My heart has been with Jeep for decades and probably always will be, but this is exactly the kind of thing that is pushing me towards Ford. I know Ford powertrains aren't perfect, but Jeep's quality, never good, has become totally unacceptable. The RMS blew on my JK 3.6L at 70k miles and it was not uncommon for them to fail with much fewer miles. That this is still happening with the JL is nuts. From the JK onwards, their motors have these catastrophic oil leaks that appear without warning and completely let go in a short period of time.
Thanks! Yeah, I was looking forward to the MGV and washout, since I have 2 boys under 5 yrs old... LOL It's why I'm looking to exhaust all my build options and then figure out which one meets my usage. SAS is the thing I won't use the capabilities of immediately, but I plan to use it down the road.
This is exactly that all the hullabaloo has been about on the forum, with Dealerships "stealing" people's orders... either directly, or by inflating the prices so much that the reservation holder walks and leaves the Bronco for the dealership to sell to the highest bidder...
Nah you not overthinking, you just thinking... I'm in the same boat. I like the steelies, but what pushes me to Sas or Badlands is that the suspensions are better. I am not sure I want sta bar disco because I don't know how reliable it will be 3 years from now (after the warranty is up). At least we have time to decide right?
No flaming here... just jealous cause you got my rideSo, I am a little hesitant to post for the potential flaming, but here it goes… I picked up a 4-door Badlands over the weekend. I have two reservations, a very early (day 2 I think) and an October Granger one. I didn’t place an order in the first round because I have been fully on board the BaseManSquatch train essentially since they announced it. However, the more things have pushed out, the worse that decision seemed to get. I actually reached out to my local dealer and asked them to give me first dibs if anyone decided they didn’t want their order when it came in, but I figured it would be a long shot to get a combination of options I wanted. That said, the only thing I was really completely committed to was a manual transmission. Well, late last week a dealer in another state had a customer decline to take their order. It was a manual Area 51 Badlands, which I really like. I was pretty set on a 2-door, but figured I could always trade it later for the BaseManSquatch. So the moral of the story is that if you’re really ready for a Bronco and fairly flexible on options, pay attention and just be ready to pull the trigger quickly. I did not get a deal, but I paid MSRP with no ADM or prep fees. I think in this market that is very fair. Also, after taking one look in person and driving it for a few days, I am not likely going to trade it. Pictures really just don’t do any justice to Broncos. They look so much better in person. Right off the bat, I can say it definitely drives better than our 2020 JLU on the highway. It’s noticeable, but I don’t mind the solid axle on the Jeep and never found it to be as bad as some people make it out to be. I find it humorous all the strong opinions on the differences between the two vehicles. They are so similar. The Bronco is definitely better in some ways and I think the Jeep is better in some ways, but I love both of them. Not really having a huge brand loyalty, I feel like I can answer questions objectively if anyone has any. I am really looking forward to comparing the off-road performance and will try to post up some info when I can get around to that.
One thing this forum will get a kick out of, the Jeep developed the dreaded rear main seal leak literally on the way to pick up the Bronco. In response, the Bronco decided to give me the airbag light. I assumed the Bronco would have some minor issues given how early we are in production. So, not really unexpected…. Oh, one last point, the Jeep crushed the Bronco in fuel economy on the way home. I’m not sure how much that’s impacted by hardtop Jeep vs big wind-catching open convertible top on the Bronco, but a 4ish hour highway trip yielded 19.2mpg in the Bronco and almost 27mpg in the Jeep. I don’t really care about fuel economy, but I thought it was an interesting stat.
Quick edit: I meant to add that this is a straight up bare Badlands. It has zero options. No mid, nothing. But it does not at all feel like a stripped vehicle. After driving this, I honestly think even a base with no options would feel well-equipped. The only thing I wish I had was heated seats and that’s easy enough to add.
. Can you give some more opinions on the 2.3L? How does it do merging, acceleration once driving, does the turbo kick in seamlessly or is it noticeable?
Leaky rear mains is a decades old Jeep tradition. My theory it's intentional for undercarriage rust prevention.
Congrats on the Bronco.
Yes, but it's a much worse failure on the Pentastar and newer motors. The old inline blocks had a 2-piece RMS that could be replaced through the pan, and the failure of it usually wasn't catastrophic. The stupid 1-piece RMS on the new motors is unbelievably thin, when it lets go the oil loss is extremely rapid, and you have to pull the trans to replace it. IMO it's a fire/safety risk and I'm suprised the NHTSA hasn't pushed Jeep to improve it.
The only flaming you deserve is not buying from a forum member. There's one member who has his FE for the low price of $99k. You should have went with him! Haha! Enjoy your ride!
I drove a manual at the Bronco Off Roadeo in Texas for the off road portion and it was badass. The crawl gear was unreal! EnjoyRare sighting of a manual shift device
I've leaned BaseSas... then find the steelies someone took off their BD and buy them up quickly. BaseSas would leave me more room to make changes/additions like that in my budget too.
