. Ordered the shift knob already, but curious to learn how you like the short shift kit!

Thank you @FourWheelKyl @Shoresy @RagnarKon and @NT AUTOMOTIVE for the info!

Shoresy

Thanks for sharing the Boomba stuff. Ordered the shift knob already, but curious to learn how you like the short shift kit!

Haven't received it yet, but I'm sure it'll make quite a difference. Shift Knob already does, never got why Ford didn't offer there own. Feel Ford's dropped the ball on the QoL items like this

Very happy with the clutch feel and smooth shifting running 55mph 5 th gear seems right need to be going 60 mph to use 6 th gear l have 35s with Sasquatch 4.70 gearing

Sparky 22

Very happy with the clutch feel and smooth shifting running 55mph 5 th gear seems right need to be going 60 mph to use 6 th gear l have 35s with Sasquatch 4.70 gearing

We usually stay between gears 1-4 with our 4.70 MT. 4th gear will take you up to the speed limiter of 100-104mph. 5th is great too. 6th maybe used on highway sometimes but not too much mainly bc we are rarely on highway, plenty of power though if needed.

We are on 37s with HEAVY 4WP bumpers, steps, winch and 3 inch coilover lift. The mighty 4cyl does fantastic. Its not a hot rod and it burns gas for fun lol, but certainly plenty of power.

Only performance upgrades we have done and willing to do without voiding warranty in an effort to assist the engine/trans rev matching are our product we offer here (sprint booster throttle controller), Boomba BOV adapter to release hot air from the charge pipe and we enjoy the swoosh sound it makes between shifts in 2-6th gear (easiest 5 min install ever...don't even have to disconnect the harness), and whipple aka S&B high flow vtop air filter (oiled). We are converting same filter model to non-oiled + wrap/pre-filter for dust. Plus switched to full synthetic oil at 2K miles and always run premium fuel which adds up to 25hp!! *Runs like a champ and the MT has been wonderful. Zero issues

Id recommend an intercooler and charge pipes as well, cant put a price on peace of mind

Hkak45

Man I haven't tried clutch starting a car in over a decade lol I am curious if it will work on modern manual vehicles as the last time I did it was in a 1991 300zx

Heh funny... last time I did it was also on a 1991—Ford Escort in my case. BUT I also had to do it regularly on a 1989 Ford Bronco I used to drive, which is why I thought of it now. There was a rear cargo light on the Bronco and for some reason my brain just couldn't understand that I needed to turn that light off after using it. I could always remember to park on a slight hill, but I could never remember to turn off the light.

My current daily driver is also a manual transmission, but it has a battery monitoring system with an "idiot proof" feature that'll turn off the lights if you leave them on. I still somehow managed to kill the battery twice on that, but both times I was sitting in my driveway so I just used a jump box.

I assume the new Bronco also has that idiot-proof feature, but I could see myself running accessories that bypass that feature in the future.