2021 Ford Bronco Review | Why Did They Choose Independent Suspension? 

First owners anyway

Immediately after saying that he should've taken a sip of a Starbucks drink of some sort and put on "Watermelon Sugar".

It's true. I really want it, but I rarely do any off-roading.

@Cottontail Grouse wat? Did you forget your meds again?

I have trails all around me, but that doesn’t change the fact that MOST of the time, will be spent on the road. Anyone who says that isn’t true is a liar. But when I am off-road, I want it to be extremely capable.

The wrangler driver must be having a jaundiced view of the bronco so he decided to overtake it

Surprised the jeep wasn't death wobbling

My jeep was a POS so Bronco blows it away

when did he do that?

Hell yeah!

The juice is loose.

They made an Orange (ish) one.

call it the BG - black glove edition!

@@tysonduquette1414 just a bunch of undersized leather trim? Foot prints on the seats

Also = less traction

Also much worse off-road capability. I had a Titan swaped xterra and was constantly pulling tires way up in the air until I bought a jeep 😂

@@chaosseat IFS = more terrain adaptability and higher speed

And less articulation and traction and no locking front differential.

@@drunkpolack7612 Solid front axles is very very narrow use case in heavy rock crawling. ORV, Overland, off roading, etc does much better with front IFS

No one is going to buy it, 10 - 15 enthusiasts maybe

@@ironicgoose9913 180k pre-orders for a vehicle thats been dead for over 20 years. Try again.

@@camooo101 I think he was talking about the manual version...

If only they offered the manual with the 2.7. And, better yet, if only they offered a trim package at all that had the Coyote enginein it. The icing on the cake would be Coyote equipped manual Broncos. Either that or the 7.3 or whatever big gasser Ford is using nowadays.

With how successful pre-sales is looking, I wouldn't be surprised if the Bronco will be here to stay for at least the next decade and we'll start to see some of the more extreme options soon. Even if Ford doesn't do it, someone else definitely will!

Yeah, but that fuel tank on the 2 door is absolutely tiny. Hard pass.

😂😂😂😂😂

Hahahahaha

Lol same hahaa

@@phild9813 its not like its a touring vehicle. Its a true sport utility truck. Getting to where you want to go is the point, not getting there without stopping...imo anyway My nissan frontier pro4x gets about the same range, and its really not thaaat bad. I regularly drive from Boston to Long Island and took it up to northern VT skiing about 10 times this last winter. Which are all under 250 mi so no fillup required. If you do 500-1000 mile trips that much, a newer luxury pickup/suv with 600 mi range is the way to go. Or is it the frequency of fillups for everday use for you?

New Land Rovers look like crap, they totally lost their way..

hey there hummer guy

Women.

@@jamesgeorge4874 That would be for the "Blazer" that Chevy came out with

@@jesusjimenez3766 every other Wrangler is owned by a girl.

@@jamesgeorge4874 Jeeps and Broncos are soccer mom cars. Real men that do real work off-road drive Unimog obviously 🌈

That's Always been the bronco emblem. This is a rehashing of an older model

@@Robsemail001 young people think everything is new. Soon enough, they'll realize that almost everything is a rehash. You know, like electric cars.

@@islandon22 ….you realize they never once mentioned “new” right? They literally just said they liked it lmao

Good point about the Bronco's raison d'être when viewed in the long view of fuel effiency. I see this as a teaser vehicle. As electrification becomes inevitable and omnipresent, they'll introduce a hybrid, later a plug in only, then a hydrogen cell, then A.I. for vehicle safety. Finally, we'll be RIDING (no longer driving) at the speed limit as we sing, "IN THE YEAR 2525"...😕

@@patwikbacon1759 oh ffs you know the op thought it was new and didn't know it's been around for decades. Quit being a tool.

That's the special edition package, comes only in white and includes run flat tires for spike strips, reinforced fenders to protect from PIT maneuvers, 360 degree cameras to keep an eye on the police helicopters, and special edition bloody glove badging.

The gloves in the glove box are always too small

OJ edition coming for Socal buyers.

Those were the real Broncos. These look nice, but they lack that aggressive rugged feel and look. I never thought I would hear Bronco and four cylinder together. It really seems like it is more of a show toy than an off-road vehicle.

@@kenny3217 that’s the OJ Simpson edition

Accidentally mounting the kerb might be considered off roading

Exactly. All the Rubicons that I see don't experience more than rust belt potholes.

@@zkdadof4 There are lots of gals that buy Wranglers because they are "cute".

I think that's applicable to 95% of all trucks. Especially when they're lifted with 22" wheels on M/Ts. 🧐 On a side note, the flex with the disconnecting sway bar is pretty impressive. Probably still inferior to a live axle, but not by far. The driving mannerisms from the IFS should easily make up for the slight loss of articulation.

95% of first owners might be more accurate. Give it a few years and a lot of people will be more willing to take it off-road.

@@FixingWithFriends With the FCA (Now Stellantis) quality reputation. I wouldn't want to bet on which is worse.

@@FixingWithFriends the couple of JK Wranglers owned by my friends have been very reliable, one only has 100k ish miles the other has over 150k miles. I think with good maintenance it should usually be fine.

@@1PotatoeMasher1 unfortunately Jeep places far below industry average for reliability. (according to JD Power dependability survey) Also, Consumer reports 'Top ten least reliable cars' lists two jeep models. (compass at #3, wrangler at #8)

@@peterscott2662 I spend the majority of my day working on FCA products. They're absolute garbage. I'm talking about low mileage vehicles here. Many under 30k. Check engine, abs, airbag lights, the list goes on. Got oil leaks? Let's talk about those illustrious oil coolers hiding under the intake plenum. The electronics in those vehicles are a problem waiting to happen. Do other manufacturers have their share of problems? Of course, but I've never seen the amount of low mileage issues like I have with FCA products. I wouldn't recommend them to anyone.

@@Sagittarius-88 Yeah, I should have been more clear. FCA has a terrible rep, I just meant that Bronco as a first year model might have more issues to make it almost as bad. Once production gets rolling, I'd rather have the Ford.

To each their own - I'm just the opposite and prefer crawling. Granted, bombing along on fire roads is fun too but it's more of an aside for me. Sadly the Wrangler is the only real option for a new crawling-oriented vehicle.

@@donhappel9566 I think if you were honest with yourself, you'd admit that almost all of your off-road trips is cruising along at moderate speeds and then climbing obstacles that don't require the n-th degree of twist the Wrangler gives you. In other words, you'd still be more comfortable and plenty confident in a Bronco.

@@donhappel9566 I'll be honest, if I want a rock crawler, I'll get a purpose-built rock crawler and a pickup truck to carry it on asphalt

@@specialopsdave Like... seriously... this... this is what i was waiting for, everyone who talks about the Wrangler being better than the Bronco always mention specifically and only the rock crawling. It's valid because these vehicles are built for that purpose specifically and the Wranglers SFA makes it somewhat easier to deal with when it comes to things like lifting and modifying and such. Tho they never mention this, they always say that SFA is just better at articulation or will do things the Bronco can't, even tho more than 95% of what the Jeep can do so can the Bronco, and ironically the Jeep can't do half of what the Bronco can do. Nobody is gonna be doing some crazy dedicated off roading and if they do they would have a purpose built rig for that, any daily driver who does off roading here and there won't even reach the full capability of either of these vehicles so acting like the Jeep is monumentally better is an exaggeration and ignorance at best. In most applications the Bronco will be just as good if not better.

@@mechmat12345 Don't get me wrong, I like the new Bronco, particularly as I'm an old time Ford guy. Further, I don't really like Jeeps I just acknowledge they are the best option for the sort of wheeling I like to do and the most technically capable factory option available. My type of wheeling is more like Rubicon, Fordyce, etc. There isn't really any cruising along at moderate speeds, even the non-technical sections are slow going. I'm not an 'overlander', I'm a rock crawler. I'm there for the obstacles and the challenge. Another huge plus of the solid axle of course is the ease of modification. I'm sure there will be some well built Broncos showing up soon enough, but I expect they'll be few and far between relative to the heavily built Jeep scene.

Draws small pp

@@MrJob91 oh

Jason should carry a small whiteboard in every car he reviews, just for the memes

Just like Jeep’s. My Bronco however will be wheeling.

Just like most Ferraris, Porsches and Lamborghinis will never see a racetrack. Or most sport bikes. It’s normal. Theses vehicles are designed for almost exclusive road use. Try driving across Africa or 24 hours at the Nurburgring, there’s gonna be issues. A couple vehicles can do it, but you wouldn’t enjoy driving them 5 days a week on a commute in Los Angeles, for example.

@@joebartlett3255 I’d take an older Bronco off roading. The new ones just too expensive. You will damage things on trails. Sometimes it’s not a matter of if you can, but if you should. Cheers

They will be fantastic over speed bumps

Ppl don't realize how much weight negatively effects off-road performance, as long as it looks cool. They will all be mall crawlers so it doesn't matter.

more weight, but an easy sell to regular commuters who want to look cool

They had their chance with that thing they call the blazer

I don't normally follow news about GM products but when I heard about a new Blazer coming, I was beyond stoked. I thought I might finally like a GM product again. And then I saw the abomination...

@@rustybrowneye don't mention the Blazer name in 2021. it's a disgrace to even hear.

The could redeem themselves by bringing out a “K5 blazer” but thats highly unlikely

Chevy doesn't care about offroading, they want to chase only the biggest opportunities, no niche products.

Broncos and Jeep’s weren’t supposed to be prerunners. Wranglers are meant to drive over boulders Ford already makes a prerunner, so why would they make another?

@@ItzzTesta the Bronco has had independent suspension since literally the beginning. It's greater versatility than the Jeep as always been a distinguishing factor.

@@ItzzTesta 99% of off-roading is cruising along at moderate speeds. The Bronco is better at everything over 5mph and not much worse than a Wrangler in most rock crawling situations. the Raptor does one thing well and costs an arm and a leg. The Bronco immediately becomes the best all-around off roader on the market and at a price competitive with a Wrangler.

@@SnoqualmieShredder Sorry, that's a mistake on my part. But yeah even without independent suspension, the Bronco was always known as a more versatile and streetable vehicle.

@@SnoqualmieShredder bro try again. Bronco came out in 1966 and ended in 1996. They had solid axles until 1980 and the ifs after was not a traditional control arm suspension

If north of the Mason-Dixon line it is often borderline unsafe to actually stick to the speed limit due to traffic flow, I can only imagine what it is like in Texas...

@@DrewNorthup personally in NJ I drive 10 over the speed limit regularly, that's the normal flow of traffic

@@sastrinidis Yes, that's what I said. When I've driven in Virginia, North Carolina, and Tennessee that was often the slowest non-semi around. Now imagine Texas...

@@DrewNorthup one day I’ll be as wise and well traveled as you, god willing 🙏

Our interstates in AZ in rural areas are all 75 😁

Yeah. It is a bummer to see how many of the off road badlands are being ordered just to be a daily and not taken off road. Each to their own I suppose.

One i saw at the gas station the other day looked like a cheap POS Jeep Compass

@@justinbustin677 was it the bronco sport, cuz that's a different car with the bronco badging. It's built on the Escape platform and I agree it looks like a POS, I do like these tho

A modern car can't get away with being lighter than 3k pounds and for a full size truck it's probably like 4000-4500. Regulations just made cars safer but heavier

Jimny

@@MrCTruck it can be with fibreglass roof and aluminium panel just like dakar

proud not to be

Very true. If you can afford the Bronco, and keep tires on it etc, you can afford the fuel too.

No, but range is. Many of my Mojave off road desert trips are 150-200 miles off road. Getting 12 mpg on the hwy does t sound good for off road mpg performance. Will have to wait and see what people are getting off road mpg

@@harrisonmcdowall2794 As someone else said, it won't be going off road. MPG in the local shopping center is probably more useful.

@@harrisonmcdowall2794 Very true!!!

wait three years and buy a two year old model, you'll save a bindle and probably get one that's never been off road for half the price

Agreed. 59k!!? Nuts.

maybe don't select every option?

There are two wranglers at my local dealer for 64k each, they are all expensive

You can go as low as $28.5K and still have a great vehicle.

they can barely manage staying in a single lane at hwy speeds. Then like to play PULL in front of a euro sedan toing full tilt.......like everyone else likes to be in a pile up...........and when theyre vets or repping the flag i thought i could expect better. Just going to work n back the hot rodders and jeep drivers want to get into a wreck for everyone else.

That's like visiting NASA and seeing a extraterrestrial vehicle that is going to be landing on Mars, and thinking that it only sits in a hanger at NASA because that all you've seen it do. "I hAvEn'T sEeN iT dRiVe oN MaRs' surface."

wow, I never realized the walmart parking is so rough...

Hey man I go off roading on the dirt trail in the empty lot between the wal mart and sobeys all the time. And its no joke in the winter when there's a foot of fresh snow.

Mall crawler crowd; that's what 90% of New Wrangler owners do (likely more than that); it's only the second/third owner that takes a Wrangler off-road.

@@jasonyoung6420 that's exactly why I have a 98 Wrangler 😎🇺🇸

I was "the" alignment tech at a Firestone and did them at a Ford dealer too and I can tell you, those twin Ibeams were real bad at eating up tires

@@captainbc52 Yeah buddy! I have a 98 as well, the goldilocks of jeep

NOT true. i have a dirt driveway

It's good enough for a Lada Niva.

Yes and almost all Ultra4 cars now use IFS

Hardly a valid comparison when his shocks alone cost more then that whole bronco.

@@dirtlifemagazine Except the winning KOH cars the last couple years.... The fact is there's no comparison between a competition buggy and an on-road IFS. No point in even mentioned them. As for ultra4, when the course is fast and open the IFS cars do well, when it's tough and technical the solid axles still rule. Each has it's place - I prefer crawling so naturally I'd gravitate toward solid axles for ease of mods and maximum articulation. For a production vehicle, the Jeep still rules the roost here with no real competition. But for moderate wheeling or going fast (and of course on road) IFS comes into it's own.

@@donhappel9566 For all-around off-roading the Bronco rules the roost and has no real competition. The Wrangler does exactly one thing well and the Bronco is not far behind.

I just unpin mine on an FJ Cruiser. Effective and cheap. Not sure why I would need to do it while moving. If I'm on a trail I'm on a trail.

When Ford went to an independent front suspension on the Explorer, they equipped it with a big honking sway bar so it wasn't really very independent. Being able to disable on the Bronco it is a major improvement.

Offroad video coming! 😎 (You know, eventually!6

@@EngineeringExplained looking forward to it 👍

@@Skruteas dude my Taco is the same way I have pins I can remove quickly and then I welded a bracket to lock the stuff up

I would also like to see this.

@@FixingWithFriends nuclear engines would be cool.

Liquid Bulb Engine

Rock crawling vs everything else. For a light duty vehicle. I prefer solid axle 3/4 and 1 ton 4x4 pickup trucks

I watched a RU-vid video by TFL they had a bronco or Wrangler and a Land Rover Defender the bronco did not flex well at all compared to the Wrangler. TFL on their test of the Land Rover Defender Wrangler and the bronco

@@duanesmith5074 I think Ford is going after what the majority of people do with their rigs. I’m not surprised it didn’t flex as well. Then again, I look at side by sides and quads and they all use A-arm front suspension. I don’t think anyone has been clamoring for the OEM’s to come out with a heavy, poor riding, solid axle front suspension design.

@@thatalaskaguy depends if you're looking for a Mall crawler or an actual truck will go somewhere in Alaska ifs is great for driving down the road or going extremely fast in rough conditions like race cars or race trucks. But most of us aren't going that fast when were off road. Either one of my solid axle trucks are not heavy driving or poor riding. My Last Five trucks before my current two were the independent front suspension trucks they are weak can't haul a plough the solid straight axle handles just about anything locate a 1-ton truck and its ability if you want it just for driving down the road a g with you we have two independent front suspension suvs but I would never take them off road or put a Plough on them

@@duanesmith5074 I understand what you mean and agree with you to an extent as well. Plows and IFS are never very compatible but since it’s unlikely than many people will buy a new Bronco or Jeep to plow with its kind of a moot point. As far as ride goes, I’ve got an ‘85 Chevy K10 and an ‘06 Ford Super duty and they both ride like garbage compared to any IFS full size rig I’ve driven. My brother used to have a 70’s something F-100 with straight axle and I remember it rode way better than both the ‘76 and ‘81 K10’s I had around the same time. Point is, rock crawling is a small niche market and Jeep has that covered with the Wrangler. Ford will likely sell a lot more Broncos because they ride and handle better with IFS than if they’d have offered it with a solid axle. Personally I’d rather Ford had offered it with a solid axle, manual hubs & manual T-case but I suspect I’m in a very small minority that would like that. So, I see why they went the route they did.

and you dont care about that, do you?

@@johannes960 nope. Not even a little bit.

I don't think anyone with a 3.6 Wrangler is getting 25 mpg. I doubt even a bone stock one with the Goodyear all seasons can get that

@@buickratrod That´s a jeeper taking !

All that talk about fuel economy and I was thinking ... "If you´re getting double digits ... you´re fine..."

Syracuse NY?

There’s posts about that on Bronco forums haha. I don’t get how they didn’t think about that when designing it tbh.

And who is buying the stolen ones lol? like, these will be worth nearly nothing

@@chanceym6000 the people whos bronco it was stolen off of

So someone’s going to break into my garage at night just to steal this from my bronco? Pretty weird item to choose to steal if you’re already breaking in. 🤪

The rockers can hold the whole weight of the vehicle. I doubt they're quite as easy to take off. Does anyone know what that process is like?

I'm kind of there with you on that. I get better mileage in my 97 K1500.

For real, I'm shocked and appalled by this fuel economy. Guess they were trying to bring back that old school gas mileage too...may have just cost themselves quite a few potential customers. I know I'm hesitant now seeing that.

I’m sure a hybrid version is coming. They likely launched with out it so the hard core base would not think they sacrificed anything for off-roading.

It is really small. I've seen several around town, and they're like a Kia Soul or a Ford Flex or Scion xB. Only the ones with bigger tires look like they have any balls whatsoever. It seriously looks so anemic.

@@littlejackalo5326 you have seen Bronco Sport

@@littlejackalo5326 I'm sure you seen several around town they just started delivering them have not even seen one come through the dealership in my town

@@littlejackalo5326 Which is fine because they aren’t anemic on the trail and the first gen Broncos were small before they became all roided out.

Its and SUV version of a Ford Ranger. Its a little bigger than the Escape, but nowhere near the size of an F150. The 2.7 is a small engine and it takes up the entire engine compartment.

no you must not be a car guy or have any experience in truck groups. ford guys hate this new truck looks lame lol

FORD WAS DOING THEIR PRESS JUNKET THERE LAST WEEK.

haha seeing him drive down lamar and by mt bonnell was cool

I want one in all white, basic specs and manual transmission... The perfect 4x4

I agree

@Samuel Jesse Jonah There are at least 2 different worlds of the 4x4 crowd. There are the "Range Rover" crowd whose vehicle will be washed every week & will NEVER see mud, & then there are others like me & my friends who take beat up old $500 4x4's & turn them in to "Mud Boggers" & TOTALLY moded "REAL" OFFROADERS, which RARELY come off the rocks,out of the swamp, the bush or the snow. I built an original International Scout into a bush buggy & OF COURSE BEAT ALL the "WEEKEND WARRIORS" why. Because my ride was purpose built, trailered to the site, NOT road worthy & I didn't have to drive it to work on Mon morn. So I can just "GIVER"!!! & not care because it is not costing me $60,000-$100,000. to play. Just another day at the wreckers for more good used parts. Loved EVERY miniute of it.

Yeah,, in Rhode Island too. Lol.

Oklahoma says “hold my beer.”

Well to be fair, an ICE vehicle can be refueled in minutes anywhere, and you can carry gas cans if you are off road somewhere as well. But your point is still valid, the number of people that still claim electric vehicles are useless because they can't circumnavigate the globe on a single charge is ridiculous. Most people, including me, could easily have a 200 mile range EV and never charge it anywhere but home. Even if i had to use a fast charger somewhere twice a year and spend an hour or two waiting, it would still be a net time saver because I wouldn't have to visit gas stations the rest of the year. Now cue someone explaining how they drive 900 miles every day towing a camping trailer.

​@@dirkmohrmann8960 Most people would be fine with electric. I have been glad to see that realization spreading among the general public. Still, it's always the complainers who are the loudest online.

No thanks on the electric, I’ll stick with my supercharged mustang gt 5.0 and my lifted 7.3 super duty. Doing my part to save the planet. 1mpg at a time

@@dirkmohrmann8960 That's assuming you have a charging point. Not everywhere is in a major city.

@@RAM-BAWN I'm not in a major city either. I'm in Canada, where huge areas of the country are essentially inaccessible to electric vehicles due to distances. Thing is though, i never drive in those areas either way. I fly when I go there. For the actual driving that i, and the vast majority (not all, just the majority) of people do, it isn't a problem.

Ha... offroad vehicles don't really depreciate. Good luck.

It better be stick

That's what everyone says until they get one. Either way, there's no way the 5.0 would fit in that engine compartment. Maybe the old one from the 80's and early 90's, but not the new ones.

@Lance Miller Actually, I'm the one who said it probably wouldn't fit in my above post. Its an enormous motor. It barely fits in an F150, let alone a Ranger. For a lot of jobs its easier to just remove the cab than try to work on it in the truck. If they do any type of performance upgrades, it will most likely be with the new 3.0 and the mini 10 speed. Its the same powertrain that's in the new Explorer. Its designed to fit into small vehicles.

@Lance Miller He probably knows it won't fit without major modifications. An older 302, like the ones from the 80's and 90's, would fit, but it would still be tight. The 3.0 and the new 10 speed were designed to fit in small places.

Probably to reduce fuelcosumption for enviromental test. A smaller fueltank is an easy option to reduce weight.

@@jonasstahl9826 One gallon of gas is 6.3 pounds. So adding 5 gallons into a 5000lb+ vehicle would probably make little difference.

@@yippie6862 It isnt much, but still 0,6%. Reducing the weight in other ways like using aluminium is pretty expensive.

Well after the Pintos....lol

Agreed. Thankfully my F150 has the 36 gallon for ~ 500 mi range, but fill ups are $$$!

Some of that can be related to the type of tires it had.

My fj cruiser gets same mpg lol

I have had great experience with my 2020 explorer so far. 2.3L. 65k miles and I'm still impressed with it.

Well you could say that but on redcone TF is edcon TFL on the exact same stretch of trail showed the Bronco and the Wrangler the Broncos articulation in the front end was nowhere near the Wrangler there again you can see it you don't have to believe me

Some kind of electric servo in the middle that disconnects/disengages each side from each other. They stay “bolted” up to the links and suspension. They have kits for UTVs. Other vehicles have them as well. Pretty damn neat.

21 mpg is pretty good.

That's always been the tradeoff with offroaders. Imagine how bad it'll be with huge aftermarket wheels that you know are coming.

@@dkdanis1340 not for my wallet it isn’t.

@@questioner1596 Oh man I can only imagine. Probably only slightly better gas mileage that my old ‘86 Bronco I used to have.

Ford is giving you a real world numbers that Wrangler number is a total lie the 3.6 Wrangler gets 16 miles a gallon not 25 I own one

Still not truly wrangler competition. If your aspirations are really doing the toughest trails america has to offer, you're gonna want 40 inch tires and 1 ton axles and this is never going to accommodate those.

@@Shakshuka69 lmao okay bro. Only the .01 percent do that. Broncos coming for ya

Back in the day they were the only two comparable vehicles being sold concurrently

International is now Navistar, and Lordstown Motors (LMC) is a spinoff of Navistar... hmm... an LMC Scout EV? Now THAT'S a damn fine idea.

Looks like Pace Bend!

At least it can take 83 right?

Your conscience? 😂

@@eag8999 He means his wallet. 😂